IG;WS

IG;WS is my shorthand for "In Good; Went South", which in turn is short for "I got my money in good, but the hand went south on me" :-)

This is an excerpt from my January 13, 2015 post. Last night, I hit the rail on an IG;WS hand. I was dealt K5o (king five offsuit), and paired both my hole cards on the flop. I shoved and got one caller. He turned over rockets, making me a 3 to 1 favorite to win the hand. The turn was a blank, but the river put a pair on the board, and that was all she wrote. To add insult to injury, there were 10 minutes left in the late registration period, so I registered a 0th place.

style flavor buy_in  entry players entries paid place winnings

MTT   NLHE    87000  13000       6      20    7     -        0

delta: $-100,000
MTT NLHE balance: $40,627,768
2021 balance: $15,156,000
blue distance: $100,000
balance: $92,821,453

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. 

This is an excerpt from my October 6, 2020 post; it applies equally well to my recent results. Four of my last ten sessions, including last night's, have been blue.

style flavor buy_in  entry players entries paid place winnings

MTT   NLHE   174000  26000       6      70   18    15   365000

delta: $165,000
MTT NLHE balance: $40,727,768
2021 balance: $15,256,000
blue distance: $0
balance: $92,921,453

Two pieces of bad news, and one good

Last night's session produced two pieces of bad news:

1. the midnight train was cancelled

2. I failed to make the money

It did produce one piece of good news, though: since I played a toy train, I only lost $50,000 :-)

style flavor buy_in  entry players entries paid place winnings

MTT   NLHE    45000   5000       6      72   18    25        0

delta: $-50,000
MTT NLHE balance: $40,562,768
2021 balance: $15,091,000
blue distance: $50,000
balance: $92,756,453

5th best month of my career

So far this month, I've made a profit of $5,702,000, which makes it the 5th best month of my career. Since the month isn't quite over, I have the chance to move it up even higher in the standings. Last night, I set a new personal best, registering my 5th Full Monty in MTT NLHE this month. I now have 10 Full Montys in MTT NLHE on the year, another personal best.

style flavor buy_in  entry players entries paid place winnings

MTT   NLHE   174000  26000       6      58   15     2  1362000

delta: $1,162,000
MTT NLHE balance: $40,612,768
2021 balance: $15,141,000
blue distance: $0
balance: $92,806,453

Not a believer

Whenever I'm at a table where one of my opponents has a huge stack which dwarfs the stacks of everyone else at the table, I have the hardest time believing his bets are not bluffs. Last night, I hit the rail as the money bubble approached, directly as a result of this disbelief. The thing is, often enough the bets are bluffs, so I don't reproach myself for my failure to believe :-)

style flavor buy_in  entry players entries paid place winnings

MTT   NLHE   174000  26000       6      61   18    23        0

delta: $-200,000
MTT NLHE balance: $39,450,768
2021 balance: $13,979,000
blue distance: $200,000
balance: $91,644,453

Once more into the blue, dear friends

I've said before that winning never gets old. That goes at least quadruple for getting into the blue. It's undeniably a rush to see your balance reach a height it's never reached before. It validates all the hard work you've put into your game. I'm psyched!

This is an excerpt from my November 2, 2012 post. Last night, I got that rush again.

style flavor buy_in  entry players entries paid place winnings

MTT   NLHE   174000  26000       6      68   18     6   709000

delta: $509,000
MTT NLHE balance: $39,650,768
2021 balance: $14,179,000
blue distance: $0
balance: $91,844,453

The nuts can't beat the stone cold nuts

Every now and then, you can have an "unbeatable" hand which nonetheless gets beaten. When that happens, it gives you a funny feeling. I got that feeling again on the last hand of last night's session. I was dealt the ace of clubs and another club, and flopped a flush draw. When the king of clubs showed up on the river, I had my "unbeatable" hand. It was certainly the nut flush, but it was not the stone cold nuts. That honor went to the hand my opponent had, which was also made on the river - a full house. I hit the rail in a daze :-)

style flavor buy_in  entry players entries paid place winnings

MTT   NLHE    45000   5000       6      82   21    27        0

delta: $-50,000
MTT NLHE balance: $39,141,768
2021 balance: $13,670,000
blue distance: $250,000
balance: $91,335,453

