House over house

The most memorable hand of last night's session was one that I lost, as is often the case. I was dealt 76o (seven six offsuit), paired my seven on the flop, hit two pair on the turn, and hit a full house of sevens full of sixes on the river. I was certain I had the best hand, but then my opponent turned over a pair of jacks for a better full house - jacks full of sevens. Ouch!

style flavor buy_in  entry players entries paid place winnings

MTT   NLHE    45000   5000       6     118   30    21    95000

delta: $45,000
MTT NLHE balance: $26,609,768
2021 balance: $3,238,000
blue distance: $434,000
balance: $80,903,453

A very strange kind of race

When the money bubble is about to burst, the short stacks find themselves in a very strange kind of race. If you think of the shorties as cars, at this stage of the tournament, they're cars that are falling apart. There goes a wheel; oh well. There goes a muffler; didn't need it anyway. That big crunching sound? That was the engine falling out. The transmission will be next. It's a funny race to watch - a race of attrition. Sometimes, you make it to the money with just the steering wheel left in your hand; the rest of the car is completely gone. More often as a shorty, you come up short; that's what happened to me last night.

style flavor buy_in  entry players entries paid place winnings

MTT   NLHE   174000  26000       6      74   21    25        0

delta: $-200,000
MTT NLHE balance: $26,564,768
2021 balance: $3,193,000
blue distance: $479,000
balance: $80,858,453

yasa

The only interesting thing about last night's session was yasa - yet another statistical anomaly. For just the tenth time in my MTT NLHE career, the number of entries, the number of places paid, and my place all had the same units digit. I missed the earlier train last night, so I got on board the midnight train. I probably should have waited until there were ten minutes or less remaining in the late registration period, but I didn't have the patience. I actually pre-registered, a rare occurrence for me.

style flavor buy_in  entry players entries paid place winnings

MTT   NLHE   174000  26000       6      81   21    41        0

delta: $-200,000
MTT NLHE balance: $26,764,768
2021 balance: $3,393,000
blue distance: $279,000
balance: $81,058,453

Nearly out of the woods

Thanks to making a profit in 7 of my last 10 sessions, I'm nearly out of the woods - that is to say, back in the blue. The last time I was in the blue was on February 16, so I've been wandering in the wilderness for over two months. It's high time I got back to civilization :-)

style flavor buy_in  entry players entries paid place winnings

MTT   NLHE   174000  26000       6      88   21    12   489000

delta: $289,000
MTT NLHE balance: $26,964,768
2021 balance: $3,593,000
blue distance: $79,000
balance: $81,258,453

A fellow usual suspect

When you play online poker as often as I do, you become aware of other players who play just as often. In a way, they become old friends, even if you've never chatted with them. It's natural that when you see any of these players in the same tournament as you, you want to last longer than them. Last night, I saw one of the usual suspects; he had more chips than I did at the time I noticed him. Eventually my stack surpassed his, and I thought I was a shoo in to last longer; however, a bad beat took me to the rail. My fellow usual suspect was Caboose Boy at the time.

style flavor buy_in  entry players entries paid place winnings

MTT   NLHE   174000  26000       6      92   24    12   480000

delta: $280,000
MTT NLHE balance: $26,675,768
2021 balance: $3,304,000
blue distance: $368,000
balance: $80,969,453

The stone cold nuts

Some unlikely holdings can turn out to be the stone cold nuts - an unbeatable hand. I had such a holding last night. I was dealt the jack of diamonds and a forgettable card - call it the seven of clubs. Four of the five community cards were diamonds. Moreover, the ace, king, and queen of diamonds were three of those four. I knew I had the stone cold nuts. The only question was how much I should bet on the river, to extract the most value out of my opponent. I decided to min bet, and got called. Mission accomplished :-)

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: $26,395,768
2021 balance: $3,024,000
blue distance: $648,000
balance: $80,689,453

Statistical anomaly

The only memorable thing about last night's session was a statistical anomaly - my percentile was exactly 50.  In other words, I did better than exactly half of the field. This is only possible, of course, when there's an even number of entrants, and when you've outlasted the late registration period, securing yourself an official place. Last night's tournament was only the eighth one in my MTT NLHE career where this anomaly occurred. Oh, the lengths I must sometimes go to on this blog, to find something to write about :-)

style flavor buy_in  entry players entries paid place winnings

MTT   NLHE   174000  26000       6      86   21    43        0

delta: $-200,000
MTT NLHE balance: $26,266,768
2021 balance: $2,895,000
blue distance: $777,000
balance: $80,560,453

Semi-deep run

What constitutes a deep run? A sufficiently high percentile. What should that be? In my opinion, at least 90.

