Back to back sets

What stands out from last night's session is not a single hand, but a pair of hands. One immediately followed the other. On the first, I was dealt pocket fives, hit a set on the flop, but ended up losing to a straight. On the second, I was dealt pocket eights, hit a set on the flop, and ended up winning a huge pot. That more than made up for the chips I lost on the first hand, and put me in a great position to make the money. Which I did :-)

style flavor buy_in  entry players entries paid place winnings

MTT   NLHE   174000  26000       6      94   24    19   327000

delta: $127,000
MTT NLHE balance: $25,996,768
2021 balance: $2,675,000
blue distance: $997,000
balance: $80,340,453

Apockalypse now

The most memorable hand of last night's session was one I had to lay down. I was dealt pocket tens, but had to let them go before the flop due to a betting war between two of my opponents. That turned out to be a wise choice. One of them had pocket aces and the other had pocket jacks. Apockalypse now :-) The rockets held and the jacks hit the rail. Sad to say, that laydown was the highlight of my night. As far as I recall, I didn't win a single hand.

style flavor buy_in  entry players entries paid place winnings

MTT   NLHE   174000  26000       6      88   21     0        0

delta: $-200,000
MTT NLHE balance: $25,869,768
2021 balance: $2,548,000
blue distance: $1,124,000
balance: $80,213,453

Slicked out

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.

This is an excerpt from my August 18, 2020 post. Last night, I got slicked out when my ace ten ran into an ace king. The good news? My Station 2 streak is still alive :-)

style flavor buy_in  entry players entries paid place winnings

MTT   NLHE   174000  26000       6      73   21    23        0

delta: $-200,000
MTT NLHE balance: $26,069,768
2021 balance: $2,748,000
blue distance: $924,000
balance: $80,413,453

Station 2 streak

I have good news and bad news to report about last night's session. First, the bad news: I lost a huge chunk of my stack on a hand where my king high flush lost to an ace high. It was the most hurtful kind of uberflush, where both hole cards of the winner and both hole cards of the loser are of the flush suit. Now, the good news: although I missed the money, by finishing higher than at least half of the field, I kept my station 2 streak alive; it's currently at 15.

style flavor buy_in  entry players entries paid place winnings

MTT   NLHE   174000  26000       6      69   18    34        0

delta: $-200,000
MTT NLHE balance: $26,269,768
2021 balance: $2,948,000
blue distance: $724,000
balance: $80,613,453

Broken wheel

Last night, I hit the rail in brutal fashion. The money bubble was approaching. I was short-stacked and had to call all in preflop. The turn gave me a glimmer of hope - a gutshot straight draw. If I hit a deuce on the river, I'd make a wheel (a five high straight). I did hit a deuce, but my wheel was no good; it lost to a flush an opponent hit on the river. Ouch!

style flavor buy_in  entry players entries paid place winnings

MTT   NLHE   174000  26000       6      95   24    27        0

delta: $-200,000
MTT NLHE balance: $26,469,768
2021 balance: $3,148,000
blue distance: $524,000
balance: $80,813,453

Feast and famine

Last night, I saw a lot of flops early on in the tournament, since I was getting good cards. My stack shot up the leaderboard. At the end of the tournament, I didn't dare to pay to see a single flop, since the good cards were no longer coming my way. My only hope was to try to fold my way into the money. I made it, but just barely. I'm hankering for a deeper run tonight.

style flavor buy_in  entry players entries paid place winnings

MTT   NLHE   174000  26000       6      97   24    23   337000

delta: $137,000
MTT NLHE balance: $26,669,768
2021 balance: $3,348,000
blue distance: $324,000
balance: $81,013,453

A nearly perfect doppeltournament

A perfect doppeltournament is a tournament which exactly matches another tournament in all of the following particulars: style, flavor, buy in, entry fee, number of players, number of entries, places paid, and place. I've had plenty of perfect doppeltournaments, but have never had two consecutive tournaments where the second was a perfect doppel of the first. Last night, I came very close; everything matched the previous tournament except for the place, which was off by 1. Oh, the lengths I sometimes have to go to, to find something to write about a losing session :-)

style flavor buy_in  entry players entries paid place winnings

MTT   NLHE   174000  26000       6      98   24    27        0

delta: $-200,000
MTT NLHE balance: $26,532,768
2021 balance: $3,211,000
blue distance: $461,000
balance: $80,876,453

