The pride tax

When you have success at poker, it's easy to feel proud of yourself. All too easy, as it turns out. If you're not on your guard, you'll quickly fall into the trap of believing you're better than you really are. Fortunately, poker has a solution for that :-) I call it the pride tax. Poker makes sure you never get too big for your britches by giving you a recurring diet of humbling experiences. What could be more humbling than not winning a single hand in a tournament? That's happened to me 40 times in rebuy tournaments. Almost as humbling is only winning a single hand. That's happened to me 90 times in rebuys, including Wednesday night's. These experiences are speaking loudly and cleary, and what they're saying is, "You may think you're good, and you may even be a little bit good, but you're not that good. Get over yourself!" :-)

style flavor buy_in entry players hands entries paid place winnings

MTT-R NLHE    43500  6500       9    31      45    9    26        0

delta: $-200,000
MTT with rebuys NLHE balance: $46,621,000
2019 balance: $13,297,250
balance: $59,881,510

The highest chaparral

What I mean by the high chaparral ... is the number of positive deltas at the top of the list of a session's hand deltas, when this list has been sorted in descending order by absolute value.

This is an excerpt from my blog post of July 23, 2014. Now I want to introduce another term - the highest chaparral. This is when the high chaparral count is equal to the number of positive deltas in the session. In other words, every positive hand delta of the session is greater in magnitude than every negative hand delta of the session. In a losing cause last night, I achieved the highest chaparral. Of course, the fewer positive hand deltas you have, the easier it is to achieve, but even so, it ain't easy :-)

style flavor buy_in entry players hands entries paid place winnings

MTT-R NLHE    43500  6500       9    31      61   15    29        0

delta: $-100,000
MTT with rebuys NLHE balance: $46,821,000
2019 balance: $13,497,250
balance: $60,081,510

.29 is mighty fine

The gold standard for batting average in baseball is .400. Very few players have achieved it. Every sport has its gold standards, and poker is no exception. Yes, I just said that poker is a sport, and yes, I meant it :-) My guess is that the gold standard for making the money in tournament poker is somewhere in the .300 to .350 range. My average in MTT-R NLHEs is currently .296 (272 of 920). .29 is mighty fine :-)

style flavor buy_in entry players hands entries paid place winnings

MTT-R NLHE    43500  6500       9    56      62   15    24        0

delta: $-200,000
MTT with rebuys NLHE balance: $46,921,000
2019 balance: $13,597,250
balance: $60,181,510

The 60 million dollar man

Back in the 70's, when I was a teenager, one of the popular T.V. shows was "The Six Million Dollar Man". It starred Lee Majors as Steve Austin, a test pilot who has parts of his body cybernetically enhanced after a bad crash. Six million dollars was the cost of the enhancements. Last night, my career balance topped 60 million play dollars for the first time. Not taking inflation into account, I could pay for 10 play Steve Austins :-)

style flavor buy_in entry players hands entries paid place winnings

MTT-R NLHE    43500  6500       9   133      55   12     3  1492000

delta: $1,392,000
MTT with rebuys NLHE balance: $47,121,000
2019 balance: $13,797,250
balance: $60,381,510

Punctuated equilibrium

Two hands from last night's session really stand out. On hand 14, I tripled up with pocket nines. On hand 26, I lost 7,550 in chips to hit the felt with KQo (king queen offsuit). The rest of the hands were much ado about nothing :-)

style flavor buy_in entry players hands entries paid place winnings

MTT-R NLHE    43500  6500       9    43      47   12    30        0

delta: $-200,000
MTT with rebuys NLHE balance: $45,729,000
2019 balance: $12,405,250
balance: $58,989,510

The money up top

It's easy to kid yourself in poker, but eventually the truth will stare you in the face, as long as you don't have your eyes closed :-) Lately, I've been kidding myself that I'm perfectly happy playing 8-game. I'm not. I'm pining for MTT-R NLHEs. The reason is a tad shameful - I'm addicted to the gigantic up top money that only MTT-R NLHEs can provide. When you're used to seeing 3 to 5 million as the first place payout, 700 thousand sure feels like chump change :-)

style flavor buy_in entry players hands entries paid place winnings

MTT   8-Game  45000  5000       6    66      50    9    17        0

delta: $-50,000
MTT 8-game balance: $1,108,170
2019 balance: $12,605,250
balance: $59,189,510

Frisky late

It's time, once again, to crib from myself :-) Here's an excerpt of what I had to say on January 23:

It's okay to play friskily in a tournament sometimes, but the closer you get to the money, the less frisky you should be. To my detriment, I failed to follow that advice last night ...

