Never far from the blue

On the strength of my second min cash in a row, my overall balance returned to the blue last night. There are two ways to be far from the blue:

1.  in dollars
2.  in sessions

Since May 8, when my overall balance returned to the blue for the first time this year, I've never been far from the blue in either of these quanta. That's just the way I like it :-)

style flavor buy_in entry players entries paid place winnings

MTT   NLHE   174000 26000       6      89   21    19   340000

delta: $140,000
MTT NLHE balance: $22,116,668
2020 balance: $14,894,343
balance: $76,702,353

The best time to join a tournament

I used to think there was an optimal time to join a tournament. I had it narrowed down to whenever at least half but less than three quarters of the late registration period has elapsed. Now I think that idea was rather silly. The best time to join a tournament turns out to be any time - any time at all :-) For the record, I joined last night's tournament with 7 minutes remaining.

style flavor buy_in entry players entries paid place winnings

MTT   NLHE   174000 26000       6     116   30    28   302000

delta: $102,000
MTT NLHE balance: $21,976,668
2020 balance: $14,754,343
balance: $76,562,353

A premium farewell

Two things stand out about last night's session:

1. I didn't outlast the late registration period, so I had another 0th place
2. I hit the rail with a premium hand, AKs (ace king suited)

I aim to do better tonight.

style flavor buy_in entry players entries paid place winnings

MTT   NLHE   174000 26000       6      79   21     -        0

delta: $-200,000
MTT NLHE balance: $21,874,668
2020 balance: $14,652,343
balance: $76,460,353

A stampede of cowboys

Last night, I witnessed a stampede of cowboys. Early on, I received them twice in a row, which is highly unusual. I won the first hand but lost the second. Later, I lost a good-sized pot to an opponent who'd been dealt cowboys. Later still, I got them again, and won with them again. I ended up making the money by the skin of my teeth. Even though it was a min cash, it was enough to return my overall balance to the blue. That's what I was aiming for :-)

style flavor buy_in entry players entries paid place winnings

MTT   NLHE   174000 26000       6      90   21    21   344000

delta: $144,000
MTT NLHE balance: $22,074,668
2020 balance: $14,852,343
balance: $76,660,353

Disappearing into the year

This is the second time I've used this blog post title. The first was on November 2 of last year; here's an excerpt of what I had to say:

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.

Just seven months into 2020, I feel like I've already disappeared into it. It seems that no matter what, I'm destined to make a profit of 25 million this year. I'll take it :-)

style flavor buy_in entry players entries paid place winnings

MTT   NLHE   174000 26000       6      83   21    10   462000

delta: $262,000
MTT NLHE balance: $21,930,668
2020 balance: $14,708,343
balance: $76,516,353

A superdonk far from home

The natural habitat of the superdonk is the rebuy tournament. That's the primary reason I don't play rebuys anymore. Last night, I encountered a superdonk who was far from home, playing in a tournament without rebuys. He kept going all in every hand, picking up the antes and the blinds when everyone else folded. I had him in my sights; I was just waiting to be dealt a decent pair to call him. Another player beat me to it, however. The superdonk was gone in a New York minute. Good riddance!

style flavor buy_in entry players entries paid place winnings

MTT   NLHE    87000 13000       6     108   30    64        0

delta: $-100,000
MTT NLHE balance: $21,668,668
2020 balance: $14,446,343
balance: $76,254,353

Between the thirty-sixes

I'm sure that as long as I continue to play poker, I'll continue to set personal bests. However, my very success has put some of my existing personal bests forever out of my reach. They're gold standards, never to be bettered, no matter how hard I try. The same kind of thing is true of some of my personal worsts; I'll never do worse than them, though of course I'd never try to :-) Let me give you two concrete examples, one a personal best and the other a personal worst, so you'll see what I mean.

The largest percentage of my overall balance I ever won in a single session is 36.55. On March 25, 2009, my overall balance was $76,342 before the session started, and I won $27,900.

The largest percentage of my overall balance I ever lost in a single session is 36.58. On April 11, 2009, my overall balance was $121,929 before the session started, and I lost $44,600.