The one that got away

I don't remember exactly when it happened, but sometime in the last six months the PokerStars client lowered the time allowed for each poker decision. That's a good thing in general, since it speeds up play. I make my decisions quite quickly, so I haven't been adversely affected. Except for the rare occasions when I have :-) Last night's session included one of them. I was dealt the ace and jack of clubs, and was just about to pay to see the flop when my time ran out and my hand was auto-folded. Why did my time run out? Since I was indulging in my habit of surfing while playing online poker, and stayed away from my table a little bit too long. Had I been on time to call, I would have won the hand, which would have given me a better chance to make the money. Live and learn.

style flavor buy_in  entry players entries paid place winnings

MTT   NLHE   174000  26000       6      98   24    28        0

delta: $-200,000
MTT NLHE balance: $26,732,768
2021 balance: $3,411,000
blue distance: $261,000
balance: $81,076,453

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.

This is an except from my October 12, 2020 post. Excerpts are fractal :-) Last night, on a hand where I was dealt rockets, I decided to be the third one in. That put me all in. I hoped my opponents would have hands which sabotaged each other, and they did :-)

style flavor buy_in  entry players entries paid place winnings

MTT   NLHE   174000  26000       6      78   21    18   339000

delta: $139,000
MTT NLHE balance: $26,932,768
2021 balance: $3,611,000
blue distance: $61,000
balance: $81,276,453

A minimum requirement

Last night, my streak of winning sessions came to an end. I made it to station 2, but no further. Getting to station 2 is the minimum requirement for me to be satisfied with my play. Time to start a new streak!

style flavor buy_in  entry players entries paid place winnings

MTT   NLHE   174000  26000       6      86   21    40        0

delta: $-200,000
MTT NLHE balance: $26,793,768
2021 balance: $3,472,000
blue distance: $200,000
balance: $81,137,453

The 10 minute rule

For the longest time, I was undecided on the optimal moment to join an MTT. MTTs almost always have late registration periods, so there's a wide range of times to join. I'm undecided no longer; I think the best time to join an MTT is when there are 10 minutes or less remaining in the late registration period. This gives ample opportunity for others to hit the rail before you put your first chip at risk; their buy ins are now community property :-)

This is an excerpt from my December 24, 2016 post. Last night, I boarded the midnight train just after midnight, when there were 10 minutes left in the late registration period. I made the money for the fifth session in a row. Another benefit to joining tournaments this late, beside the one of increasing my chances of making the money, is that it gives me more time to play online chess :-)

style flavor buy_in  entry players entries paid place winnings

MTT   NLHE   174000  26000       6      90   21    17   391000

delta: $191,000
MTT NLHE balance: $26,993,768
2021 balance: $3,672,000
blue distance: $0
balance: $81,337,453

The sneakiness of winning streaks

Losing streaks get in your face; there's nothing subtle about them. Winning streaks, on the other hand, can sneak up on you. I'm always willing to be surprised like that :-) Last night, I survived a fall in to min cash in the last paid place. Seemingly all of a sudden, I have a four session winning streak. I'll do my best to extend it to five tonight.

style flavor buy_in  entry players entries paid place winnings

MTT   NLHE   174000  26000       6      70   18    18   304000

delta: $104,000
MTT NLHE balance: $26,802,768
2021 balance: $3,481,000
blue distance: $0
balance: $81,146,453

Set after set

Last night, the deck kept hitting me in the face. That's a good thing! It means you keep getting great hole cards. I kept getting pocket pairs, and flopping sets. It's practically impossible not to make the money under those circumstances. I had a set of nines twice, and a set of sevens once. I also had trips once; I forget the denomination. Ironically, my best set came on the hand when I hit the rail; my set of queens lost to an ace high straight.

style flavor buy_in  entry players entries paid place winnings

MTT   NLHE   174000  26000       6      89   21     6   898000

delta: $698,000
MTT NLHE balance: $26,698,768
2021 balance: $3,377,000
blue distance: $0
balance: $81,042,453

Second blue session in a row

Last night, I had my second blue session in a row, and third in the last four sessions. I could get used to this :-)

style flavor buy_in  entry players entries paid place winnings

MTT   NLHE   174000  26000       6      96   24    16   384000

delta: $184,000
MTT NLHE balance: $26,000,768
2021 balance: $2,679,000
blue distance: $0
balance: $80,344,453

