Wednesday, April 30, 2014

A top 1% session

Last night's session made it to the top 1% of my cash game no limit hold'em sessions, clocking in at #7. On hand 78, I was dealt cowboys (a pair of kings) and won a massive pot worth $170,764, $105,238 of which was o.p.m. (other people's money). That was my best cowboy hand ever, and my sixth best cash game no limit hold'em hand ever. I surpassed the 6 million play dollar plateau in cash game no limit hold'em for the first time, and surpassed the 9 million play dollar plateau in overall balance for the fifth time. 10 million, here I come!

During current Hold'em session you were dealt 79 hands and saw flop:
 - 7 out of 10 times while in big blind (70%)
 - 6 out of 11 times while in small blind (54%)
 - 29 out of 58 times in other positions (50%)
 - a total of 42 out of 79 (53%)
 Pots won at showdown - 4 of 8 (50%)
 Pots won without showdown - 8

delta: $128,758
cash game no limit hold'em balance: $6,071,015
balance: $9,128,718

Tuesday, April 29, 2014

A top 30 session

One of the beautiful things about poker is that it allows you to compete against yourself. Not by sitting down at the same poker table with a clone of yourself, but by allowing you to gauge your current performance against your past performance. The better you've been in the past, the harder it is to better that in the future, and therefore the more meaningful it is when you do. Last night, I had a top 30 cash game no limit hold'em session, judging purely by session delta; it clocked in at #29. Since I've played 677 sessions of cash game no limit hold'em, that puts last night's session in the top 5%. Not very surprisingly, I won my biggest pot ($90,326) after being dealt rockets. I'm very close to the 6 million play dollar milestone in cash game no limit hold'em; with any luck, I'll hit it tonight.

During current Hold'em session you were dealt 52 hands and saw flop:
 - 5 out of 6 times while in big blind (83%)
 - 3 out of 6 times while in small blind (50%)
 - 18 out of 40 times in other positions (45%)
 - a total of 26 out of 52 (50%)
 Pots won at showdown - 5 of 8 (62%)
 Pots won without showdown - 7

delta: $82,670
cash game no limit hold'em balance: $5,942,257
balance: $8,999,960

Monday, April 28, 2014

Biggest pot won in a losing cause

On Saturday night, I stayed too long at the fair. After hitting the felt on hand 46 and reupping for the max, I got back into the black on hand 58. I was dealt 3c Ac, flopped a pair of aces, and ended up winning a pot worth $111,162 with them. I should have quit right then, but couldn't pull the trigger. On hand 83, I lost $39,050 with a two pair of kings and sixes, to fall deeply back into the red. This combination of events gave me the dubious distinction of having won my biggest pot ever in a losing cause :-)

During current Hold'em session you were dealt 91 hands and saw flop:
 - 11 out of 11 times while in big blind (100%)
 - 7 out of 13 times while in small blind (53%)
 - 33 out of 67 times in other positions (49%)
 - a total of 51 out of 91 (56%)
 Pots won at showdown - 6 of 16 (37%)
 Pots won without showdown - 5

delta: $-46,515
cash game no limit hold'em balance: $5,859,587
balance: $8,917,290

Saturday, April 26, 2014

My Lord High Everything Else

I never saw a production of Gilbert and Sullivan's "The Mikado", but learned about the humorous title of one of its characters from a colleague at a former company, when he was describing the career arc of a high-ranking executive in that company. According to my colleague, the executive had progressively gained more and more power, until he finally became "Lord High Everything Else". I find this job description fits my cash game no limit hold'em poker career to a nicety. The amount of play money I've won playing cash game no limit hold'em dwarfs the combined amounts of all the other poker flavors I've tried. Cash game no limit hold'em is my bread and butter, my wheelhouse, my sure thing, my Lord High Everything Else. Pretty ironic, when you consider I didn't even dare try it until I'd been playing online poker for 2 1/2 years :-)

