Friday, February 28, 2014

Avoiding the carnage

You can't win a tournament with a policy of avoidance. Funnily enough, though, you can come in second :-) That's what happened to me in the second tournament I joined last night. I just kept avoiding the carnage, and other players kept obligingly hitting the felt. It was a no limit hold'em tournament; I'd missed the money in the 8-game I joined to start the session. 8-games are good training for no limit hold'em, since the starting stack at 8-games is 3 times the starting stack at no limit hold'em tournaments. The reason is that when you start a no limit in those circumstances, you feel like you're severely short-stacked right off the bat. There's nothing like feeling severely short-stacked to sharpen your poker senses :-)

buy_in entry_fee num_players num_hands place winnings

 45000      5000           6        57     5        0
 45000      5000           6        27     2    94500


delta: $-5,500
tournament balance: $2,332,590
balance: $9,215,289

Thursday, February 27, 2014

A hole in my game

By any measure, I've done extraordinarily well in 8-game tournaments so far. My haul to date is $644,500, in just 16 tournaments. However, that doesn't mean I can't find holes in my game which I should take pains to fill. A glaring one hit me last night. I didn't notice right away when the game changed from Razz Limit to 7 Card Stud Limit near the end of the tournament, when I was heads up. That can be a fatal mistake, and nearly was in this case. Since razz is a low only game, and 7 card stud is high only, if you don't notice that the game has changed, you'll bet heavily on the very worst 7 card stud hands, and can easily end up losing tons of money for no earthly reason. Once I realized what an idiot I'd been, I tried to batten down the hatches, but it wasn't meant to be. My consolation was that I made the mistake when I was heads up, so I still finished in the money.

buy_in entry_fee num_players num_hands place winnings

 45000      5000           6       145     2    94500


delta: $44,500
tournament balance: $2,338,090
balance: $9,220,789

Wednesday, February 26, 2014

An unsatisfying win

Last night, I had my longest wait yet for an 8-game table to fill up - over half an hour. For that reason, I decided to start up an 8-game table tonight before writing my blog post, instead of after. That should save me some time :-) Even though I came in first in the one tournament I played last night, it wasn't satisfying. When I got to heads up, my opponent decided to sit out for some reason. He never returned. It took me over 9 minutes, and 98 hands, to blind him off. I much prefer winning due to skillful play. Nevertheless, my balance went back into the blue again, which is never a bad thing :-)

buy_in entry_fee num_players num_hands place winnings

 45000      5000           6       207     1   175500


delta: $125,500
tournament balance: $2,293,590
balance: $9,176,289

Tuesday, February 25, 2014

Doubly cooled

It's tough enough to survive one cooler in a sit and go; two coolers are simply too much to overcome. Luckily for me, when they hit, I was already heads up in the second tournament I entered. I lost the first one, an 8-game, rather quickly, and decided to join a no limit hold'em table for my second one. The reason was that I knew I didn't have the time to wait for another 8-game to fill up.

In both coolers, I would have won the tournament had my hand held up; here's how they went down:

cooler #1: I was dealt 9s 9h, got into a brief pre-flop raising war, had my opponent covered, and called his all in bet. He'd been dealt Jc 9c, making me a 61.58% favorite to win the hand. He hit a jack on the turn, and his jacks held up.

cooler #2: I was dealt Qc 9s, and the flop came 6h 9c Qd; my opponent, who I had covered, went all in on the flop, and I called. After the flop, I was an 81.82% favorite to win the hand. My opponent filled a gutshot on the river, and my stack was crippled.