Quantifying a deep run

Last night, I had another deep run. As is often the case, I had a presentiment I was going to go deep well before it happened. What constitutes a deep run? A sufficiently high percentile. What should that be? In my opinion, at least 90. Last night, I hit it on the nose. As an added bonus, I got back into the blue :-)

style flavor buy_in  entry players entries paid place winnings

MTT   NLHE   174000  26000       6     105   30    10   493000

delta: $293,000
MTT NLHE balance: $25,816,768
2021 balance: $2,495,000
blue distance: $0
balance: $80,160,453

From hooray to ho-hum

Practically any result in the tournament after a tournament where you came in first will be a disappointment in comparison. Last night, I made it to Station 2 but could get no further. It was a thoroughly mediocre session. However, you have to slog through sessions like that on the way to your next huge score, and I'm perfectly willing to do that :-)

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: $25,523,768
2021 balance: $2,202,000
blue distance: $200,000
balance: $79,867,453

My blue heaven

Last night, I achieved a Double Full Monty, making a profit of over two million play dollars. That returned my overall balance to the blue, breaking the 80 million barrier for the first time. It was the second time I've ever come in first in an MTT NLHE. Needless to say, it was a great feeling :-)

style flavor buy_in  entry players entries paid place winnings

MTT   NLHE   174000  26000       6      90   21     1  2215000 

delta: $2,015,000
MTT NLHE balance: $25,723,768
2021 balance: $2,402,000
blue distance: $0
balance: $80,067,453

Aces and faces

One of the wonderful things about poker is that if you play long enough, you'll experience periods where you get great cards with great frequency. It was my turn last night. I kept getting aces and faces. AQ multiple times, and AK even more often. It's hard to fail to make the money in such cases, and I didn't :-)

style flavor buy_in  entry players entries paid place winnings

MTT   NLHE   174000  26000       6      74   21     9   489000

delta: $289,000
MTT NLHE balance: $23,708,768
2021 balance: $387,000
blue distance: $1,128,900
balance: $78,052,453

Ousted by a superdonk

Last night, on my final hand, I got my chips in good. I'd been dealt pocket tens, and they stayed overcards to the board the whole time. I was up against a superdonk who tried to bully me into folding, but I was having none of it. When I called all in on the flop, he turned over 87o (eight seven offsuit) and had a straight draw, but I was still a 65% favorite. As luck would have it, he hit his straight on the river. Whatcha gonna do?

style flavor buy_in  entry players entries paid place winnings

MTT   NLHE   174000  26000       6      83   21    50        0

delta: $-200,000
MTT NLHE balance: $23,419,768
2021 balance: $98,000
blue distance: $1,417,900
balance: $77,763,453

Poker tax

Paying to see the flop is similar to paying taxes, except that you pay the tax before you gain the revenue. It's incredible how often, when I try to get cute and avoid paying tax on a marginal hand, I'm punished by a flop which would have given me a great chance of winning. I don't get cute as often as I used to, it's true, but I still do it a bit too much.

This is an excerpt from my August 10, 2010 post. Last night, I failed to pay the tax on a hand where I'd been dealt ducks (pocket deuces) and immediately regretted it when a third deuce showed up in the flop. The tax on a pocket pair should almost always be paid, provided it doesn't exceed a big blind. My mighty ducks would have won that hand had I paid for them; seeing as I narrowly missed the money, it was quite a costly mistake.

style flavor buy_in  entry players entries paid place winnings

MTT   NLHE   174000  26000       6     102   24    26        0

delta: $-200,000
MTT NLHE balance: $23,619,768
2021 balance: $298,000
blue distance: $1,217,900
balance: $77,963,453

Surfing into the money

One of the strange things about poker is how well you can do paying very little attention. For much of last night's session, I was web surfing, yet I still made the money; I even felt a little guilty about it. One of the benefits of web surfing while playing online poker is that the surfing acts as a palate cleanser; you can truly start fresh on every hand. I find I'm more objective about the value (or lack thereof) of my hole cards, and can fold marginal hands more readily. I also find I worry less about the size of my stack. Size does matter, but it's not everything :-)

style flavor buy_in  entry players entries paid place winnings

MTT   NLHE   174000  26000       6     113   30    21   353000

delta: $153,000
MTT NLHE balance: $23,819,768
2021 balance: $498,000
blue distance: $1,017,900
balance: $78,163,453

