Banjacksed

When you're short stacked in a tournament and approaching the bubble, it never hurts to be dealt a pair; the bigger the pair, the better. I got jacks in just such a spot last night. I called all in, and successfully navigated the flop and the turn; the river did me in, however. My opponent hit a straight, and that was all she wrote.

style flavor buy_in  entry players entries paid place winnings

MTT   NLHE   174000  26000       6     109   30    36        0

delta: $-200,000
MTT NLHE balance: $23,521,768
2020 balance: $16,057,443
blue distance: $1,315,900
balance: $77,865,453

Another station 2

Last night, I rode the night train to station 2 again. That is, I outlasted the late registration period, and outlasted at least half of the field. Unfortunately, I didn't get to station 3 (making the money).

This is an excerpt from my October 26 post. It applies equally well to last night's session. Only two nights remaining in my quest for a tenth Full Monty this year.

style flavor buy_in  entry players entries paid place winnings

MTT   NLHE   174000  26000       6      97   24    41        0

delta: $-200,000
MTT NLHE balance: $23,721,768
2020 balance: $16,257,443
blue distance: $1,115,900
balance: $78,065,453

007

Whenever I fail to outlast the late registration period in a tournament, I record that in my poker database as a 0th place. If I play two tournaments in one session, and fail to outlast the late registration period in both, that can be considered a double 0. That's what happened to me last night. I got curious about how many times that's happened in my MTT NLHE career. The answer? Seven. Just call me 007 :-)

style flavor buy_in  entry players entries paid place winnings

MTT   NLHE    87000  13000       6      38   10     -        0
MTT   NLHE    87000  13000       6      56   15     -        0

delta: $-200,000
MTT NLHE balance: $23,921,768
2020 balance: $16,457,443
blue distance: $915,900
balance: $78,265,453

Lucky ladder up

On the final hand of last night's session, I was the runt of the litter. In other words, I had the shortest stack of the remaining players. Also, I was in 10th place. What's significant about that is that there is always a money jump from 10th place to 9th place in the midnight train tournaments I play. I had an outside chance of making that money jump, if I could just survive a couple of more hands. I couldn't survive the hand, but finished in 9th anyway, due to a player at another table hitting the rail before I did. That netted me an additional $78,000 in profit. Sweet :-)

style flavor buy_in  entry players entries paid place winnings

MTT   NLHE   174000  26000       6      75   21     9   495000

delta: $295,000
MTT NLHE balance: $24,121,768
2020 balance: $16,657,443
blue distance: $715,900
balance: $78,465,453

No cause for complaint

Last night, I hit the rail on a cooler, but have no cause for complaint. Earlier in the tournament, I was on the good end of a bad beat. On the earlier hand, I was dealt pocket sixes and eventually called all in. My opponent turned over pocket queens, and I was a huge underdog. I spiked a six on the river, though, and got a new lease on tournament life. On the final hand, I was dealt A5o (ace five offsuit), and paired both hole cards on the flop. However, the flop was all clubs, putting a flush draw out there. I decided it was too unlikely that anyone had been dealt two clubs, and played accordingly, eventually calling all in. No club showed up on the turn or river, but none were needed by my opponent, who had indeed been dealt two.

style flavor buy_in  entry players entries paid place winnings

MTT   NLHE   174000  26000       6      90   21    23        0

delta: $-200,000
MTT NLHE balance: $23,826,768
2020 balance: $16,362,443
blue distance: $1,010,900
balance: $78,170,453

Gunning for a 10th Full Monty

So far this year, I've had nine Full Montys. Here's an excerpt from the blog post I wrote on April 21:

Last night, I achieved my third Full Monty of 2020. I'm on a pace to get nearly ten by the end of the year.

It's a mark of my consistency that an extrapolation from over half a year ago has held up so well. I have six sessions remaining in the year, including tonight's. I'll really be going after that 10th Full Monty :-)

style flavor buy_in  entry players entries paid place winnings

MTT   NLHE   174000  26000       6      88   21    49        0

delta: $-200,000
MTT NLHE balance: $24,026,768
2020 balance: $16,562,443
blue distance: $810,900
balance: $78,370,453

The end of a long losing streak

Last night, the midnight train went missing again, so I entered an 8-game tournament instead. For the first time in over a year, I made the money in an 8-game. The ended a 13 tournament losing streak. Out of curiosity, I checked the archives to see whether it was my worst streak of that kind. Answer? No. My worst such streak is a gaudy 18 straight :-)

style flavor buy_in entry players entries paid place winnings

MTT   8-Game  45000  5000       6      52   12    11    58000

delta: $8,000
MTT 8-game balance: $798,170
2020 balance: $16,762,443
blue distance: $610,900
balance: $78,570,453

Stay of execution

The most memorable hand of last night's session was the one where I was a huge underdog but hit a straight on the river to survive. All my chips were in the middle at the time. That stay of execution paved my way to a min cash. I'll take it :-)

style flavor buy_in  entry players entries paid place winnings

MTT   NLHE   174000  26000       6      92   24    23   320000

delta: $120,000
MTT NLHE balance: $24,226,768
2020 balance: $16,754,443
blue distance: $618,900
balance: $78,562,453

The once and future poker flavor

Last night, the midnight train went missing again. I avoided joining a 9max tournament, as I sometimes do when there's no midnight train, and opted to play an MTT 8-game tournament instead. All 8-game tournaments are 6max, and 6max is a must for me. Coincidentally, it had been almost exactly a year since I played my last 8-game. I'm sure my next 8-game hiatus won't be as long, as it's quite an enjoyable poker flavor.

style flavor buy_in entry players entries paid place winnings

MTT   8-Game  45000  5000       6      44    9    14        0

delta: $-50,000
MTT 8-game balance: $790,170
2020 balance: $16,634,443
blue distance: $738,900
balance: $78,442,453

Caboose boy

For me, the most satisfying tournaments are not the ones where I crush opponents. Rather, they're the ones where opponents are crushing me, but somehow, improbably, I survive. Last night, I played just such a tournament.

This is an excerpt from my January 15 post. It applies equally well to last night's session. One thing I forgot to mention before is that there are some caboose boy tournaments where I not only have a strong presentiment I'm going to make the money, I'm convinced I'm going to make it under the lights. When that comes to pass, as it did last night, it doesn't feel improbable at all; in fact, it feels inevitable :-)

style flavor buy_in  entry players entries paid place winnings

MTT   NLHE   174000  26000       6      80   21     5   946000

delta: $746,000
MTT NLHE balance: $24,106,768
2020 balance: $16,684,443
blue distance: $688,900
balance: $78,492,453

Failure to launch

Last night, I was dealt rockets twice in less than 100 hands, over four times their expected frequency. Unfortunately, they failed to launch either time. I'd gone all in with them the second time, so it was another instance of "aces out". I outlasted the late registration period, but failed to make it to station 2. All in all, a thoroughly mediocre session :-)

style flavor buy_in  entry players entries paid place winnings

MTT   NLHE   174000  26000       6      78   21    41        0

delta: $-200,000
MTT NLHE balance: $23,360,768
2020 balance: $15,938,443
blue distance: $1,434,900
balance: $77,746,453

The Monty hierarchy

There's more than one Monty. Here's the hierarchy I've come up with:

Full Monty: a tournament where you make a profit of at least one million play dollars

Partial Monty: a tournament where you win at least one million play dollars

Half Monty: a tournament where you make a profit of at least half a million play dollars

Partial Half Monty: a tournament where you win at least half a million play dollars

Last night, I narrowly missed making a Partial Half Monty. Not a lot to crow about, but not chopped liver either :-)

style flavor buy_in  entry players entries paid place winnings

MTT   NLHE   174000  26000       6      82   21    11   456000

delta: $256,000
MTT NLHE balance: $23,560,768
2020 balance: $16,138,443
blue distance: $1,234,900
balance: $77,946,453

Too late for the midnight train

As I've mentioned before, I like to warm up for poker by playing chess. I love both games. Last night, grinding out a draw in my final chess game caused me to be too late for the midnight train. I had to settle for a later, lesser train. It had two things going against it:

1. the buy in was half that of the midnight train

2. the field was smaller

This made the prize pool, and consequently the payouts, much smaller. Still, beggars can't be choosy :-)

style flavor buy_in  entry players entries paid place winnings

MTT   NLHE    87000  13000       6      76   21    20   145000

delta: $45,000
MTT NLHE balance: $23,304,768
2020 balance: $15,882,443
blue distance: $1,490,900
balance: $77,690,453

nbcwh session

Last night, I had an nbcwh session. nbcwh is my latest neo neo, and stands for "no brain cells were harmed" :-) I paid minimal attention to what was happening at the poker table, choosing to spend most of my time surfing the web. This can be an excellent strategy for making a profit, since "long is wrong". I'll try it again tonight.

style flavor buy_in  entry players entries paid place winnings

MTT   NLHE   174000  26000       6      62   18    15   323000

delta: $123,000
MTT NLHE balance: $23,259,768
2020 balance: $15,837,443
blue distance: $1,535,900
balance: $77,645,453

Self-sabotage?