My current overall balance is $78,354,353. In order to beat my largest percentage won personal best, I'd have to win over $28 million in a single session. That's never going to happen. Likewise, in order to beat my largest percentage lost personal worst, I'd have to lose over $28 million n a single session. That's never going to happen either. That's okay though; I'm perfectly content to play out the remainder of my career between the thirty-sixes.

style flavor buy_in entry players entries paid place winnings

MTT   NLHE   174000 26000       6      87   21    15   423000

delta: $223,000
MTT NLHE balance: $21,768,668
2020 balance: $14,546,343
balance: $76,354,353

Back in the saddle again

I'm happy to report that there was a $200,000 buy in 6-max MTT NLHE tournament on offer again last night, at the usual time. I was very pleased to see it. These tournaments typically attract enough entries to push the money up top over 2 million, with places 2 through 5 paying out over a million each. That's what I'm talkin' about :-)

style flavor buy_in entry players entries paid place winnings

MTT   NLHE   174000 26000       6      91   24    16   364000

delta: $164,000
MTT NLHE balance: $21,545,668
2020 balance: $14,323,343
balance: $76,131,353

The end of the gravy train?

I used this blog post title once before, on June 5, 2018. This time around, the gravy train I'm fearful has gone away is the $200,000 buy in 6-max MTT NLHE tournament. It used to run like clockwork starting at 11:28 p.m. every night, but was nowhere to be found last night. I had to settle for a $10,000 buy in 6-max MTT NLHE. To use a beer analogy, that's like looking forward to a nice cold Blue Moon and being forced to settle for a warm Rheingold. In other words, yuck :-)

style flavor buy_in entry players entries paid place winnings

MTT   NLHE     9000  1000       6     445  114   231        0

delta: $-10,000
MTT NLHE balance: $21,381,668
2020 balance: $14,159,343
balance: $75,967,353

Route 66

Last night, I extended my consecutive nights played streak to 66. My all time high is 79, set back in 2015. I intend to surpass that. I missed the money by three spots. Any time you have a percentile north of 70, it's a good bet you played well, regardless of whether or not you made the money.

style flavor buy_in entry players entries paid place winnings

MTT   NLHE   174000 26000       6      97   24    27        0

delta: $-200,000
MTT NLHE balance: $21,391,668
2020 balance: $14,169,343
balance: $75,977,353

The most hidden hand of all

The easiest way to win chips in poker is to have a hidden hand. That's a hand that no opponent expects you to have. The most hidden hand of all is ducks (pocket deuces). There are a lot of ways to lose with ducks. In fact, that's precisely why they're the most hidden hand :-) Last night, I received ducks twice, and flopped a set both times. I raked in a good-sized pot each time, setting me up nicely to make the money.

style flavor buy_in entry players entries paid place winnings

MTT   NLHE   174000 26000       6      95   24    13   429000

delta: $229,000
MTT NLHE balance: $21,591,668
2020 balance: $14,369,343
balance: $76,177,353

Lion or lamb

When a tournament approaches the money bubble, every remaining player must decide if they want to play like a lion or play like a lamb. Lions are going for the money up top; lambs are just going for a min cash. Interestingly, there's no hard and fast answer to the problem of how one should play. Many times, I'm content to be a lamb, and try to fold my way into the money. However, many other times I insist on being a lion; that's what I did last night. I missed the money by three spots, but have zero regrets :-)

style flavor buy_in entry players entries paid place winnings

MTT   NLHE   174000 26000       6      85   21    24        0

delta: $-200,000
MTT NLHE balance: $21,362,668
2020 balance: $14,140,343
balance: $75,948,353

Out of oxygen

If you're short-stacked at the time the late registration period expires, you're usually a goner. That was certainly the case for me last night. You simply don't have enough poker oxygen to survive, barring some incredible luck. Interestingly, the hand I rode into the sunset was the same final hand as the one I'd had the session before - ATo (ace ten offsuit).

style flavor buy_in entry players entries paid place winnings

MTT   NLHE   174000 26000       6     115   30    70        0

delta: $-200,000
MTT NLHE balance: $21,562,668
2020 balance: $14,340,343
balance: $76,148,353