When the field was two spots from the money, I played way too loosely on my penultimate hand, and lost 94% of my stack. If I'd just gone on a foldfest instead, I probably would have made the money. Oops!

style flavor buy_in entry players hands entries paid place winnings

MTT   8-Game  45000  5000       6    65      59   12    14        0

delta: $-50,000
MTT 8-game balance: $1,158,170
2019 balance: $12,655,250
balance: $59,239,510

Failure to launch

One of the attractions of 8-game is how easy it is, in general, to last a long time. That's why it's so shocking the rare times when you barely manage to last a New York minute :-) Last night was one of those times. I lasted a mere 12 hands, miles away from my average of 70. I'll eat my hat if I don't last longer tonight :-)

style flavor buy_in entry players hands entries paid place winnings

MTT   8-Game  45000  5000       6    12      47    9    26        0

delta: $-50,000
MTT 8-game balance: $1,208,170
2019 balance: $12,705,250
balance: $59,289,510

Ace ragout

One of the many nice things about 8-game is that by definition it's 6-max. The nice thing about 6-max is that you can play marginal hands more often than you would in 9-max. The canonical definition of a marginal hand is ace rag. The canonical definition of ace rag is an unsuited holding consisting of an ace and another card with a denomination no bigger than a 9. The thing is, even in 6-max, ace rag is marginal; it's just slightly less marginal than in 9-max :-) Last night, I hit the rail with ace rag, spawning a neo neo - ace ragout (ace rag out) :-)

style flavor buy_in entry players hands entries paid place winnings

MTT   8-Game  45000  5000       6    78      69   18    22        0

delta: $-50,000
MTT 8-game balance: $1,258,170
2019 balance: $12,755,250
balance: $59,339,510

Another hole in my game

Last night's session revealed another hole in my game - I have a tendency to overplay pocket jacks, aka baby cowboys (in neo parlance). On the final hand of the night, I rode them into the sunset. They lost to a K9o (king nine offsuit). This was after my attempt at a second straight MTT 8-game first place finish failed miserably. I've really been enjoying playing 8-game again; the variety of it is a breath of fresh air :-)

style flavor buy_in entry players hands entries paid place winnings

MTT   8-Game  45000  5000       6    29      63   12    26        0
MTT-R NLHE    43500  6500       9    51      38    8    23        0

delta: $-250,000
MTT with rebuys NLHE balance: $45,929,000
2019 balance: $12,805,250
balance: $59,389,510

Back to Back Flack

I love poker nicknames. My favorite is "Back to Back Flack", for Layne Flack, arising from his winning two Legends of Poker events in a row. I've never won two tournaments back to back myself. It must feel like hitting the lottery. Last night, I got halfway there, winning the MTT 8-game I entered. We'll see if I can catch lightning in a bottle again tonight :-)

style flavor buy_in entry players hands entries paid place winnings

MTT   8-Game  45000  5000       6   184      42    9     1   571000

delta: $521,000
MTT 8-game balance: $1,358,170
2019 balance: $13,055,250
balance: $59,639,510

Shot from howitzers

I've talked before about shot from guns tournaments - those are ones where your first nonzero hand delta is positive. That's the weakest definition. A stronger definition of such a tournament is one where your very first hand delta is positive. Now I'm here to tell you about shot from howitzers tournaments :-) These are tournaments where your very first hand delta is positive, and is the largest absolute value hand delta of all. Almost by definition, you're not going to make the money in a shot from howitzers tournament. I had a shot from howitzers last night, and missed the money by two country miles.

style flavor buy_in entry players hands entries paid place winnings

MTT-R NLHE    43500  6500       9    43      43    9    28        0

delta: $-200,000
MTT with rebuys NLHE balance: $46,129,000
2019 balance: $12,534,250
balance: $59,118,510

Feeling like Conan

The movie "Conan the Barbarian" came out in 1982, thirty-seven years ago. I went to see it when it came out, and one particular montage has stuck with me all these years. Conan begins the movie as a small boy, who has become enslaved after the murder of his parents. He is set to work in a flour mill, which is manned by many slaves who push the spokes of a huge wheel which powers the grindstone. To show the passage of time, and also to show how big and strong Conan becomes, you see less and less slaves pushing the spokes over the years, until finally it's just Conan pushing, powering the mill all by himself.

