Station 2.125

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.

This is an excerpt from my October 2 post. Last night, I made it to station 2.125. Not much to crow about, but beggars can't be choosy :-)

style flavor buy_in  entry players entries paid place winnings

MTT   NLHE    87000  13000       6      55   15    27        0

delta: $-100,000
MTT NLHE balance: $41,528,268
2021 balance: $15,806,500
blue distance: $533,000
balance: $93,471,953

My worst poker variant

I've talked about the imp of the perverse on this blog many times. However, it was always in the context of an in-progress poker session, referring to a bad decision made during the course of playing a hand. Last night, I suffered the imp of the perverse before I'd even started playing - in other words, when I was selecting a tournament to play. There was no $200,000 buy in MTT NLHE on offer, but I saw that there was a $200,000 buy in MTT-B NLHE. Although I've sworn off bounty tournaments, I just couldn't resist joining it. I did moderately well, nearly outlasting the late registration period, which is much harder to do in bounty tournaments than in regular tournaments. However, nearly doing this wasn't nearly enough :-) MTT-B NLHE is my worst poker variant; I've lost $4,383,820 playing it. That's an outlier; in my second worst poker variant, KO NLHE, I've only lost $234,064.

style flavor buy_in  entry players entries paid place winnings

MTT-B NLHE   174000  26000       9      80   18     -        0
MTT   NLHE    87000  13000       6      46   12    14        0

delta: $-300,000
MTT NLHE balance: $41,628,268
2021 balance: $15,906,500
blue distance: $433,000
balance: $93,571,953

Folding up

The first objective in a tournament is to make the money. Once that's achieved, the next objective is to ladder up. There are many ways to accomplish this. One of the most reliable ways to ladder up a single money jump is to embark upon a foldfest. That's what I did at the end of last night's tournament. When the money bubble burst, I was Caboose Boy. I needed to ladder up three spots to reach the first money jump, and did so by folding early and often :-)

style flavor buy_in  entry players entries paid place winnings

MTT   NLHE   174000  26000       6      73   21    18   317000

delta: $117,000
MTT NLHE balance: $41,728,268
2021 balance: $16,206,500
blue distance: $133,000
balance: $93,871,953

Scaling a new height of futility

On Sunday night, as no midnight train was on offer and I didn't feel like playing an NLHE tiny toy train, I opted for an 8-game toy train. By failing to make the money, I scaled a new height of futility - it was the 21st time in the last 24 8-games I've played that I hit the rail empty-handed. That's an 87.5 losing percentage. It's hard to believe, but I still have a decent positive career balance in 8-game, so the right thing to do is to stop playing it. I've made this resolution before, but have never been able to stick to it.

style flavor buy_in  entry players entries paid place winnings

MTT   8-Game  45000   5000       6      56    12   14        0

delta: $-50,000
MTT 8-game balance: $598,170
2021 balance: $16,089,500
blue distance: $250,000
balance: $93,754,953

There is a tide in the affairs of men

Brutus:

There is a tide in the affairs of men.
Which, taken at the flood, leads on to fortune;
Omitted, all the voyage of their life
Is bound in shallows and in miseries.

William Shakespeare, Julius Caesar Act 4, scene 3, 218–221

Last night, I missed the tide. On a hand where I was dealt AKs (ace king suited) and paired my king on the flop, I folded when an opponent bet big enough for me to put him on two pair. He won the hand with KJs (king jack suited), and all he had was a pair of kings; I would have outkicked him had I stayed in the hand. Not only did I miss out on a big pot, I had him pegged as a frisky player, and hit the rail several hands later when I had top pair and he bet big enough to put me all in if I called. Since I knew he was frisky, I did call; this time he actually had two pair. Whatcha gonna do?

style flavor buy_in  entry players entries paid place winnings

MTT   NLHE   174000  26000       6      66   18    37        0

delta: $-200,000
MTT NLHE balance: $41,611,268
2021 balance: $16,139,500
blue distance: $200,000
balance: $93,804,953