This is an excerpt from my February 13 post. What constitutes a semi-deep run? A sufficiently high percentile which fails to qualify as a deep run :-) What should that be? In my opinion, at least 80 but less than 90. I achieved that comfortably last night, clocking in at 87.67.

style flavor buy_in  entry players entries paid place winnings

MTT   NLHE   174000  26000       6      73   21     9   482000

delta: $282,000
MTT NLHE balance: $26,466,768
2021 balance: $3,095,000
blue distance: $577,000
balance: $80,760,453

Under the lights

Last night, I got under the lights, recording a Partial Monty. I lopped off nearly half of my blue distance. Any time my blue distance gets under a million, which it now has, I feel like it's as good as gone :-)

style flavor buy_in  entry players entries paid place winnings

MTT   NLHE   174000  26000       6      86   21     5  1017000

delta: $817,000
MTT NLHE balance: $26,184,768
2021 balance: $2,813,000
blue distance: $859,000
balance: $80,478,453

I didn't mean to go to sea

When I was about ten or so, I devoured a series of children's books written by Arthur Ransome about the adventures of four young English siblings who loved to sail and who called themselves the Swallows and the Amazons. The title of one of the books was "We Didn't Mean to Go to Sea". Somehow the children ended up putting out to sea without really meaning to. Something very similar happened to me in last night's session.

This is an excerpt from my April 14, 2019 post. It applies equally well to last night's session. I boarded the train before the midnight train without noticing it was a deepstack. Had I noticed, I would have picked a different tournament, since I've unofficially sworn off deepstacks. I narrowly missed the money, bubbling in 25th. The silver lining? I only lost $100,000 :-)

style flavor buy_in  entry players entries paid place winnings

MTT   NLHE    87000  13000       6     114   24    25        0

delta: $-100,000
MTT NLHE balance: $25,367,768
2021 balance: $1,996,000
blue distance: $1,676,000
balance: $79,661,453

Cork Boy

I live in a coastal New England town which has a wonderful beach. When there are offshore storms, conditions can be ideal for body surfing. Sometimes, however, the waves are simply too big for that. All is not lost, however; a lot of fun can be had in swimming out beyond where the waves are starting to break and just riding the swells. Analogously, a lot of fun can be had in poker tournaments letting the big waves pass beneath you. You'll feel like a cork bobbing in the water, but you'll maintain your position if you can win a small pot or two here and there. You'll always be near the bottom of the leaderboard, but you can still have a decent shot at making the money. That's the approach I took last night, successfully. Just call me Cork Boy :-)

style flavor buy_in  entry players entries paid place winnings

MTT   NLHE    45000   5000       6     108   30    14   116000

delta: $66,000
MTT NLHE balance: $25,467,768
2021 balance: $2,096,000
blue distance: $1,576,000
balance: $79,761,453

Another phantom rung

Last night, I finished in 15th place. In general, that's a fine thing. Unfortunately, in this case, only 12 places were paid. That got me to wondering what the minimum number of entries is for PokerStars to pay 15 places. I looked it up; the answer is 61. Since there were only 50 entries in last night's tournament, the only thing my finish achieved was another phantom rung :-)

This is an excerpt from my April 3, 2019 post; I'll use it as a template. Last night, I finished in 24th place. In general, that's a fine thing. Unfortunately, in this case, only 21 places were paid. That got me to wondering what the minimum number of entries is for PokerStars to pay 24 places. I looked it up; the answer is 91. Since there were only 83 entries in last night's tournament, the only thing my finish achieved was another phantom rung :-)

style flavor buy_in  entry players entries paid place winnings

MTT   NLHE   174000  26000       6      83   21    24        0

delta: $-200,000
MTT NLHE balance: $25,401,768
2021 balance: $2,030,000
blue distance: $1,642,000
balance: $79,695,453