Thanks to my second place, I ended up losing the minimum you can lose when you play two $50,000 buy in tournaments.

buy_in entry_fee num_players num_hands place winnings

 45000      5000           6        86     4        0
 45000      5000           6        40     2    94500


delta: $-5,500
tournament balance: $2,168,090
balance: $9,050,789

Monday, February 24, 2014

Fastest boundary million

On Saturday night, I had my fastest boundary million. A boundary million is achieved when your balance passes a million dollar boundary from the low side to the high side. The distances between boundary millions can be measured in sessions. Here are my boundary millions:

2010-08-24      99,3224    1,035,624  (267)
2011-08-25    1,969,132    2,014,132  (225)
2011-12-12    2,981,705    3,021,907   (82)
2012-03-29    3,991,360    4,032,786   (77)
2012-07-07    4,935,764    5,002,555   (86)
2012-08-26    5,976,221    6,174,621   (44)
2012-11-02    6,940,621    7,084,821   (65)
2014-02-05    7,905,973    8,050,789  (379)
2014-02-22    8,930,789    9,056,289   (15)


The numbers in parentheses are the distances in sessions between the boundary millions.

buy_in entry_fee num_players num_hands place winnings

 45000      5000           6       140     1   175500


delta: $125,500
tournament balance: $2,173,590
balance: $9,056,289

Saturday, February 22, 2014

Going long

I set another personal best last night. I had the longest sit and go tournament of my career. At 257 hands, it obliterated the previous record of 186. I ended up coming out on top. The longest no limit hold'em tournament I ever had was a mere 127 hands long. This is proof positive that the 8-game tournaments have the best value for money. Not only that, they also provide the best opportunity to make money; I feel very comfortable playing 8-game, and have a lot of confidence in my long-term profit potential.

buy_in entry_fee num_players num_hands place winnings

 45000      5000           6       257     1   175500


delta: $125,500
tournament balance: $2,048,090
balance: $8,930,789

Friday, February 21, 2014

The dangerous flavors

Even though my experience in 8 game sit and gos is still in its infancy, I already know which of the flavors are the dangerous ones for me. In a landslide, those flavors are Omaha (either Hi/Lo Limit or Pot Limit) and deuce. As a reminder, deuce is my nickname for deuce to the seven triple draw lowball. Why are these flavors so dangerous? The answer is simple. More often than not, you won't make your hand until the very last moment. That means you have to be willing to pay whatever the other players are charging you to get there. These flavors have the most risk associated with them, and also the highest rewards. The safest of the eight flavors, somewhat counterintuitively, is no limit hold'em. I sometimes find myself thirsting for this flavor when the other flavors are beating me down. It's no secret that it's my best flavor by far.

buy_in entry_fee num_players num_hands place winnings

 45000      5000           6       148     2    94500
 45000      5000           6        27     5        0


delta: $-5,500
tournament balance: $1,922,590
balance: $8,805,289

Thursday, February 20, 2014

Señor Dos

I now have a fairly large body of tournament work - 432 sit and gos, to be precise. I've wagered a staggering 26,969,080 play dollars on them, and have won an equally staggering 28,897,170 play dollars playing them. Here's how I've fared place-wise:

1    77
2    84
3    88
4    68
5    68
6    47


Last night, I played two 8-games, and came in second both times. Just call me Señor Dos :-)

buy_in entry_fee num_players num_hands place winnings

 45000      5000           6       152     2    94500
 45000      5000           6       159     2    94500


delta: $89,000
tournament balance: $1,928,090
balance: $8,810,789

Wednesday, February 19, 2014

Worth the wait

I'm getting used to waiting for 8-game tables to fill up. They're definitely worth the wait! Last night, I had to wait about ten minutes for the first table I joined to fill up. As far as I can recall, I've never not been the first player to join an 8-game table. That almost makes me believe that were it not for me, no 8-game would be played on PokerStars :-) My steadfast patience convinces other players to join (or so I like to think). In an anomaly, once the tournament started, I didn't last as long as I'd waited; I didn't win a single pot and hit the felt after 21 hands. That didn't deter me from being the first to join another 8-game, however. The second one was more typically lengthy, and I ended up in first after more than an hour of play.