During current Hold'em session you were dealt 120 hands and saw flop:
 - 28 out of 38 times while in big blind (73%)
 - 29 out of 41 times while in small blind (70%)
 - 25 out of 41 times in other positions (60%)
 - a total of 82 out of 120 (68%)
 Pots won at showdown - 13 of 26 (50%)
 Pots won without showdown - 35

delta: $3,484
cash game no limit hold'em balance: $5,906,102
balance: $8,963,805

Friday, April 25, 2014

Fourth best flush ever

As I've mentioned before, my favorite type of hand is a flush. Last night, I had my fourth best flush ever, in terms of hand delta ($62,073). In terms of the size of the pot I won, it was actually my second best flush ever ($123,396). As you might suspect, the pot was so big because I was up against an opponent who also had a flush. It's very hard to lay a flush down, and my opponent snap-called when I went all in on the turn. I'm glad I made the decision to return to the cash game; in the twelve sessions I've played since giving up sit and gos, I've made a profit of $208,782.

During current Hold'em session you were dealt 45 hands and saw flop:
 - 4 out of 5 times while in big blind (80%)
 - 4 out of 6 times while in small blind (66%)
 - 14 out of 34 times in other positions (41%)
 - a total of 22 out of 45 (48%)
 Pots won at showdown - 2 of 3 (66%)
 Pots won without showdown - 6

delta: $78,706
cash game no limit hold'em balance: $5,902,618
balance: $8,960,321

Thursday, April 24, 2014

Sixth best comeback in a losing cause

When I look at the bar chart of my stack size over the course of last night's session, what I see is something pretty special. I lost the first hand, and stayed underwater the rest of the night. I hit the felt on hand 35. After 76 hands, I'd lost a sizeable $88,761. Things looked pretty grim. In the next 20 hands, however, I staged a nice comeback. How nice? I just ran the numbers, and discovered it was my sixth best comeback in a losing cause. Here are the top 10:

     97190 (    -86582    -183772) 2013-06-11
     71826 (    -79355    -151181) 2014-01-29
     66623 (    -18077     -84700) 2012-08-01
     63715 (    -22285     -86000) 2013-12-21
     61415 (     -2377     -63792) 2013-06-14
     55340 (    -33421     -88761) 2014-04-23
     48056 (    -10353     -58409) 2013-06-29
     45433 (    -29333     -74766) 2013-11-21
     45200 (    -19874     -65074) 2012-01-26
     43552 (    -42820     -86372) 2013-10-14


During current Hold'em session you were dealt 96 hands and saw flop:
 - 10 out of 13 times while in big blind (76%)
 - 10 out of 14 times while in small blind (71%)
 - 32 out of 69 times in other positions (46%)
 - a total of 52 out of 96 (54%)
 Pots won at showdown - 6 of 10 (60%)
 Pots won without showdown - 6

delta: $-33,421
cash game no limit hold'em balance: $5,823,912
balance: $8,881,615

Wednesday, April 23, 2014

The land of the eights

I've often touted the beneficial effects of keeping your seeing the flop percentage below 50. Of the 119 sessions of cash game no limit hold'em poker in which I've achieved this, I've won 90, for a winning rate of .756303. Last night, for the first time since last July, I managed to keep my seeing the flop percentage below 35. Of the 18 sessions of cash game no limit hold'em poker in which I've achieved this, I've won 16, for a winning rate of .888888..., aka the land of the eights. It definitely pays to fold :-)

During current Hold'em session you were dealt 26 hands and saw flop:
 - 1 out of 3 times while in big blind (33%)
 - 0 out of 4 times while in small blind (0%)
 - 8 out of 19 times in other positions (42%)
 - a total of 9 out of 26 (34%)
 Pots won at showdown - 3 of 3 (100%)
 Pots won without showdown - 0

delta: $12,831
cash game no limit hold'em balance: $5,857,333
balance: $8,915,036

Tuesday, April 22, 2014

Second biggest cowboy laydown

The most memorable hand I played last night was not a hand I won. Nor was it a hand I lost. Rather, it was a hand I laid down, after spending a considerable amount of money on it. I'd been dealt pocket kings, also known as cowboys, and I spent $18,892 on them before letting them hit the trail. That made it the second biggest cowboy laydown of my career; the only bigger one occurred on June 11, 2013, when I spent $27,000 on cowboys before laying them down.

