One and done

On Friday night, I played only one MTT, and only needed to play one. I extracted all the poker entertainment and personal satisfaction out of it that I possibly could. It lasted the longest of any MTT NLHE massive I've ever played, both in number of hands (148) and amount of time (nearly two hours). I was in the 98th percentile again, only the third time I've achieved that distinction. Above the crowd :-)

style flavor buy_in entry players hands entries paid place winnings

MTT   NLHE      870   130       9   148    1082  279    19     4800

delta: $3,800
MTT NLHE massive balance: $48,525
balance: $10,366,389

ROI musings

Lately I've been thinking a lot about ROI (return on investment). There's more than one kind. Of course, there's financial ROI, but there's also enjoyment ROI and personal satisfaction ROI (its kissing cousin). It probably won't surprise you to hear that the poker style/flavor combo where I currently have the highest enjoyment ROI is MTT NLHE. Ditto for personal satisfaction ROI. It surprised me to learn that MTT NLHE almost hit the trifecta; it has the second highest financial ROI of all the style/flavor combos I've tried. Here are the top five financial ROIs of the non-cash poker styles:

   ROI      Profit      Wagered  Style     Flavor              BI+EF Count

53.75%    $193,500     $360,000  Sit & Go  8-Game            $10,000    36
41.03%     $44,725     $109,000  MTT       No Limit Hold'em   $1,000   109
40.38%    $339,220     $840,000  MTT       8-Game             $5,000   168
17.21%    $395,800   $2,300,000  Sit & Go  8-Game            $50,000    46
15.77%  $2,218,400  $14,071,600  Sit & Go  No Limit Hold'em  $50,800   277

n.b.: BI+EF is buy in plus entry fee. My financial ROI for cash game NLHE is a measly 4.2%; I've wagered $119,895,376 playing it, and my profit is just $5,051,131. My enjoyment ROI and personal satisfaction ROI for cash game NLHE are both in the negative numbers.

style flavor buy_in entry players hands entries paid place winnings

MTT   NLHE      870   130       9    77    1146  315   147     2342
MTT   NLHE      870   130       6   124     823  216    14     7374

delta: $7,716
MTT NLHE massive balance: $44,725
balance: $10,362,589

Waiting til Movember

After last night's losing session, my 2016 balance stands at $-345,491. I'm in an SNG NLHE slump. It's no fun playing a particular poker flavor when you're slumping in that flavor. On the other hand, it's a lot of fun playing a flavor when you're having success in it. I've decided to wait until Movember to play SNG NLHE again. I don't mean I'm going to grow a mustache in November, I mean that in November, I'm going to start playing $88,000 buy in SNG NLHE again. That's my go to style, flavor, and buy in for MOVing my balance back into the black. Movember was very profitable for me last year, and with any luck will be again this year. I know I'll have the sense of urgency I had last year, and I'm confident I'll be able to get the job done :-) In the meantime, I'm going to have tons of fun playing MTT NLHE.

style flavor buy_in entry players hands entries paid place winnings

SNG   NLHE    44000  6000       6    61       6    2     3        0
SNG   NLHE    44000  6000       6    48       6    2     2    92400
SNG   NLHE    44000  6000       6     8       6    2     6        0
SNG   NLHE    44000  6000       6    21       6    2     4        0
MTT   NLHE      870   130       6    87     675  168    59     3144

delta: $-105,456
Sit and go no limit hold'em balance: $2,799,640
balance: $10,354,873

Nothing new under the sun

Back in my salad days, it was easier to write poker blog posts. This was primarily due to the fact that I had so little poker data, it was relatively easy to find personal bests and/or anomalies to write about. These days, it takes me longer to find some unusual feature in the data from the previous night's session. Sometimes, I can't do it at all. When that happens, it bums me out a bit; it makes me feel like there's nothing new under my poker sun :-(

The best I can come up with from my examination of last night's data is a personal second best - for number of hands played in sessions where I played two sit and gos, and failed to make the money in either. Last night, I played 95 hands. For the record, my personal best in this category is 101 hands, on September 15, 2015.

