Ever less shutout

An ever less session is one where you play less hands each succeeding tournament. An ever less shutout is an ever less session where you failed to make the money in any tournament. It's not something you ever want to achieve, but I achieved it last night. It turned out to be only the second ever less shutout MTT NLHE session of my career; the first was on November 2nd of last year. Here's hoping I won't have another for a good long while :-)

style flavor buy_in entry players hands entries paid place winnings

MTT   NLHE    45000  5000       6    48     134   36    47        0
MTT   NLHE    45000  5000       6    38      51   15     -        0
MTT   NLHE    17500  2500       6    24     381   96   260        0

delta: $-120,000
MTT NLHE balance: $2,189,748
2017 balance: $272,600
balance: $11,690,430

A change in philosophy

I know it's a bad idea to join a 9 max MTT too early *; there's just too much variance to make that a good play. It's much better to let a bunch of other players get knocked out before you join. I never bothered to reevaluate this philosophy with respect to 6 max, but that was a mistake. There's way less variance in 6 max; so much less, in fact, that I think it's fine to join a 6 max MTT at any time, even at the very beginning of the late registration period. It stands to reason that the better a player you are, the longer you give your greater skills a chance to work on the lesser skills of your opponents, the better.

Last night, I joined a 6 max MTT NLHE with more than 20 minutes left in the late registration period. I had some ups and downs, but got a nice chip infusion just before the late registration period ended, when I was dealt rockets. I parlayed that luck into a decent profit.

* truth be told, it's a bad idea to join a 9 max MTT in general :-)

style flavor buy_in entry players hands entries paid place winnings

MTT   NLHE    45000  5000       6   122     148   36    24   106000

delta: $56,000
MTT NLHE balance: $2,309,748
2017 balance: $392,600
balance: $11,810,430

The prescription for making one million a year

The prescription for making one million play dollars a year is quite simple; it has only two parts:

1. play at least 10,000 hands of MTT NLHE in the year
2. make an average of 100 play dollars a hand, taking the buy ins and entry fees into account

The first part is simple to achieve; the second is not as easy, but can be done. Last year, I played 13,389 hands of MTT NLHE, and averaged just shy of 143 play dollars a hand. If I'd stuck to just that style and flavor, I would have made a profit of 1,913,096 on the year; however, since I mucked around with other styles and flavors, and didn't do well in any of the others, I ended up with less than a million in profit. The nice thing about this prescription is that it can easily be adjusted. If you can't make an average of 100 play dollars a hand, you can still make a million by taking the simple expedient of playing more hands :-)

In 2017, I'm averaging 133 play dollars an MTT NLHE hand. If I can keep up that average, I only need to play 7,519 hands to make my million.

style flavor buy_in entry players hands entries paid place winnings

MTT   NLHE    17500  2500       6    68     376   96    79    32200

delta: $12,200
MTT NLHE balance: $2,253,748
2017 balance: $336,600
balance: $11,754,430

85 million play dollars lost

A little over four and a half years ago, I thought it notable that to that point in my career, I'd lost nearly 7 million play dollars. Here's what I wrote then:

There's a great joke which has as its coda the following remark and rejoinder:

"I've never been so insulted in my life!"
"Well, you should get out more!"

The poker equivalent to this might be:

"I've never lost so much money in my life!"
"Well, you should play more!"

The truth behind this humor is that you'll never be able to win a massive amount of money without losing a massive amount of money along the way.

Recently, I surpassed the 85 million mark in play dollars lost. Here's to many more play millions lost in the future :-)

style flavor buy_in entry players hands entries paid place winnings

MTT   NLHE    17500  2500       6    35     488  114   190        0
MTT   NLHE    45000  5000       6    19      83   21     0        0
MTT   NLHE    17500  2500       6    11     420   96   293        0
MTT   NLHE    43500  6500       9     8      92   27     0        0
MTT   NLHE    16500  3500       9    14     575  117   252        0

delta: $-160,000
MTT NLHE balance: $2,241,548
2017 balance: $324,400
balance: $11,742,230

Splurging

As you know, I avoid 9 max tournaments like the plague. Sometimes, though, it's okay to splurge on one. That's what I did last night, after making the money in the first MTT I entered, which was a 6 max. Since I'd made a profit of $40,000 on that first tournament, I knew I could afford to play a $20,000 9 max. Even if I failed to make the money, I'd still come out ahead on the night (I'd already decided I was only going to play two tournaments). I hit the rail on hand 13, when I called all in with an ace and nine of hearts.