Buttons can be dangerous things. They're all too easy to press accidentally. Once a button has been pressed, you must live with the consequences, whether you meant to press it or not. I'll never forget pressing a button on a phone during a call with a girlfriend who had broken up with me, who I was trying to win back. That action hung up the phone, abruptly ending the call and any slim chance of success I might have had. To this day, I don't know why I pressed the button. In other words, I don't know if it was an accident or not. If it wasn't an accident, it may have been a deliberate act of self-sabotage. What I do know for certain is that prior to that phone call, I had no knowledge of what that button did, or even of its existence. The end of last night's session brought that fatal button press to mind. On the final hand of the night, I was short-stacked and needed to fold after paying to see a flop which didn't help me in any way. An opponent made a bet, and I fully intended to fold; however, for some reason I clicked the call button instead. I honestly don't know why I did that. It could have just been a simple fingerfehler; on the other hand, it could have been an insidious act of self-sabotage. I want to believe it was the former, but I can't quite convince myself.

style flavor buy_in  entry players entries paid place winnings

MTT   NLHE   174000  26000       6      82   21    38        0

delta: $-200,000
MTT NLHE balance: $23,136,768
2020 balance: $15,714,443
blue distance: $1,658,900
balance: $77,522,453

A fine fold

Last night, for the first time in a long time, the most memorable hand was one I folded. I was dealt the king and deuce of diamonds, and hit a flush on the turn. I made a medium sized bet and got one caller. The river put a fourth diamond on the board. I made a small bet, but was then raised big by an opponent who had me covered. It would have put me all in to call; I decided there was a decent chance my opponent had the ace of diamonds, so I had to fold. That left me the short stack at the table, but I was able to grind my way into the money, then kept on grinding :-) I got under the lights, finished in third, and registered another Full Monty. Sweet :-)

style flavor buy_in  entry players entries paid place winnings

MTT   NLHE   174000  26000       6      93   24     3  1375000

delta: $1,175,000
MTT NLHE balance: $23,336,768
2020 balance: $15,914,443
blue distance: $1,458,900
balance: $77,722,453

A two by four to the head

The most memorable hand of last night's session didn't take me to the rail, but may as well have; it left my stack on life support. I was dealt a big slick, paired my ace on the flop, and paired my king on the river. I lost to a set of nines. This was eerily similar to the recent yet another always going broke hand, but my reaction this time was quite different; I felt like I'd taken a two by four to the head. I only lasted a couple of hands after that.

style flavor buy_in  entry players entries paid place winnings

MTT   NLHE   174000  26000       6      87   21    51        0

delta: $-200,000
MTT NLHE balance: $22,161,768
2020 balance: $14,739,443
blue distance: $2,633,900
balance: $76,547,453

Station 3.5

In my poker train analogy, I've decided to add another station. Since it comes after station 3 and before station 4, I've decided to name it station 3.5 :-) This station is hit after you've made the money and have outlasted at least 80% of the field, but you missed making the final table. That's what I achieved last night. It was the 321st station 3.5 of my MTT NLHE career.

style flavor buy_in  entry players entries paid place winnings

MTT   NLHE   174000  26000       6      66   18    13   344000

delta: $144,000
MTT NLHE balance: $22,361,768
2020 balance: $14,939,443
blue distance: $2,433,900
balance: $76,747,453

Bubble boy

Bubbling is never fun, but you have to expect it to happen to you now and again. Looked at in a certain way, bubbling is actually quite a lucky occurrence :-)

This is an excerpt from my November 16 post. Last night, I was the bubble boy again. Along the way, I was the recipient of at least three big slicks. Without that luck, I never would've bubbled :-)

style flavor buy_in  entry players entries paid place winnings

MTT   NLHE   174000  26000       6     109   30    31        0

delta: $-200,000
MTT NLHE balance: $22,217,768
2020 balance: $14,795,443
blue distance: $2,577,900
balance: $76,603,453

yaagbh

Last night, I recorded yet another 0th place when I hit the rail with yaagbh - yet another always going broke hand. I was dealt a big slick, paired my ace on the flop, and paired my king on the river. I lost to a set of sevens. The great thing about an always going broke hand is that you never feel bad about playing it the way you did :-)

style flavor buy_in  entry players entries paid place winnings

MTT   NLHE   174000  26000       6      54   15     -        0

delta: $-200,000
MTT NLHE balance: $22,417,768
2020 balance: $14,995,443
blue distance: $2,377,900
balance: $76,803,453

House falls on man

In poker, there are no good times for a house to fall on you; there are only less bad times :-)

This is an excerpt from my August 18, 2019 post. Last night, on the final hand of the session, a house fell on me. I don't remember what I had, but I remember the details of the house - deuces full of jacks. Fortunately, I made the money just before getting flattened :-)

style flavor buy_in  entry players entries paid place winnings

MTT   NLHE   174000  26000       6      86   21    20   329000

delta: $129,000
MTT NLHE balance: $22,617,768
2020 balance: $15,195,443
blue distance: $2,177,900
balance: $77,003,453

yaktth

It's high time for another neo neo. I submit yaktth for your consideration. It stands for "yet another kicker to the head". Last night, I hit the rail with a pretty decent holding - ATo (ace ten offsuit). I paired my ace on the flop, and hitched my wagon to the hand. In other words, I decided I was going to stick with it, come hell or high water. Result? Hell :-) I lost to an opponent who'd been dealt a big slick (ace king). His kicker beat the stuffing out of mine. To add insult to injury, he paired his king on the turn. Whatcha gonna do?

style flavor buy_in  entry players entries paid place winnings

MTT   NLHE   174000  26000       6      79   21    37        0

delta: $-200,000
MTT NLHE balance: $22,488,768
2020 balance: $15,066,443
blue distance: $2,306,900
balance: $76,874,453

A hell of a slump

I'm in a hell of a slump. In my last 13 sessions, I've lost an aggregate of $2,106,900. That clocks in as my 61st worst 13 session stretch, which places it in the 98th percentile. The worst such stretch? From October 5 through October 18 of last year, I lost an aggregate of $4,578,000. Of course, that was when I was still playing rebuys. Last night, I joined the tournament when there were only 8 minutes left in the late registration period, but only managed to last 4 minutes. Pitiful indeed. Still, I ain't afeared :-)

style flavor buy_in  entry players entries paid place winnings

MTT   NLHE   174000  26000       6      82   21     -        0

delta: $-200,000
MTT NLHE balance: $22,688,768
2020 balance: $15,266,443
blue distance: $2,106,900
balance: $77,074,453

Ofer

Last night, for the first time in a long time, I registered an ofer. That is, I failed to win a single pot. Not surprisingly, I also failed to outlast the late registration period. Ofers are actually pretty hard to come by. You need a healthy dose of bad luck. The good news is, I'm due for a dose of the good variety :-)

style flavor buy_in  entry players entries paid place winnings

MTT   NLHE   174000  26000       6      76   21     -        0

delta: $-200,000
MTT NLHE balance: $22,888,768
2020 balance: $15,466,443
blue distance: $1,906,900
balance: $77,274,453

My kingdom for an orbit

Sometimes, you know you're going to make the money in an MTT. Other times, you know you're going to just miss making the money. The closer you get, the more it hurts not to make it. It really hurts to know that it you could just drag your sorry poker carcass around for one more orbit of the table, you'd make it, but there's no way in hell to do it, since you don't have enough money for the blinds. ... My kingdom for an orbit :-)

This is an excerpt from my January 13, 2017 post. I've quoted from it before, and I'm sure to quote from it again. It fits last night's session to a nicety.

style flavor buy_in  entry players entries paid place winnings

MTT   NLHE   174000  26000       6     104   30    34        0

delta: $-200,000
MTT NLHE balance: $23,088,768
2020 balance: $15,666,443
blue distance: $1,706,900
balance: $77,474,453 

Special Janus percentile

I'm always on the lookout for numerical beauty in my poker data. It's especially nice to find it in a losing session :-) I failed to make the money in last night's tournament, but found some pretty numbers hiding in plain sight in the tournament data. My place was exactly half the number of entries, making my percentile a Janus percentile. On top of that, the number of paid places was exactly half my place, making the tournament statistics even more special.

