In poker vocabulary, a downswing describes a prolonged period of bad (losing) results, be it in cash games or tournaments.
When a poker player say they’ve been on a downswing, that means that they’ve been performing worse than they expect, although there is no exact definition as to what constitutes a downswing.
For example, a player might say, “I have been on the worst downswing in my ten-year career. I haven’t cashed in any of the last twenty tournaments I played, and I am very tilted!” I always get called when I try to steal the pot, and everyone sucks out on me. I can’t even trap others since they always seem to have a monster.
While on a downswing people can start leveling with others and believe they are losing more than they should.
While there is no specific or scientific definition of a downswing, the feeling of it can be detrimental on one’s motivation and can influence their decision-making capabilities, potentially making their results even worse than they should be.