Over a century under the lights

Last night, I reached the final table of a 6max MTT NLHE for the 101st time. That's over a century under the lights :-)

style flavor buy_in  entry players entries paid place winnings

MTT   NLHE    45000   5000       6      83   21     3   339000

delta: $289,000
MTT NLHE balance: $41,811,268
2021 balance: $16,339,500
blue distance: $0
balance: $94,004,953

Blue and gold

Last night, not only did I make the money, I got my overall balance back into the blue. This month, I'm making the money at a great clip (63% of the time), and getting into the blue at another great clip (33% of the time). I've mentioned before that there are different golden ratios for the different poker styles. The golden ratio for cash games is 2 winning sessions for every losing session. The golden ratio for tournaments is much lower, somewhere in the vicinity of 2 tournaments where you make the money for every 5 tournaments where you fail to make the money. This month, although I'm exclusively playing tournaments, I'm nearly hitting the cash game golden ratio :-)

style flavor buy_in  entry players entries paid place winnings

MTT   NLHE   174000  26000       6      61   18     6   636000

delta: $436,000
MTT NLHE balance: $41,522,268
2021 balance: $16,050,500
blue distance: $0
balance: $93,715,953

9th highest MTT NLHE percentile

The thing I like the most about toy trains is the number of players they attract. The larger the field, the higher the maximum possible percentile becomes. Last night, playing a toy train, I registered the 9th highest MTT NLHE percentile of my career - 98.62. It was my 2nd highest percentile for a 3rd place finish. Still and all, I'm hoping for a midnight train tonight.

style flavor buy_in  entry players entries paid place winnings

MTT   NLHE     9000   1000       6     218   60     3   103900

delta: $93,900
MTT NLHE balance: $41,086,268
2021 balance: $15,614,500
blue distance: $106,100
balance: $93,279,953

Carddeadburgh

Last post, I defined Sanityville and Crazytown. I neglected to mention Carddeadburgh, but that's another place you may find yourself travelling in the course of an MTT. If you're lucky, you go right through it and come out the other side. If you're not, Carddeadburgh will end your tournament in a New York minute.

This is an excerpt from my January 5, 2015 post. Last night, I couldn't get out of Carddeadburgh. I don't think I won a single hand. Hey, it happens :-)

style flavor buy_in  entry players entries paid place winnings

MTT   NLHE   174000  26000       6      61   18    35        0

delta: $-200,000
MTT NLHE balance: $40,992,368
2021 balance: $15,520,600
blue distance: $200,000
balance: $93,186,053

A fine blue cadence

I'm having a good poker November so far. Last night, on the strength of making the final table, my overall balance returned to the blue. That's my fifth blue session of the month. I'm aiming to keep this fine blue cadence going :-)

style flavor buy_in  entry players entries paid place winnings

MTT   NLHE    45000   5000       6      61   18     5   192000

delta: $142,000
MTT NLHE balance: $41,192,368
2021 balance: $15,720,600
blue distance: $0
balance: $93,386,053

My most usual usual suspect

In my MTT NLHE career, I've run across certain players a multitude of times. I call them the usual suspects. There's one player I've run across more than any other; I call him my most usual usual suspect. Last night, I missed the money by five spots. When I hit the rail, my most usual usual suspect was Caboose Boy. Although I like to last longer than the usual suspects, if I miss the money, I hope any usual suspect still in the tournament makes the money. There's a website where I can look up how any PokerStars player has fared in recent tournaments, so I'm going to find out right now if my most usual usual suspect made the money last night.

Checking ... 

Sweet! My most usual usual suspect did make the money. He finished in 13th place and won $78,000, for a net profit  of $28,000. Good on him :-)

style flavor buy_in  entry players entries paid place winnings

MTT   NLHE    45000   5000       6      58   15    20        0

delta: $-50,000
MTT NLHE balance: $41,050,368
2021 balance: $15,578,600
blue distance: $50,000
balance: $93,244,053

Let the chips rain down

The PokerStars client recently added a nice special effect when the money bubble bursts - spinning chips descend the screen from above. Last night, I enjoyed this effect for the fourth straight session. My overall balance returned to the blue. Let the chips rain down :-)

style flavor buy_in  entry players entries paid place winnings

MTT   NLHE   174000  26000       6      77   21    16   334000

delta: $134,000
MTT NLHE balance: $41,100,368
2021 balance: $15,628,600
blue distance: $0
balance: $93,294,053