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, 2020 post. I'd like to refine this a little. It's more important to have lots of dead money than it is to have not much time remaining in the late registration period. If you have both, all the better, but if you don't, you need to have the dead money. Moreover, the way you measure the dead money is not in absolute amounts, but in the percentage of the prize pool which is dead money. Having this percentage in the vicinity of 33 is about the average when the late registration period ends; a percentage of 40 or above is really juicy. That was the situation I found myself in last night. It's much easier to make the money when you start off with an advantage like that.

style flavor buy_in  entry players entries paid place winnings

MTT   NLHE   174000  26000       6      92   24    18   368000

delta: $168,000
MTT NLHE balance: $25,601,768
2021 balance: $2,230,000
blue distance: $1,442,000
balance: $79,895,453

Set radar

To do well in poker, it helps to have radar of one kind or another; ideally, multiple kinds. Probability radar is the most important one, but there are auxiliary radars which can can be very useful. Set radar is an example. That's when you've been dealt a pocket pair, have a strong premonition you'll hit a set on the flop, pay to see the flop, and indeed hit your set. That's what happened to me on my final hand of last night's session. Unfortunately, an opponent hit a straight on the river, and I recorded another 0th place.

style flavor buy_in  entry players entries paid place winnings

MTT   NLHE   174000  26000       6      69   18     -        0

delta: $-200,000
MTT NLHE balance: $25,433,768
2021 balance: $2,062,000
blue distance: $1,610,000
balance: $79,727,453

Station 2.25

Once again, I've decided to add another station. Since it comes after station 2 and before station 3, I've decided to name it station 2.5 :-) This station is hit whenever you've outlasted at least 70% of the field, regardless of whether you make the money. Last night, I made it to station 2.5, but missed the money by five spots.

This is an excerpt from my March 1 post; I'll use it as a template. Once again, I've decided to add another station. Since it comes after station 2 and before station 2.5, I've decided to name it station 2.25 :-) This station is hit whenever you've outlasted at least 60% of the field, regardless of whether you make the money. Last night, I made it to station 2.25, but missed the money by ten spots.

style flavor buy_in  entry players entries paid place winnings

MTT   NLHE   174000  26000       6      78   21    31        0

delta: $-200,000
MTT NLHE balance: $25,633,768
2021 balance: $2,262,000
blue distance: $1,410,000
balance: $79,927,453

Broadway blindness

I played poorly enough last night to have deserved a 0th place, but narrowly avoided it. My worst hand was the one where I lost about a third of my stack due to Broadway blindness. I had a king in my hand and an ace and a king showed up in the flop. When no one bet the flop, I decided to open the turn betting, since I had position. My read was that no one had an ace, and my pair of kings was likely best. My mistake was not noticing that the river put a third Broadway card on the board. Of course, one of my opponents had the other two.

style flavor buy_in  entry players entries paid place winnings

MTT   NLHE   174000  26000       6      82   21    51        0

delta: $-200,000
MTT NLHE balance: $25,833,768
2021 balance: $2,462,000
blue distance: $1,210,000
balance: $80,127,453

S.O.S.

Last night I failed to outlast the late registration period again. I came closer this time - I hit the rail when there were six minutes left. It was a brutal zexit - I flopped a set of deuces, and lost to a set of fives. A classic S.O.S. (set over set) scenario. The silver lining? It was a toy train again, not the midnight train, so I saved myself $150,000.

style flavor buy_in  entry players entries paid place winnings

MTT   NLHE    45000   5000       6      79   21     -        0

delta: $-50,000
MTT NLHE balance: $26,033,768
2021 balance: $2,662,000
blue distance: $1,010,000
balance: $80,327,453