buy_in entry_fee num_players num_hands place winnings

 45000      5000           6        21     6        0
 45000      5000           6       186     1   175500


delta: $75,500
tournament balance: $1,839,090
balance: $8,721,789

Tuesday, February 18, 2014

My latest magic poker number

I've always liked coming up with magic poker numbers. What do I mean by a magic poker number? It's a threshold of some kind which guarantees you poker success if you can achieve it. The first magic poker number I came up with was the golden ratio. I figured out early on that if I could achieve twice as many winning sessions as losing ones, I was in the clover. My latest magic poker number is what I'm calling the golden 6-max sit and go duration. It's the minimum number of hands you must play at a 6-max sit and go table in order to be guaranteed of making the money. Pulling a number out of a hat, I came up with 90. Checking the history, of the 34 times I've played at least 90 hands, I've only missed the money three times.

buy_in entry_fee num_players num_hands place winnings

 45000      5000           6        98     2    94500


delta: $44,500
tournament balance: $1,763,590
balance: $8,646,289

Monday, February 17, 2014

Value for money

One of the features of the 8-game tournaments I'm really enjoying is the relaxed pace. These tournaments are taking much longer on average to complete than the no limit hold'em ones, and consequently they're much better value for money. On Saturday night, although I came in fourth in both tournaments I entered, I played 59 hands in each one. Another feature I'm really enjoying is the variety; here are the 8 poker flavors played in these tournaments:

Triple Draw 2-7 Lowball Limit
Hold'em Limit
Omaha Hi/Lo Limit
Razz Limit
7 Card Stud Limit
7 Card Stud Hi/Lo Limit
Hold'em No Limit
Omaha Pot Limit


I'm liking the Hi/Lo flavors a lot. I also like deuce and razz, but they're a riskier proposition since they're low only.

buy_in entry_fee num_players num_hands place winnings

 45000      5000           6        59     4        0
 45000      5000           6        59     4        0


delta: $-100,000
tournament balance: $1,719,090
balance: $8,601,789

Saturday, February 15, 2014

The fellowship of the felt

Last night, I sought out another 8-game tournament. Again, I played a no limit hold'em tournament while waiting for the 8-game to fill up. Again, I was at a crucial point in the hold'em tournament when the 8-game started, and had to divide my attention between the two. This time, I bubbled the hold'em instead of making the money. After an even lengthier 8-game tournament than my first one, I ended up making the money again, although this time I came in second instead of first. The winner, who was from Spain, was very complimentary of how well I'd played, and called me "my friend". This was a great example of the fellowship of the felt :-) Those of us who love poker can recognize this love in others, and it's a great feeling. We speak the same language, dream the same dreams, and have the utmost respect for one another.

buy_in entry_fee num_players num_hands place winnings

 45000      5000           6        40     3        0
 45000      5000           6       186     2    94500


delta: $-5,500
tournament balance: $1,819,090
balance: $8,701,789

Friday, February 14, 2014

Two happy accidents

I had my best session ever last night, but it was due to the first of two happy accidents. I always pick the $50,000 buy in tournaments, since they're my sweet spot. However, I slipped a digit without realizing it, and selected a $500,000 tournament instead. I actually did this two times in a row. I never would have done that intentionally. Mirabile dictu, I made the money in both those super high roller tournaments! When it came time to pick a third tournament, I thought the lobby had somehow scrolled on me, since it was in the $500,000 buy in section; I scrolled down to the $50,000 tournaments and chose one. I hadn't realized my mistake yet. Finally, after playing my fourth tournament, I looked at my results for the session up to that point. I realized what a bone-headed thing I'd done, and how lucky I'd been not to drop a million play dollars in a matter of minutes!

The second happy accident was mistakenly selecting an 8-game tournament instead of a no limit hold'em one, then thinking I'd successfully cancelled my registration when I hadn't. It took a long time for that 8-game table to fill up, but it finally did. When it did, I was in the crucial final stage of a hold'em tournament, heads up, and was taken completely by surprise when another tournament window appeared on the screen. I had to divide my attention between the two tournaments for about 5 minutes, and ended up coming in second in the no limit hold'em one. For the next hour, I played the 8-game tournament, had a blast, and ended up winning it. I actually had to quickly look up how to play some of the games on Wikipedia, while I was playing!