This is an excerpt from my September 28 post of this year. Last night, I had the second special Janus percentile of my MTT NLHE career. That was the highlight. The lowlight? I hit the rail with a big slick, losing to a pair of fives which became a set on the flop.

style flavor buy_in  entry players entries paid place winnings

MTT   NLHE   174000  26000       6      84   21    42        0

delta: $-200,000
MTT NLHE balance: $23,288,768
2020 balance: $15,866,443
blue distance: $1,506,900
balance: $77,674,453

Poker gods watching over me

My run to make the money in last night's tournament was so improbable that I was sure the poker gods were watching over me. Severely short stacked, I shoved with A5o (ace five offsuit) and made trip fives on the turn. I won the pot, and more than doubled up. A couple of hands after that, I was dealt pocket queens, and raked in a big pot. A couple of hands after that, I was dealt rockets, and raked in another big pot. To top it all off, I laddered up to the first money jump after making the money.

style flavor buy_in  entry players entries paid place winnings

MTT   NLHE   174000  26000       6     100   24    18   400000

delta: $200,000
MTT NLHE balance: $23,488,768
2020 balance: $16,066,443
blue distance: $1,306,900
balance: $77,874,453

Toy train

Last night, the midnight train went missing again. I had to settle for a toy train, a tournament with a buy in one twentieth the size of the midnight train's buy in. This attracted a much larger field, but the payouts were minuscule. I ended up making the money, such as it was. I fully expect the midnight train to be running tonight.

style flavor buy_in  entry players entries paid place winnings

MTT   NLHE     9000   1000       6     315   84    78    14100

delta: $4,100
MTT NLHE balance: $23,288,768
2020 balance: $15,866,443
blue distance: $1,506,900
balance: $77,674,453

Some nice round numbers

The night before last, I made the money in an MTT NLHE tournament for the 500th time. Last night, I played in my 1,200th MTT NLHE tournament. That translates to making the money at nearly a 42% clip, for a sustained period of time. Here's to my next 500 in the money finishes :-)

style flavor buy_in  entry players entries paid place winnings

MTT   NLHE   174000  26000       6      74   21    31        0

delta: $-200,000
MTT NLHE balance: $23,284,668
2020 balance: $15,862,343
blue distance: $1,511,000
balance: $77,670,353

Stalking the wild sure thing

Every now and then, I come across a tournament in a delightful state, when there's oodles and oodles of dead money and not much time remaining in the late registration period.

This is an excerpt from my February 12 post of this year. Last night, I came close to encountering this mythical beast again, in the first tournament I entered. The proof? Even though I only lasted 3 hands, I still managed to hit the 42nd percentile :-)

style flavor buy_in  entry players entries paid place winnings

MTT   NLHE   174000  26000       6      52   15    30        0
MTT   NLHE    45000   5000       6      90   21    21    89000

delta: $-161,000
MTT NLHE balance: $23,484,668
2020 balance: $16,062,343
blue distance: $1,311,000
balance: $77,870,353

Tripped up

Big stacks always have the option to play more loosely than small stacks, and often do. It leaves a bad taste in my mouth when I hit the rail on a bad beat, losing to a loose big stack. However, that's poker, and I accept it. It happened to me again last night. On my final hand of the tournament, I hit trip jacks on the turn, but lost to a big stack who rivered a straight. At least I got to station 2 :-)

style flavor buy_in  entry players entries paid place winnings

MTT   NLHE   174000  26000       6      89   21    34        0

delta: $-200,000
MTT NLHE balance: $23,645,668
2020 balance: $16,223,343
blue distance: $1,150,000
balance: $78,031,353

Aqueous humor not so funny to me

The poker gods were in an aqueous humor again last night, but I was the butt of their jokes this time. I started off the session with two quick 0th places. In the first tournament I entered, I hit the rail on a hand where I was dealt AQo (ace queen offsuit)  and made two pair (aces and queens) on the river, but lost to an opponent who'd flopped a diamond flush. In the second tournament, I hit the rail with the same holding, this time making the two pair on the flop, but losing to an opponent who rivered a straight. I played a third tournament and did much better, earning an official place, but still failed to make the money. How to lose nearly a million in four easy lessons :-)

style flavor buy_in  entry players entries paid place winnings

MTT   NLHE   174000  26000       6      53   15     -        0
MTT   NLHE    45000   5000       6      19    6     -        0
MTT   NLHE    87000  13000       6      43   12    19        0

delta: $-350,000
MTT NLHE balance: $23,845,668
2020 balance: $16,423,343
blue distance: $950,000
balance: $78,231,353

Doppelsession

The most memorable thing about last night's session was that it was almost a carbon copy of the one before it. I hit the 67th percentile in both, and was within shouting distance of making the money. Not much to shout about, unfortunately :-)

style flavor buy_in  entry players entries paid place winnings

MTT   NLHE   174000  26000       6      90   21    29        0

delta: $-200,000
MTT NLHE balance: $24,195,668
2020 balance: $16,773,343
blue distance: $600,000
balance: $78,581,353

My endless poker summer

"The Endless Summer" was a documentary movie about surfing made in 1965. I've always loved the title. My endless poker summer is my lifetime average percentile for MTT NLHE tournaments; it quickly stabilized to 72, and has remained there ever since. No matter what I do, I can't budge it :-)

style flavor buy_in  entry players entries paid place winnings

MTT   NLHE   174000  26000       6      82   21    27        0

delta: $-200,000
MTT NLHE balance: $24,395,668
2020 balance: $16,973,343
blue distance: $400,000
balance: $78,781,353

AQ < Q5

The most memorable hand of last night's session was the one where my stack was gutted like a fish, leaving me with just 17 chips. I'd been dealt ace queen, and paired my queen on the flop. I had top pair top kicker, and that stayed true through the turn and the river. I lost to a queen five, who'd paired his five on the turn for two pair. Can I just say, "Ouch"? :-)

style flavor buy_in  entry players entries paid place winnings

MTT   NLHE   174000  26000       6      92   24    54        0

delta: $-200,000
MTT NLHE balance: $24,595,668
2020 balance: $17,173,343
blue distance: $200,000
balance: $78,981,353

Lightning strikes twice

I made it under the lights again last night, and just missed being Lord High Everything Else again. I also just missed getting a Full Monty again. On the strength of my second straight deep run, my overall balance returned to the blue. All is right once more in my poker world :-)

style flavor buy_in  entry players entries paid place winnings

MTT   NLHE   174000  26000       6      60   15     3  1179000

delta: $979,000
MTT NLHE balance: $24,795,668
2020 balance: $17,373,343
blue distance: $0
balance: $79,181,353

Lord High Everything Else

On Saturday night, I achieved a Full Monty, finishing in second place as Lord High Everything Else. I nearly achieved a double century, lasting 198 hands. I had an epic heads up battle; it must have lasted at least 40 hands. I started heads up play with roughly 40,000 chips to my opponent's 130,000. On my final hand, I was dealt A8o (ace eight offsuit), and shoved. My opponent called, and turned over A7o (ace seven offsuit). I had him dominated, but he spiked a 7 on the river. At least I got my money in good :-)

style flavor buy_in  entry players entries paid place winnings

MTT   NLHE   174000  26000       6      94   24     2  1701000

delta: $1,501,000
MTT NLHE balance: $23,816,668
2020 balance: $16,394,343
blue distance: $875,000
balance: $78,202,353

When the buy in is right but the style is wrong

I've grown so accustomed to $200,000 buy ins that it's hard to stomach playing for lower stakes. This is a problem when the midnight train goes missing, since the only $200,000 buy in tournament that's likely to be available in that case is a bounty tournament. I try to avoid bounties like the plague. Last night, the midnight train went missing again, and I couldn't stop myself from jumping into the $200,000 buy in bounty that was on offer at the time. Bad move. I should have just settled for a $50,000 buy in MTT NLHE. A favorite poker style should trump a favorite buy in every single time.