I find this an apt metaphor for making a deep run in a poker tournament. When it begins, you're just one of many players, with a tiny stack. As time goes by, your stack grows and the number of remaining players shrinks. If you make it all the way, there's only you left, and you have all the chips :-)

Last night, for a change of pace, I played an MTT 8-game tournament. I didn't quite get to the point of powering the mill all by myself, but I sure was feeling like Conan :-)

style flavor buy_in entry players hands entries paid place winnings

MTT   8-Game  45000  5000       6   143      56   12     2   459000

delta: $409,000
MTT 8-game balance: $837,170
2019 balance: $12,734,250
balance: $59,318,510

Tripped up

As I've said before, the most memorable hands for me tend to be ones I lost in painful fashion. That was the case again last night. On the final hand of the session, I flopped trip fours and slow-played them. An opponent bet every street from that point on, and I was happy to call him. Calling his river bet put me all in. Imagine my dismay when he turned over trip fours with a better kicker. Whatcha gonna do? Luckily for me, I'd already made the money.

style flavor buy_in entry players hands entries paid place winnings

MTT-R NLHE    43500  6500       9    28      80   18    38        0
MTT-R NLHE    43500  6500       9    77      58   12    11   318000

delta: $18,000
MTT with rebuys NLHE balance: $46,329,000
2019 balance: $12,325,250
balance: $58,909,510

Another personal borscht top 10

A good capsule description for last night's tournament is "I can't believe how long I lasted for such a pitiful percentile" :-) It was another personal borscht top 10; it tied for the sixth most hands I've ever played in a tournament where I finished with a percentile below 40. Nothing to crow about, but a curiosity all the same.

style flavor buy_in entry players hands entries paid place winnings

MTT-R NLHE    43500  6500       9    50      55   12    34        0

delta: $-100,000
MTT with rebuys NLHE balance: $46,311,000
2019 balance: $12,307,250
balance: $58,891,510

Saved by a fatty

Sometimes, you make the money through no fault of your own. That's okay, though, since just as often, you miss the money through no fault of your own :-) Last night, it was the former scenario. On hand 102, I was dealt A3o (ace three offsuit), and went all in after the flop came Ad 2c 8d. I got one caller, and was only a 56.46% favorite. After the turn, which was the three of spades, I was a 9.09% dog, since my opponent had hit a straight. I only had four outs. Miraculously, I hit one of them - the three of hearts, giving me a full house. That more than tripled me up, and paved my way into the money. Saved by a fatty :-)

style flavor buy_in entry players hands entries paid place winnings

MTT-R NLHE    43500  6500       9   115      64   15     8   464000

delta: $164,000
MTT with rebuys NLHE balance: $46,411,000
2019 balance: $12,407,250
balance: $58,991,510

Blind spot

I made a very bad call on the final hand of last night's session. An opponent who had me covered went all in on the turn, with the board supporting a straight. All I had was second pair. I had no business calling. I confess that I didn't see the possibility of the straight; that's been a recurring blind spot for me over the years. Part of the problem was that it was late and I was tired. It takes energy to grind, and I just didn't have enough of it.

style flavor buy_in entry players hands entries paid place winnings

MTT-R NLHE    43500  6500       9    36      50   12    30        0

delta: $-200,000
MTT with rebuys NLHE balance: $46,247,000
2019 balance: $12,243,250
balance: $58,827,510

One hand to rule them all

Looking at the bar chart of my stack size over the course of last night's session, one observation stands head and shoulders above the rest. On hand 11, I was dealt cowboys (pocket kings), and more than doubled up with them. It may sound strange to say, but I prefer cowboys to rockets (pocket aces). Rockets are just too hard to let go, which can lead you to heartbreak and ruin. My poker data supports this preference; here are my top 10 highest grossing hands in MTT-R NLHEs, by aggregate profit in chips:

KK     1,639,108
AA     1,329,344
JJ       583,861
QQ       483,528
AJo      465,174
AKo      418,579
99       408,714
TT       360,664
AQs      295,190
ATo      273,253

Unfortunately, I missed the money last night by a country mile.

style flavor buy_in entry players hands entries paid place winnings

MTT-R NLHE    43500  6500       9    46      55   12    25        0

delta: $-100,000
MTT with rebuys NLHE balance: $46,447,000
2019 balance: $12,443,250
balance: $59,027,510

Premium perfection

Perfect percentages are achievable in poker, but not via skill. It takes no skill at all to be dealt a premium holding. Even with a premium holding, you still need some amount of luck to win the hand. Aces can be cracked. There's no sense in trying to achieve perfect percentages. That said, it can still be interesting to notice the times when, through no fault of your own, you happen to achieve them :-)

Last night, in the second tournament I entered, I was dealt a premium holding 3 times in 80 hands, and won all 3 of those hands. Premium perfection :-)

style flavor buy_in entry players hands entries paid place winnings

MTT-R NLHE    43500  6500       9    49      60   12    23        0
MTT-R NLHE    43500  6500       9    80      50   12     9   304000

delta: $-96,000
MTT with rebuys NLHE balance: $46,547,000
2019 balance: $12,543,250
balance: $59,127,510

