Thursday, May 31, 2018

Poker interruptus

There's never a good time to have a power outage when you're playing online poker. As it turns out, however, there is a worst such time. I should know, since I experienced it last night :-) I had made it under the lights in the second tournament I entered, and was the chip leader. There were only seven players, including me, still alive. I had a legitimate shot of winning all the marbles. All of a sudden, lights out! What made this especially cruel was I didn't immediately realize the predicament I was in, since my laptop seamlessly switched to battery backup power. Unfortunately, the router which provides me with my wifi connection was knocked out of commission. All I could do was turn off my laptop, brush my teeth, and go to bed. This morning, I checked out where I finished - 4th place. Not bad, for someone forced to sit out the most crucial hands in the tournament.

style flavor buy_in entry players hands entries paid place winnings

MTT-R NLHE    43500  6500       9    21      59   12    35        0
MTT-R NLHE    43500  6500       9   124      67   15     4  1158000


delta: $808,000
MTT with rebuys NLHE balance: $41,104,500
2018 balance: $7,396,000
balance: $52,909,260

Wednesday, May 30, 2018

yabbg

Last night, I suffered yabbg - yet another bad beat goodbye. On my last hand, I was dealt 8s 9h, and was up against an opponent who'd been dealt As 9c. That made me a 28.64% dog. The flop came 2c 7d 8h. I bet 400, and my opponent called. At this point, I was an 82.73% favorite. The turn card was 9d. I went all in with my last 500 chips, and my opponent called. I was now a 93.18% favorite. As fate would have it, my opponent spiked an ace on the river, giving him a better two pair than mine. Ouch!

style flavor buy_in entry players hands entries paid place winnings

MTT-R NLHE    43500  6500       9    17      57   12    31        0


delta: $-150,000
MTT with rebuys NLHE balance: $40,296,500
2018 balance: $6,588,000
balance: $52,101,260

Tuesday, May 29, 2018

The mighty ducks

The most memorable hand of last night's session came in the second tournament I entered, when I won a pot worth 34,195 chips with pocket deuces. Since this holding is commonly called ducks, I'm calling this instance of it the mighty ducks :-)

style flavor buy_in entry players hands entries paid place winnings

MTT-R NLHE    43500  6500       9    30      98   27    42        0
MTT-R NLHE    43500  6500       9    87      68   15    14   359000


delta: $59,000
MTT with rebuys NLHE balance: $40,446,500
2018 balance: $6,738,000
balance: $52,251,260

Monday, May 28, 2018

Sixth largest rebound ever

Last night, on the strength of a deep run in the second tournament I entered, I tied for my sixth largest rebound ever, to the tune of $400,000. That shaved 20% off my blue distance, which is now "only" $2,342,000. I staved off having my blue distance reach $3,000,000, and more importantly, stopped my tournament losing streak at 14. I'm hoping this is the start of a making the money streak :-)

style flavor buy_in entry players hands entries paid place winnings

MTT-R NLHE    43500  6500       9    40      72   15    36        0
MTT-R NLHE    43500  6500       9   145      75   15     5  1012000


delta: $612,000
MTT with rebuys NLHE balance: $40,387,500
2018 balance: $6,679,000
balance: $52,192,260

Sunday, May 27, 2018

Unlucky 13

Last night's losing session brought my session losing streak to 8 and my MTT-R NLHE losing streak to 13. My longest MTT-R NHLE losing streak (15) is in considerable jeopardy. My blue distance is now knocking on the door of 3 million. To add insult to injury, I was underwater after every single hand of the final tournament I entered. However, my 2018 balance is still quite healthy. I'm not worrying.

style flavor buy_in entry players hands entries paid place winnings

MTT-R NLHE    43500  6500       9    39      90   18    49        0
MTT-R NLHE    43500  6500       9    61      68   15    25        0
MTT-R NLHE    43500  6500       9    45      45    9    17        0


delta: $-400,000
MTT with rebuys NLHE balance: $39,775,500
2018 balance: $6,067,000
balance: $51,580,260

Saturday, May 26, 2018

yaao

Last night, I suffered yaao - yet another aces out. For the first time in four months, I exited a tournament with a holding of pocket rockets. Man, do I hate that! I've now had 7 losing sessions in a row, and my blue distance has ballooned up to $2,554,000. One solace - that's still a long ways off from its all-time high of $3,971,000.

