Friday, October 31, 2014

One Hand to rule them all

Looking at the bar chart of my stack size over the course of last night's session, the penultimate hand sticks out like a sore thumb. That's what I like to see! It was such an outlier that it inspired me to come up with a formula for calculating what I'm calling the outlier factor. Simply put, it's the ratio of the maximum positive delta to the average of the remaining positive deltas. Last night's outlier factor came out to a respectable 11.66. I ran the numbers for sessions of 40 hands or more, and last night's value came in 63th out of 546 sessions. Not too shabby.

During current Hold'em session you were dealt 41 hands and saw flop:
 - 4 out of 5 times while in big blind (80%)
 - 1 out of 6 times while in small blind (16%)
 - 17 out of 30 times in other positions (56%)
 - a total of 22 out of 41 (53%)
 Pots won at showdown - 6 of 7 (85%)
 Pots won without showdown - 0

delta: $59,826
cash game no limit hold'em balance: $6,592,470
balance: $9,497,569

Thursday, October 30, 2014

Career worst 14 bagger

My slump has now reached epic proportions. I've lost more money in the last 14 sessions than in any other 14 session stretch of my cash game no limit hold'em career. Here are the 10 top:

$-424,470 2014-10-10 2014-10-29 (6)
$-385,403 2013-05-16 2013-05-29 (5)
$-377,892 2011-06-11 2011-08-15 (6)
$-377,542 2011-06-10 2011-08-14 (6)
$-354,726 2013-06-11 2013-06-29 (6)
$-351,335 2013-05-19 2013-06-01 (5)
$-345,350 2013-11-14 2013-12-01 (6)
$-334,604 2013-05-18 2013-05-31 (5)
$-330,108 2013-11-23 2013-12-11 (7)
$-328,719 2013-05-17 2013-05-30 (6)


The only redeeming feature about last night's session is that I achieved the longest felt distance of my career - 247 hands on a single buy in. There's not much to say about my slump, other than that I desperately need to start playing better :-)

During current Hold'em session you were dealt 247 hands and saw flop:
 - 29 out of 45 times while in big blind (64%)
 - 33 out of 49 times while in small blind (67%)
 - 74 out of 153 times in other positions (48%)
 - a total of 136 out of 247 (55%)
 Pots won at showdown - 23 of 39 (58%)
 Pots won without showdown - 23

delta: $-50,000
cash game no limit hold'em balance: $6,532,644
balance: $9,437,743

Wednesday, October 29, 2014

A counterfeit house

Last night, on the final hand of the session, I lost the most money I've ever lost with a full house - $52,697. My problem was that I got there on the turn, and was so convinced I had a lock on the hand that I didn't pay attention to the river card. It paired the board, counterfeiting my full house, but I didn't notice. The board was showing two pairs, a very dangerous situation which I completely missed. I went all in, got snap called, and that was all she wrote. It's a cardinal sin to make a raise of any kind when your hand has been counterfeited. One thing I realized about my thought process afterwards is that somehow I inverted the places of the three of the kind and the pair; I'd made a full house of deuces full of queens, but somehow thought I'd made queens full of deuces. Inexcusable, but there you have it. The slump continues. At least I only lost one buy in last night instead of two :-)

During current Hold'em session you were dealt 53 hands and saw flop:
 - 7 out of 9 times while in big blind (77%)
 - 6 out of 8 times while in small blind (75%)
 - 22 out of 36 times in other positions (61%)
 - a total of 35 out of 53 (66%)
 Pots won at showdown - 4 of 11 (36%)
 Pots won without showdown - 7

delta: $-50,000
cash game no limit hold'em balance: $6,582,644
balance: $9,487,743

Tuesday, October 28, 2014

Bottom two

As you may know, I've had a career-long love/hate relationship with the hand which I call the stealth two pair. A stealth two is when you don't have a pocket pair, the flop has no pairs, and both your hole cards match one of the cards in the flop. You can make a lot of money with stealth twos, and you can also lose a lot with them. Last night, my final hand of the session was a stealth two, and I lost a lot with them - $38,016 to be precise. In this case, it was a bottom two stealth two. I was up against an opponent who'd flopped a top and bottom stealth two. I made a full house on the river, and my opponent made a better full house. I went all in, and hit the felt.

