I have been losing a lot recently. I lost 5 in a row yesterday, complemented by 2 losses and a win today. That's right, 7 losses in 8 games. Pretty bad. I know a friend who lost 9 in a row in one day, and he said that what he learned from that was to stop playing after you lose a few, because you get in a losing mood. I took this advice and threw it out the window by just playing more and more games after I started losing, because I thought that I had to win one sometime, right? Wrong. Oh yeah, that win I got? It was against a Bronze player with 2 wins in 10 games. Yeah. I'm actually afraid I'll be kicked out of Silver league, because I have lost all my points and am sitting at 94th in my pool right now with a 7-14 record.  
 
Anyone have any tips on how to deal with a losing streak? I don't think that my strategy of just playing a lot is really working. I guess I'll just wait until I'm demoted to bronze and then try to claw my way back up....

Try to learn something from each game, make sure you know why you lost. Stay calm and collected and execute your plan.

I usually beat my children.  It really helps.

I read the title as How do you deal with losing steaks. Man that would be the worst, losing all my steaks. I don't know how I'd deal with it. Probably after years of  counseling maybe then I'd be able to come to terms with the loss of my steaks. So in conclusion nobody touch my damn steaks.

" I read the title as How do you deal with losing steaks. Man that would be the worst, losing all my steaks. I don't know how I'd deal with it. Probably after years of  counseling maybe then I'd be able to come to terms with the loss of my steaks. So in conclusion nobody touch my damn steaks. "

Collect your thoughts, and remember that every loss is a learning opportunity. Watch the replay and find out what your opponent did that you didn't counter, and remember for next time. And take plenty of breaks. Don't get into the "I've lost so many, I've just got to play until I win one" mentality, because down that path lays madness! 
 
@laserfrog said:

" I read the title as How do you deal with losing steaks. Man that would be the worst, losing all my steaks. I don't know how I'd deal with it. Probably after years of  counseling maybe then I'd be able to come to terms with the loss of my steaks. So in conclusion nobody touch my damn steaks. "

I never play online. 
 
I'm invincible.

" I read the title as How do you deal with losing steaks. Man that would be the worst, losing all my steaks. I don't know how I'd deal with it. Probably after years of  counseling maybe then I'd be able to come to terms with the loss of my steaks. So in conclusion nobody touch my damn steaks. "

Either 2rack rush or 4gate rush or 6pool rush. You'll win in no time.

I usually punt a puppy. It always makes me feel better.

/wrist

Play in differents hours of day. You can get more easy players. If you play at 2 AM, will be more hardcore gamers.

Watching replays and analyzing your own games helps loads in most situations, at least for me. Pick up on mistakes you may have made, and refine them as much as possible. Are you always looking at your minimap/production/food, staying on top of macro, et cetera?

just calm down and come back later/the next day. i've been trying to do this when i'm on a winning streak as well, because i'll usually throw it away and then start up a losing streak from that loss.
 
also what everyone is saying about watching your replays, don't do that when you're mad from losses either, you can watch it if you're curious what went wrong, but save it and really watch it again later once you've calmed down. 
 
otherwise your analysis will be like "ugh i did everything right but he just made marines and got stim and i lost" or something like that.

If I lose to Mutas, I punch something on my desk and stop playing.

Crying definitely helps me get through those rough stretches.

" I read the title as How do you deal with losing steaks. Man that would be the worst, losing all my steaks. I don't know how I'd deal with it. Probably after years of  counseling maybe then I'd be able to come to terms with the loss of my steaks. So in conclusion nobody touch my damn steaks. "

"
Oh well. Just for fun I made it anyway.. "

" Try to learn something from each game, make sure you know why you lost. Stay calm and collected and execute your plan. "

The "correct" way to deal with it is to analyze your games, and fix your mistakes in the next game. I just play some melee customs games, theres no pressure, so i try out some strategies i've never tried before.

It's called 'tilting' and a good way to get rid of it is to just stop playing for awhile. Go do something else for a bit and you'll probably play better when you're back.

After a losing streak I usually tend to take a break. If I'm not sure what caused the loss, I analyze the replay to make sure what mistakes I've made.

" If I lose to Mutas, I punch something on my desk and stop playing. "

play better

" Either 2rack rush or 4gate rush or 6pool rush. You'll win in no time. "

I get angry. Play more. And fail harder every game.

" I get angry. Play more. And fail harder every game. "

I guess it depends on the person...in my case the more i lose the more pissed off i get,the more pissed off i get the more i lose...this eventually leads to rage quitting,and when i hit my chair with my foot as hard as i can (which leads to a scar) thats when i stop playing...needless to say i try not to play multiplayer games to much.

i splash my head with water, say "oogaboogabooga", light a candle, pick zerg and win.

The worst thing you could do is get angry. The best thing to do is watch replays and try to rationally explain why did you lose. 
 
It's also good to remember that while you're on a losing streak, at least you didn't lose your steaks. Steaks are tasty and you can eat them. You can't eat your league or rank in Starcraft.