style flavor buy_in entry players entries paid place winnings

MTT-B NLHE   174000 26000       9     149   36     -        0

delta: $-200,000
MTT with bounties NLHE balance: $-2,183,820
2020 balance: $14,893,343
blue distance: $2,376,000
balance: $76,701,353

A tale of two pocks

Last night, I made it to station 2, outlasting over half of the field. Two hands stand out in my mind. I was dealt pocks in both. In the first, I was dealt pocket threes, and folded them before the flop, not willing to call a reasonably sized bet. Of course, a third three showed up in the flop :-) In the second, incidentally my final hand of the night, I was dealt pocket sevens. Since I was short-stacked, I went all in with them. I navigated the flop and turn successfully, but was done in by the river. If I lose again tonight, I will have completed yet another "How to lose a million in five easy lessons" crash course :-)

style flavor buy_in  entry players entries paid place winnings

MTT   NLHE   174000  26000       6      69   18    32        0

delta: $-200,000
MTT NLHE balance: $22,315,668
2020 balance: $15,093,343
blue distance: $2,176,000
balance: $76,901,353

Pockmarked

Pocket pairs, aka "pocks", are funny things. They're strong holdings, but they don't always hold up. Last night, all three of my pocks bit the dust. They definitely caused my session to be pockmarked :-) 

This is an excerpt from my June 17, 2014 post, back in my cash game days. Last night, I had pocket royalty twice (pocket kings once, pocket queens once), and lost both times to split aces. To add insult to injury, I missed outlasting the late registration period by less than a minute, earning me another 0th place.

style flavor buy_in  entry players entries paid place winnings

MTT   NLHE   174000  26000       6      60   15     -        0

delta: $-200,000
MTT NLHE balance: $22,515,668
2020 balance: $15,293,343
blue distance: $1,976,000
balance: $77,101,353

Bubble boy

On Saturday night I was the bubble boy, missing the money by a single spot. It was the 5th MTT NLHE I've bubbled this year, and 13th of my career. Bubbling is never fun, but you have to expect it to happen to you now and again. Looked at in a certain way, bubbling is actually quite a lucky occurrence :-)

style flavor buy_in  entry players entries paid place winnings

MTT   NLHE   174000  26000       6      96   24    25        0

delta: $-200,000
MTT NLHE balance: $22,715,668
2020 balance: $15,493,343
blue distance: $1,776,000
balance: $77,301,353

Disappearing into the year

The deeper you play into a poker year, the more the accumulated data of the year outweighs whatever your current results are. In effect, you disappear into the year, and it takes a search party to find you. 

This is an excerpt from my November 2, 2019 post, which I also appropriated for my July 27 post of this year. In the July post, I thought I was destined to make a profit of 25 million this year; I have to lower that projection to 18 million. Still not a bad haul :-)

style flavor buy_in  entry players entries paid place winnings

MTT   NLHE   174000  26000       6      71   18    26        0

delta: $-200,000
MTT NLHE balance: $22,915,668
2020 balance: $15,693,343
blue distance: $1,576,000
balance: $77,501,353

Lightning strikes twice

When you make the final table of an MTT, it feels like capturing lightning in a bottle. When you do that two tournaments in a row, it feels like lightning striking twice :-)

This is an excerpt from my May 1, 2020 post, and applies equally well to last night's session. Even though the prize pool was less than the one from the session before, I made a slightly bigger profit via the expedient of finishing one place better :-)

style flavor buy_in  entry players entries paid place winnings

MTT   NLHE   174000  26000       6      75   21     5  887000

delta: $687,000
MTT NLHE balance: $23,115,668
2020 balance: $15,893,343
blue distance: $1,376,000
balance: $77,701,353

Under the lights

It's quite possible I achieved another personal first last night. Before making the money, I survived a fall in. As a refresher, a fall in is when you have such a short stack that the combination of ante and small or big blind puts you all in. After making the money, I lasted long enough to get under the lights. I've survived fall ins before, and made it under the lights before, but believe this is the first time I've ever survived a fall in and gone on to get under the lights. Quite the "chip and a chair" scenario :-)

style flavor buy_in  entry players entries paid place winnings

MTT   NLHE   174000  26000       6      86   21     6   867000

delta: $667,000
MTT NLHE balance: $22,428,668
2020 balance: $15,206,343
blue distance: $2,063,000
balance: $77,014,353

Knocking on the door

Although I again failed to make the money last night, I came mighty close. Any time you have a percentile north of 70, you're doing well. On the final hand of the night, I suffered a bad beat. I'd been dealt ATo (ace ten offsuit), was short-stacked, and decided to shove. I got one caller; he'd been dealt A7o (ace seven offsuit), making me a healthy favorite. He paired both of his hole cards on the flop, however, and that was all she wrote.

style flavor buy_in  entry players entries paid place winnings

MTT   NLHE   174000  26000       6      72   18    21        0

delta: $-200,000
MTT NLHE balance: $21,761,668
2020 balance: $14,539,343
blue distance: $2,730,000
balance: $76,347,353

How to lose a million in five easy lessons

This is the second time I've used this blog post title; the first was on July 8 of this year. Here's an excerpt of what I had to say:

The title of this post is tongue in cheek, of course. No one wants to take a course in how to lose money. For that matter, anyone who wants to lose money can easily do it, without need of instruction. I simply wanted to come up with a humorous way to summarize my last five sessions. Like clockwork, I lost $200,000 each time.

I made it to station 2 last night, largely due to winning a huge pot early on with a set of jacks. I'm hoping to make it to station 3 tonight.

style flavor buy_in  entry players entries paid place winnings

MTT   NLHE   174000  26000       6      55   15    27        0

delta: $-200,000
MTT NLHE balance: $21,961,668
2020 balance: $14,739,343
blue distance: $2,530,000
balance: $76,547,353

Rushed decision

There's an old adage in poker that "long is wrong". In other words, if you take an exorbitant amount of time to make a decision, its quality is likely to be poor. Of course, there's a lower bound on how long you should spend on a decision as well - fall below it at your peril. That's what happened to me last night; I exited the tournament due to a rushed decision. A little background is necessary here. Due to the fact that MTT NLHE tournaments on PokerStars can last two hours or more, periodic five minute breaks every 45 minutes or so are built in. I typically use one of these breaks to relieve my bladder and floss and brush my teeth. I usually get back to my laptop before the break is over, but sometimes I don't. Last night, I didn't. When I returned, I saw that I'd been dealt KQo (king queen offsuit), but was in danger of being auto sat out, as the action was on me and my time was ticking down. I panicked, and called a bet without even looking at how many opponents were still in the hand, how big the bet was, or how many chips I had left. Idiotic behavior, to be sure. My call put me all in against two opponents, and I got what I deserved - I was gone in a New York minute. One consolation - in an earlier hand, I hit quad threes for a welcome, if brief, chip infusion.

style flavor buy_in  entry players entries paid place winnings

MTT   NLHE   174000  26000       6      48   12     -        0

delta: $-200,000
MTT NLHE balance: $22,161,668
2020 balance: $14,939,343
blue distance: $2,330,000
balance: $76,747,353

Another station 0

On Thursday night, I registered another station 0, the third in my last five tournaments. I don't remember any details, just the unsatisfactory result. It's safe to say I'm in a slump, but I know it won't last forever.

style flavor buy_in  entry players entries paid place winnings

MTT   NLHE   174000  26000       6      80   21     -        0

delta: $-200,000
MTT NLHE balance: $22,361,668
2020 balance: $15,139,343
blue distance: $2,130,000
balance: $76,947,353

Brexit

Latest neo neo: brexit. It's my poker shorthand for brutal exit. Last night, I hit the rail in a very brutal way. I was short-stacked, was dealt the ace of hearts and another heart, and shoved when two of the flop cards came up hearts.. I hit my flush on the turn, but lost to an opponent who made quad queens on the river. The silver lining? I made it to station 2, which was my minimum goal.

style flavor buy_in  entry players entries paid place winnings

MTT   NLHE   174000  26000       6      77   21    34        0

delta: $-200,000
MTT NLHE balance: $22,561,668
2020 balance: $15,339,343
blue distance: $1,930,000
balance: $77,147,353

Slicked out

I first used this blog post title on August 18 of this year; here's an excerpt of what I had to say:

I call it a slickout when I hit the rail with a big slick (ace king). I call it being slicked out when I hit the rail and my opponent is the one with a big slick.