style flavor buy_in entry players hands entries paid place winnings

MTT-R NLHE    43500  6500       9    49      73   15    28        0
MTT-R NLHE    43500  6500       9    84      72   15    21        0


delta: $-450,000
MTT with rebuys NLHE balance: $40,175,500
2018 balance: $6,467,000
balance: $51,980,260

Friday, May 25, 2018

13th worst 6 bagger ever

Last night, my slump continued. I've now had six losing sessions in a row, for an aggregate loss of $1,400,000. That tied for my 13th worst 6 bagger ever. My blue distance is now $2,104,000. Am I worried? Not a bit of it! MTT-R NLHEs have a lot of variance. I know, despite not winning, that I'm playing well. One indication of this is the length of my recent tournaments; the last four have all lasted at least 50 hands.

style flavor buy_in entry players hands entries paid place winnings

MTT-R NLHE    43500  6500       9    53      57   12    19        0


delta: $-250,000
MTT with rebuys NLHE balance: $40,625,500
2018 balance: $6,917,000
balance: $52,430,260

Thursday, May 24, 2018

Punctuated equilibrium

Looking at the bar chart of my stack size over the course of the second tournament I played last night, two hands stand out. On hand 32, I had my largest winning hand delta of 6,725 chips. The very next hand, I had my largest losing hand delta of 11,977 chips. You just don't see that every day :-)

In other news, my slump continues apace. My blue distance is nearing two million.

style flavor buy_in entry players hands entries paid place winnings

MTT-R NLHE    43500  6500       9    50      77   18    28        0
MTT-R NLHE    43500  6500       9    51      54   12    31        0


delta: $-300,000
MTT with rebuys NLHE balance: $40,875,500
2018 balance: $7,167,000
balance: $52,680,260

Wednesday, May 23, 2018

yadr

Last night, in the second tournament I entered, I experienced yadr - yet another deluxe redraw. As a refresher, here's the definition (from my January 11 post of this year):

In poker parlance, a redraw is when one player is ahead of another after the flop, the places get reversed on the turn, and then the places get reversed again on the river. In my parlance, a deluxe redraw is when one player is ahead of another before the flop, the places get reversed on the flop, the places get reversed again on the turn, and finally the places get reversed yet again on the river.

As fate would have it, the deluxe redraw occurred on the final hand of the session. Before the flop, I was a 56.75% favorite. On the flop, I was a 47.37% dog. On the turn, I was a 65.91% favorite. On the river, I hit the rail. I even remember what my holding was, without needing to check the archives - a pair of tens.

style flavor buy_in entry players hands entries paid place winnings

MTT-R NLHE    43500  6500       9    11      63   15    33        0
MTT-R NLHE    43500  6500       9    75      56   12    16        0


delta: $-450,000
MTT with rebuys NLHE balance: $41,175,500
2018 balance: $7,467,000
balance: $52,980,260

Tuesday, May 22, 2018

Best 3 for 17 stretch ever

3 for 17 is generally a pitiful result. It's below the Mendoza line of .200, which is baseball's definition of incompetent hitting. However, 3 for 17 is not always pitiful. Though I've only had 3 winning sessions in my last 17, I actually made a profit :-) In fact, it was the best 3 for 17 stretch of my career. Here's the complete list:

   $145,000 2018-05-03 2018-05-21
     $4,000 2018-01-17 2018-02-04
  $-174,000 2018-02-10 2018-02-27
  $-195,447 2015-07-11 2015-07-27
  $-217,718 2015-07-12 2015-07-28
  $-218,000 2018-01-18 2018-02-05
  $-368,000 2018-01-19 2018-02-06
$-1,990,000 2018-01-22 2018-02-08
$-2,412,625 2017-12-01 2017-12-18
$-2,462,625 2017-11-30 2017-12-17
$-2,521,000 2018-02-15 2018-03-05
$-2,571,000 2018-02-18 2018-03-07
$-2,609,750 2017-12-03 2017-12-20
$-2,671,000 2018-02-17 2018-03-06
$-2,671,000 2018-02-14 2018-03-04
$-2,700,750 2017-12-02 2017-12-19
$-2,796,000 2018-02-23 2018-03-13
$-2,796,000 2018-02-22 2018-03-12


In other news, my blue distance just topped one million once again.

style flavor buy_in entry players hands entries paid place winnings

MTT-R NLHE    43500  6500       9    66      71   15    22        0


delta: $-150,000
MTT with rebuys NLHE balance: $41,625,500
2018 balance: $7,917,000
balance: $53,430,260