style flavor buy_in entry players hands place winnings

SNG   NLHE    44000  6000       6    40     5        0
SNG   NLHE    44000  6000       6    55     3        0

delta: $-100,000
Sit and go no limit hold'em balance: $2,907,240
balance: $10,460,329

The razor thin SNG profit margin

I've now played 1,438 sit and go no limit hold'em tournaments. I've come in first 251 times, and second 313 times. That means I'm making the money at a 39.22% clip. That seems like it should be excellent, but in fact it's just barely over the SNG profit line, given the expensive PokerStars entry fees. Had I played all 1,438 of these tournaments at the $44,000 buy in level, which has a $6,000 entry fee, my profit would have been a meager $92,800. My ROI would have been a minuscule one tenth of one percent. These harsh numbers certainly give me pause. If PokerStars ever increases their entry fees again (which they've already done twice that I know of), it would be financial suicide for me to continue playing sit and gos. As it is, it's still pretty much of a fool's errand. That said, I really like playing sit and gos, and I really like the action, so I'm just going to keep playing them. Damn the torpedoes, full speed ahead :-)

style flavor buy_in entry players hands place winnings

SNG   NLHE    44000  6000       6    22     6        0
SNG   NLHE    44000  6000       6   119     1   171600
SNG   NLHE    44000  6000       6    24     5        0
SNG   NLHE    44000  6000       6    52     3        0

delta: $-28,400
Sit and go no limit hold'em balance: $3,007,240
balance: $10,560,329

81 million tournament play dollars wagered

Wagering is very different between cash games and tournaments. In a cash game, you're constantly wagering, often multiple times per hand. In a tournament, you only wager once  - when you buy in. When you wager in a cash game, what you're essentially saying is "I have a hand I think has a great chance of winning". When you wager in a tournament, what you're essentially saying is "There's this player I think has a great chance of making the money in this tournament, and I want to back that player". The fact that the player happens to be you is largely irrelevant :-)

I've wagered more play money on cash games in my career than I have on tournaments, but the tournament amount is catching up. I have no doubt that it will eventually surpass the cash game amount. For the record, the tournament amount is currently $81,031,850.

style flavor buy_in entry players hands place winnings

SNG   NLHE    44000  6000       6    94     2    92400
SNG   NLHE    44000  6000       6    28     5        0
SNG   NLHE    44000  6000       6    53     2    92400

delta: $34,800
Sit and go no limit hold'em balance: $3,035,640
balance: $10,588,729

Twin bubbles

Last night, I bubbled twice. The second tournament was almost a carbon copy of the first. I'm pretty used to tournament swings by now, so I'm not worried about this latest downturn. I've had many before, and I'll have many again. I've also had many "in the sweetness" streaks before, and will again. I'm looking forward to them already :-)

style flavor buy_in entry players hands place winnings

SNG   NLHE    44000  6000       6    41     3        0
SNG   NLHE    44000  6000       6    43     3        0

delta: $-100,000
Sit and go no limit hold'em balance: $3,000,840
balance: $10,553,929

The optimal number of sit and gos per session

After four years of sit and go no limit hold'em experience, I can tell you the optimal number of sit and gos to play per session. Actually, that statement is misleading. The only thing I can tell you with confidence is the number which turns out to be optimal for me. That happens to be four. If I haven't made a profit in four sit and gos, it's highly unlikely that I'm going to make a  profit by playing additional sit and gos in that session. When you've been in the sweetness for a long time, however, it's especially hard to convince yourself that it's time to quit. I couldn't do that last night, and lost an additional $100,000 as a consequence.

style flavor buy_in entry players hands place winnings

SNG   NLHE    44000  6000       6    23     5        0
SNG   NLHE    44000  6000       6    47     2    92400
SNG   NLHE    44000  6000       6    74     2    92400
SNG   NLHE    44000  6000       6    20     4        0
SNG   NLHE    44000  6000       6    31     3        0
SNG   NLHE    44000  6000       6    28     5        0

delta: $-115,200
Sit and go no limit hold'em balance: $3,100,840
balance: $10,653,929