18 minutes

I didn't last long in last night's tournament. When I hit the rail, there were 18 minutes left in the late registration period. That meant the tournament had been running for 26 minutes, but I'd been playing for considerably less than that. I don't recall winning a single hand. Some nights are like that. I decided to play a little chess afterwards, seeing as I had time on my hands :-)

style flavor buy_in  entry players entries paid place winnings

MTT   NLHE   174000  26000       6      48   12     -        0

delta: $-200,000
MTT NLHE balance: $26,083,768
2021 balance: $2,712,000
blue distance: $960,000
balance: $80,377,453

Oops!... I did it again

Last night, I got under the lights again. The deck kept hitting me in the face. I had rockets three times, and cowboys once. I wound up as Lord High Everything Else. I hit the rail in brutal fashion, when my flopped straight lost to a rivered full house. The tournament was a toy train, since the midnight train had gone missing.

style flavor buy_in  entry players entries paid place winnings

MTT   NLHE    45000   5000       6     107   30     2   471000

delta: $421,000
MTT NLHE balance: $26,283,768
2021 balance: $2,912,000
blue distance: $760,000
balance: $80,577,453

Under the lights

Last night, I got under the lights. Well before I got there, I had a premonition I'd win the tournament. That didn't come to pass, but coming in fourth ain't too shabby. I registered a Partial Monty, and nearly cut my blue distance in half. What's not to like? :-)

style flavor buy_in  entry players entries paid place winnings

MTT   NLHE   174000  26000       6      75   21     4  1017000

delta: $817,000
MTT NLHE balance: $25,862,768
2021 balance: $2,491,000
blue distance: $1,181,000
balance: $80,156,453

It's better to have a bully on your right

The bad thing about bullies is that they make the price to stay in a hand too steep. However, not all bullies have the same amount of power. If there's a bully at my table, I much prefer him to be on my right. I'll know if he's still in the hand when it's my turn to act. Also, I'll almost always fold to a raise in this scenario. The upshot? I won't get to play as many hands as I'd like, but I'll lose less chips not playing the hands I'm forced to fold.

style flavor buy_in  entry players entries paid place winnings

MTT   NLHE   174000  26000       6      98   24    15   443000

delta: $243,000
MTT NLHE balance: $25,045,768
2021 balance: $1,674,000
blue distance: $1,998,000
balance: $79,339,453

Observation windows

It's never a good idea to judge success or failure based on a single observation. However, that's also a very human thing to do. We tend to focus on the most recent data point; however, to get a better picture, you need to incorporate more data points. I've gravitated to looking at the moving sum of 20 consecutive sessions.

This is an excerpt from my September 3, 2017 post. In my last 20 sessions, 10 were winning and 10 were losing. I lost an aggregate of $45,000. Puppy food :-)

style flavor buy_in  entry players entries paid place winnings

MTT   NLHE   174000  26000       6      77   21    37        0

delta: $-200,000
MTT NLHE balance: $24,802,768
2021 balance: $1,431,000
blue distance: $2,241,000
balance: $79,096,453

Different styles, same result

One of the remarkable things about poker is the sheer variety of ways one can successfully play. There are certainly many wrong ways to play, but there are just as many right ways. Players eventually play in the style they're most comfortable with. Last night, I had a real gambler a couple of seats to my right. He played a lot of hands, and his stack porpoised accordingly. His pet play was to raise any bet on the turn; he got a surprising number of folds that way. I play a much tighter style, entering far fewer pots. Though our styles radically differed, we finished in close proximity; he bubbled the bubble, and I bubbled. I outlasted him, but it was cold comfort, since I also missed the money.

style flavor buy_in  entry players entries paid place winnings

MTT   NLHE   174000  26000       6      87   21    22        0

delta: $-200,000
MTT NLHE balance: $25,002,768
2021 balance: $1,631,000
blue distance: $2,041,000
balance: $79,296,453