Monday, May 21, 2018

Fallinbye

My latest neo neo is fallinbye. It's what has happened to you when you've hit the rail in a tournament after falling in on your final hand. That's the fate I suffered last night. This made me curious to find out how many times I've had a fallinbye. The answer? 54 times in 450 tournaments, which is exactly 12 percent of the time. Now I wonder how many times I've made the money in tournaments which ended with a fallinbye. Let me check the archives ... The answer? 23. It makes more sense to have a fallinbye if you've already made the money; in this case, you're simply trying to ladder up. If you have too many fallinbyes when you haven't made the money, you're probably not playing aggressively enough. That was certainly the case with me last night. Tonight, I vow to play more aggressively :-)

style flavor buy_in entry players hands entries paid place winnings

MTT-R NLHE    43500  6500       9    54      62   15    28        0


delta: $-100,000
MTT with rebuys NLHE balance: $41,775,500
2018 balance: $8,067,000
balance: $53,580,260

Sunday, May 20, 2018

Hybrid tournament result

Last night's tournament result was a hybrid - it was both a whaleback and a freefall from the peak. I'm not sure how rare that is; probably marginally rarer than a freefall from the peak, which isn't that rare at all. As you can see, I really had to strain to come up with an angle for tonight's post. It was a really mediocre session. Hey, they happen :-)

style flavor buy_in entry players hands entries paid place winnings

MTT-R NLHE    43500  6500       9    48      83   18    42        0


delta: $-150,000
MTT with rebuys NLHE balance: $41,875,500
2018 balance: $8,167,000
balance: $53,680,260

Saturday, May 19, 2018

Milestone

Last night, for the 150th time in my career, I made a profit of at least $200,000 in a single session. In those 150 sessions, my total profit was $103,804,877. In the other 2,335 sessions I've played, I lost a total of $50,063,359. There's no clearer illustration of the power of the big hit. You can fail much more often than you succeed and still make an eye-popping profit. Once you've experienced this paradox long enough, your definition of success changes. Here's to many, many more losing sessions :-)

style flavor buy_in entry players hands entries paid place winnings

MTT-R NLHE    43500  6500       9    77     101   27    12   355000


delta: $205,000
MTT with rebuys NLHE balance: $42,025,500
2018 balance: $8,317,000
balance: $53,830,260

Friday, May 18, 2018

64 or better

My average percentile in MTT-R NLHEs is a squeak over 64. I've remarked before that this is considerably below the average percentile for making the money in MTT-R NLHEs, which hovers around 77. Nevertheless, these tournaments are massively profitable for me, since my making the money percentage is a very healthy 33.5.

All this is by way of finding something positive to say about the mini slump I'm in. In my last four tournaments, I've had a percentile of 64 or better. My all time best such streak is 6 straight. Therefore, I know I'm playing well, even though I don't have anything to show for it. Big bucks are coming my way - I can hear them :-)

style flavor buy_in entry players hands entries paid place winnings

MTT-R NLHE    43500  6500       9    57      59   12    18        0


delta: $-100,000
MTT with rebuys NLHE balance: $41,820,500
2018 balance: $8,112,000
balance: $53,625,260

Thursday, May 17, 2018

Fingerfehler

Tonight, I clicked a button in the PokerStars client by mistake. It was the Collect button in the Cashier window. I was just trying to close the window, but goofed. The result? I increased my balance by 15,000 play dollars. It's a matter of pride to me that I haven't had to rely on getting free chips in this fashion since the first few months of my online poker career, so this fingerfehler was a little embarrassing. It won't happen again :-)

In other news, both Phil Hellmuth and Mark Cuban think the recent ruling in favor of sports betting bodes well for the return of online poker in the U.S. I certainly hope they're right!

style flavor buy_in entry players hands entries paid place winnings

MTT-R NLHE    43500  6500       9    72      71   15    25        0


delta: $-200,000
fingerfehler on the Collect button: $15,000
MTT with rebuys NLHE balance: $41,920,500
2018 balance: $8,197,000
balance: $53,725,260

Wednesday, May 16, 2018

yafftp

Last night, I suffered yafftp - yet another freefall from the peak. I missed the money, but not by much. I lasted the seventh longest I ever have in a futile cause - 92 hands to be precise. I got much too frisky on one hand near the end battling one of the big stacks, and lost half my chips as a result. My blue distance has now ballooned up to $624,000. The great thing about MTT-R NLHEs is that such seemingly large deficits can be erased in a New York minute :-)

style flavor buy_in entry players hands entries paid place winnings

MTT-R NLHE    43500  6500       9    92      62   15     0        0


delta: $-250,000
MTT with rebuys NLHE balance: $42,120,500
2018 balance: $8,397,000
balance: $53,910,260

Tuesday, May 15, 2018

The time bomb of escalating forced bets

In the MTT-R NLHE tournaments run by PokerStars, there are no antes at the beginning. That's really nice, while it lasts :-) Looking at the bar chart of my stack size over the course of last night's session, it's easy to pinpoint where the antes kicked in. There's a long line of hands where my stack is essentially constant, but then you see it start to fall regularly starting at hand 33.