All about the millions

Last night, I did that trick of the hands thing again. For the 47th time in my online poker career, I made a profit of at least one million play dollars in a single session. What's pretty astonishing is that I now have a substantial aggregate loss in the sessions where I failed to make a profit of at least a million. Thankfully, that loss is dwarfed by the profit of the $1M sessions. Here's the breakdown:

                         # sessions  aggregate delta

at least $1M in profit           47      $91,781,725
less than $1M in profit       2,771     $-32,646,957

Here are the $1M sessions broken out by year:

year   count         profit

2014       1     $1,035,500
2017      19    $39,422,725
2018      16    $29,957,000
2019      11    $21,366,500

It's no coincidence that 2017 was the year I discovered MTT-R NLHE tournaments. I'm on a pace to reach 25 $1M sessions by the end of the year, which would be a new high water mark. My current extrapolated profit for the year is $29,763,395. It's all about the millions, baby :-)

style flavor buy_in entry players hands entries paid place winnings

MTT-R NLHE    43500  6500       9    25      72   15    47        0
MTT-R NLHE    43500  6500       9   134      45    9     3  1357000

delta: $1,057,000
MTT with rebuys NLHE balance: $46,643,000
2019 balance: $12,639,250
balance: $59,223,510

Sneaking up the back stairway

When playing MTT-R NLHE tournaments, as a general rule it's better to join as early in the late registration period as possible. This is in contrast to MTT NLHE tournaments, when it's better to join as late in the late registration period as possible. One of the really nice features of MTT-R NLHEs is that there's actually never a time when it's not safe to join them. Joining earlier is better, but you still have a chance to make a ginormous profit even if you join late. I liken this latter scenario to sneaking up the back stairway of a house :-) Last night, I almost snuck my way into the money, but came up just short. When I joined, there was less than a minute left in the late registration period. I didn't get to play a single hand before the late registration period ended and the add on period began. So I started play near the bottom of the pack. There's something about starting out short-stacked which focuses the mind tremendously; I highly recommend it :-)

style flavor buy_in entry players hands entries paid place winnings

MTT-R NLHE    43500  6500       9    46      58   12    15        0

delta: $-100,000
MTT with rebuys NLHE balance: $45,586,000
2019 balance: $11,582,250
balance: $58,166,510

Back to back rarities

I played two tournaments last night, and each was a rarity. In the first, I didn't win a single hand; that only happens to me 4% of the time. In the second, I was only underwater at the end of the final hand; that only happens to me 2% of the time. About the only characteristic the tournaments shared is that I failed to make the money in either one :-)

style flavor buy_in entry players hands entries paid place winnings

MTT-R NLHE    43500  6500       9    27      82   18    54        0
MTT-R NLHE    43500  6500       9    40      61   15    28        0

delta: $-300,000
MTT with rebuys NLHE balance: $45,686,000
2019 balance: $11,682,250
balance: $58,266,510

I didn't mean to go to sea

One bad poker habit I've completely eradicated is adding on in a rebuy tournament. The last time I added on was on February 11 of this year, and I'll never do it again. However, I still have at least one bad habit related to rebuy tournaments - every now and then I fire too many bullets. One might even say, way too many :-) I liken this to going out to sea without really meaning to. Last night, in the only tournament I entered, I fired 8 bullets. That's four times the number I usually fire in a rebuy tournament. Here are my holdings the four times I hit the felt:

Js Jh   hand 6
2h Jh   hand 10
Ad Ac   hand 11
Qd 5s   hand 77

Though I made the money, I had a net loss due to firing so many bullets. I'll work on that bad habit next.

style flavor buy_in entry players hands entries paid place winnings

MTT-R NLHE    43500  6500       9    77      50   12    12   261000

delta: $-139,000
MTT with rebuys NLHE balance: $45,986,000
2019 balance: $11,982,250
balance: $58,566,510

Sweet sixteen

It's always an auspicious start to a tournament if your first non-zero hand delta is positive. I call that a "shot from guns" tournament. The only tournament I entered last night was one; I won hand 2 after not spending any chips on hand 1. My luck held, and I made it all the way under the lights. Running the numbers just now, I found that 16.09% of the MTT-R NLHE tournaments I play are shot from guns. Sweet sixteen :-)

style flavor buy_in entry players hands entries paid place winnings

MTT-R NLHE    43500  6500       9    84      59   12     7   624000

delta: $524,000
MTT with rebuys NLHE balance: $46,125,000
2019 balance: $12,121,250
balance: $58,705,510