I react really badly. I am like 2-13 in my last 15 games. I have been making a lot of bad decisions lately, engaging when I shouldn't and moving out when I don't know where his army is. Losing all your marines to banelings is the more infuriating thing ever. I should watch my replays, but I really hate watching myself play.

I stop playing and watch replays of people who are actually good to get motivation again.

 Play a game you routinely win at, or just do something else for a while.  I either go with some Reach or some guitar.  But I'll still watch the GSL to get my SC fix.

" @Winternet said:

" Either 2rack rush or 4gate rush or 6pool rush. You'll win in no time. "

No. I used to switch to random and do crap like that and it only makes things worse.  I'd not be thinking clearly and would make tons of mistakes. Take a break.  A general rule for me is ff I lose 2 or more in a row I take at least a one hour break and play Minecraft, read a book or exercise to deal with my frustration.  I usually start losing streaks if something crazy happens and makes me paranoid in a way that I change how I play.  I can tell when I'm tilting now and my W/L has thanked me for it. "

" @Ben_H said:

" @Winternet said:

" Either 2rack rush or 4gate rush or 6pool rush. You'll win in no time. "

No. I used to switch to random and do crap like that and it only makes things worse.  I'd not be thinking clearly and would make tons of mistakes. Take a break.  A general rule for me is ff I lose 2 or more in a row I take at least a one hour break and play Minecraft, read a book or exercise to deal with my frustration.  I usually start losing streaks if something crazy happens and makes me paranoid in a way that I change how I play.  I can tell when I'm tilting now and my W/L has thanked me for it. "

I meant to say the rush according to his race. I don't think he mentioned his race so I just put the 3 of them. Going random is a definitely NO. Unless you want to lose more.  If you start to lose to much, either go to TL.net and type IMBA over and over again or go and listen to the NDX and you'll feel better. Guaranteed. "

" @Winternet said:

" @Ben_H said:

" @Winternet said:

" Either 2rack rush or 4gate rush or 6pool rush. You'll win in no time. "

No. I used to switch to random and do crap like that and it only makes things worse.  I'd not be thinking clearly and would make tons of mistakes. Take a break.  A general rule for me is ff I lose 2 or more in a row I take at least a one hour break and play Minecraft, read a book or exercise to deal with my frustration.  I usually start losing streaks if something crazy happens and makes me paranoid in a way that I change how I play.  I can tell when I'm tilting now and my W/L has thanked me for it. "

I meant to say the rush according to his race. I don't think he mentioned his race so I just put the 3 of them. Going random is a definitely NO. Unless you want to lose more.  If you start to lose to much, either go to TL.net and type IMBA over and over again or go and listen to the NDX and you'll feel better. Guaranteed. "

No I'm saying don't rush in general when on a losing streak.  It will make things worse as you will be so pissed off you will make huge mistakes and lose even more.  It's way better to take an hour break and play well than lose 7 times rushing and still be tilted. "

You win, duh. Tiger blood, baby. Rocket fuel covered saber tips.

Heh I used to have this syndrome in the old RA2 days, I always just called it up that there's players who will just react better and maintain their cool better than you, or that game was broken (which RA2 sure as hell was) abusing certain units. Personally in RTS it doesn't really matter at the end of it if you get into the pro leagues or not, sure it's good to get a decent challenge but you will eventually run into a wall where you can't go any further without exerting yourself further. I always took a break when this happened. I'm reminded of the AVGN who said something along the lines of "first you enter this kind of zone where you start making more mistakes, then all the skill you seem to have accumulated starts draining away, then you continually keep losing because you can't keep your cool and you need your cool to win".

I always take a break now if I get to two losses in a row.

" I always take a break now if I get to two losses in a row. "

" @GunslingerPanda said:

" I always take a break now if I get to two losses in a row. "

That's maybe lack of confidence. Two losses is nothing. "

" @Winternet said:

" @GunslingerPanda said:

" I always take a break now if I get to two losses in a row. "

That's maybe lack of confidence. Two losses is nothing. "

I take breaks after two as well.  It's not a lack of confidence, I just know I start to tilt and worry about winning after two losses so I would rather not lose more than I need to. "

" Collect your thoughts, and remember that every loss is a learning opportunity. Watch the replay and find out what your opponent did that you didn't counter, and remember for next time. And take plenty of breaks. Don't get into the "I've lost so many, I've just got to play until I win one" mentality, because down that path lays madness! 
 
@laserfrog said:

" I read the title as How do you deal with losing steaks. Man that would be the worst, losing all my steaks. I don't know how I'd deal with it. Probably after years of  counseling maybe then I'd be able to come to terms with the loss of my steaks. So in conclusion nobody touch my damn steaks. "

Hey... can I have a steak? "

Normally when I go on a bad losing streak like 7 games in a row its because I am just playing poorly (missing injects and crap) I just splash some water on my face to wake my self up then try hard.

Like a real man: Rage Quit