A first for the year

When I first started playing MTTs, fields of 250 or more players were quite common. Of course, I  played lower stakes in those days, and the lower the stakes, the bigger the fields tend to be. These days, at the stakes I like to play, fields of 100 or more are rare, let alone 250. However, every so often I have to settle for a toy train, and then it's much likelier that the field will be 100 or more. Last night, I played in my first MTT of the year with a field of 250 or more. Even though the prize pool was tiny, it was a lot of fun lasting longer than hundreds of other players :-)

style flavor buy_in  entry players entries paid place winnings

MTT   NLHE     9000   1000       6     255   72    17    34600

delta: $24,600
MTT NLHE balance: $40,966,368
2021 balance: $15,494,600
blue distance: $72,400
balance: $93,160,053

Tenliness is next to quadliness

Either last night or the night before, I hit quad tens. I made a mental note to blog about it, but didn't keep track of which session it occurred. That actually makes an odd sort of sense; quads are so unusual that they kind of exist in a dimension beyond space and time. Tenliness is next to quadliness :-)

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: $208,000
MTT NLHE balance: $40,941,768
2021 balance: $15,470,000
blue distance: $97,000
balance: $93,135,453

Mini massive

Last night, I logged onto PokerStars a bit later than usual, so I missed the midnight train. I had to settle for a toy train. One fun thing about toy trains is that they attract more players than tournaments with bigger buy ins. More players means more fish, and more fish means I have better odds of making the money. There were 193 players in last night's tournament, so I'm categorizing it as a mini massive :-)

style flavor buy_in  entry players entries paid place winnings

MTT   NLHE     9000   1000       6     193   48    24    26000

delta: $16,000
MTT NLHE balance: $40,733,768
2021 balance: $15,262,000
blue distance: $305,000
balance: $92,927,453

When to board the midnight train

The midnight train can be boarded too late, but I'm increasingly coming to believe that it can be boarded too early as well. There's a sweet spot somewhere in the middle of the late registration period. The ideal time to board is when a fair number of players have already been thrown off, but there's still enough time left for you to wait patiently for a good hand. I boarded the train a little too early last night. Tonight I'll try not to board until at least 20 minutes of the late registration period have elapsed.

style flavor buy_in  entry players entries paid place winnings

MTT   NLHE   174000  26000       6      58   15    23        0

delta: $-200,000
MTT NLHE balance: $40,717,768
2021 balance: $15,246,000
blue distance: $321,000
balance: $92,911,453

I love s.p.a.m.

It's high time for a neo neo. s.p.a.m. is my abbreviation for slow playing a monster. I love s.p.a.m. :-) The most memorable hand of last night's session was the one when I was dealt the ace and seven of diamonds and flopped the nut flush. I just called until the river, when I put in a medium-sized bet and got paid off. That set me up nicely for making the money.

style flavor buy_in  entry players entries paid place winnings

MTT   NLHE    87000  13000       6      49   15     9   179000

delta: $79,000
MTT NLHE balance: $40,917,768
2021 balance: $15,446,000
blue distance: $121,000
balance: $93,111,453

Too frisky

Last night, I played too friskily, and paid the price. I hit the rail with 17 minutes left in the late registration period. A poor performance, to say the least. I can't remember winning a single hand. Tonight, I promise to tighten up my play.

style flavor buy_in  entry players entries paid place winnings

MTT   NLHE   174000  26000       6      28    8     -        0

delta: $-200,000
MTT NLHE balance: $40,838,768
2021 balance: $15,367,000
blue distance: $200,000
balance: $93,032,453

Two toy trains

Last night, I hit the rail fairly quickly in the first tournament I entered; that peeved me, so I entered a second. Both were toy trains. I got under the lights in the second one, which got my overall balance back into the blue. I'm hoping the midnight train will be running tonight.

style flavor buy_in  entry players entries paid place winnings

MTT   NLHE    45000   5000       6      75   21    43        0
MTT   NLHE    45000   5000       6      81   21     4   284000

delta: $184,000
MTT NLHE balance: $41,038,768
2021 balance: $15,567,000
blue distance: $0
balance: $93,232,453

Lights out

Last night, I made the money in my third straight 8-game. I'm dubbing the outcome "lights out", since I made it under the lights, but then was the first player at the final table to hit the rail.