You might think, given the title of this post, that I don't like escalating forced bets, but the reverse is true. I love them! For me, they're what most allows my poker skill to come to the fore. What I hate about cash games, in fact, is that they don't have escalating forced bets. I haven't played a cash game since October of last year.

style flavor buy_in entry players hands entries paid place winnings

MTT-R NLHE    43500  6500       9    74      70   15    19        0


delta: $-100,000
MTT with rebuys NLHE balance: $42,370,500
2018 balance: $8,647,000
balance: $54,160,260

Monday, May 14, 2018

Out like a lamb

In contrast to some recent bad beat goodbyes, last night I went out like a lamb - twice. In the first tournament I played, I was an 11.36% dog after the turn on the final hand. In the second one, I was an 18.18% dog. Thankfully, I didn't fire too many bullets :-)

style flavor buy_in entry players hands entries paid place winnings

MTT-R NLHE    43500  6500       9     8      76   18    54        0
MTT-R NLHE    43500  6500       9    20      56   12    34        0


delta: $-250,000
MTT with rebuys NLHE balance: $42,470,500
2018 balance: $8,747,000
balance: $54,260,260

Sunday, May 13, 2018

A million in need

Last night, for the 29th time in my career, I made a profit of at least one million play dollars in a single session. The more often that happens, the more normal it seems :-) I got curious to know how often I've achieved this when I really needed to. That brings up a pertinent question - when does one ever really need to make such a profit? The answer is simple - when one's blue distance is of the same magnitude. A million in need is a million indeed :-) Last night, I brought my blue distance from $1,172,000 all the way down to $24,000. A rounding error!

style flavor buy_in entry players hands entries paid place winnings

MTT-R NLHE    43500  6500       9   121      54   12     4  1248000


delta: $1,148,000
MTT with rebuys NLHE balance: $42,720,500
2018 balance: $8,997,000
balance: $54,510,260

Saturday, May 12, 2018

Bad beat goodbye

It's never fun to hit the rail at a tournament. When this happens in the case where you got your money in good, it hurts even more. I call that a bad beat goodbye. Last night, I had a bad beat goodbye on just the 25th hand. I was an 84.09% favorite after the turn, but my opponent hit a 7 outer on the river. I wondered where that stacked up in my all time list of MTT-R NLHE bad beat goodbyes, so I wrote a utility to figure that out. Last night's bad beat goodbye tied for 19th, so it wasn't quite as bad as I thought it would be.

style flavor buy_in entry players hands entries paid place winnings

MTT-R NLHE    43500  6500       9    25      73   15    44        0


delta: $-150,000
MTT with rebuys NLHE balance: $41,572,500
2018 balance: $7,849,000
balance: $53,362,260

Friday, May 11, 2018

Blue plunge

With last night's losing session, my overall balance has now undergone its fifth largest blue plunge ever. My definition of a blue plunge is the aggregate loss from consecutive losing sessions immediately following a session when your overall balance has returned to the blue. Here are my top 10 blue plunges:

$1,555,000 2017-07-04 (5)
$1,500,000 2018-02-18 (7)
$1,490,000 2018-01-28 (6)
$1,057,000 2018-01-05 (3)
$1,022,000 2018-05-10 (4)
  $949,000 2017-06-23 (3)
  $900,000 2018-03-22 (2)
  $750,000 2017-12-27 (2)
  $700,000 2018-01-01 (1)
  $700,000 2017-07-21 (2)


I need to stop the bitch :-)

style flavor buy_in entry players hands entries paid place winnings

MTT-R NLHE    43500  6500       9    38      58   12    22        0
MTT-R NLHE    43500  6500       9    91      53   12    12   328000


delta: $-172,000
MTT with rebuys NLHE balance: $41,722,500
2018 balance: $7,999,000
balance: $53,512,260