I was curious to see how I've fared with bottom two in my career, so I wrote a utility to find out. I turns out that I've flopped bottom two 163 times in 52,462 hands, and have a slight profit, $316,193, for my trouble.

During current Hold'em session you were dealt 142 hands and saw flop:
 - 16 out of 20 times while in big blind (80%)
 - 12 out of 21 times while in small blind (57%)
 - 56 out of 101 times in other positions (55%)
 - a total of 84 out of 142 (59%)
 Pots won at showdown - 7 of 27 (25%)
 Pots won without showdown - 9

delta: $-100,000
cash game no limit hold'em balance: $6,632,644
balance: $9,537,743

Monday, October 27, 2014

A perfect three and out

In football, a three and out is a bad thing. In poker, it can be either good or bad. Last night, I had a perfect three and out of the good variety. It occurred at the second table I joined; I had to join a second because my first quit on me. Here's what went down:

- on the first hand at the new table, I was dealt a big slick; I ended up winning a pot worth $114,016 with a pair of aces
- on the second hand, I was dealt a pair of tens; I ended up winning a pot worth $40,270 with them
- on the third hand, I was dealt a ten jack offsuit; I ended up winning a pot worth $28,650 with a jack high straight
- on the fourth hand, I was dealt a deuce queen offsuit, folded before the flop, and called it a night; when possible, I like to end a session when dealt a hand containing a deuce or a trey, and the poker gods obliged me :-)

During current Hold'em session you were dealt 66 hands and saw flop:
 - 9 out of 11 times while in big blind (81%)
 - 7 out of 11 times while in small blind (63%)
 - 22 out of 44 times in other positions (50%)
 - a total of 38 out of 66 (57%)
 Pots won at showdown - 6 of 13 (46%)
 Pots won without showdown - 7

delta: $75,688
cash game no limit hold'em balance: $6,732,644
balance: $9,637,743

Saturday, October 25, 2014

A Widow for One Year

Though I'm a big fan of John Irving, somehow I've never gotten around to reading his 1998 novel "A Widow for One Year". That won't stop me from appropriating its title for the title of this post, however. You don't have to read a book in order to recognize the power of its title. The power of this one is industrial strength.

What do I mean by a widow for one year? Simply stated, the feeling of being out of the blue for an extended period of time. The longest continuous stretch my cash game no limit hold'em balance has ever been out of the blue is 133 sessions, from May 19th, 2013 through October 10th, 2013. My current stretch, which started on August 29th, just hit 31 sessions.

During current Hold'em session you were dealt 55 hands and saw flop:
 - 3 out of 7 times while in big blind (42%)
 - 7 out of 8 times while in small blind (87%)
 - 22 out of 40 times in other positions (55%)
 - a total of 32 out of 55 (58%)
 Pots won at showdown - 5 of 9 (55%)
 Pots won without showdown - 3

delta: $8,636
cash game no limit hold'em balance: $6,656,956
balance: $9,562,055

Friday, October 24, 2014

House money

I've always said that my favorite type of hand is a flush. Esthetically, that's still true. However, in examining my voluminous poker data, a different type of hand emerges head and shoulders above the rest. Not to keep you in suspense, it's a full house. Check out these career numbers:

  $-7,694,163   high card
  $-7,114,726   one pair
   $2,712,047   two pair
   $4,774,047   three of a kind
   $4,754,725   straight
   $4,593,552   flush
   $5,374,438   full house
     $510,979   four of a kind
      $82,700   straight flush
      $55,688   royal flush


Last night, I had two full houses; here are the numbers by hand type for the session:

     $-14,932   high card
     $-14,120   one pair
     $-26,912   two pair
      $26,876   three of a kind
      $18,907   straight
      $57,568   full house


Given this evidence, I have to say that my practical favorite hand is a full house.