This is an excerpt from my January 18, 2019 post. Last night, I had another such outcome. Since I started the final table in fourth place, that means I "laddered down" two rungs, not the right direction to be laddering. I just missed getting back into the blue.

style flavor buy_in  entry players entries paid place winnings

MTT   NLHE    45000   5000       6      73   21     6   190000

delta: $140,000
MTT NLHE balance: $40,854,768
2021 balance: $15,383,000
blue distance: $150,000
balance: $93,048,453

Bubbling the bubble

I go back on forth on what makes me feel worse - bubbling a tournament or bubbling the bubble. I think I know why this is. How bad I feel has less to do with the number of places I miss the money by, and more to do with how good I thought my chances of making the money were, before I hit the rail. It's possible to bubble and not be too upset, and it's also possible to bubble the bubble and be really bummed out. On Thursday night I bubbled the bubble, and was decently disappointed :-)

style flavor buy_in  entry players entries paid place winnings

MTT   NLHE    45000   5000       6      74   21    23        0

delta: $-50,000
MTT NLHE balance: $40,714,768
2021 balance: $15,243,000
blue distance: $150,000
balance: $92,908,453

Poxit

Last night's session ended abruptly. On my final hand, I was dealt pocket fours, and an opponent who had me covered went all in. My brain told me to fold, but my right index finger wasn't listening. I honestly can't say if it was a case of my poker id overruling my poker superego, or if my click on the call button was simply an unfortunate fingerfehler. This happens to me occasionally, and it flummoxes me every time. My opponent's holding was AJo (ace jack offsuit), so I was actually a slight favorite to win the hand, but is was essentially a coin flip. Result? Another 0th place.

style flavor buy_in  entry players entries paid place winnings

MTT   NLHE    87000  13000       6      17    6     -        0

delta: $-100,000
MTT NLHE balance: $40,764,768
2021 balance: $15,293,000
blue distance: $100,000
balance: $92,958,453

Consecutive blues

Last night, for the first time in five months, I registered consecutive blue sessions. My overall balance topped 93 million for the first time. I'm getting in that dangerous frame of mind again when I feel that I can't lose :-)

style flavor buy_in  entry players entries paid place winnings

MTT   NLHE   174000  26000       6      55   15    13   287000

delta: $87,000
MTT NLHE balance: $40,864,768
2021 balance: $15,393,000
blue distance: $0
balance: $93,058,453

In the money, in absentia

As I've mentioned before, sometimes I play online poker and web surf at the same time. When I do, sometimes the PokerStars client fails to thrust itself into the foreground when it's my turn to act. Furthermore, sometimes when that happens I temporarily forget that I was playing poker. Last night and the night before, all of these preconditions occurred. Imagine my surprise when I returned to PokerStars and discovered I'd made the money in absentia both times :-)

style flavor buy_in  entry players entries paid place winnings

MTT   NLHE   174000  26000       6      61   18    15   318000

delta: $118,000
MTT NLHE balance: $40,777,768
2021 balance: $15,306,000
blue distance: $0
balance: $92,971,453

How midnight trains go missing

Last night, the midnight train went missing again. I figured out how this happens a while ago, but neglected to write about it. I'll remedy that now. Pokerstars will cancel scheduled tournaments if an insufficient number of players have preregistered. I'm pretty sure that at least four players must preregister; in that case, there will initially be two paid places. Now that I know this, I preregister for tournaments whenever possible. This doesn't guarantee that the tournament won't be cancelled, but at least it slightly reduces the likelihood of that happening.

style flavor buy_in  entry players entries paid place winnings

MTT   NLHE    45000   5000       6      61   18    14    82000

delta: $32,000
MTT NLHE balance: $40,659,768
2021 balance: $15,188,000
blue distance: $68,000
balance: $92,853,453