Since two players went to showdown on last night's hand, I was able to find out if I would have won the pot. As it turns out, I would have; the winner tabled a pair of queens. However, his betting pattern made folding the wise choice, and I don't regret it.

During current Hold'em session you were dealt 73 hands and saw flop:
 - 8 out of 9 times while in big blind (88%)
 - 5 out of 10 times while in small blind (50%)
 - 26 out of 54 times in other positions (48%)
 - a total of 39 out of 73 (53%)
 Pots won at showdown - 4 of 9 (44%)
 Pots won without showdown - 10

delta: $1,908
cash game no limit hold'em balance: $5,844,502
balance: $8,902,205

Monday, April 21, 2014

Best cash game rebound ever

Over time, I've changed my mind several times about what constitutes a true poker rebound. I think I've now settled on a definition. A true poker rebound occurs at the session level, not at the individual hand level; there's too much variance at the individual hand level. A true poker rebound only considers two numbers, which are consecutive session deltas. The first one must be negative, and the second one must be positive. Finally, the amount of the rebound is the lesser of the absolute values of the two deltas.

Using this definition, I had my best cash game rebound ever on Friday night. Here are my top ten:

2014-04-18     100363
2012-12-22      79880
2012-02-15      75100
2011-11-24      70500
2011-04-22      66980
2012-06-23      58644
2013-11-15      57050
2013-05-21      52776
2011-06-22      50600
2013-12-04      50000


During current Hold'em session you were dealt 33 hands and saw flop:
 - 2 out of 3 times while in big blind (66%)
 - 3 out of 5 times while in small blind (60%)
 - 14 out of 25 times in other positions (56%)
 - a total of 19 out of 33 (57%)
 Pots won at showdown - 4 of 6 (66%)
 Pots won without showdown - 1

delta: $100,363
cash game no limit hold'em balance: $5,842,594
balance: $8,900,297

Friday, April 18, 2014

Paper lion

Tonight's blog post title is appropriated from the excellent book by George Plimpton, made into an excellent movie starring Alan Alda. Last night, I was a lion on paper, but a lamb in reality. I didn't win a single pot. Here are the lowlights of my woeful session:

- on hand 19, I lost $39,363 to hit the felt for the first time when my pair of kings with a ten kicker got beaten by a pair of kings with an ace kicker

- on hand 22, I lost $17,500 when my three of a kind, fives lost to a nine high straight

- on hand 30, I lost $22,527 to hit the felt for the second time when my jack high straight lost to a queen high straight

-on hand 32, I lost $49,750 to hit the felt for the third and final time when my ace high straight lost to an ace high flush

Why do I claim I was a lion on paper? For the simple reason that I was a heavy favorite in my "percent at river" statistic; that's the percentage of the time I should win with my hand in combination with the board. Here are the "percent at river" numbers:

- hand 19: 83.94%
- hand 22: 95.86%
- hand 30: 71.01%
- hand 32: 83.33%

During current Hold'em session you were dealt 32 hands and saw flop:
 - 3 out of 5 times while in big blind (60%)
 - 1 out of 3 times while in small blind (33%)
 - 10 out of 24 times in other positions (41%)
 - a total of 14 out of 32 (43%)
 Pots won at showdown - 0 of 6 (0%)
 Pots won without showdown - 0

delta: $-150,000
cash game no limit hold'em balance: $5,742,231
balance: $8,799,934

Thursday, April 17, 2014

Going out on top

In the cash game, it's important to know when to leave the table. You have the option to do so at any time, but the trick is in picking the right time. It's always nice to go out on top, but you don't want to leave too early if there's more money to be made. Also, no matter how much you may have won, it's dissatisfying to leave when you feel like you've just begun. A big part of the reason to play is for the sheer enjoyment of it, and it's hard to enjoy something if you don't allow yourself enough time to enjoy it properly.