Bad read

Last night's session was short, and not at all sweet. On the first hand where I paid to see the flop, I'd been dealt A8o (ace eight offsuit), and hit a pair of aces. After all the betting rounds were over, nearly all my chips were in the middle, and I had only one opponent. He turned over AJo (ace jack offsuit), and my stack was on life support. I somehow managed to last a couple of orbits, but hit the rail with 30 minutes left in the late registration period. Ouch! My read was that my opponent had a more ragged ace than mine. It was a bad read, but I'm proud that I had the guts to go with it.

style flavor buy_in  entry players entries paid place winnings

MTT   NLHE   174000  26000       6      22    7     -        0

delta: $-200,000
MTT NLHE balance: $39,191,768
2021 balance: $13,720,000
blue distance: $200,000
balance: $91,385,453

Anticipatory betting

When you don't have a hand yet, but think you might end up with one, it's a good idea to make a bet. If you make a hand, you'll have that much more money in the pot to win. If you don't make one, you can still win if your opponents interpret your bets as representative of a strong hand. It's important, having led the betting in an earlier betting round, to make continuation bets if no one else decides to bet. Unless someone is sandbagging you, you'll increase your chances of winning the pot by doing so. People are more likely to believe you have something if you're willing to keep betting.

This is an excerpt from my November 4, 2011 post. That was written in my cash game days, but it applies equally well to tournaments. Last night, I did more anticipatory betting than I usually do, and it worked out well. I made the money, and got my overall balance back into the blue. All's well in my poker world :-)

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: $39,391,768
2021 balance: $13,920,000
blue distance: $0
balance: $91,585,453

Full Monty bonanza month

Last night, I achieved another Full Monty. That makes four this month. When I played rebuy tournaments, the most Full Montys I ever achieved in a month was four. I have a feeling I'm going to beat that record before October is over. I came within a whisker of getting back into the blue :-)

style flavor buy_in  entry players entries paid place winnings

MTT   NLHE   174000  26000       6      90   21     2  1738000

delta: $1,538,000
MTT NLHE balance: $39,174,768
2021 balance: $13,703,000
blue distance: $20,000
balance: $91,368,453

Doppeltournament

Last night's tournament was nearly a carbon copy of the one before it. The number of entries was comparable, the number of paid places was the same, and my finishing place was the same. The big difference? Last night's tournament was a midnight train, whereas the one before it was a toy train. That translated to a much larger profit :-)

style flavor buy_in  entry players entries paid place winnings

MTT   NLHE   174000  26000       6      66   18     8   516000

delta: $316,000
MTT NLHE balance: $37,636,768
2021 balance: $12,165,000
blue distance: $1,558,000
balance: $89,830,453

My quadfathers

The title of this post was inspired by something my father's mother used to say. If something struck her as unusual or surprising, she'd say "My godfathers!". It's certainly both unusual and surprising to get four of a kind in poker, so an apt expression for such an occurrence might be "My quadfathers!".

This is an excerpt from my March 14, 2012 post. The most memorable hand of last night's session was the one where I hit quad jacks on the river. Although I went deep in the tournament, it was a toy train, so I didn't make much of a profit. The midnight train has now gone missing for two nights in a row. I want it back :-)

style flavor buy_in  entry players entries paid place winnings

MTT   NLHE    45000   5000       6      69   18     8   139000

delta: $89,000
MTT NLHE balance: $37,320,768
2021 balance: $11,849,000
blue distance: $1,874,000
balance: $89,514,453

Checking in on my Station 2 results

Last night, I made it to Station 1 but failed to make it to Station 2. In MTT NLHE 6max, 87% of the occasions when I make it to Station 1, I go on to make it to Station 2 as well. So I guess you could say that last night's tournament failed to reach even ho-hum status, quite a non-feat in itself :-)

style flavor buy_in  entry players entries paid place winnings

MTT   NLHE    45000   5000       6      71   18    38        0

delta: $-50,000
MTT NLHE balance: $37,231,768
2021 balance: $11,760,000
blue distance: $1,963,000
balance: $89,425,453