During current Hold'em session you were dealt 80 hands and saw flop:
 - 9 out of 11 times while in big blind (81%)
 - 4 out of 11 times while in small blind (36%)
 - 39 out of 58 times in other positions (67%)
 - a total of 52 out of 80 (65%)
 Pots won at showdown - 10 of 24 (41%)
 Pots won without showdown - 6

delta: $43,637
cash game no limit hold'em balance: $6,648,320
balance: $9,553,419

Thursday, October 23, 2014

An eight which will live in infamy

Last night, I set a new personal worst. In my last eight sessions, I've lost more money than in any other 8 session stretch of my cash game no limit hold'em career. Call it an eight which will live in infamy :-) Here are my top 10 worst 8 session stretches:

$-352,431 2014-10-10 2014-10-22 (3)
$-340,282 2013-06-11 2013-06-18 (3)
$-330,862 2011-06-16 2011-06-28 (2)
$-319,600 2011-06-11 2011-06-23 (3)
$-295,039 2013-05-22 2013-05-29 (2)
$-290,862 2011-06-20 2011-08-13 (2)
$-281,799 2013-06-12 2013-06-19 (3)
$-278,562 2011-06-13 2011-06-24 (3)
$-273,540 2014-08-29 2014-09-08 (2)
$-268,409 2013-05-19 2013-05-26 (2)


To compound my misery, I ended the night with my 8th costliest hand, and costliest cowboys. Here are my top ten costliest hands:

$-102,200 Ah Jd 2012-06-02 hand 121
 $-97,932 Qd Ad 2013-06-13 hand  53
 $-83,453 Ac Qd 2014-04-12 hand  59
 $-76,121 9c Td 2014-05-05 hand  34
 $-75,617 2c 2h 2014-10-07 hand 114
 $-74,096 Kc 9c 2014-01-23 hand  58
 $-71,323 Kc Td 2013-12-23 hand 136
 $-67,422 Kh Kc 2014-10-22 hand  60
 $-65,982 Ac Ks 2013-11-26 hand   8
 $-65,789 Kh Qh 2012-04-17 hand  21


It's pretty clear I need to retool my game.

During current Hold'em session you were dealt 60 hands and saw flop:
 - 6 out of 7 times while in big blind (85%)
 - 4 out of 7 times while in small blind (57%)
 - 26 out of 46 times in other positions (56%)
 - a total of 36 out of 60 (60%)
 Pots won at showdown - 3 of 8 (37%)
 Pots won without showdown - 4

delta: $-100,000
cash game no limit hold'em balance: $6,604,683
balance: $9,509,782

Wednesday, October 22, 2014

Top 10 felt distance

Last night, I hit the felt twice, losing $100,000. Funnily enough, it didn't take too long for me to come up with a positive takeaway from the session. After reupping, I made my second stack last a full 153 hands. Defining felt distance as the number of hands played with a single buy in before hitting the felt, last night's second felt distance made my top 10 all time list, clocking in at number 8:

    211 2013-06-12
    192 2011-12-21
    175 2012-08-02
    174 2013-05-22
    165 2012-11-18
    159 2013-12-06
    158 2011-12-30
    153 2014-10-21
    140 2012-01-24
    139 2014-06-09


Coincidentally, I hit the felt for the second time on a hand number which divided the sum of the buy ins evenly; as a result, I lost an average of exactly one big blind per hand.