Last night, I got slicked out when I was all in with AQo (ace queen offsuit). It was yet another 0th place, my second in the last three tournaments. Tonight I hope to make it to station 2 at least.

style flavor buy_in  entry players entries paid place winnings

MTT   NLHE   174000  26000       6      54   15     -        0

delta: $-200,000
MTT NLHE balance: $22,761,668
2020 balance: $15,539,343
blue distance: $1,730,000
balance: $77,347,353

Jackpot

Last night, I received pocket jacks four times. One of those hands matured into quad jacks. It was a good thing, too, since I'd flopped a set of jacks, called all in with them, and found out to my dismay that I was a 28% underdog after the turn. I don't know what my opponent had, but it was either a straight or a flush. I needed either the board to pair, which would give me a full house, or to river the case jack for quads. That shot me to the top of the leaderboard, and I promptly took a poker selfie :-)

style flavor buy_in  entry players entries paid place winnings

MTT   NLHE   174000  26000       6      67   18     4   979000

delta: $779,000
MTT NLHE balance: $22,961,668
2020 balance: $15,739,343
blue distance: $1,530,000
balance: $77,547,353

Station 0

I really hate it when I can't outlast the late registration period of a tournament. Thankfully, it doesn't happen too often. When it does, I record it in my poker database as a 0th place. In the midnight train metaphor, it's a station 0. After 17 straight tournaments without one, I had a station 0 last night. I only won a few hands, and one of them was a chop. Whatcha gonna do?

style flavor buy_in  entry players entries paid place winnings

MTT   NLHE   174000  26000       6      61   18     -        0

delta: $-200,000
MTT NLHE balance: $22,182,668
2020 balance: $14,960,343
blue distance: $2,309,000
balance: $76,768,353

The money caboose

When you make the money in the bottom paying place of a tournament, you've made what could be called the money caboose. It's a min cash, but better than not cashing at all. In fact, if I'm going to min cash, I'd rather it be the money caboose, since that's a more dramatic finishing spot. The edge of the cliff, as it were. That's where I ended up last night.

style flavor buy_in  entry players entries paid place winnings

MTT   NLHE   174000  26000       6      86   21    21   329000

delta: $129,000
MTT NLHE balance: $22,382,668
2020 balance: $15,160,343
blue distance: $2,109,000
balance: $76,968,353

Putting a million dollar loss into perspective

Of the 3,287 sessions I've played in my online poker career, there have been only three where I lost at least a million play dollars. The first time that happened, on July 21, 2012, it represented 18.7% of my overall balance. The second time, on August 24, 2015, it represented 12.2% of my overall balance. The most recent time, two nights ago, it represented just 1.3% of my overall balance. Puppy food :-)

style flavor buy_in  entry players entries paid place winnings

MTT   NLHE   174000  26000       6      64   18    16   278000

delta: $78,000
MTT NLHE balance: $22,253,668
2020 balance: $15,031,343
blue distance: $2,238,000
balance: $76,839,353

P.S. Last night, the midnight train returned, as I knew it would.

Midnight train missing again

I first used this blog post title on August 31 of this year; here's an excerpt of what I had to say:

My bread and butter buy in for MTT NLHE is $200,000. As I've mentioned before, there's a nightly tournament with this buy in which starts at 11:28pm EST and whose late registration period ends at 12:12am EST. I call this tournament the midnight train. Every so often the midnight train goes missing. I always fret that it's gone for good when this happens, but so far it's always shown up again the very next night. Last night it went missing again ...

Last night the midnight train went missing again, but this time there was no obvious replacement. I wanted to play a 6max MTT NLHE with at least a $100,000 buy in, but none were on offer using my standard search criteria. I decided to look for a higher stakes tournament, and found a 6max MTT NLHE with a $1,000,000 buy in which was nearing the end of its late registration period. I jumped in and made it to Station 2. I ended up bubbling the bubble. I'm not going to be a high stakes regular, but it's a thrill to play high stakes every now and then :-)

style flavor buy_in  entry players entries paid place winnings

MTT   NLHE   870000 130000       6      37   10    12        0

delta: $-1,000,000
MTT NLHE balance: $22,175,668
2020 balance: $14,953,343
blue distance: $2,316,000
balance: $76,761,353

Coolerbyed

A coolerbye is a cooler goodbye; in other words, a hand where you hit the rail on a cooler. Last night, I got coolerbyed. On my last hand of the tournament, I was dealt pocket queens, and lost to an opponent who'd been dealt rockets (pocket aces). I think of this as Cooler #2. Cooler #1, as I've mentioned before, is cowboys (pocket kings) vs. rockets.

style flavor buy_in entry players entries paid place winnings

MTT   NLHE   174000 26000       6      93   24    50        0

delta: $-200,000
MTT NLHE balance: $23,175,668
2020 balance: $15,953,343
blue distance: $1,316,000
balance: $77,761,353

Apockalypse now

The most memorable hand of last night's session was one that I folded before the flop. I'd been dealt pocket queens and was preparing to back them strongly. However, one player acting before me put in a big bet, which had me pondering. When a second player acting before me put in a big raise, there was nothing to ponder anymore; I folded gladly. The original bettor called all in. He turned over cowboys (pocket kings), and the raiser turned over rockets (pocket aces). The rockets held, and the kings hit the rail. Funnily enough, the river card was a queen, which would have won me a huge pot if I'd stayed in the hand. Nevertheless, my fold was correct.

style flavor buy_in entry players entries paid place winnings

MTT   NLHE   174000 26000       6      82   21     9   542000

delta: $342,000
MTT NLHE balance: $23,375,668
2020 balance: $16,153,343
blue distance: $1,116,000
balance: $77,961,353

Another station 2

Last night, I rode the night train to station 2 again. That is, I outlasted the late registration period, and outlasted at least half of the field. Unfortunately, I didn't get to station 3 (making the money). That made me curious to know what percentage of the tournaments where I failed to make the money were station 2 tournaments, so I checked it out. The answer? 54.28 (368 of 678).

style flavor buy_in entry players entries paid place winnings

MTT   NLHE   174000 26000       6      71   18    27        0

delta: $-200,000
MTT NLHE balance: $23,033,668
2020 balance: $15,811,343
blue distance: $1,458,000
balance: $77,619,353

Shot from guns tournament

I first came up with the concept of a shot from guns session in my cash game days. Later, I applied it to tournaments. Last night, I had a shot from guns tournament; I won the first two hands I was dealt, and never looked back. When I joined the tournament, there were only eight minutes left in the late registration period; that was due to playing a lengthy chess session before switching to poker.

style flavor buy_in entry players entries paid place winnings

MTT   NLHE   174000 26000       6      85   21    21   325000

delta: $125,000
MTT NLHE balance: $23,233,668
2020 balance: $16,011,343
blue distance: $1,258,000
balance: $77,819,353

Three memorable hands

Last night's session featured three memorable hands, the first two of which were consecutive. Hand 1: I was dealt QJo (queen jack offsuit), and flopped a king high straight. Hand 2: I was dealt pocket threes, and flopped quad threes. Hand 3: I was dealt pocket fours, flopped a set, shoved, and hit a full house of fours full of fives on the river. With luck like that, it's hard not to make the money :-)

style flavor buy_in entry players entries paid place winnings

MTT   NLHE   174000 26000       6      95   24    19   330000

delta: $130,000
MTT NLHE balance: $23,108,668
2020 balance: $15,886,343
blue distance: $1,383,000
balance: $77,694,353

Badbeatbyed

Time for another neo neo. A badbeatbye is a hand where you hit the rail on a bad beat. To use the verb form, I got badbeatbyed last night. I was dealt a pair of queens and hit a set on the flop. I shoved and got one caller. He hit a queen high straight on the river. Whatcha gonna do?

style flavor buy_in entry players entries paid place winnings

MTT   NLHE   174000 26000       6      92   24    26       0

delta: $-200,000
MTT NLHE balance: $22,978,668
2020 balance: $15,756,343
blue distance: $1,513,000
balance: $77,564,353

When the queen came

When the dream came
I held my breath with my eyes closed

Buffalo Springfield, "On the Way Home"

When the queen came
I was holding my breath with my eyes open

neostreet

Last night, nearing the money bubble, I was short-stacked and got dealt ATs (ace ten suited). In my head I said to my hole cards, "You never looked shovelier". Accordingly, I shoved preflop and got one caller. He'd been dealt cowboys (pocket kings), so I was roughly a 2 to 1 underdog. I became an even more severe underdog when he hit a set of kings on the turn. My only hope was to fill an inside straight; I needed a queen to complete Broadway. Miraculously, the queen came on the river. I made the money soon after that stroke of luck.