Why small cashes are important

On Sunday night, I made the first money jump. As I've come to realize, all cashes are important, even small ones. Why? For the simple reason that you can't cash big without making the money in the first place. If you're a consistent player, your money finishes will be fairly evenly distributed across the pay table over time. You'll min cash, max cash, and everything in between. Embrace small cashes, as they portend bigger ones in your poker future :-)

style flavor buy_in  entry players entries paid place winnings

MTT   NLHE   174000  26000       6      49   15    12   298000

delta: $98,000
MTT NLHE balance: $37,281,768
2021 balance: $11,810,000
blue distance: $1,913,000
balance: $89,475,453

Half a billion in tournament winnings

Whenever I have a ho-hum session, it's really tough to find anything interesting to say about it. In such cases, it's better to write about something else instead. One angle I often take when looking for something else to write about is to focus on a career statistic. Accordingly, as last night's session was ho-hum, I've decided to sum up my career tournament winnings. The number is surprisingly large - $513,952,014. That's over half a billion, friends and neighbors. Yowza!

style flavor buy_in  entry players entries paid place winnings

MTT   NLHE   174000  26000       6      60   15    31        0

delta: $-200,000
MTT NLHE balance: $37,183,768
2021 balance: $11,712,000
blue distance: $2,011,000
balance: $89,377,453

That dangerous feeling

Poker is a streaky game. There's nothing better than being on a hot streak, but there is a downside to it - you start feeling invincible. That's a dangerous feeling, and the poker gods will punish you for it more often than not. Last night, I made the money for my fourth straight tournament, and I'm starting to get that dangerous feeling again :-)

style flavor buy_in  entry players entries paid place winnings

MTT   NLHE    87000  13000       6      46   12    10   150000

delta: $50,000
MTT NLHE balance: $37,383,768
2021 balance: $11,912,000
blue distance: $1,811,000
balance: $89,577,453

Lord High Everything Else

Last night, for the third time this month, I achieved a Full Monty. I've said it before and I'll say it again, achieving Full Montys never gets old :-) I ended up as Lord High Everything Else. When heads up play began, my opponent had roughly four times as many chips as I did. I battled back and even took the chip lead at one point, but couldn't seal the deal.

style flavor buy_in  entry players entries paid place winnings

MTT   NLHE   174000  26000       6      72   18     2  1540000

delta: $1,340,000
MTT NLHE balance: $37,333,768
2021 balance: $11,862,000
blue distance: $1,861,000
balance: $89,527,453

Another MTT NLHE milestone

On October 6th, I achieved another MTT NLHE milestone - I made the money for the 600th time. Last night, I made the money for the 603rd time. Since I've played 1,438 MTT NLHEs, I'm making the money at a 41.9% clip. Not too shabby :-)

style flavor buy_in  entry players entries paid place winnings

MTT   NLHE    45000   5000       6      65   18    15    87000

delta: $37,000
MTT NLHE balance: $35,993,768
2021 balance: $10,522,000
blue distance: $3,201,000
balance: $88,187,453

MTT NLHE milestone

Last night, I achieved an MTT NLHE milestone - I got under the lights for the 100th time. Since I've played 1,437 MTT NLHEs, I'm making the final table at a 6.9% clip. Not too shabby :-)

style flavor buy_in  entry players entries paid place winnings

MTT   NLHE    45000   5000       6      62   18    24        0
MTT   NLHE    87000  13000       6       9    3     -        0
MTT   NLHE    45000   5000       6      54   15     6   162000

delta: $-38,000
MTT NLHE balance: $35,956,768
2021 balance: $10,485,000
blue distance: $3,238,000
balance: $88,150,453

Apples and oranges

Back in the days when I played sit and gos, I realized that it made a lot of sense to standardize on a buy in; if you don't, then a loss in a big buy in sit and go can wipe out all the gains you made in a bunch of small buy in sit and gos. That's like mixing apples and oranges, generally not a smart idea. The same is true, to a lesser extent, for MTT NLHEs. Accordingly, I'm going to try playing $200,000 buy in tournaments exclusively for a while, and see how I do.