You were never shovelier

The shorter your stack gets, the wider your shoving range becomes. A hand you would never shove with if you had a healthy stack can be almost obligatory to shove with when your stack is sickly. Why? The reason is simple. When your stack is small enough, your only legitimate actions are to fold or to shove. If your hand is halfway decent, you must shove. That's the position I was in on the final hand of last night's session. I was dealt ATo (ace ten offsuit), which was certainly good enough to shove with, given my minuscule stack. I lost to an opponent who hit a straight on the river. Knowing I'd made the correct play took some of the sting out of hitting the rail.

style flavor buy_in entry players entries paid place winnings

MTT   NLHE   174000 26000       6     114   30    35        0

delta: $-200,000
MTT NLHE balance: $21,762,668
2020 balance: $14,540,343
balance: $76,348,353

A rash of straights

In last night's session, I had a rash of straights - three in a single tournament. I won all three of those hands, and they propelled me up the leaderboard. I got to second place twice, but never became the chip leader (so I never took a selfie). On the strength of another deep run, my overall balance returned to the blue. It was my 26th blue session of the year.

style flavor buy_in entry players entries paid place winnings

MTT   NLHE   174000 26000       6      85   21    10   473000

delta: $273,000
MTT NLHE balance: $21,962,668
2020 balance: $14,740,343
balance: $76,548,353

The Janus percentile

I remember almost no details of last night's session. The most striking thing about it was that my percentile was exactly 50. In other words, I outlasted precisely half the field. That and a dollar might buy you a small bag of potato chips :-)

style flavor buy_in entry players entries paid place winnings

MTT   NLHE   174000 26000       6      80   21    40        0

delta: $-200,000
MTT NLHE balance: $21,689,668
2020 balance: $14,467,343
balance: $76,275,353

Under the lights

Last night's session was almost a carbon copy of the one before. Once again I got under the lights, once again I came in fourth, and once again I achieved a Partial Monty. On the strength of all that, my overall balance returned to the blue. I'm developing a true fondness for fourth place :-)

style flavor buy_in entry players entries paid place winnings

MTT   NLHE   174000 26000       6      81   21     4  1099000

delta: $899,000
MTT NLHE balance: $21,889,668
2020 balance: $14,667,343
balance: $76,475,353

Under the lights

A deep run in a tournament can cure a lot of poker ills. I had one last night, getting all the way to the final table. I erased over half my blue distance in one fell swoop. I've now come in 4th place 16 times in MTT NLHE 6-max tournaments, making it my most common place. I'll take it :-)

style flavor buy_in entry players entries paid place winnings

MTT   NLHE   174000 26000       6      70   18     4  1023000

delta: $823,000
MTT NLHE balance: $20,990,668
2020 balance: $13,768,343
balance: $75,576,353

Saved by a snowman

I had no business making the money last night, but did. I was saved by a snowman. When short-stacked, and dealt pocket eights (aka snowmen), I shoved. One player called, and turned over KQo (king queen offsuit). He paired his king on the flop, and I was facing a world of hurt. The turn was a blank. Mirabile dictu, I spiked an eight on the river, which gave me enough chips to ease my way into the money. I've been the victim of two outers like that quite a few times, so it's fair play to be the beneficiary of one :-)

style flavor buy_in entry players entries paid place winnings

MTT   NLHE   174000 26000       6      74   21    15   360000

delta: $160,000
MTT NLHE balance: $20,167,668
2020 balance: $12,945,343
balance: $74,753,353

The imp of the perverse

Last night, I hit the rail with a great holding - cowboys (pocket kings). I was ahead the whole way until the river. The river put the third card to a flush out there, and my opponent bet big enough to put me all in if I called. I knew I should fold, but couldn't bring myself to. Needless to say, I lost to a flush. The imp of the perverse struck once again :-)

style flavor buy_in entry players entries paid place winnings

MTT   NLHE   174000 26000       6     102   24    41        0

delta: $-200,000
MTT NLHE balance: $20,007,668
2020 balance: $12,785,343
balance: $74,593,353