Last night, I left at the perfect time. I'd had a reasonably long session, and had just brought my stack back up to the high water mark I'd set about a dozen hands before. I didn't have a perfect "quit signal" hand, which for me is any hand with a deuce or a three in it, but it was close enough for government work :-)

During current Hold'em session you were dealt 64 hands and saw flop:
 - 7 out of 9 times while in big blind (77%)
 - 4 out of 8 times while in small blind (50%)
 - 23 out of 47 times in other positions (48%)
 - a total of 34 out of 64 (53%)
 Pots won at showdown - 2 of 6 (33%)
 Pots won without showdown - 5

delta: $25,589
cash game no limit hold'em balance: $5,892,231
balance: $8,949,934

Wednesday, April 16, 2014

Nearing my first AKo play million

When I first started playing online poker, my goal of winning a million play dollars seemed quite audacious. I had no guarantee that I'd be able to do it, just a gut feeling. Five and a half years later, I've achieved goals I never thought to set, and am very close to achieving others. For example, I've now won 1,742,909 play dollars with a single hand type. Granted, that hand type is pocket aces, but still :-)

Last night, on hand 38, I won a pot worth $101,307 with AKo, also known as ace king offsuit. $58,115 of that was o.p.m. (other people's money). That brought my career AKo winnings up to $946,941. Given that AKo is just one of 169 possible starting hold'em hands, that's not too shabby!

During current Hold'em session you were dealt 47 hands and saw flop:
 - 7 out of 7 times while in big blind (100%)
 - 3 out of 6 times while in small blind (50%)
 - 13 out of 34 times in other positions (38%)
 - a total of 23 out of 47 (48%)
 Pots won at showdown - 4 of 9 (44%)
 Pots won without showdown - 3

delta: $77,438
cash game no limit hold'em balance: $5,866,642
balance: $8,924,345

Tuesday, April 15, 2014

Getting it in bad but not awful

Poker players always like to get it in good. However, that's not always possible. The next best thing is to get it in bad but not awful :-) That's what I did last night on hand 43. I was dealt 9d 9c, and the flop came 2c 6d 7h. I got into a raising war with an opponent, and ended up going all in. My opponent, who'd been dealt 6h 2d, called. I was a 28.69% dog, and hit the felt. I didn't feel bad about it, though; I'd made the right play. I reupped for the max, and finally got back into the black on hand 105.

During current Hold'em session you were dealt 106 hands and saw flop:
 - 12 out of 15 times while in big blind (80%)
 - 10 out of 16 times while in small blind (62%)
 - 38 out of 75 times in other positions (50%)
 - a total of 60 out of 106 (56%)
 Pots won at showdown - 5 of 15 (33%)
 Pots won without showdown - 11

delta: $21,282
cash game no limit hold'em balance: $5,789,204
balance: $8,846,907

Monday, April 14, 2014

All in radar

On Saturday night, on the final hand of the session, I got it in good but came up short. I was dealt Ac Qd, and the flop came Qc 3h 2s. An opponent went all in, I called, and another opponent called behind me. I was a 75.30% favorite to win, but the opponent who'd called behind me, who'd been dealt Tc Qs, spiked a ten on the river. He raked in a huge pot worth $206,541.

Since I had two sessions in a row where I'd gone all in at the end, I decided to do some research related to my all ins. The results were both surprising and illuminating. Although I don't have the full hand histories for my no limit hold'em career, since I didn't turn on the feature which auto saves the hand histories until after I'd been playing no limit hold'em for some months, I do have a large percentage of them. The really interesting fact which emerged is that in no limit hold'em, I've only made a profit on the hands where I went all in. On the hands where I didn't go all in, I'm operating at a deficit. Here are the numbers:

$29,839,753  gross amount won on hands where I didn't go all in
$30,616,197  gross amount lost on hands where I didn't go all in
$  -776,444  net amount lost on hands where I didn't all in

$10,922,997  gross amount won on hands where I went all in
$ 5,184,969  gross amount lost on hands where I went all in
$ 5,738,028  net amount won on hands where I went all in

At first blush, one might think the answer is to spend less money on hands I'm not willing to go all in on, and/or go all in more often. Of course, there are at least two things glaringly wrong with that idea:

1. it confuses correlation and causation
2. poker doesn't work that way

What can be deduced from these numbers is that I have good all in radar; when I decide to go all in, I'm right significantly more often than not.