style flavor buy_in entry players entries paid place winnings

MTT   NLHE   174000 26000       6      69   18    14   360000

delta: $160,000
MTT NLHE balance: $23,178,668
2020 balance: $15,956,343
blue distance: $1,313,000
balance: $77,764,353

River aced out

Last night, I fared a little better in chess before playing poker, registering 2 wins, 2 draws, and 4 losses. My chess rating still took a hit, but not as big a one as before. The only hand I remember from my poker tournament was the last one. I had a nine in my hand, and the high card of the flop was a nine. The turn was another low card, and I was in good shape to double up. However, my opponent rivered an ace, giving him aces up, and that was all she wrote.

style flavor buy_in entry players entries paid place winnings

MTT   NLHE   174000 26000       6     101   24    52        0

delta: $-200,000
MTT NLHE balance: $23,018,668
2020 balance: $15,796,343
blue distance: $1,473,000
balance: $77,604,353

Chess hammer a bad omen

Even though I abandoned my chess blog years ago, I've never abandoned chess. I've fallen into the pleasurable habit of playing chess before every poker session. In the last month, my chess rating has risen to a new personal best. Last night, however, it took a beating. I played nine games, winning just two and losing seven. Since deuce seven is jokingly called a hammer in poker, I'm calling a 2 and 7 result a chess hammer :-) It was a bad omen, as I missed the money in my poker tournament by a country mile.

style flavor buy_in entry players entries paid place winnings

MTT   NLHE   174000 26000       6      71   18    40        0

delta: $-200,000
MTT NLHE balance: $23,218,668
2020 balance: $15,996,343
blue distance: $1,273,000
balance: $77,804,353

Escape velocity

At one point I wrote a chess blog in addition to this poker one. Since chess and poker have commonalities, some of my chess posts have ideas I can steal for poker posts :-) Here's what I had to say in a chess blog post with an identical title, written on January 24, 2015:

One of the wonderful features of blitz is that it allows you to subvert the traditional purpose of a chess game, which is to checkmate your opponent. Blitz allows you to aim solely for a time win. If you think you can think just faster enough than your opponent to make enough "good enough" moves to cause him to lose on time, no matter how far ahead he is materially and positionally, I say go for it! The ultimate artistic triumph of this form of subverted chess is to have only your king remaining at the end. I almost achieved that rare distinction in the second game I played last night. I had only my king and one pawn, while my opponent had a king, a queen, and a pawn. My king did a little soft shoe routine between two squares near the middle of the board while my opponent's time ran out.

I call this type of win an "escape velocity" win. Escape velocity is the speed a rocket must reach in order to escape earth's gravity. In order to achieve this, a lot of fuel must be burned, and at some point the section of the rocket which contained the now-spent fuel must be jettisoned. The part of the rocket which reaches outer space is necessarily much smaller than the original rocket. In an "escape velocity" blitz win, when the time advantage one has over one's opponent is big enough, pieces can be jettisoned with impunity, in order to get one's king into "outer space" - alone but untouchable, since one's opponent simply has no more time :-)

An escape velocity win in a poker tournament is when you min cash with virtually no chips - just enough to fold your way into the money. That's what I did last night; when the money bubble burst, I had just 42 chips to my name.

style flavor buy_in entry players entries paid place winnings

MTT   NLHE   174000 26000       6      97   24    22   337000

delta: $137,000
MTT NLHE balance: $23,418,668
2020 balance: $16,196,343
blue distance: $1,073,000
balance: $78,004,353

Stations along the line

I've often likened playing a poker tournament to riding on a train. You never know when you're going to be thrown off the train, but there are stations along the line you hope to reach before that happens. The first station is outlasting the late registration period. If you can achieve that, typically you will have outlasted about a third of the field. The next station is outlasting at least half of the field. The next station after that is making the money; that means you will have outlasted at least seventy percent of the field. The penultimate station is getting to the final table, aka getting under the lights; that means you will have outlasted at least ninety percent of the field. Of course, the final station is winning the tournament. Last night, I reached the second station. All things considered, not that bad a result.

style flavor buy_in entry players entries paid place winnings

MTT   NLHE   174000 26000       6      91   24    40        0

delta: $-200,000
MTT NLHE balance: $23,281,668
2020 balance: $16,059,343
blue distance: $1,210,000
balance: $77,867,353

The lion in winter

When you're short-stacked in a tournament, you're in a poker winter. There's more than a decent chance you'll end up like the Jack Nicholson character at the end of "The Shining", a frozen corpse. The question becomes, how will you play? Last night, I chose to play like a lion in winter. I missed the money, but not by much.

style flavor buy_in entry players entries paid place winnings

MTT   NLHE   174000 26000       6      69   18    20        0

delta: $-200,000
MTT NLHE balance: $23,481,668
2020 balance: $16,259,343
blue distance: $1,010,000
balance: $78,067,353

My new favorite trick

Last night, I figured out how to work around the deficiency of my new laptop's trackpad, and it's become my new favorite trick. I should have thought of it long before this. All I need to do is Alt Tab to take me to a different window, move the cursor to the side, then Alt Tab again to return to the PokerStars client. Safe as houses :-)

style flavor buy_in entry players entries paid place winnings

MTT   NLHE   174000 26000       6      85   21     8   650000

delta: $450,000
MTT NLHE balance: $23,681,668
2020 balance: $16,459,343
blue distance: $810,000
balance: $78,267,353

The ho-hum eight

Even though seven of my last eight sessions (including last night's) have been losing ones, for an aggregate loss of $1,260,000, those sessions are far from the hateful eight; they're closer to the ho-hum eight :-) This is due to my impressive loss portfolio. That million plus loss doesn't even crack the top 100 eight session aggregate losses of my career, believe it or not. For the record, my largest eight session aggregate loss is $3,348,000, from October 14 through 21 of last year. That's the current hateful eight :-)

style flavor buy_in entry players entries paid place winnings

MTT   NLHE   174000 26000       6      74   21    41        0

delta: $-200,000
MTT NLHE balance: $23,231,668
2020 balance: $16,009,343
blue distance: $1,260,000
balance: $77,817,353

Laptop design failure

My session ended abruptly last night due to a design failure of my new laptop. Specifically, a failure in the design of the trackpad. It has no mouse buttons; my old laptop did. Without mouse buttons, the trackpad itself must emulate their features. That's where the problem lies. The primary function of the trackpad is to move the cursor around. Thanks to no mouse buttons, the secondary function is to register left clicks and right clicks. It's a bad idea to overload the same input device with multiple functions, since the action intended by the user can be misconstrued. That's what happened to me last night. I had top pair (jacks) on the turn, but there were two deuces on the board. An opponent bet big enough to put me all in if I called, so I figured he had a deuce in his hand. I decided to fold. Unfortunately, the cursor was hovering over the call button, so I needed to move it over the fold button and then perform a left click operation on the trackpad. I put a little bit too much pressure on the trackpad in my attempt to move the cursor, and my action was interpreted as a left click instead. I was put all in, and was out in a New York minute; my opponent did indeed have a deuce. This never could have happened had my laptop's trackpad included mouse buttons. Expletive deleted.

style flavor buy_in entry players entries paid place winnings

MTT   NLHE   174000 26000       6      42   10     -        0

delta: $-200,000
MTT NLHE balance: $23,431,668
2020 balance: $16,209,343
blue distance: $1,060,000
balance: $78,017,353

Three on a match

I used this blog post title once before, on November 20, 2012. Here's a brief excerpt of what I had to say:

The old superstition about three on a match has its poker analogue; you really don't want to be the third one going in to a huge pot.