I was very pleasantly surprised by two huge advantages the 8-game tournaments have over the no limit hold'em ones:

1. the starting stack is $1,500, triple the starting stack of the hold'em tournaments
2. the blinds don't escalate, for whatever reason

A nice bonus is that it's fun to play flavors other than hold'em once in a while. The two advantages taken together lead to longer tournaments, and to a higher premium on skill. The 8-game is my new favorite tournament type!

buy_in entry_fee num_players num_hands place winnings

450000     50000           6        24     2   945000
450000     50000           6        46     2   945000
 45000      5000           6        22     3        0
 45000      5000           6         6     6        0
 45000      5000           6        34     1   175500
 45000      5000           6         5     5        0
 45000      5000           6        56     2    94500
 45000      5000           6       175     1   175500


delta: $1,035,500
tournament balance: $1,824,590
balance: $8,707,289

Thursday, February 13, 2014

Feast or famine

Last night, each tournament I entered was feast or famine; either I made the money, or I didn't come anywhere close. I discovered it was much easier to claim I was going to avoid early exits than it was to back up that claim. However, this difficulty reminded me of something I'd forgotten about tournaments. You have to play them bravely; when you do, a fair amount of the time you're going to hit the felt early. Tournaments are definitely not for the meek, yet neither are they for the foolhardy. The trick is to be neither meek nor foolhardy; it's a tall order!

buy_in entry_fee num_players num_hands place winnings

 45000      5000           6        38     1   175500
 45000      5000           6         6     6        0
 45000      5000           6        13     5        0
 45000      5000           6         4     6        0
 45000      5000           6        22     1   175500
 45000      5000           6        77     2    94500


delta: $145,500
tournament balance: $789,090
balance: $7,671,789

Wednesday, February 12, 2014

The lower 48

I set a new personal worst last night. I had the worst eight tournament stretch of my tournament career. When you're playing 6-max, the worst you can do in such a stretch is to come in sixth all eight times. I didn't do that, but wasn't far off. The sum of my places came out to a gaudy 38 out of the worst possible total of 48. I call that the lower 48 :-)

The only way to do so poorly is to bet too big, too early, and too often. When you do that, you don't give other players the chance to make donkey moves. In effect, you're the one who's being the donkey! There's no excuse for playing that friskily in tournaments. I promise not to fall into that trap tonight.

buy_in entry_fee num_players num_hands place winnings

 45000      5000           6         2     6        0
 45000      5000           6        15     3        0
 45000      5000           6         5     6        0
 45000      5000           6         8     6        0
 45000      5000           6        30     3        0
 45000      5000           6         9     5        0
 45000      5000           6        14     5        0
 45000      5000           6        14     4        0


delta: $-400,000
tournament balance: $643,590
balance: $7,526,289

Tuesday, February 11, 2014

The upper half of 6-max

Though there are several different table sizes to choose from when playing sit and gos, I've played 6-max almost exclusively in my tournament career. I'm discovering that playing sit and go 6-max again after over a year off is like renewing an acquaintanceship with an old friend. You just pick up where you left off :-)

When playing sit and go 6-max, I've found that a great goal to set yourself is to finish in the top three, the upper half. The fact that only the top two places are paid shouldn't have any bearing; if you land in the upper half of 6-max often enough, you'll get your share of firsts and seconds. With this goal, you put less pressure on yourself than you would if the goal was to finish in the top two every time. The less pressure you feel, the better you do.

Last night, I hit the upper half in all three of the tournaments I entered.

buy_in entry_fee num_players num_hands place winnings

 45000      5000           6        35     2    94500
 45000      5000           6        42     3        0
 45000      5000           6        54     1   175500


delta: $120,000
tournament balance: $1,043,590
balance: $7,926,289

Monday, February 10, 2014

The insanity of sit and gos

Trying to be successful at sit and gos is a form of insanity. It's a losing proposition on its very face. However, the only way to be successful at them is first to believe that you can be successful at them. Since only someone who's a little insane would believe this, the inescapable conclusion is that you actually must be a little insane in order to beat the insane odds :-) It a variation on Joseph Heller's Catch-22.