During current Hold'em session you were dealt 59 hands and saw flop:
 - 5 out of 6 times while in big blind (83%)
 - 7 out of 8 times while in small blind (87%)
 - 27 out of 45 times in other positions (60%)
 - a total of 39 out of 59 (66%)
 Pots won at showdown - 4 of 9 (44%)
 Pots won without showdown - 6

delta: $-50,000
cash game no limit hold'em balance: $5,767,922
balance: $8,825,625

Saturday, April 12, 2014

One Hand to rule them all

Last night, I had the warmest welcome back to cash game poker imaginable. I had the biggest hand delta of my poker career on the penultimate hand of the session - $145,680. Since I'd been dealt pocket aces, you could say I "said it with bullets" :-) It's certainly a momentous occasion when you've played over 50,000 hands and then play a hand which tops them all.

During current Hold'em session you were dealt 27 hands and saw flop:
 - 1 out of 2 times while in big blind (50%)
 - 2 out of 4 times while in small blind (50%)
 - 11 out of 21 times in other positions (52%)
 - a total of 14 out of 27 (51%)
 Pots won at showdown - 1 of 4 (25%)
 Pots won without showdown - 4

delta: $144,895
cash game no limit hold'em balance: $5,817,922
balance: $8,875,625

Friday, April 11, 2014

My good old bike

It's exciting to drive a souped-up, flashy sports car with too much horsepower. Of course, it can also be very dangerous. There's a lot to be said for getting around on your beat-up old bicycle. That's what cash game poker feels like to me, after two months in the tournament biz. My trusty old bike always gets me where I want to go, and I never forget how to ride it :-)

During current Hold'em session you were dealt 106 hands and saw flop:
 - 10 out of 15 times while in big blind (66%)
 - 8 out of 16 times while in small blind (50%)
 - 24 out of 75 times in other positions (32%)
 - a total of 42 out of 106 (39%)
 Pots won at showdown - 7 of 14 (50%)
 Pots won without showdown - 4

delta: $-20,809
cash game no limit hold'em balance: $5,673,027
balance: $8,730,730

Thursday, April 10, 2014

The naked truth

Tonight, I won't be entering a tournament. I won't be entering one tomorrow night, either. In fact, I will never again enter a tournament with the intention of making a long term profit. I'll only enter them for fun and entertainment. What happened to cause this violent shift in my attitude towards tournaments? It's simple. I ran the numbers, and numbers don't lie. Here's the naked truth:

- I've played 605 sit and gos in my poker career
- I've placed first 108 times, and second 118 times
- what I call the "old $50,000" tournament structure was this: buy in: $50,000,  entry fee: $800, first place prize: $195,000, second place prize: $105,000
- what I call the "new $50,000" tournament structure is this: buy in: $45,000, entry fee: $5,000, first place prize: $175,500, second place prize: $94,500
- if I had played all my tournaments under the "old $50,000" tournament structure, I would have made a profit of $2,716,000
- if I had played all my tournaments under the "new $50,000" tournament structure, I would have had a loss of $145,000

The conclusion is simple. There's no business model for me to play under the new structure. I simply can't make any money doing so; the best I can do is break even. That just won't cut it. If PokerStars ever reverts to their original structure, I'll be back to tournaments in a big way. Something tells me, though, that that's quite unlikely. It's back to cash games for me.

buy_in entry_fee num_players num_hands place winnings

 45000      5000           6        28     5        0
 45000      5000           6         9     5        0
 45000      5000           6        49     1   175500
 45000      5000           6         1     6        0
 45000      5000           6        10     3        0
 45000      5000           6        38     2    94500


delta: $-30,000
tournament balance: $1,868,840
balance: $8,751,539

Wednesday, April 9, 2014

The old one two

I've come up with a good rule of thumb for when to quit a tournament session; I'm calling it the old one two. Briefly stated, you should quit as soon as you've had one first place finish and one second place finish. If you've played six tournaments and still haven't made the money, you should quit at that point also. Last night, I hit the old one two in five tournaments, and lit out for the territories.