style flavor buy_in entry players hands entries paid place winnings

MTT   NLHE    45000  5000       6    85     112   30    21    90000
MTT   NLHE    16500  3500       9    13     430   90   161        0

delta: $20,000
MTT NLHE balance: $2,401,548
2017 balance: $484,400
balance: $11,902,230

Evermore in vain

New definition: an evermore in vain session is an evermore session where I failed to make the money in any tournament. Last night, I had such a session, and thought it might have been my very first one. Analyzing my MTT NLHE data, that turned out to be false. I've had 12 evermore MTT NLHE sessions; two of them have been in vain.

style flavor buy_in entry players hands entries paid place winnings

MTT   NLHE    45000  5000       6    25     144   36    47        0
MTT   NLHE    45000  5000       6    30     134   36    74        0
MTT   NLHE    17500  2500       6    36     357   84   144        0

delta: $-120,000
MTT NLHE balance: $2,381,548
2017 balance: $464,400
balance: $11,882,230

Evermore and ever better

The first time I used this blog post title was on December 9, 2015; here's what I had to say:

An evermore session is one where you play multiple tournaments, and manage to play more hands each tournament than you did in the previous one. An ever better session is one where you play multiple tournaments, and manage to place better each tournament than you did in the previous one. An evermore and ever better session is, as you'd expect, an session which is both an evermore session and an ever better session.

Last night, I had another such session. I just missed going 3 for 3, since I bubbled the first tournament.

style flavor buy_in entry players hands entries paid place winnings

MTT   NLHE    45000  5000       6    41     158   42    43        0
MTT   NLHE    45000  5000       6    53     138   36    35    74000
MTT   NLHE    45000  5000       6    95     131   36    16   112000

delta: $36,000
MTT NLHE balance: $2,501,548
2017 balance: $584,400
balance: $12,002,230

The lower 48

The most hands I've ever played in an MTT NLHE without making the money is 76. On Friday night, in my final MTT NLHE of the session, I played 48 hands without making the money. I got curious to see how I've fared in 48 hand MTT NLHEs over the course of my career. It turns out I've played three such tournaments, and failed to make the money in any of them.

style flavor buy_in entry players hands entries paid place winnings

MTT   NLHE    17500  2500       6    21     524  132   301        0
MTT   NLHE    45000  5000       6    62     153   42    36    82000
MTT   NLHE    45000  5000       6     5      93   24     -        0
MTT   NLHE    17500  2500       6    48     397   96   133        0

delta: $-58,000
MTT NLHE balance: $2,465,548
2017 balance: $548,400
balance: $11,966,230

Poker fondue

Playing an MTT has some similarities to eating fondue. For one thing, everyone has to share. For another, there's only so much fondue to go around; it never gets replenished. However, poker fondue is definitely the strangest fondue you've ever heard of :-) Let me enumerate some of its peculiarities:

- the bread is in the fondue; the only implement anyone wields is a bare fondue fork
- participants probe into the fondue, looking for the bread
- it's a free-for-all; no one takes turns
- if you're lucky enough to spear a piece of bread, you gain energy when you eat it; not only that, your fondue fork magically grows larger
- having more energy and a bigger fondue fork enables you to push aside the smaller forks of weaker participants, making it easier for you to secure your next piece of bread
- the longer you fail to secure yourself some bread, the less able you'll be to secure it

Last night, once again I saved my best MTT for last. There was nothing cheesy about it :-)

style flavor buy_in entry players hands entries paid place winnings

MTT   NLHE    45000  5000       6    30     116   30    40        0
MTT   NLHE    17500  2500       6   104     404   96    22    78400

delta: $8,400
MTT NLHE balance: $2,523,548
2017 balance: $606,400
balance: $12,024,230

The late train

For the last three sessions, my final MTT NLHE of the session has been the one where I made the largest profit. That makes me wish I could somehow skip the early sessions and go straight to the final one each time :-) One bad habit I have yet to eradicate completely is joining a 9 max when that's the only MTT in the offing. I did that to start out last night's session, and lost $20,000 in very short order. I vow not to be that undisciplined tonight.

style flavor buy_in entry players hands entries paid place winnings

MTT   NLHE    16500  3500       9    13     694  144   304        0
MTT   NLHE    45000  5000       6    11     154   42    97        0
MTT   NLHE    17500  2500       6    30     407   96   208        0
MTT   NLHE    45000  5000       6     3      78   21     -        0
MTT   NLHE    17500  2500       6   115     362   96    28    64600

delta: $-95,400
MTT NLHE balance: $2,515,148
2017 balance: $598,000
balance: $12,015,830

Baby blue

It's been a long time since my overall balance has been in the blue. To be exact, since February 10th of last year, when it reached $12,966,294. My streak of consecutive sessions out of the blue has now reached a whopping 278. My longest prior such streak was 189 sessions. My overall balance blue distance is currently $855,064. About the best that can be said about it is that it's under a million.