Thursday, May 10, 2018

yab

Last night, I had yab - yet another bubble. In the last four tournaments, I've bubbled twice and bubbled the bubble once. That's a lot of near misses. It means I'm playing well, so I won't be looking to change my style of play. My blue distance has gone from $0 to $850,000 in just three sessions, but it could return to $0 just as quickly.

style flavor buy_in entry players hands entries paid place winnings

MTT-R NLHE    43500  6500       9    77      65   15    16        0


delta: $-150,000
MTT with rebuys NLHE balance: $41,894,500
2018 balance: $8,171,000
balance: $53,684,260

Wednesday, May 9, 2018

A bubble / bubble bubble double

I've never bubbled two MTT-R NLHE tournaments in a row. Last night, I came close; in the first tournament I entered, I bubbled the bubble, after bubbling in the only tournament I played the night before. That bubble / bubble bubble double is the best I've ever done when missing the money twice in a row. Another personal borscht :-)

style flavor buy_in entry players hands entries paid place winnings

MTT-R NLHE    43500  6500       9    42      54   12    14        0
MTT-R NLHE    43500  6500       9    28      52   12    33        0


delta: $-450,000
MTT with rebuys NLHE balance: $42,044,500
2018 balance: $8,321,000
balance: $53,834,260

Tuesday, May 8, 2018

Another personal borscht

Last night, I had another personal borscht. This time, it was for lasting the longest in a tournament where I was only above water for a single hand. I lasted 76 hands, trouncing my previous best of 65 hands in this category. As fate would have it, I was the bubble boy.

style flavor buy_in entry players hands entries paid place winnings

MTT-R NLHE    43500  6500       9    76      84   18    19        0


delta: $-250,000
MTT with rebuys NLHE balance: $42,494,500
2018 balance: $8,771,000
balance: $54,284,260

Monday, May 7, 2018

Lucky 13

Last night, for the 13th time so far this year, my overall balance returned to the blue. It also marked the 28th time I made a profit of at least one million play dollars in a single session. My extrapolated profit for the year is 26.1 million, which would put my overall balance over 71.6 million. 100 million is in my sights; a stretch goal would be to achieve it by the end of 2019.

style flavor buy_in entry players hands entries paid place winnings

MTT-R NLHE    43500  6500       9   123      73   15     4  1649000


delta: $1,499,000
MTT with rebuys NLHE balance: $42,744,500
2018 balance: $9,021,000
balance: $54,534,260

Sunday, May 6, 2018

The battle of the 100s

On Thursday night, I lost a quarter of a million play dollars. It was the hundredth time in my career that I've lost at least that much in a single session. That got me to wondering how my 100 worst sessions stack up against my 100 best sessions. The answer? No contest. In my 100 worst sessions, I've lost an aggregate of $40,321,525. In my 100 best sessions, I've won an aggregate of $90,162,119.

style flavor buy_in entry players hands entries paid place winnings

MTT-R NLHE    43500  6500       9    29      64   15    39        0
MTT-R NLHE    43500  6500       9    38      68   15    34        0


delta: $-250,000
MTT with rebuys NLHE balance: $41,245,500
2018 balance: $7,522,000
balance: $53,035,260

Wednesday, May 2, 2018

A whale of a tournament

A good tournament, like a good book, will have a well-defined beginning, middle, and end. When it meets these criteria, the bar chart of your stack size will often be a whaleback. Such was the case last night. In the first part of the tournament, my stack was underwater. About a third of the way in, it burst through the surface, and proceeded to scale the heights. In the final quarter, it dropped like a stone :-) Luckily for me, I made the money and then some before I hit the rail.

style flavor buy_in entry players hands entries paid place winnings

MTT-R NLHE    43500  6500       9   119      35    7     4   722000


delta: $472,000
MTT with rebuys NLHE balance: $41,495,500
2018 balance: $7,772,000
balance: $53,285,260

Tuesday, May 1, 2018

That SBGR feeling

Last year I wrote the following in my August 4th post:

As I've mentioned before, there are times when I just know I'm going to make the money. When it's an MTT-R, such a time is an SJGR (shit just got real) moment :-)

There's a related phenomenon which is less intense, but also happens more frequently; I call it that SBGR (shit be gettin' real) feeling :-) When shit be gettin' real, I don't know for sure that I'm going to make the money, but have a strong suspicion that I will. I got that feeling in the only tournament I played last night.

style flavor buy_in entry players hands entries paid place winnings

MTT-R NLHE    43500  6500       9    84      66   15    11   373000

 

delta: $123,000
MTT with rebuys NLHE balance: $41,023,500
2018 balance: $7,300,000
balance: $52,813,260