This is an excerpt from my January 24, 2020 post. I realize I need to take my own advice and stop playing Orient Expresses; I need to stick with the midnight trains, which are my bread and butter.

style flavor buy_in  entry players entries paid place winnings

MTT   NLHE   870000 130000       6      37   10    21        0
MTT   NLHE    87000  13000       6      60   15    23        0

delta: $-1,100,000
MTT NLHE balance: $35,994,768
2021 balance: $10,523,000
blue distance: $3,200,000
balance: $88,188,453

Two toy trains

On Sunday night, there was no Orient Express I could have taken without breaking my rules, so I settled for two toy trains instead. The first was an 8-game, a variant I hadn't played for more than four months. I've only made the money once in the last 17 8-game tournaments I've played, which is pretty pathetic. I did better in the other toy train, which was NLHE, but still missed the money.

style flavor buy_in  entry players entries paid place winnings

MTT   8-Game  45000   5000       6      62   12    28        0
MTT   NLHE    45000   5000       6      48   12    16        0

delta: $-100,000
MTT NLHE balance: $37,094,768
2021 balance: $11,623,000
blue distance: $2,100,000
balance: $89,288,453

Bogus Orient Expresses

Last night I played two Orient Expresses, but they were bogus ones. I broke several of my own rules in order to play them. Here are the rules I broke:

1. never play a 9max tournament

2. never play a rebuy tournament

3. never play a bounty tournament

I won't do that again in a hurry :-)

style flavor buy_in  entry players entries paid place winnings

MTT-B NLHE   870000 130000       9      44    9    22        0
MTT-B NLHE   880000 120000       9     300   55   104        0

delta: $-2,000,000
MTT with bounties NLHE balance: $-4,183,820
2021 balance: $11,723,000
blue distance: $2,000,000
balance: $89,388,453

My blue heaven

Last night, I got back into the blue in a big way. I was Lord High Everything Else on an Orient Express! It was the second highest session delta I've ever recorded. I could get used to this :-)

style flavor buy_in  entry players entries paid place winnings

MTT   NLHE   870000 130000       6      36    9     2  5160000

delta: $4,160,000
MTT NLHE balance: $37,144,768
2021 balance: $13,723,000
blue distance: $0
balance: $91,388,453

Orient Expresses

Tournaments with a buy in of $50,000 or less are toy trains. Tournaments with a buy in of $100,000 are plain trains. Tournaments with a buy in of $200,000 are midnight trains. Tournaments with a buy in of $1,000,000 are Orient Expresses. Last night, I took the second Orient Express of my career. I took it because no midnight train was in the offing. I didn't outlast the late registration period, which meant that I didn't record an official place. I hit the rail on a flush draw which didn't pan out. I have to say, however, that I really enjoyed the thrill of being a high roller. I've decided I'm going to keep on taking Orient Expresses as long as my 2021 balance stays in the black :-)

style flavor buy_in  entry players entries paid place winnings

MTT   NLHE   870000 130000       6      19    6     -        0

delta: $-1,000,000
MTT NLHE balance: $32,984,768
2021 balance: $9,563,000
blue distance: $1,424,000
balance: $87,228,453

A tale of two ace rags

The two most memorable hands from last night's tournament both featured ace rags. In the earlier one, I was dealt A7o (ace seven offsuit), and paired both of my hole cards on the flop. I got all my chips into the middle and more than doubled up. That set me up nicely to make the money, which I did. I then got all the way to the final table in great shape - I was second in chips at the time. Unfortunately, I was the first of the final six to hit the rail. On my final hand, I was dealt pocket threes, shoved, and got one caller. He turned over A8o (ace eight offsuit), making me a slight favorite to win the hand. However, he paired his eight on the flop and I was drawing thin. The river gave us both a magic flush, but his was better - an ace high. I'd had high hopes of registering another Full Monty, but it wasn't meant to be.

style flavor buy_in  entry players entries paid place winnings

MTT   NLHE   174000  26000       6      62   18     6   647000

delta: $447,000
MTT NLHE balance: $33,984,768
2021 balance: $10,563,000
blue distance: $424,000
balance: $88,228,453

999? nein

Last night, I ran into a cooler on the final hand of the session. On the money bubble, I was dealt pocket nines, and hit a set on the flop. I went all in and got one caller. It was a set over set scenario; the caller had been dealt pocket kings, and had hit a set on the flop.