In case you missed it, I just admitted that I think I can be successful at sit and gos. This proves two things:

1. I believe in myself
2. I'm a little insane :-)

Here's how I did on Saturday night:

buy_in entry_fee num_players num_hands place winnings

 45000      5000           6        26     1   175500
 45000      5000           6        37     2    94500
 45000      5000           6        21     3        0
 45000      5000           6         9     5        0
 45000      5000           6        11     5        0
 45000      5000           6        27     2    94500
 45000      5000           6        22     1   175500
 45000      5000           6        20     3        0


delta: $140,000
tournament balance: $923,590
balance: $7,806,289

Saturday, February 8, 2014

Bubble boy

I had a sit and go binge last night. I played more sit and gos in a single session than I ever had before - 14 in all. I was the bubble boy in five of them. That is, I came in one spot out of the money five times. When you bubble that many times, you know you're doing something right, and you also know you're not doing enough right :-)

buy_in entry_fee num_players num_hands place winnings

 45000      5000           6        27     3        0
 45000      5000           6         4     5        0
 45000      5000           6         2     6        0
 45000      5000           6        28     3        0
 45000      5000           6        27     3        0
 45000      5000           6         9     5        0
 45000      5000           6         3     5        0
 45000      5000           6         6     3        0
 45000      5000           6        26     1   175500
 45000      5000           6        18     2    94500
 45000      5000           6        10     3        0
 45000      5000           6        14     4        0
 45000      5000           6        27     2    94500
 45000      5000           6         6     4        0

delta: $-335,500
tournament balance: $783,590
balance: $7,666,289

Friday, February 7, 2014

The high chaparral

I never watched the western T.V. show "The High Chaparral", but I've always liked the name; it resonates with me. Playing sit and gos with the intention of making a long-term profit is an extremely ambitious undertaking; one might more appropriately call it a fool's errand :-) I hereby dub this quest my high chaparral! Last night, I played eight sit and gos, and came in first twice. My heads up skills were in full working order, but I didn't get to heads up enough times in order to make a profit on the night. I noticed two big differences from the last time I played $50,000 sit and gos:

1. each player is now allotted a starting stack of just $500, instead of the previous amount of $1,000; that's dramatically less "oxygen" to work with
2. strictly speaking, the new $50,000 sit and gos are actually $45,000 sit and gos, since that's the new buy in; the entry fees have shot up dramatically, from $800 to $5,000

Here's how I did:

buy_in entry_fee num_players num_hands place winnings

 45000      5000           6        15     3        0
 45000      5000           6        72     1   175500
 45000      5000           6        16     5        0
 45000      5000           6        23     4        0
 45000      5000           6        15     3        0
 45000      5000           6         2     6        0
 45000      5000           6         8     4        0
 45000      5000           6        38     1   175500


If I'd been playing under the old conditions, my loss on the night would have been considerably less - $16,400 instead of $49,000. What all this boils down to is that it will be even harder to make a profit playing these sit and gos than it was before, which was plenty hard. I relish the challenge!

delta: $-49,000
tournament balance: $1,119,090
balance: $8,001,789

Thursday, February 6, 2014

Eight feels great

Last night, I finally hit the eight million play dollar plateau. It was a long time coming - 379 sessions after I hit the seven million play dollar plateau, to be precise. I have to say, eight feels great! I will now allow myself the excitement of returning to tournament poker. I'm going to give myself a pretty long leash - two million play dollars. That is to say, I'll allow myself to lose that much before cutting myself off and returning to cash games. If everything goes well, I won't have to cut myself off at all. I'm going to play the $50,000 buy in tournaments exclusively, since they were my sweet spot before. Yahoo!