Back then, I was playing cash games, but this advice applies equally well to tournaments. On my final hand last night, I was dealt a big slick (ace king). A player acting before me bet big enough to put me all in if I called, and a second player acting before me called. The correct play here was to fold, but I was both too impatient and too stubborn to do it. I had a decent chance to win after the flop, but the initial bettor hit a straight on the river, and that was all she wrote.

style flavor buy_in entry players entries paid place winnings

MTT   NLHE   174000 26000       6      28    8     -        0

delta: $-200,000
MTT NLHE balance: $23,631,668
2020 balance: $16,409,343
blue distance: $860,000
balance: $78,217,353

Heaven's door

Whenever I'm dealt pocks (a pocket pair) and pay to see the flop, what I'm hoping to do, of course, is flop a set. Sometimes, I get a premonition that I'm going to hit one; often, the premonition comes true. More rarely, the premonition is more specific - namely, that I'll hit the set with the door card (the first card in the flop). Last night, I got the door card premonition when I was dealt pocket fives. It came true, which virtually ensured that I'd make the money. You could say I flopped heaven's door :-)

style flavor buy_in entry players entries paid place winnings

MTT   NLHE   174000 26000       6      89   21    20   340000

delta: $140,000
MTT NLHE balance: $23,831,668
2020 balance: $16,609,343
blue distance: $660,000
balance: $78,417,353

Session quirk

When I can't find a lot to say about a session poker-wise, I fall back on statistics :-) When I looked at the summary data of last night's session, one quirky thing stood out - the number of entries, the number of paid places, and my place shared the same digit in the units position. That got me to wondering how rare that might be, so I wrote a program to figure that out. The answer? Rare indeed; it's only happened 8 times in 1,154 MTT NLHEs.

style flavor buy_in entry players entries paid place winnings

MTT   NLHE   174000 26000       6      81   21    51        0

delta: $-200,000
MTT NLHE balance: $23,691,668
2020 balance: $16,469,343
blue distance: $800,000
balance: $78,277,353

Cooler #1

A cooler is a hand where two or more players are dealt a premium holding. Neither (or none) of the players will be likely to fold, so at least one player will be in for a world of hurt. Different players may have different ideas about what constitutes the most hurtful cooler. My cooler #1 is when one player has been dealt rockets (pocket aces) and another has been dealt cowboys (pocket kings). The player with the aces is an 81.06% favorite to win the hand, and stands to make a killing. Last night, I was on the right end of a cooler #1 early on. Two players went with me to showdown, and I raked in a huge pot, shooting my stack up to the #5 spot. Alas, despite this good fortune, I failed to make the money.

style flavor buy_in entry players entries paid place winnings

MTT   NLHE   174000 26000       6      93   24    29        0

delta: $-200,000
MTT NLHE balance: $23,891,668
2020 balance: $16,669,343
blue distance: $600,000
balance: $78,477,353

Two hand memories

I can only remember partial details of two hands from last night's session. On the first, I was dealt a pair of threes; they were good enough to see the flop with, but I had to fold them when I whiffed on the flop. On the second, I was dealt ATo (ace ten offsuit) and went all the way to showdown, but lost to an AJo.

style flavor buy_in entry players entries paid place winnings

MTT   NLHE   174000 26000       6      81   21    42        0

delta: $-200,000
MTT NLHE balance: $24,091,668
2020 balance: $16,869,343
blue distance: $400,000
balance: $78,677,353

Another down payment

Losing sessions are a simple fact of poker life. So far in my career, I've had 1,526 losing sessions. If they had happened one right after the other, I would have had a losing streak more than four years long. The way I look at losing sessions is that they're simply down payments on future profits. Last night I made another one :-)

style flavor buy_in entry players entries paid place winnings

MTT   NLHE   174000 26000       6      69   18    27        0

delta: $-200,000
MTT NLHE balance: $24,291,668
2020 balance: $17,069,343
blue distance: $200,000
balance: $78,877,353

A fine blue cadence

Lately I've settled into a fine blue cadence. What I mean by this is that I'm regularly achieving blue sessions, at fairly predictable intervals. Already, this year's blue count is the third highest of my career. Last night, I did something I almost never do - I registered for a tournament before it began. That meant I got to play more hands, as long as I didn't run into a cooler or do something stupid. Playing more hands is not always a good idea in cash games, but it's unequivocally a good idea in tournaments :-)

style flavor buy_in entry players entries paid place winnings

MTT   NLHE   174000 26000       6      77   21     7   669000

delta: $469,000
MTT NLHE balance: $24,491,668
2020 balance: $17,269,343
blue distance: $0
balance: $79,077,353

Tenliness is next to quadliness

The most memorable hand of last night's session, as is so often the case, was one I lost. I was dealt cowboys (pocket kings) and hit a set on the flop. My set of kings improved to a full house of kings full of tens on the turn. However, the river was another ten, and I lost to quad tens. Thanks to my opponent betting conservatively on the river, I didn't lose my shirt. I was able to make the money, and even laddered up two money jumps after the money bubble burst.

style flavor buy_in entry players entries paid place winnings

MTT   NLHE   174000 26000       6      79   21    14   384000

delta: $184,000
MTT NLHE balance: $24,022,668
2020 balance: $16,800,343
blue distance: $66,000
balance: $78,608,353

Come out cowboys crushed

Last night's session was short, but definitely not sweet. I was dealt cowboys (pocket kings) on the very first hand, and called the all in preflop bet of a player I had covered (barely). He turned over A6o (ace six offsuit), which meant that I was a heavy favorite. However, it wasn't meant to be. He spiked an ace on the river,  leaving my stack on life support. It gave up the ghost about five hands later, and I recorded another 0th place.

style flavor buy_in entry players entries paid place winnings

MTT   NLHE   174000 26000       6      56   15     -        0

delta: $-200,000
MTT NLHE balance: $23,838,668
2020 balance: $16,616,343
blue distance: $250,000
balance: $78,424,353

Puppy food

I missed the late train last night, due to playing online chess. By the time I eventually logged in to PokerStars, the only 6max MTT NLHE on offer was a $50,000 buy in one. Puppy food! However, beggars can't be choosy. I refuse to play 9max, but I also refuse not to play at all once I've logged in.

style flavor buy_in entry players entries paid place winnings

MTT   NLHE    45000  5000       6     118   30    34        0

delta: $-50,000
MTT NLHE balance: $24,038,668
2020 balance: $16,816,343
blue distance: $50,000
balance: $78,624,353

Grand slam

I got back into the blue last night. The way I did it triggered my probability radar; I thought it might be a unique sequence of events. I was almost right :-) Here's what I saw when I examined my recent poker sessions: blue, loss, loss, loss, loss, blue. It's unusual to have only losses between blue sessions. It's highly unusual to have at least four losses with no wins between blue sessions. I hereby dub this achievement a grand slam. It turns out this was only the second grand slam of my poker career.

style flavor buy_in entry players entries paid place winnings

MTT   NLHE   174000 26000       6      93   24     5  1051000

delta: $851,000
MTT NLHE balance: $24,088,668
2020 balance: $16,866,343
blue distance: $0
balance: $78,674,353

Fantasy hands

Fantasy hands are hands you make after you've already folded. You may well have folded for excellent reasons, but it can still be tough to see what you missed out on, especially if you folded before the flop and the fantasy hand materialized on the flop. Last night, I had two fantasy straights. I folded before the flop both times. Later, I flopped an actual straight; I'm guessing I saw the flop in that case due to being in the big blind. Alas, I didn't win a big enough pot to propel me into the money.

style flavor buy_in entry players entries paid place winnings

MTT   NLHE   174000 26000       6      57   15    24        0

delta: $-200,000
MTT NLHE balance: $23,237,668
2020 balance: $16,015,343
blue distance: $800,000
balance: $77,823,353

The privilege of not thinking

I've played poker for so many years I could probably play it in my sleep :-) It's often difficult to remember what happened the night before when I sit down to write a new post. One reason for this is that when I'm in the zone, I play on autopilot, making correct poker decisions without any conscious thought. I'm relying on pattern recognition, which can largely replace thinking. The totality of all the poker decisions I've made in the past frees me from having to make conscious decisions in the present. In effect, I've earned the privilege of not thinking :-)

style flavor buy_in entry players entries paid place winnings

MTT   NLHE   174000 26000       6      75   21    35        0

delta: $-200,000
MTT NLHE balance: $23,437,668
2020 balance: $16,215,343
blue distance: $600,000
balance: $78,023,353

Acceptable losses

The most play money I've ever lost in a single year is $62,878,000, in 2018. That same year, I won $63,949,000, so I was in the black for the year to the tune of just over a million. I find it helpful to track the gains and losses separately in addition to aggregating them. So far this year I've lost $22,689,657, and my extrapolated losses for the year are a smidge over $30,500,000. This raises the question: what constitute acceptable losses? The facile answer is anything less than one's gains :-) A more nuanced answer might be losses on the order of the losses you had in a previous year that you were proud of. This year has all the earmarks of a year I'm going to be proud of :-)

style flavor buy_in entry players entries paid place winnings

MTT   NLHE   174000 26000       6      81    21   25        0

delta: $-200,000
MTT NLHE balance: $23,637,668
2020 balance: $16,415,343
blue distance: $400,000
balance: $78,223,353