Back in the black

When you play sit and go no limit hold'em, you can make money in a hurry. Last night, I had my third "in the sweetness" session in a row, and it was the sweetest of the three. Like the first two, I played four tournaments. Like the first two, I made the money three times. This time, however, I came in first all three times. Not only that, they were consecutive firsts. On the strength of those results, my 2016 balance vaulted back into the black. I got curious to see how many times I've had three firsts in a row, and ran the numbers. I remembered doing it once before. As it turns out, I'd done it four times before. Not too shabby :-)

style flavor buy_in entry players hands place winnings

SNG   NLHE    44000  6000       6    41     3        0
SNG   NLHE    44000  6000       6    68     1   171600
SNG   NLHE    44000  6000       6    60     1   171600
SNG   NLHE    44000  6000       6    83     1   171600

delta: $314,800
Sit and go no limit hold'em balance: $3,216,040
balance: $10,769,129

Sweeter still

Last night's session was even more successful than the one before it. As before, I played four sit and gos. As before, I made the money three times. This time, however, I had two firsts and one second instead of two seconds and one first. My back to back session total of $392,000 clocks in at number 25 on my career list of back to back session totals, putting it into the 98th percentile. All is right with my poker world :-)

style flavor buy_in entry players hands place winnings

SNG   NLHE    44000  6000       6   104     1   171600
SNG   NLHE    44000  6000       6    57     2    92400
SNG   NLHE    44000  6000       6    20     4        0
SNG   NLHE    44000  6000       6    83     1   171600

delta: $235,600
Sit and go no limit hold'em balance: $2,901,240
balance: $10,454,329

In the sweetness

Last night, I was in the sweetness. As a rule, the right thing to do when you're in the sweetness is to keep playing until you fall out of it. The longer the sweetness lasts, the more invincible you feel :-) This will sound silly, but I swear it's true - you actually begin to feel like you'll never fail to make the money again, all previous experience to the contrary. It's a sweet delusion :-)

style flavor buy_in entry players hands place winnings

SNG   NLHE    44000  6000       6    97     2    92400
SNG   NLHE    44000  6000       6    36     2    92400
SNG   NLHE    44000  6000       6    73     1   171600
SNG   NLHE    44000  6000       6    10     6        0

delta: $156,400
Sit and go no limit hold'em balance: $2,665,640
balance: $10,218,729

My poker ATM

Imagine if ATMs worked like this:

- you could only withdraw small amounts
- you could only withdraw when enough other people were simultaneously trying to withdraw at other ATMs
- after entering in the amount you wished to withdraw, you had to wait an indeterminate amount of time before the machine would give you your cash

They wouldn't be very useful, would they? Funnily enough, I've just described what it's like trying to play any type of sit and go other than no limit hold'em on PokerStars. Is it any wonder I keep coming back to sit and go no limit hold'em? It's the only sit and go flavor which acts like a true ATM. You can go up to it at any time, withdraw any amount you like, and not have to wait for the machine to give you your cash. You gotta love it :-)

style flavor buy_in entry players hands entries paid place winnings

MTT   NLHE      870   130       9    43    1058  279   358        0
MTT   NLHE      870   130       9    36     912  243   340        0
SNG   8-Game  44000  6000       6    28       6    2     6        0
SNG   NLHE    44000  6000       6    72       6    2     2    92400

delta: $-9,600
Sit and go no limit hold'em balance: $2,509,240
balance: $10,062,329

Opening up the spigot

In the last two sessions, I've wagered 164,000 play dollars. In the 31 sessions before that, I wagered just 143,000 play dollars. It feels great to be wagering big amounts again :-) There's something very liberating about it. It's not like I'm throwing caution to the wind, but I'm definitely unburdening my poker soul.