This is an excerpt from my March 4, 2020 post. Last night, nearly the same scenario occurred; the crucial difference was that I'd already made the money. A less significant difference was that this time, the caller had been dealt pocket aces, and had hit a set on the flop. My set of nines still got the "Nein!" treatment :-)

style flavor buy_in  entry players entries paid place winnings

MTT   NLHE   174000  26000       6      71   18    16   308000

delta: $108,000
MTT NLHE balance: $33,537,768
2021 balance: $10,116,000
blue distance: $871,000
balance: $87,781,453

Not a believer

Last night, I made it to station 2.125 again, but no further. The reason? I just wasn't a believer. Specifically, I didn't believe that a big stack who had been bullying the table had hit top pair on a flop where I'd hit middle pair. The top card of the flop was a king, and the middle card was a queen. I had a pair of queens and thought it unlikely that he had a king. I was wrong, but glad that I had the gumption to go with my read :-)

style flavor buy_in  entry players entries paid place winnings

MTT   NLHE   174000  26000       6      73   21    30        0

delta: $-200,000
MTT NLHE balance: $33,429,768
2021 balance: $10,008,000
blue distance: $979,000
balance: $87,673,453

A presentiment of zero

In poker, whenever no more betting is possible, the hole cards of all the players who are still in the hand are turned face up. There are two ways no more betting is possible:

1. all four betting rounds have already occurred

2. at least one of the four betting rounds has not occurred, but there's only one player left who has chips left to bet with

In the second scenario, the PokerStars software displays the odds each live player has of winning the hand, each time a new community card (or cards, in the case of the flop) shows up. When a bad beat occurs, the player who had the best odds of winning earlier on in the hand sees his percentage drop like a rock to zero. That's what happened to me on my final hand of last night's tournament. I had a presentiment this would happen, and was sorry to be proven right. After the turn I was nearly a 90% favorite with an ace high and four cards to a flush, but my opponent paired his lower hole card (a four) on the river, and that was all she wrote.

style flavor buy_in  entry players entries paid place winnings

MTT   NLHE   174000  26000       6      62   18    38        0

delta: $-200,000
MTT NLHE balance: $33,629,768
2021 balance: $10,208,000
blue distance: $779,000
balance: $87,873,453

19th MTT NLHE Full Monty

Last night, I registered the 19th MTT NLHE Full Monty of my career, and 6th of 2021. That got me wondering what percentage of my MTT NLHE profit is due to Full Montys. The answer? A whopping 72.55. Full Montys don't happen often, but when they do, they make a gigantic splash :-)

style flavor buy_in  entry players entries paid place winnings

MTT   NLHE   174000  26000       6      64   18     2  1369000

delta: $1,169,000
MTT NLHE balance: $33,829,768
2021 balance: $10,408,000
blue distance: $579,000
balance: $88,073,453

Station 2.125

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.

This is an excerpt from my April 16 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 2.25, I've decided to name it station 2.125 :-) This station is hit whenever you've registered an official place which is less than double the number of paid places. Last night, I made it to station 2.125, but missed the money by twelve spots.

style flavor buy_in  entry players entries paid place winnings

MTT   NLHE   174000  26000       6      89   21    33        0

delta: $-200,000
MTT NLHE balance: $32,660,768
2021 balance: $9,239,000
blue distance: $1,748,000
balance: $86,904,453

A horrendous poker fortnight

A fortnight is 14 days. A poker fortnight is 14 sessions, however long that takes. I've had a horrendous poker fortnight; in the last 14 sessions, I've only had 3 profitable ones, and have lost nearly one and a half million play dollars. I feel like I'm overdue for a bust-out session.

style flavor buy_in  entry players entries paid place winnings

MTT   NLHE   174000  26000       6      61   18    44        0

delta: $-200,000
MTT NLHE balance: $32,860,768
2021 balance: $9,439,000
blue distance: $1,548,000
balance: $87,104,453