Bryan “Devo” Devonshire Dealing With The Downswing

"If I didn’t have other things going on in life, I would be on suicide watch."

Bryan "Devo" Devonshire Dealing With The Downswing
© World Poker Tour.

While many people remember Bryan Devonshire from his PokerRoad days, many were introduced to him during his deep run in the 2011 World Series of Poker. Clad in San Francisco Giants gear, Devonshire ran super deep, finishing in 12th place and walking with a career score of $607k. You gotta be both lucky and good to make it that far, right? Clearly Devo has the chops, but what happens when the good luck that takes you that deep turns on you — in a big way.

In his column for CardPlayer Magazine, Devonshire writes about the downside to variance, dropping down in stakes and that just when you think it can’t get any worse, it does. Even the best players can find themselves on vicious losing streaks, to which Devo has some recommendations.

Examine your stakes:

The first thing that jumps out at me is that we’re all under-rolled. We take shots too much, consciously or ignorantly, but nonetheless greatly increasing our risk of ruin.

bq.Moving down in stakes will likely correct the deficiency in bankroll most of us already have. If a big loss in one session hurts your bankroll, then you’re playing too big.

Ignore immediate results:

Winning heaps in a year does not a winning player make.

There are hundreds of others who make money that year too. All this means is that they made money playing poker this year, not that they are winning poker players, just like somebody who is a lifetime winner at craps is not a winning craps player.

Have more in life than poker:

I’m neck deep in my fourth and greatest downswing of my decade-long professional career….If I didn’t have other things going on in life, I would be on suicide watch. If poker was all I did, it would be really easy to fall into a deep, dark, depression, figuring everything to be pointless during one of these brutal downswings.

For the full article and the honest extent of Devonshire’s downswing, check out the entire article at CardPlayer.

If you or someone you know has a gambling problem and wants help, call the Virginia Council on Problem Gambling (VACPG) helpline at 1-888-532-3500
published 9 years, 4 months ago • by • permalink

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