style flavor buy_in entry players hands entries paid place winnings

MTT   NLHE      870   130       9    14    1131  279   557        0
SNG   8-Game  44000  6000       6    54       6    2     4        0
MTT   NLHE      870   130       6    37     766  192   183     1399
SNG   8-Game  44000  6000       6   110       6    2     2    92400

delta: $-8,201
Sit and go 8-game balance: $649,010
balance: $10,071,929

Off the dime

On Friday night, I finally got off the dime, moving back to sit and gos and higher stakes. I eased my way into it by starting with smaller stakes. My goal now is to bring my 2016 balance back into the black by playing a steady stream of $44,000 buy in SNG 8-games. If I haven't achieved this by November, I'll take a page from last year's playbook and start playing $88,000 buy in SNG NLHEs.

style flavor buy_in entry players hands entries paid place winnings

MTT   NLHE      870   130       9     8     783  189   400        0
SNG   8-Game   8800  1200       6    37       6    2     5        0
SNG   8-Game    870   130       6    51       6    2     4        0
SNG   8-Game  44000  6000       6   158       6    2     2    92400

delta: $30,400
Sit and go 8-game balance: $656,610
balance: $10,080,130

Switching to my best

In the last month and a half, I've had a lot of fun playing MTT NLHE massives. However, I've only made a profit of 18,554 play dollars playing them. That's chicken feed! I know, I know, I claimed there was more to poker life than (play) money. However, right now I have a hankering to start making lots of play money again. With that in mind, I could do worse than switch to the style and flavor which gives me the best return on my investment. That happens to be sit and go 8-game; here's the breakdown:

    avg delta       delta   count  style      flavor

  $7,269.8837    $625,210      86  Sit & Go   8-Game
  $6,648.4529  $5,784,154     870  Cash game  No Limit Hold'em
  $3,100.9180  $1,172,147     378  Cash game  Pot Limit Hold'em
  $2,600.0000       $2600       1  Sit & Go   HORSE
  $1,711.3609    $289,220     169  MTT        8-Game
  $1,690.7745  $2,466,840   1,459  Sit & Go   No Limit Hold'em
  $1,036.7018     $59,092      57  Cash game  Limit 7 Card Stud
    $577.5000      $1,155       2  Cash game  Pot Limit Triple Draw 2-7 Lowball
    $417.4167     $15,027      36  Cash game  No Limit Triple Draw 2-7 Lowball
    $200.0531     $22,606     113  MTT        No Limit Hold'em
    $126.5823     $10,000      79  Spin & Go  No Limit Hold'em
   $-500.0000       $-500       1  Cash game  Limit 5 Card Draw
   $-630.0000     $-1,260       2  Sit & Go   Limit Triple Draw 2-7 Lowball
   $-897.0000       $-897       1  Cash game  Limit Triple Draw 2-7 Lowball
 $-1,724.5610    $-70,707      41  Cash game  Pot Limit Omaha
 $-2,566.4000    $-64,160      25  MTT        HORSE
$-11,064.4074   $-298,739      27  KO poker   No Limit Hold'em
$-50,800.0000    $-50,800       1  Sit & Go   Limit Hold'em$

I'm sure I'll still be playing a bunch of massives, while I'm waiting for the sit and go 8-game tables to fill up. I'm excited to be leaving Lilliput for Brobdingnag once more!