Stopping the bitch

Long losing streaks are a bitch, and last night, I stopped the bitch. It was just a min cash, but beggars can't be choosy :-) The most memorable hand of the session was the one where I flopped a straight and also a flush draw. I would have preferred not to hit my flush, but did hit it; luckily there was no uberflush out there. I'll try to extend my modest winning streak to 2 tonight.

style flavor buy_in entry players entries paid place winnings

MTT   NLHE   174000 26000       6      92   24    20   320000

delta: $120,000
MTT NLHE balance: $20,207,668
2020 balance: $12,985,343
balance: $74,793,353

The maybe pair

One of the trickiest poker hands to play is what I call the maybe pair. That's the scenario where you're dealt a pocket pair and there's no pair in the flop, but at least one of the cards in the flop is an overcard to your pair. You can't simply assume that you're losing, but you also can't assume you're winning. You should proceed with caution, and let the betting patterns of your opponents inform your decisions. In the most memorable hand of last night's session, I won a decent-sized pot with a maybe pair. I was dealt pocket queens, and there was a king and two low cards in the flop. One opponent kept betting two times the big blind, and I kept calling. That was actually a pretty polarizing bet; in other words, the size of bet someone with a king in their hand might make, and also the size of bet someone without a king in their hand might make :-) I went with the odds, which favored that the opponent was of the latter variety. Sad to say, that hand was the highlight of my night.

style flavor buy_in entry players entries paid place winnings

MTT   NLHE   174000 26000       6      79   21     -        0

delta: $-200,000
MTT NLHE balance: $20,087,668
2020 balance: $12,865,343
balance: $74,673,353

Mucked ducks

I play poker on autopilot much of the time. There are advantages and disadvantages to this. One of the biggest advantages is that I don't have to pay much attention. Ironically, that's also one of the biggest disadvantages. Allow me to explain. Poker is largely a game of pattern recognition. When you're new to the game, you have to think a lot about what you're doing, since your pattern bank is empty. As you encounter the same types of situations over and over, you start to see the patterns, and this allows you to think less. All you have to do is recognize the pattern, and then perform the correct action for that pattern, based on your previous thought processes. You take a shortcut - instead of thinking through the situation again, you simply remember what you did before and do it again :-) Of course, that's an oversimplification, but you get the idea. The problem with not having to think is that it makes if very hard to remember specifics. To write interesting blog posts about poker, it helps to be able to remember at least some of the specifics.

The only memory I can dredge up from last night's session is a pretty boring one. I was dealt ducks (pocket deuces), called the big blind amount, then had to fold before the flop when a player acting after me raised and another player called. It was a case of mucked ducks :-)

style flavor buy_in entry players entries paid place winnings

MTT   NLHE   174000 26000       6      96   24    41        0 

delta: $-200,000
MTT NLHE balance: $20,287,668
2020 balance: $13,065,343
balance: $74,873,353

How to lose a million in five easy lessons

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. On my final hand of last night's session, I was short-stacked and was dealt snowmen (pocket eights). I shoved and got two callers. One of them had been dealt QJo (queen jack offsuit), and paired his jack on the flop. His jacks held up. My percentile was an anemic 54.78, but at least I outlasted the late registration period :-)

style flavor buy_in entry players entries paid place winnings

MTT   NLHE   174000 26000       6     115   30    52        0

delta: $-200,000
MTT NLHE balance: $20,487,668
2020 balance: $13,265,343
balance: $75,073,353

Paying luck forward

The honorable thing to do when you've been the beneficiary of more than your fair share of luck is to pay it forward. That's what I did in last night's tournament. Early on, I went out on a limb with a ace in my hand, an ace in the flop, and four cards to a flush on the turn. I shoved, and needed to pair my other hole card or hit my flush on the river to survive. I hit my flush. On my final hand, very close to the money and severely short-stacked, I was dealt KJs (king jack suited). I could try to weasel my way into the money by folding every remaining hand, or I could honor the luck I'd received before by not folding. I didn't fold. I missed the money by two spots, but don't regret a thing.