During current Hold'em session you were dealt 18 hands and saw flop:
 - 0 out of 2 times while in big blind (0%)
 - 0 out of 1 times while in small blind (0%)
 - 10 out of 15 times in other positions (66%)
 - a total of 10 out of 18 (55%)
 Pots won at showdown - 3 of 4 (75%)
 Pots won without showdown - 0

delta: $144,816
cash game no limit hold'em balance: $5,693,836
balance: $8,050,789

Wednesday, February 5, 2014

Big night

I always like it when I can repurpose the title of a favorite song or movie as the title of a post. "Big Night" was a comedy that came out in 1996, starring Tony Shalhoub and Stanley Tucci as two brothers trying to save their restaurant from financial ruin. Last night was a big night for me, poker-wise; I had my second best cash game no limit hold'em session ever. It put me back into the blue, topping 7,900,000 play dollars for the first time. I'm so close to 8 million I can taste it!

During current Hold'em session you were dealt 79 hands and saw flop:
 - 11 out of 15 times while in big blind (73%)
 - 13 out of 17 times while in small blind (76%)
 - 29 out of 47 times in other positions (61%)
 - a total of 53 out of 79 (67%)
 Pots won at showdown - 7 of 11 (63%)
 Pots won without showdown - 12

delta: $155,069
cash game no limit hold'em balance: $5,549,020
balance: $7,905,973

Tuesday, February 4, 2014

Chips enough, and time

Some successful sessions have very inauspicious beginnings. Such was the case last night. At the start of hand 81, I'd already lost $83,418. In the next 31 hands, I turned my night around. In a nod to Andrew Marvell, I had chips enough, and time, to do it. I used to be wary of long sessions; I used to think that I was asking for nothing but trouble if I played too long. Now I've come to believe that if I run into trouble, I just haven't played long enough :-)

During current Hold'em session you were dealt 111 hands and saw flop:
 - 15 out of 18 times while in big blind (83%)
 - 12 out of 18 times while in small blind (66%)
 - 45 out of 75 times in other positions (60%)
 - a total of 72 out of 111 (64%)
 Pots won at showdown - 12 of 19 (63%)
 Pots won without showdown - 14

delta: $39,952
cash game no limit hold'em balance: $5,393,951
balance: $7,750,904

Monday, February 3, 2014

A deadly turn

The deadliest cards in poker are the ones which give you a very strong hand, but give an opponent an even stronger one. That's a recipe for losing a ton of chips, up to and including all of them. That's what happened to me on hand 115 on Saturday night. I was dealt 8c Ad, and the flop came 3c 4s 8h. I bet $3,500 and got two callers. The turn was the ace of clubs. I bet $7,500 and got one caller. The river was the three of diamonds, and my opponent, who had me covered, bet $22,000. I snap called, and he turned over aces for a full house. As it turned out, I was actually drawing dead on the river. Only the fact that my opponent refrained from going all in saved me from hitting the felt. He slow-played the hand masterfully. Back to the drawing board!

During current Hold'em session you were dealt 121 hands and saw flop:
 - 16 out of 18 times while in big blind (88%)
 - 14 out of 17 times while in small blind (82%)
 - 48 out of 86 times in other positions (55%)
 - a total of 78 out of 121 (64%)
 Pots won at showdown - 10 of 21 (47%)
 Pots won without showdown - 10

delta: $-42,393
cash game no limit hold'em balance: $5,353,999
balance: $7,710,952

Saturday, February 1, 2014

Getting it in semi-good

Last night's session, though a losing one, closed out my third most successful month ever playing cash game no limit hold'em. I made just a squeak under 600,000 play dollars. On the final hand of the session, I was dealt a suited big slick, and flopped a flush draw. I ended up going all in on the flop, but didn't hit my flush. It turns out I got it in semi-good; I had a 44.52% chance of winning the pot, one opponent had a 41.86% chance, and another had a 13.62% chance. It's funny how memory can play tricks on you; until I reviewed the hand, I thought I'd gotten it in really bad, since I thought I'd gone all in preflop.

During current Hold'em session you were dealt 99 hands and saw flop:
 - 13 out of 15 times while in big blind (86%)
 - 6 out of 14 times while in small blind (42%)
 - 38 out of 70 times in other positions (54%)
 - a total of 57 out of 99 (57%)
 Pots won at showdown - 9 of 19 (47%)
 Pots won without showdown - 7

delta: $-50,000
cash game no limit hold'em balance: $5,396,392
balance: $7,753,345