style flavor buy_in entry players hands entries paid place winnings

MTT   NLHE      870   130       6    47     813  192   132     2121
MTT   NLHE      870   130       9    33     675  162   111     2055
MTT   NLHE      870   130       9    20     567  135   145        0

delta: $1,176
MTT NLHE massive balance: $38,466
balance: $10,049,730

The truth about deepstacks

Although there are massives running on PokerStars all the time, I don't think I've ever seen more than one running at a time. Actually, what I really mean is that I've never seen two competing massives both late registering at the same time. The practical upshot of this fact is that if I want to play the first massive I can find (and I always do), I have to take whatever happens to be on offer. Sometimes, the tables will be 9max; other times, they'll be 6max. Sometimes, the initial stake will be 1,500 in chips; other times, the initial stake will be 3,000 in chips. PokerStars calls the latter tournaments deepstacks. I have a counter-intuitive observation about deepstacks. I thought I'd do better in deepstacks than in non-deepstacks due to having a greater skill level than the average player; my reasoning was that since I had more chips than normally to start with, I'd have more time to play, and my skill advantage would emerge. Looking at the numbers, though, I realize that the opposite might be true. The higher your skill level, the abler you are to deal with having a short stack, and the longer you'll survive with one. In a deepstack tournament, the less skilled players have more time for their riskier play to reap some big rewards.

style flavor buy_in entry players hands entries paid place winnings

MTT   NLHE      870   130       9    71     675  162    38     3464
MTT   NLHE      870   130       6    35     708  168   214        0

delta: $1,464
MTT NLHE massive balance: $37,290
balance: $10,048,554

True tournament blue percentage

When I first thought to calculate blue percentage, I was playing cash games, so the unit of measurement I used was the session. When I started playing tournaments, I calculated my blue percentage the same way, but that actually artificially inflates the numbers, since I typically play multiple tournaments per session when I'm playing tournaments. I've decided the true way to calculate tournament blue percentage is to use the tournament as the unit of measurement. I ran the numbers, and I have a very nice tournament blue percentage for MTT NLHE massives - it's 23 of 96 tournaments, for 23.96%. For comparison purposes, my overall blue percentage, using the session as the unit of measurement, is 269 of 1918, for 14.03%.

style flavor buy_in entry players hands entries paid place winnings

MTT   NLHE      870   130       6    10     975  240   449        0
MTT   NLHE      870   130       6    57     798  192   122     2082
MTT   NLHE      870   130       9    53     805  216   162     1750

delta: $832
MTT NLHE massive balance: $35,826
balance: $10,047,090

Best massive three bagger

Last night, on the strength of two money finishes in massives following a money finish in the single massive from the night before, I registered my career best massive three bagger. Here are the top 10:

$9,588 2016-07-10 2016-07-11 (3)
$9,354 2015-09-09 2015-09-11 (3)
$9,345 2015-09-08 2015-09-10 (3)
$8,745 2015-09-06 2015-09-09 (3)
$7,618 2016-07-09 2016-07-11 (2)
$6,639 2016-06-21 2016-06-23 (3)
$5,864 2015-09-03 2015-09-05 (3)
$5,574 2015-09-03 2015-09-04 (3)
$5,505 2015-09-04 2015-09-06 (3)
$5,475 2016-06-20 2016-06-22 (3)

In massives, big comebacks are possible. In the first one I played last night, I started hand 20 with only 171 in chips, which was just 11.4% of my starting stack of 1,500 chips. Including that hand, I was able to play another 50 hands, and ended up in 27th place. I'm sure that was one of my best ever comebacks in a massive.

style flavor buy_in entry players hands entries paid place winnings

MTT   NLHE      870   130       9    69     783  189    27     4509
MTT   NLHE      870   130       9    58     809  216   128     1970

delta: $4,479
MTT NLHE massive balance: $34,994
balance: $10,046,258

Fifth massive century

Last night, I had my fifth career century in an MTT NLHE massive, and my second in the last four sessions. Any time you can last 100 hands or more in a massive, you're going to make some good money. I also had my second best career massive percentile, clocking in at 97.93. I'm feeling super comfortable playing massives right now, which translates into a lot of fun :-)

style flavor buy_in entry players hands entries paid place winnings

MTT   NLHE      870   130       6   107     966  240    20     6109

delta: $5,109
MTT NLHE massive balance: $30,515
balance: $10,041,779

Near perfect massive bubble

When you play a sit and go, only one place qualifies as the bubble. It's the first place which doesn't make the money. When you play an MTT, however, there are so many more players that a range of places could be considered to qualify as the bubble. With that understanding, a perfect MTT bubble would be the first place which doesn't make the money. In my MTT career, I've only had one perfect MTT bubble; 42 places were paid, and I came in 43th. If it's hard to have a perfect MTT bubble, it's even harder to have a perfect massive bubble. Last night, I nearly had one in the second massive I played. 162 places were paid, and I came in 167th.