During current Hold'em session you were dealt 200 hands and saw flop:
 - 43 out of 50 times while in big blind (86%)
 - 38 out of 50 times while in small blind (76%)
 - 52 out of 100 times in other positions (52%)
 - a total of 133 out of 200 (66%)
 Pots won at showdown - 19 of 33 (57%)
 Pots won without showdown - 35

delta: $-100,000
cash game no limit hold'em balance: $6,704,683
balance: $9,609,782

Tuesday, October 21, 2014

40th all above water session

Last night, for the first time in over four months, I had an all above water session. It was the 40th such session of my cash game no limit hold'em career. This type of session is quite rare, and is also more enjoyable than your run of the mill session. Obviously, you must win the first hand, which I refer to as being "shot from guns". That's just the first step, however; you must then play well enough to keep your stack in the black for the rest of the session. Having all above water sessions is not a goal that I set myself, it's just a nice treat that happens from time to time :-)

During current Hold'em session you were dealt 53 hands and saw flop:
 - 7 out of 8 times while in big blind (87%)
 - 6 out of 8 times while in small blind (75%)
 - 18 out of 37 times in other positions (48%)
 - a total of 31 out of 53 (58%)
 Pots won at showdown - 5 of 9 (55%)
 Pots won without showdown - 5

delta: $63,436
cash game no limit hold'em balance: $6,804,683
balance: $9,709,782

Monday, October 20, 2014

One Hand to rule them all

On Friday night, one hand stood head and shoulders above the rest. I won a pot worth $46,638 with it, $25,694 of which was o.p.m. (other people's money). In came early on, on hand 4. I won more money on that one hand than I did on all my other winning hands combined. I probably should have quit right afterwards, but wanted to get my entertainment's worth out of the session. One interesting feature about hand 4 was that I won it without a showdown; I bet $5,372 on the flop, an opponent raised to $18,694, I reraised all in to $50,867, and the raiser folded. For the record, I'd been dealt pocket kings and flopped a set. Out of curiosity, I just ran the numbers to see where that hand ranks in my all time list of winning no showdown hands; it clocked in at number 17.

During current Hold'em session you were dealt 51 hands and saw flop:
 - 4 out of 11 times while in big blind (36%)
 - 8 out of 10 times while in small blind (80%)
 - 12 out of 30 times in other positions (40%)
 - a total of 24 out of 51 (47%)
 Pots won at showdown - 2 of 3 (66%)
 Pots won without showdown - 8

delta: $6,798
cash game no limit hold'em balance: $6,741,247
balance: $9,646,346

Friday, October 17, 2014

11th worst four bagger

I just spent a lot of time trying to put lipstick on a pig. While examining Wednesday night's session, I tried and tried again to find some statistical bright spot, but the data just wasn't there. I could have saved myself a lot of effort if I'd just started out with a different goal - namely, to measure how poor my results have been lately. The last four sessions comprise the 11th worst cash game no limit hold'em four bagger of my career; here are the top 12:

$-419,220 2013-06-11 2013-06-14 (0)
$-372,519 2013-06-10 2013-06-13 (1)
$-290,268 2014-08-30 2014-09-03 (0)
$-271,871 2014-08-29 2014-09-02 (0)
$-266,691 2013-06-12 2013-06-15 (1)
$-256,150 2011-12-30 2012-01-04 (0)
$-243,006 2014-08-31 2014-09-04 (1)
$-240,000 2012-01-18 2012-01-23 (0)
$-226,940 2014-05-12 2014-05-15 (1)
$-225,669 2014-06-06 2014-06-10 (0)
$-222,665 2014-10-10 2014-10-15 (1)
$-214,500 2011-06-14 2011-06-21 (1)


2014 is over-represented here; that's a good indication that this has been a substandard poker year for me. I'm not worried, though; I've weathered worse slumps than this.

During current Hold'em session you were dealt 125 hands and saw flop:
 - 18 out of 20 times while in big blind (90%)
 - 10 out of 19 times while in small blind (52%)
 - 48 out of 86 times in other positions (55%)
 - a total of 76 out of 125 (60%)
 Pots won at showdown - 7 of 16 (43%)
 Pots won without showdown - 6

delta: $-75,422
cash game no limit hold'em balance: $6,734,449
balance: $9,639,548