style flavor buy_in entry players entries paid place winnings

MTT   NLHE   174000 26000       6     104   30    32        0

delta: $-200,000
MTT NLHE balance: $20,687,668
2020 balance: $13,465,343
balance: $75,273,353

Chopping the moon

Flopping the moon is a wonderful thing. Chopping it? Not so much. Last night, on a hand where I was dealt A7o (ace seven offsuit), I flopped the moon when two aces and a seven showed up. However, an opponent had also been dealt an ace, and when another seven showed up on the turn, my advantage vanished. After a brief raising war on the river, I shoved, my opponent called, and we chopped the pot. The only chips we gained on the hand were half the blinds and half the antes each. Things went downhill for me after that, and I ended up with the dreaded double dash (i.e. I failed to outlast the late registration period). On a more positive note, I extended my consecutive nights played streak to 50.

style flavor buy_in entry players entries paid place winnings

MTT   NLHE   174000 26000       6      68   18     -        0

delta: $-200,000
MTT NLHE balance: $20,887,668
2020 balance: $13,665,343
balance: $75,473,353

The perfect way to play quads

The most memorable hand of last night's session was the one which I lost to quad jacks. That put my stack on life support, and I only lasted one more hand. The quads hit on the turn, and my opponent played them perfectly, making the minimum bet on both the turn and the river. Any bigger bets and I probably would have folded. I had an ace in my hand, and thought I smelled a rat. That's what a minimum bet can induce. I would have played the same way myself, if the roles had been reversed.

style flavor buy_in entry players entries paid place winnings

MTT   NLHE   174000 26000       6      89   21    37        0

delta: $-200,000
MTT NLHE balance: $21,087,668
2020 balance: $13,865,343
balance: $75,673,353

Junk is junk

The most memorable hand of last night's session was one when I didn't pay to see the flop. I was dealt Q3o (queen three offsuit), and threw it immediately into the muck. I had a slightly wistful feeling when two of the three cards in the flop came up queens, but still knew I'd made the correct play. You have to get rid of crap hands no matter what. Junk is junk.

style flavor buy_in entry players entries paid place winnings

MTT   NLHE   174000 26000       6     100   24    36        0

delta: $-200,000
MTT NLHE balance: $21,287,668
2020 balance: $14,065,343
balance: $75,873,353

When your hand improves to your detriment

The most memorable hand of last night's session was one that improved to my detriment. I was dealt JTo (jack ten offsuit), and flopped Broadway (an ace high straight). Not only that, I had a flush draw. When I hit my flush on the river, however, I lost to a better flush. Sometimes, it pays not to improve :-)

style flavor buy_in entry players entries paid place winnings

MTT   NLHE   174000 26000       6     104   30    10   488000

delta: $288,000
MTT NLHE balance: $21,487,668
2020 balance: $14,265,343
balance: $76,073,353

The halfway point

One nice thing about leap years (of which 2020 is one) is that the number of days in the year is evenly divisible. There are 183 days in the first half, and 183 days in the second. In leap years, the second half of the year begins on July 2, which is today. The makes extrapolations of yearly totals child's play - simply double the first half numbers. Last night, I made the money again, made it under the lights again, and finished in the blue again. Here are some yearly totals extrapolations:

itm finishes          216
utl finishes           38
blue finishes          46
Full Montys            12
profit        $27,954,686

My 2020 itm batting average is currently .495 (108 for 218). Yummy :-)

style flavor buy_in entry players entries paid place winnings

MTT   NLHE   174000 26000       6      92   24     5  1040000

delta: $840,000
MTT NLHE balance: $21,199,668
2020 balance: $13,977,343
balance: $75,785,353

An all-in June

With last night's session, I completed a perfect poker attendance record for June. An all-in June, if you will :-) The last day I missed a session was May 16th. I just don't feel right if I don't play poker every night. I'm going to keep this streak going as long as I can.

style flavor buy_in entry players entries paid place winnings

MTT   NLHE   174000 26000       6      73   21    11   406000

delta: $206,000
MTT NLHE balance: $20,359,668
2020 balance: $13,137,343
balance: $74,945,353