style flavor buy_in entry players hands entries paid place winnings

MTT   NLHE      870   130       6    28     786  192   295        0
MTT   NLHE      870   130       9    31     675  162   167        0
MTT   NLHE      870   130       9    51     885  216   235        0

delta: $-3,000
MTT NLHE massive balance: $25,406
balance: $10,036,670

Apples and oranges

Lately, my overall balance has been decreasing, even though my MTT NLHE massive balance has been increasing. This is due to the combination of two simple facts:

1. I'm in an MTT 8-game slump
2. the buy in for MTT 8-games is 5 times the buy in for MTT NLHE massives

What I'm doing by playing both these flavors at the same time is essentially mixing apples and oranges - never a good idea. My solution for the time being will be to play MTT NLHE massives exclusively.

style flavor buy_in entry players hands entries paid place winnings

MTT   NLHE      870   130       9    50     975  243   215     1679
MTT   8-Game   4350   650       6    67      69   18    21        0

delta: $-4,321
MTT NLHE massive balance: $28,406
balance: $10,039,670

Massive blue

Lately, I've been failing to make the money in MTT 8-games, but have been making the money at a really decent clip when I play MTT NLHEs. It just feels like there's less variance in MTT NLHEs. I think this is due to the fact that MTT 8-games attract a higher caliber of player.

Last night, I made the money in 3 of the 4 MTT NLHEs I entered, which were all massives. That pushed my MTT NLHE massive balance into the blue. Even though the amount is pitiful, it still feels great to be in the blue :-)

style flavor buy_in entry players hands entries paid place winnings

MTT   NLHE      870   130       9    30     783  189   140     1757
MTT   8-Game   4350   650       6    11      89   18    68        0
MTT   NLHE      870   130       6    45     772  192   175     1410
MTT   NLHE      870   130       6     7     628  150   374        0
MTT   NLHE      870   130       9   122     838  216    23     4447

delta: $-1,386
MTT NLHE massive balance: $27,727
balance: $10,043,991

A fat one on seventh street

I played two MTT 8-games and two MTT NLHEs last night. The most memorable hand of the night came in the second MTT 8-game, when the poker flavor was 7 card stud and I was drawing thin on seventh street. My opponent had made a flush on sixth street, eclipsing my set of eights. I made a full house on seventh to take down the pot.

style flavor buy_in entry players hands entries paid place winnings

MTT   8-Game   4350   650       6    21      96   18    43        0
MTT   NLHE      870   130       6    49     836  216   176     1563
MTT   NLHE      870   130       9    19     675  162   190        0
MTT   8-Game   4350   650       6    45      61   12    34        0

delta: $-10,437
MTT NLHE massive balance: $24,113
balance: $10,045,377

Stud busted

Last night, I made the money in an MTT 8-game again, but was stud busted. That is, I hit the rail during a stud rotation. I was a three to one favorite after sixth street, but my opponent hit a straight on seventh street, and that was all she wrote. I'm curious to see what flavor of poker I've busted with the most in MTT 8-games; let me check the archives ...