In it to min it

If poker players are being honest, they'll admit that they're not always in it to win it. Sometimes, they're simply in it to min it - that is, to min cash a tournament. That was the case with me last night. Nearing the money bubble, I was Caboose Boy and had very little hope of making a deep run. Realistically, the best I could hope for was a min cash, so that's what I set my sights on. I got there, just barely :-)

style flavor buy_in  entry players entries paid place winnings

MTT   NLHE   174000  26000       6      75   21    20   287000

delta: $87,000
MTT NLHE balance: $25,202,768
2021 balance: $1,831,000
blue distance: $1,841,000
balance: $79,496,453

The imp of the perverse

I had a shortened session last night, as I fell prey to the imp of the perverse once again. I lost most of my stack on the hand where the imp struck, and hit the rail a few hands later. Here's how the imp hand went down: I was dealt A8o (ace eight offsuit), and flopped trip eights. The turn was a queen; I put in a good sized bet and got one caller. The river was another queen, giving me a full house of eights full of queens. My opponent, who I had position on, bet over 500 chips, and I knew there was a good chance he had a queen in his hand. That would give him a better full house than mine. However, I couldn't bring myself to lay my hand down. I paid to see the queen.

style flavor buy_in  entry players entries paid place winnings

MTT   NLHE   174000  26000       6      74   21    33        0

delta: $-200,000
MTT NLHE balance: $25,115,768
2021 balance: $1,744,000
blue distance: $1,928,000
balance: $79,409,453

Good river decisions

It's important to make good decisions on every street, but it's especially important to make them on the river. That's the point in the hand when you have the most information. Last night, I was making good river decisions. Two stand out. On one hand, my opponent was content to check to me and then to call my bets on earlier streets, so I decided it would be prudent to check behind him on the river. He turned over a full house, and though I lost the hand, I suffered minimal damage to my stack. On another, although the board supported a flush, I didn't believe my opponent had one, so I min bet the river. My opponent called and lost, so it's likely I maximized the profit on that hand.

style flavor buy_in  entry players entries paid place winnings

MTT   NLHE   174000  26000       6     115   30    26   300000

delta: $100,000
MTT NLHE balance: $25,315,768
2021 balance: $1,944,000
blue distance: $1,728,000
balance: $79,609,453

yaagbh

Last night, I hit the rail with yaagbh - yet another always going broke hand. I was dealt a suited ace, and hit the nut flush on the turn. Unfortunately for me, I was drawing dead at that point; an opponent had hit a full house on the turn. That was certainly one of the best hands I've ever exited a tournament with.

style flavor buy_in  entry players entries paid place winnings

MTT   NLHE   174000  26000       6     103   30    54        0

delta: $-200,000
MTT NLHE balance: $25,215,768
2021 balance: $1,844,000
blue distance: $1,828,000
balance: $79,509,453     

Earliest Poker Piano Day yet

Some people celebrate the 88th day of the year as Piano Day, since pianos have 88 keys. I'm going to borrow that idea and apply it to poker. I declare Poker Piano Day to be the day you play your 88th session of the year. Yesterday was Poker Piano Day for me, and the earliest one of my career. Here they all are, starting with the first full poker year I recorded:

2010-05-27
2011-05-13
2012-04-30
2013-04-13
2014-04-25
2015-06-16
2016-04-14
2017-04-14
2018-04-07
2019-04-12
2020-04-11
2021-04-01

Last night, I had to settle for a toy train again.

style flavor buy_in  entry players entries paid place winnings

MTT   NLHE    45000   5000       6     110   30    27    74000

delta: $24,000
MTT NLHE balance: $25,415,768
2021 balance: $2,044,000
blue distance: $1,628,000
balance: $79,709,453

A question with no answer

Last night, I was the bubble boy for the 16th time in my MTT NLHE career. On my final hand, on the bubble, most of my chips were in the middle when I was faced with a bet which would put me all in if I called. I had a king in the hole and would be the big blind the next hand, if I managed to get there, which would also put me all in. Should I have called or should I have folded? That's a question which has no definitive answer. Calling didn't work out, but I'm not sorry I made that play.

style flavor buy_in  entry players entries paid place winnings

MTT   NLHE   174000  26000       6      55   15    16        0

delta: $-200,000
MTT NLHE balance: $25,391,768
2021 balance: $2,020,000
blue distance: $1,652,000
balance: $79,685,453