Special Janus percentile

I'm always on the lookout for numerical beauty in my poker data. It's especially nice to find it in a losing session :-) I failed to make the money in last night's tournament, but found some pretty numbers hiding in plain sight in the tournament data. My place was exactly half the number of entries, making my percentile a Janus percentile. On top of that, the number of paid places was exactly half my place, making the tournament statistics even more special. How special? In 1,142 MTT NLHE tournaments, this symmetry has only occurred this one time.

style flavor buy_in entry players entries paid place winnings

MTT   NLHE   174000 26000       6      72   18    36        0

delta: $-200,000
MTT NLHE balance: $23,837,668
2020 balance: $16,615,343
blue distance: $200,000
balance: $78,423,353

The opposite of a McMansion

A McMansion is a house whose main purpose is to flaunt the owner's wealth. McMansions aren't very useful in life, and the same is true of McMansions in poker. A McMansion in poker is a full house at or near the top of the power scale - aces full of kings, for example. You generally won't get a lot of action with a McMansion. A much better full house, profit-wise, is baby cards full of smaller baby cards. That's the opposite of a McMansion. On Thursday night, my most memorable hand was just such a full house - sevens full of fours. I made a killing with it, and that helped me make the money. I even got under the lights :-)

style flavor buy_in entry players entries paid place winnings

MTT   NLHE   174000 26000       6      86   21     6   867000

delta: $667,000
MTT NLHE balance: $24,037,668
2020 balance: $16,815,343
blue distance: $0
balance: $78,623,353

Bubbling the blue

Last night, I bubbled the blue again. I'm playing well, and predict I'll return to the blue tonight. A min cash will do the trick :-)

style flavor buy_in entry players entries paid place winnings

MTT   NLHE   174000 26000       6      81   21    16   352000

delta: $152,000
MTT NLHE balance: $23,370,668
2020 balance: $16,148,343
blue distance: $14,000
balance: $77,956,353

Doppelsession

Last night's session was a dead ringer of Sunday night's. Not only was the number of entries the same, my finishing place was the same. Not only that, finishing 7th or better would have returned my overall balance to the blue, just as it would have in Sunday's tournament. You can't make this shit up :-) I've decided to add blue distance to my daily stats. As a refresher, my goal is to get my blue distance to zero as often as I can.

style flavor buy_in entry players entries paid place winnings

MTT   NLHE   174000 26000       6      75   21    10   417000

delta: $217,000
MTT NLHE balance: $23,218,668
2020 balance: $15,996,343
blue distance: $166,000
balance: $77,804,353

Mystery check

As is so often the case, the most memorable hand of last night's session was one that I lost. I didn't hit the rail with it, but when the dust had settled, my stack was on life support. What was so memorable about the hand was not something I did; it was something my opponent didn't do. I'd been dealt a small pair, and never hit a set. The river card was an ace, and there was a nine in the flop. He'd been dealt A9o (ace nine offsuit), so he'd made aces up on the river. He was first to act, and simply checked. There were no straight or flush draws, and the board hadn't paired. I can't fathom checking in that spot; it's a mystery to me why he did. I checked right back, and quickly got the bad news. I can only come up with two possible explanations for his check, and neither is very plausible or satisfying:

1. he was preparing a check-raise

2. he took pity on a short stack

If I had to pick, I'd go with the first.

style flavor buy_in entry players entries paid place winnings

MTT   NLHE   174000 26000       6      92   24    41        0

delta: $-200,000
MTT NLHE balance: $23,001,668
2020 balance: $15,779,343
balance: $77,587,353

Three spots away from blue

As is my custom, as soon as the late registration period of last night's tournament was over, I checked the payout table to see if there were places which would return my overall balance to the blue. Indeed there were - 7th place through 1st place would all do the trick. I made the money without much trouble, and was gunning for 7th from that point on. I ended up going all in on a flopped two pair, but lost to a rivered flush. I finished in 10th; not too shabby :-)

style flavor buy_in entry players entries paid place winnings

MTT   NLHE   174000 26000       6      75   21    10   417000

delta: $217,000
MTT NLHE balance: $23,201,668
2020 balance: $15,979,343
balance: $77,787,353

A perfectly executed check-raise

Last night, I recorded another 0th place, but in a much different fashion from the night before. I was playing well, and should have doubled up on my final hand. Here's how it went down:

- I flopped an open-ended straight draw, bet it, and got one caller

- I hit the low end of the straight on the turn, and checked

- my opponent bet, I raised all in, and my opponent called

- my opponent was on a flush draw, making me a favorite

- my opponent hit his flush on the river

The fact that I hit the rail in no way diminishes the perfection of my check-raise. Cold comfort, but sometimes that's the only kind the poker gods will give you :-)

style flavor buy_in entry players entries paid place winnings

MTT   NLHE   174000 26000       6      53   15     -        0

delta: $-200,000
MTT NLHE balance: $22,984,668
2020 balance: $15,762,343
balance: $77,570,353

Speedy demise

I've never kept detailed records of my 0th place finishes, so I don't know exactly where last night's result falls. Suffice it to say, it doesn't stack up very well. Here are some of its demerits:

1. I didn't last long

2. I didn't win many pots, and one of them was a chop

3. there were 8 minutes left in the late registration period when I hit the rail

It's not too surprising that none of the hands were particularly memorable. I'll do my best to outlast the late registration period tonight.

style flavor buy_in entry players entries paid place winnings

MTT   NLHE   174000 26000       6      67   18     -        0

delta: $-200,000
MTT NLHE balance: $23,184,668
2020 balance: $15,962,343
balance: $77,770,353

Sweet sixteen

Last night, I recorded a partial Half Monty, just good enough to get back in the blue. It was my 33rd blue session of the year. My 2020 balance broke the 16 million play dollar boundary for the second time. Once again, all is right in my poker world :-)

style flavor buy_in entry players entries paid place winnings

MTT   NLHE   174000 26000       6      86   21     9   568000

delta: $368,000
MTT NLHE balance: $23,384,668
2020 balance: $16,162,343
balance: $77,970,353

My most common session delta

Last night, I lost $200,00 again. $-200,000 is my most common session delta by far - 159 sessions and counting. My next most common is $-100,000 - 124 sessions and counting. That means I've lost a whopping $44,200,000 with my two most common session deltas. It stands to reason that the most common session deltas are all negative; when you miss the money in a tournament, you lose the sum of the buy in and the entry fee exactly, but when you make the money, your profit varies widely.

style flavor buy_in entry players entries paid place winnings

MTT   NLHE   174000 26000       6      82   21    24        0

delta: $-200,000
MTT NLHE balance: $23,016,668
2020 balance: $15,794,343
balance: $77,602,353

My favorite tournament zip code

As I've said before, I don't like being a tournament frontrunner. I don't enjoy having one of the smallest stacks, either. My favorite tournament zip code is at the bottom of the top two thirds of the field. I feel like I can hang out there all day :-) That's where I was for much of last night's tournament, and it got me under the lights.

style flavor buy_in entry players entries paid place winnings

MTT   NLHE   174000 26000       6      83   21     6   837000

delta: $637,000
MTT NLHE balance: $23,216,668
2020 balance: $15,994,343
balance: $77,802,353

The set that wasn't

The most memorable hand of last night's session was one I didn't play. As I've mentioned before, when I play online poker, I don't give it my undivided attention. I'm often web surfing. This habit generally allows me to make better poker decisions, strangely enough, but it also puts me in danger of being automatically sat out, which will happen if my clock runs out before I act. On the hand in question, I was surfing when the hand was dealt. When I got around to looking at my hand, I only had a couple of seconds to act. I saw that I had pocket fives and was about to click the call button when my time ran out. Another five showed up in the flop, which would have given me a set had I still been in the hand. That set would have won the pot, which went instead to a player who only had a measly pair. That pot would have given me a better shot at making the money. I'll pay better attention tonight.

style flavor buy_in entry players entries paid place winnings

MTT   NLHE   174000 26000       6      87   21    32        0

delta: $-200,000
MTT NLHE balance: $22,579,668
2020 balance: $15,357,343
balance: $77,165,353