Here are my busted counts by poker flavor, in descending order:

17 Triple Draw 2-7 Lowball Limit
12 7 Card Stud Hi/Lo Limit
 8 Razz Limit
 8 Omaha Pot Limit
 8 Omaha Hi/Lo Limit
 5 7 Card Stud Limit
 5 Hold'em Limit
 2 Hold'em No Limit

Despite this evidence of the dangers of deuce (aka triple draw 2-7 lowball limit), it's one of my favorite 8-game flavors.

style flavor buy_in entry players hands entries paid place winnings

MTT   8-Game   4350   650       6    90      76   18    13     4290

delta: $-710
MTT 8-game balance: $309,220
balance: $10,055,814

A hole in my razz game

Way back on March 10, 2011, I wrote about CHEEP, which stands for Creeping Hold'Em Evaluation Prejudice. CHEEP can make a big hole in your Omaha game; I've learned that the hard way, many times. Tonight I'm here to talk about CDEP, which stands for Creeping Deuce Evaluation Prejudice. CDEP can make a big hole in your razz game. That's what happened to me last night, in the MTT 8-game I entered. In deuce, an 8 6 low is a really decent hand. In razz, it's really pretty crappy. Your deuce experience can cause you to overvalue 8 6 lows in razz, and that can be very costly. Last night, I lost 4,750 in chips when I ran my 8 6 into a 5 low (the nut low in razz). My stack was on life support after that, and I hit the rail just nine hands later.

style flavor buy_in entry players hands entries paid place winnings

MTT   NHLE      870   130       9    28     567  135   188        0
MTT   8-Game   4350   650       6   111      64   12    10     6960

delta: $960
MTT 8-game balance: $309,930
balance: $10,056,524

Aced out

I call it "aces out" when I hit the rail in a tournament with a holding of pocket rockets. Last night, in the MTT NLHE I played, I was aced out instead; that is, I lost to an opponent who had rockets. I'd already made the money, so I didn't feel too bad. You need to play super cautiously when you're on the money bubble, but once you've made the money, it behooves you to throw caution to the wind. The reason? You need lots of chips, in a hurry, to be able to make it to the final table.

style flavor buy_in entry players hands entries paid place winnings

MTT   8-Game   4350   650       6    44      97   18    27        0
MTT   NLHE      870   130       9    71     926  243   194     1595

delta: $-4,405
MTT NLHE massive balance: $25,550
balance: $10,055,564

Sleeping out

It's never a good idea to sit out when playing a tournament. It's fine to sit out when playing a cash game game, since there's no penalty. The penalty for sitting out during a tournament is that you automatically lose the amounts of your antes and blinds. Last night, I started playing when it was late, and I was tired. Not a very good decision, but there it is. I nodded off three times, and it resulted in the PokerStars software automatically sitting me out each time. All in all, I sat out (or more accurately, slept out) for 11 of 55 hands, and missed making the money by a considerable margin. I had the good sense to call it a night after that :-)

style flavor buy_in entry players hands entries paid place winnings

MTT   8-Game   4350   650       6    55      64   12    25        0

delta: $-5,000
MTT 8-game balance: $312,970
balance: $10,059,969

Evermore and ever better session

On Friday night, I had an evermore and ever better session, provided that the ever better part is determined by percentile rather than place. My first percentile was the 53rd, my second was the 63rd, and my final was the 78th.

style flavor buy_in entry players hands entries paid place winnings

MTT   8-Game   4350   650       6    25      82   18    38        0
MTT   NLHE      870   130       9    34     982  243   362        0
MTT   NLHE      870   130       6    43     755  192   161     1576

delta: $-5,424
MTT NLHE massive balance: $24,955
balance: $10,064,969

.500

So far in my online poker career, I've played 88 MTT NLHE tournaments. Having made the money in 44 of them, I'm batting a perfect .500. Looking only at massives, I'm doing even better - 39 of 76, for .513. Last night, I had a rare double - I made the money in both an MTT 8-game and an MTT NLHE.

I've said it before, but it bears repeating - the reason I do well in MTT NLHE is that there are so many bad players out there. I don't have to be especially good myself. This is a bit humbling, but I can put up with it :-)

style flavor buy_in entry players hands entries paid place winnings

MTT   8-Game   4350   650       6   122      94   18     8    13280
MTT   NLHE      870   130       6    62     718  192    84     2436

delta: $9,716
MTT NLHE massive balance: $25,379
balance: $10,070,393