All's fair in love and poker

I had no business making the money last night. Or did I? It's true that I went all in on a flush draw, and it hit on the river. Had I failed to hit the flush, I would have hit the rail instead. I'm sure I was an underdog, but not sure how big a dog I was. You could certainly make a case that I had no business making the money. I think you could also make the opposite case, though. The thing is, all's fair in love and poker. Long shots do come in. If you play long enough, they will. If you have the ability to play long enough, that proves your decision-making is right more often than it's wrong. I certainly don't chase every flush that comes along, so when I do chase one, and it hits, I'm not going to beat myself up :-)

style flavor buy_in  entry players entries paid place winnings

MTT   NLHE   174000  26000       6      88   21    19   336000

delta: $136,000
MTT NLHE balance: $23,666,768
2021 balance: $345,000
blue distance: $1,170,900
balance: $78,010,453

Trainhopping

This post will be a short one, as I don't remember much about last night's session. Two salient features:

1. I joined the tournament late in the late registration period

2. I made the money

style flavor buy_in  entry players entries paid place winnings

MTT   NLHE   174000  26000       6      75   21    15   365000

delta: $165,000
MTT NLHE balance: $23,530,768
2021 balance: $209,000
blue distance: $1,306,900
balance: $77,874,453

House falls on man

For the title of this post, I thought I'd try something that sounded like a newspaper headline :-) In this case, the house was a full house, and the man was me.

This is an excerpt from my September 13, 2012 post. Last night, my stack took a fatal blow when a house fell on me again. I'd been dealt AQo (ace queen offsuit) and paired my queen on the flop, for top pair top kicker. I hit trip queens on the turn and called an all in bet from an opponent I had covered. He turned over a pair of sixes for a full house of sixes full of queens, and I was drawing mighty thin. The river was a blank. I hit the rail several hands later, with nineteen minutes left in the late registration period. Ouch!

style flavor buy_in  entry players entries paid place winnings

MTT   NLHE   174000  26000       6      38   10     -        0

delta: $-200,000
MTT NLHE balance: $23,365,768
2021 balance: $44,000
blue distance: $1,471,900
balance: $77,709,453

The perfect disguise

Poker is all about disguising the strength (or weakness) of your hand. A good disguise can be achieved solely by actions (or non-actions) on your part. Whether you lead the betting, raise, check, or call; and when you do bet or raise, how many chips you put in the middle. To achieve the perfect disguise, however, you need some help from the poker gods. I got such help in spades (pun intended) on the most memorable hand of last night's session. I was dealt pocket fours, and hit a full house of fours full of jacks on the turn. At this point, the board showed three spades. I checked instead of betting. The river was a fourth spade. I bet a decent amount, representing that I had a spade in my hand. I was hoping my opponent actually had a spade, and a high one. He did, and went all in. I snap called, and raked in a pot of more than 3,000 chips. My river bet probably wouldn't have worked if I'd bet the turn, and it definitely wouldn't have worked if my opponent hadn't had a flush. I knew he did, however; sometimes, you just know :-)

style flavor buy_in  entry players entries paid place winnings

MTT   NLHE   174000  26000       6      85   21    26        0

delta: $-200,000
MTT NLHE balance: $23,565,768
2021 balance: $244,000
blue distance: $1,271,900
balance: $77,909,453

The hateful eight

Last night, my normal train went missing, so I had to take a different one. Instead of a $200,000 buy in, I had to settle for $100,000. Instead of a starting stack of 1,500 chips, I got 5,000. You'd think that would be a welcome change, but the unaccustomed abundance caused me to play too friskily, and I only lasted eight hands. Pitiful! The hateful eight :-)

style flavor buy_in  entry players entries paid place winnings

MTT   NLHE    87000  13000       6     118   24    68        0

delta: $-100,000
MTT NLHE balance: $23,765,768
2021 balance: $444,000
blue distance: $1,071,900
balance: $78,109,453

Futile perfection

Some nights, you know there's nothing you can do to save yourself from hitting the felt. It won't be because you're playing recklessly, and it won't be because you're making bad decisions. It will simply be because you're not getting the cards you need. This happens periodically to all players.

This is an excerpt from my August 15, 2013 post. It applies equally well to last night's session if you substitute "rail" for "felt". You hit the felt in a cash game, but you hit the rail in a tournament. Neither is pleasant, but the rail is worse. I failed to win a single hand in last night's tournament, and only went to showdown twice. I knew it was a mistake to admit feeling like I couldn't lose :-)

style flavor buy_in  entry players entries paid place winnings

MTT   NLHE   174000  26000       6      74   21    44        0

delta: $-200,000
MTT NLHE balance: $23,865,768
2021 balance: $544,000
blue distance: $971,900
balance: $78,209,453