Wednesday, October 15, 2014

It was the best of sessions, it was the worst of sessions

If you're a Charles Dickens fan, as I am, you'll surely recognize that the title of this post is a snowclone of the opening of "A Tale of Two Cities". Last night, I hit the felt twice, losing $100,000 in the process. That ties for my ninth worst cash game no limit hold'em session ever, covering the worst of sessions part of the title admirably. What about the best of sessions part? If two hands where I was the favorite had gone my way, I would have ended the night $162,032 richer, which would have been my fourth best cash game no limit hold'em session ever. So I can't feel bad about the session at all :-)

During current Hold'em session you were dealt 47 hands and saw flop:
 - 6 out of 6 times while in big blind (100%)
 - 3 out of 5 times while in small blind (60%)
 - 19 out of 36 times in other positions (52%)
 - a total of 28 out of 47 (59%)
 Pots won at showdown - 2 of 8 (25%)
 Pots won without showdown - 2

delta: $-100,000
cash game no limit hold'em balance: $6,809,871
balance: $9,714,970

Tuesday, October 14, 2014

Folding machine

I've noted this paradox before - the way to get rich in poker is to fold nearly every hand before you get to showdown. You basically need to become a folding machine :-) Looking at the numbers from last night's session, I thought I was folding at a high percentage, but it turned out not to be as high as I thought. I folded 115 times in 147 hands, for a decent 78.32 folding percentage, but it was a far cry from my personal best folding percentage of 94.74 (18 of 19 hands), set on March 15th, 2012. In fact, last night's 78.32 was only my 311th highest folding percentage, in 685 sessions of cash game no limit hold'em.

During current Hold'em session you were dealt 147 hands and saw flop:
 - 15 out of 25 times while in big blind (60%)
 - 14 out of 25 times while in small blind (56%)
 - 41 out of 97 times in other positions (42%)
 - a total of 70 out of 147 (47%)
 Pots won at showdown - 10 of 15 (66%)
 Pots won without showdown - 17

delta: $2,757
cash game no limit hold'em balance: $6,909,871
balance: $9,814,970

Monday, October 13, 2014

All flavors bankroll distance

The key feature of the total chip distance poker statistic I came up with recently is that it unites wins and losses, instead of setting them against each other. The point is not that you won or lost, but that the size of your stack changed; every change contributes to the total. Total chip distance only makes sense for cash games; in tournaments, changes in stack size have little bearing on the outcome, and don't reflect actual play dollar amounts. After some thought, I came up with a way to combine cash game numbers with tournament numbers; I'm calling this new statistic the all flavors bankroll distance. It's not a chip distance; it's the total distance your bankroll has traveled, taking all flavors of poker into account. The only thing that matters in tournaments is how much money you won or lost as a result of playing them; therefore, the correct contribution of each tournament to the all flavors bankroll distance is the absolute value of the tournament delta. Here is my all flavors bankroll distance as of the end of Friday night's session:

 $94,534,675   cash game total chip distance
 $46,685,760   sum of the absolute values of the tournament deltas
============
$141,220,435   all flavors bankroll distance

On the final hand of the night, I had pocket tens and was an 86.36% favorite to win after the turn; however, my opponent had a big slick and paired his king on the river. The $17,218 I lost on the hand, causing me to hit the felt, was my biggest loss of the night.

During current Hold'em session you were dealt 75 hands and saw flop:
 - 7 out of 9 times while in big blind (77%)
 - 6 out of 10 times while in small blind (60%)
 - 39 out of 56 times in other positions (69%)
 - a total of 52 out of 75 (69%)
 Pots won at showdown - 3 of 11 (27%)
 Pots won without showdown - 5

delta: $-50,000
cash game no limit hold'em balance: $6,907,114
balance: $9,812,213

Friday, October 10, 2014

Ending with a big bang

A while ago, I came up with a criterion for determining whether a session ended with a bang - it's when the final positive hand delta of the night comes from one of the high chaparral hands. Looking at the bar chart of my stack size over the course of last night's session, I was inspired to come up with a criterion for determining whether a session ended with a big bang - it's when the final positive hand delta of the night is also the largest positive hand delta. That was the case last night. I got curious, so I ran some numbers on sessions, winning sessions, ending with a bang winning sessions, and ending with a big bang winning sessions. The results are gratifying, and also show some nice symmetry. In each case when moving from a less restrictive set to its nearest more restrictive set, the more restrictive set is over half the size of the less restrictive:

683  cash game no limit hold'em sessions
463  winning cash game no limit hold'em sessions
298  ending with a bang winning cash game no limit hold'em sessions
197  ending with a big bang winning cash game no limit hold'em sessions

Taking the ratio of the most restrictive to the least restrictive, nearly 29% of all the cash game no limit hold'em sessions I play are winning ones ending with a big bang.

During current Hold'em session you were dealt 52 hands and saw flop:
 - 6 out of 7 times while in big blind (85%)
 - 6 out of 8 times while in small blind (75%)
 - 20 out of 37 times in other positions (54%)
 - a total of 32 out of 52 (61%)
 Pots won at showdown - 5 of 8 (62%)
 Pots won without showdown - 6

delta: $55,324
cash game no limit hold'em balance: $6,957,114
balance: $9,862,213

Thursday, October 9, 2014

Seventh best straight

Last night, on the final hand of the session, I had my seventh best straight ever. Here are the top 10:

    $115,642 2014-07-04 hand  31
    $102,548 2014-05-10 hand 122
     $81,300 2012-12-22 hand  23
     $78,550 2012-03-21 hand  91
     $73,985 2014-06-25 hand  39
     $72,500 2012-05-09 hand   7
     $65,575 2014-10-08 hand  54
     $63,451 2013-05-08 hand   2
     $60,581 2014-05-19 hand  54
     $57,250 2014-06-17 hand   1


The thing about straights, as I've said before, is that there are too many hands that can beat them. I felt like I had the stone cold nuts on the turn, but actually I was only a 77.27% favorite. That was due to the fact that my opponent had flopped a set. Of the 44 possible river cards, 9 of them gave him a full house and one of them gave him a four of a kind. I knew for sure I had the stone cold nuts on the river, since no flushes, full houses, or four of a kinds were possible at that point. Accordingly, I went all in, and was lucky enough to get a call.

During current Hold'em session you were dealt 54 hands and saw flop:
 - 5 out of 6 times while in big blind (83%)
 - 5 out of 8 times while in small blind (62%)
 - 19 out of 40 times in other positions (47%)
 - a total of 29 out of 54 (53%)
 Pots won at showdown - 3 of 12 (25%)
 Pots won without showdown - 3

delta: $47,228
cash game no limit hold'em balance: $6,901,790
balance: $9,806,889

Wednesday, October 8, 2014

Double jeopardy

Last night, my session ended abruptly. I'd hit the felt once, but my luck seemed to have turned. On the final hand I played, I stood to make a killing. If I'd won that final pot, I would have made a profit on the night of over $100,000. However, it wasn't meant to be, and in a particularly cruel way. I was up against two other players, and was an 85.71% favorite after the turn. There were two pots, a main pot of $146,648 and a side pot of $54,302. One of my opponents had no chance at the main pot, and only a very slim chance at the side pot. The river card was a killer. It helped both my opponents, giving one of them a straight to win the main pot and the other one a set of aces to win the side pot. As you might have guessed, the river card was an ace. For the record, I'd flopped a set of deuces.

During current Hold'em session you were dealt 114 hands and saw flop:
 - 17 out of 18 times while in big blind (94%)
 - 14 out of 18 times while in small blind (77%)
 - 37 out of 78 times in other positions (47%)
 - a total of 68 out of 114 (59%)
 Pots won at showdown - 6 of 17 (35%)
 Pots won without showdown - 12

delta: $-98,690
cash game no limit hold'em balance: $6,854,562
balance: $9,759,661

Tuesday, October 7, 2014

Working my way back to blue

As I've mentioned before, I'm old enough to remember some really classic songs. One of them is "Working My Way Back to You", by the Four Seasons. Here's how it starts:

I'm workin' my way back to you babe
With a burnin' love inside
Yeah I'm workin' my way back to you babe
And the happiness that died


Right now, I'm working my way back to blue, with a burnin' love for poker inside :-)

During current Hold'em session you were dealt 64 hands and saw flop:
 - 4 out of 8 times while in big blind (50%)
 - 4 out of 9 times while in small blind (44%)
 - 24 out of 47 times in other positions (51%)
 - a total of 32 out of 64 (50%)
 Pots won at showdown - 5 of 5 (100%)
 Pots won without showdown - 3

delta: $41,973
cash game no limit hold'em balance: $6,953,252
balance: $9,858,351

Monday, October 6, 2014

Heads up nightcap

On Thursday night, I got to play 37 hands of heads up poker at the end of the session. My opponent decided to quit when he couldn't make a dent in my stack. I was up a small amount during that stretch - $3,664. Though I really enjoy playing heads up poker, that's not where I make my money in cash games. I decided to aggregate my cash game deltas by table size to see where my profit comes from. The results surprised me a bit:

2      $-36,947  (    844)
3      $-29,860  (  1,696)
4     $-351,590  (  2,983)
5      $335,172  (  4,854)
6      $330,541  (  6,502)
7    $1,325,475  (  9,831)
8    $2,117,035  ( 13,699)
9    $2,486,170  ( 10,668)


The numbers in parentheses are the number of hands played at that table size. It's very clear that the more players at the table there are, the more profit I make. I really expected my sweet spot to be at the 7 player data point, but the clear winner is a full ring of 9 players. Go figure! :-)

During current Hold'em session you were dealt 97 hands and saw flop:
 - 31 out of 33 times while in big blind (93%)
 - 29 out of 36 times while in small blind (80%)
 - 12 out of 28 times in other positions (42%)
 - a total of 72 out of 97 (74%)
 Pots won at showdown - 18 of 29 (62%)
 Pots won without showdown - 22

delta: $13,909
cash game no limit hold'em balance: $6,911,279
balance: $9,816,378

Thursday, October 2, 2014

The canonical winning cash game session

Last night, I had the canonical winning cash game session. In such a session, the number of zero crossings is 1. The session starts out with a steady stream of losses, then at a certain point rebounds sharply; one's stack races back to the black and never looks back :-) Out of curiosity, I cross-tabulated my winning sessions by zero crossing number; here are the results:

  1   164
  3    98
  5    48
  0    40
  2    35
  7    25
  4    24
  6     8
  9     8
  8     4
 13     2
 10     2
 11     1
 12     0


During current Hold'em session you were dealt 29 hands and saw flop:
 - 2 out of 4 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 15 out of 29 (51%)
 Pots won at showdown - 3 of 4 (75%)
 Pots won without showdown - 1

delta: $23,756
cash game no limit hold'em balance: $6,897,370
balance: $9,802,469

Wednesday, October 1, 2014

Amplitude width

When I looked at the bar chart of my stack size over the course of last night's session, one feature jumped out - the hands where I ended with my minimum and maximum stack sizes were quite close to each other. That inspired me to come up with yaps (yet another poker statistic). I'm calling this one amplitude width. It's the absolute value of the difference between the hand index of the minimum stack size and the hand index of the maximum stack size, plus 1. My amplitude width last night was 6. I did some research, and that ranks it the 24th narrowest in my all time list, for sessions of 40 hands or more. For some perspective, I've played 526 sessions of cash game no limit hold'em of 40 hands or more; my widest amplitude width is 227.

During current Hold'em session you were dealt 48 hands and saw flop:
 - 6 out of 6 times while in big blind (100%)
 - 2 out of 7 times while in small blind (28%)
 - 21 out of 35 times in other positions (60%)
 - a total of 29 out of 48 (60%)
 Pots won at showdown - 4 of 7 (57%)
 Pots won without showdown - 5

delta: $21,164
cash game no limit hold'em balance: $6,873,614
balance: $9,778,713