buy_in entry_fee num_players num_hands place winnings

 45000      5000           6        41     3        0
 45000      5000           6        14     4        0
 45000      5000           6         7     6        0
 45000      5000           6        35     2    94500
 45000      5000           6        41     1   175500


delta: $20,000
tournament balance: $1,898,840
balance: $8,781,539

Tuesday, April 8, 2014

Fifth worst five spot

By any measure, I'm in a bad slump right now. Last night, I went 0 for 6 again, losing another 300,000 play dollars; this brought my total loss for the last five sessions up to a whopping 760,000, making it my fifth worst five spot ever. Here are my top 10 worst 5 session stretches:

  -1201800 2012-07-17 2012-07-21 (1)
   -999245 2012-07-21 2012-07-25 (3)
   -948608 2012-07-18 2012-07-22 (2)
   -850507 2012-07-19 2012-07-23 (2)
   -760000 2014-04-03 2014-04-07 (1)
   -723000 2012-11-06 2012-11-10 (1)
   -701000 2012-09-17 2012-09-21 (1)
   -650200 2012-09-18 2012-09-22 (1)
   -646603 2012-07-20 2012-07-24 (3)
   -642000 2012-11-05 2012-11-09 (1)


There are two pieces of good news:

1. I don't need to be worried
2. I'm not worried

It doesn't do you any good not to need to be worried if you end up being worried anyway :-)

buy_in entry_fee num_players num_hands place winnings

 45000      5000           6        13     4        0
 45000      5000           6        12     4        0
 45000      5000           6        34     3        0
 45000      5000           6         5     5        0
 45000      5000           6         4     4        0
 45000      5000           6        21     3        0


delta: $-300,000
tournament balance: $1,878,840
balance: $8,761,539

Monday, April 7, 2014

Sixless streak

I love streaks, and always want to be in the middle of one. One streak ended last night (my streak of tournaments played without making the money) but another streak continued - my current sixless streak. By that, I mean the number of tournaments I've played in a row without placing last (sixth). Right now, my current sixless streak is at 15 and counting. I have a long way to go to match my best sixless streak, however, which was 34 straight tournaments from 2-18-2014 to 3-06-2014.

buy_in entry_fee num_players num_hands place winnings

 45000      5000           6        32     1   175500
 45000      5000           6        20     4        0
 45000      5000           6        16     5        0
 45000      5000           6        34     2    94500


 delta: $70,000
tournament balance: $2,178,840
balance: $9,061,539

Sunday, April 6, 2014

A new personal worst

Strange as it may seem, I get almost as excited about personal worsts as I do about personal bests. Why? For the simple reason that I find outliers fascinating, and both personal bests and personal worsts are a type of outlier. They don't happen every day. In fact, they almost don't happen any day. Almost :-)

Last night, I set a new personal worst. Adding my four failures to make the money last night to the six from the night before, I've now played ten tournaments in a row where I've failed to make the money. That's half a million play dollars lost in a mere two sessions. My previous personal worst in this category was nine tournaments in a row, which I set on three separate occasions.

Tonight, even though it's Sunday, when I traditionally take a night off from playing poker, I'm going to play. I can't wait to see how bad this slump will get until I break out of it. I'm actually kind of hoping it gets further extended :-)

buy_in entry_fee num_players num_hands place winnings

 45000      5000           6        13     5        0
 45000      5000           6        19     4        0
 45000      5000           6        37     3        0
 45000      5000           6         9     5        0


delta: $-200,000
tournament balance: $2,108,840
balance: $8,991,539

Saturday, April 5, 2014

The land of the fours

Judging solely based on the amount of play money I lost, last night I had my sixth worth session ever. That's going some, considering I've played over 1200 sessions. I entered six tournaments, and didn't make the money in any of them. Of the 30 sessions where I've entered six tournaments, this is the first time I've had that result. Since I ended up in fourth place four of the six times, I'm calling the doldrums I was in the land of the fours :-)

buy_in entry_fee num_players num_hands place winnings

 45000      5000           6        15     4        0
 45000      5000           6        23     4        0
 45000      5000           6         5     5        0
 45000      5000           6        22     3        0
 45000      5000           6        14     4        0
 45000      5000           6        13     4        0


delta: $-300,000
tournament balance: $2,308,840
balance: $9,191,539

Friday, April 4, 2014

Regulated

Stephen King is a master at imbuing seemingly innocent words with deeply sinister undertones. An excellent example of this is the verb "regulate", in his novel "The Regulators":

... And how does it know that Seth hasn't seen this final card, as he has seen some of the others Tak has held, even in spite of its best efforts to hide them?
   Because he has called his beloved auntie back to the house to help him get away.
   And when his beloved auntie finally stops hesitating out there on the stoop and comes in, she'll be ... well ...
   Regulated.
   Completely regulated.

Last night, in the final tournament I entered, I regulated every other player at the table. That is, I took all of them out, one by one. That's a highly unusual feat. In over 500 tournaments, I've only accomplished it five times.

buy_in entry_fee num_players num_hands place winnings

 45000      5000           6         8     6        0
 45000      5000           6        19     2    94500
 45000      5000           6        15     4        0
 45000      5000           6        13     3        0
 45000      5000           6         7     6        0
 45000      5000           6        30     1   175500


delta: $-30,000
tournament balance: $2,608,840
balance: $9,491,539

Thursday, April 3, 2014

The new marathon heads up standard

As I've had occasion to mention, sit and gos on PokerStars underwent a lot of changes during my hiatus from playing them, which included all of 2013. One of the things I haven't mentioned is how much harder it is to have a heads up marathon. Let me rephrase that - the length of what can be considered a heads up marathon has been dramatically shortened. Back in 2012, the lengthiest heads up battle I waged was an astronomical 74 hands. That simply can't happen these days, for a couple of reasons. A major one is that players these days only start with $500 in chips, instead of $1,000. Another contributing factor is that these days, antes are standard; not only that, they escalate along with the blinds.

Last night, in my fifth and final tournament, I had a marathon heads up battle when gauged in light of the current PokerStars realities - 34 hands. That's the lengthiest for me yet in the modern era.

buy_in entry_fee num_players num_hands place winnings

 45000      5000           6        25     1   175500
 45000      5000           6        14     4        0
 45000      5000           6        14     4        0
 45000      5000           6        38     3        0
 45000      5000           6        51     1   175500


delta: $101,000
tournament balance: $2,638,840
balance: $9,521,539

Wednesday, April 2, 2014

Bubble trouble

There are many different ways of getting to the bubble. My least favorite way is simply by outlasting three other players; in those cases, I'm likely to be severely short-stacked when I get there. That's what happened in the final tournament I played last night. When I got to the bubble, I had a mere $145 in chips; one of my opponents had $1,829, and the other had $1,026. I know from experience that if I'm playing two experienced players, I have virtually no chance whatsoever of making the money in that situation. Experienced players never bet heavily against each other in such a scenario; they just bide their time until the short stack gets eaten up. It's funny how it's possible to resent players playing the way you would yourself were you in their shoes :-)

buy_in entry_fee num_players num_hands place winnings

 45000      5000           6        15     2    94500
 45000      5000           6        20     2    94500
 45000      5000           6         6     5        0
 45000      5000           6        11     6        0
 45000      5000           6        23     4        0
 45000      5000           6        12     3        0


delta: $-111,000
tournament balance: $2,537,840
balance: $9,420,539

Tuesday, April 1, 2014

Minimum viable tournament session

It's a lot of fun making over half a million play dollars in a single session, but that only happens once in a chartreuse moon. I'm much more likely to have a minimum viable tournament session. That's what happened last night. A minimum viable tournament session is a session where you made the minimum possible profit for the number of tournaments you entered. Last night, I entered five tournaments. The minimum viable five tournament session is when you come in first in one of the sessions, and second in another. At the $45,000 buy tables, with their current entry fee of $5,000, such a session will net you $20,000. It's not half a million, but it's better than a poke in the eye with a sharp stick, as my mother's father used to say :-)

buy_in entry_fee num_players num_hands place winnings

 45000      5000           6        10     6        0
 45000      5000           6        15     4        0
 45000      5000           6        17     4        0
 45000      5000           6        43     2    94500
 45000      5000           6        37     1   175500


delta: $20,000
tournament balance: $2,648,840
balance: $9,531,539