Last night, I had something colorful to celebrate - I got my MTT NLHE balance into the blue. Since it's only a subsidiary balance, it's only a baby blue, but I'll take it :-)

style flavor buy_in entry players hands entries paid place winnings

MTT   NLHE    16500  3500       9    10     790  162   335        0
MTT   NLHE    45000  5000       6    34     158   42    46        0
MTT   NLHE    45000  5000       6   235     134   36     2   554000

delta: $434,000
MTT NLHE balance: $2,610,548
2017 balance: $693,400
balance: $12,111,230

Double quads

It's hard to get quads (four of a kind). Of the 17,687 hands of MTT NLHE I've played so far in my career, I've only gotten quads 16 times. That's less than a tenth of 1 percent. Imagine my surprise when I not only got quads last night, I got them twice. What's more, both quads were in the same MTT! If that's not being smiled upon by the poker gods, I don't know what is. On the strength of my double quads, I got under the lights again, and finished in fourth.

style flavor buy_in entry players hands entries paid place winnings

MTT   NLHE    45000  5000       6    49     159   42    46        0
MTT   NLHE    17500  2500       6    56     491  114    93    36000
MTT   NLHE    45000  5000       6     8     139   36     -        0
MTT   NLHE    17500  2500       6    23     519  132   228        0
MTT   NLHE    45000  5000       6   137     138   36     4   409000

delta: $255,000
MTT NLHE balance: $2,176,548
2017 balance: $259,400
balance: $11,677,230

Stopping the bitch

This it the third time I've used this blog post title. Rereading the original post, I realize I can't improve on it, so I'm going to be lazy and quote it in its entirety:

Memorable quotes are powerful. The proof of their power is the very fact that you remember them, years, or even decades, later. When I was trying to think of a title for this post, I knew I wanted it to relate to the fact that I finally stopped my losing streak. It was a bitch of a streak. That sparked the memory - years ago, Cedric Maxwell, a great Celtics player, said that the Celtics were not going to let Bernard King, a great Knicks player, score at will on them - Maxwell said they were going to "stop the bitch". His choice of words struck me forcefully at the time I read it, and it strikes me equally forcefully now. In one breath, he was praising King, and at the same time claiming that the Celtics would shut him down - and incidentally implying that this would largely be due to his (Maxwell's) defensive efforts.
 
Last night, I stopped the bitch. After tying a personal record streak of nine straight tournaments out of the money, I finally got back into the money again.

Last night, I stopped the bitch. After setting a personal record streak of eleven straight tournaments out of the money, I finally got back into the money again.

style flavor buy_in entry players hands entries paid place winnings

MTT   NLHE    43500  6500       9    43     181   45    26    59000

delta: $9,000
MTT NLHE balance: $1,921,548
2017 balance: $4,400
balance: $11,422,230

Personal best losing streak

It's never a good idea to talk about a winning streak while it's still in progress, since that might jinx it. I'm curious if the same applies to a losing streak :-) In the hope that it does, let's talk about my losing streak in MTT NLHEs. On Friday night, with 5 more failures to make the money, I set a new personal best - I've now lost 11 MTT NLHEs in a row (and I may not be done yet). My previous personal best was 9 in a row. I came very close to making the money in two of the MTTs in that streak, and had the bad luck to hit the rail when an opponent hit a two outer in one of those two. I would certainly have made the money if my 95.45% chance of winning that hand had held up.

style flavor buy_in entry players hands entries paid place winnings

MTT   NLHE    17500  2500       6    37     518  132   178        0
MTT   NLHE    45000  5000       6    60     136   36    38        0
MTT   NLHE    45000  5000       6     8      76   21     -        0
MTT   NLHE    16500  3500       9     9     604  126   203        0
MTT   NLHE    17500  2500       6    42     400   96   159        0

delta: $-160,000
MTT NLHE balance: $1,912,548
2017 balance: $-4,600
balance: $11,413,230

My kingdom for an orbit

Sometimes, you know you're going to make the money in an MTT. Other times, you know you're going to just miss making the money. The closer you get, the more it hurts not to make it. It really hurts to know that it you could just drag your sorry poker carcass around for one more orbit of the table, you'd make it, but there's no way in hell to do it, since you don't have enough chips for the blinds. That's what happened to me in the second MTT I entered last night. My kingdom for an orbit :-)

style flavor buy_in entry players hands entries paid place winnings

MTT   NLHE    17500  2500       6    30     441  114   231        0
MTT   NLHE    45000  5000       6    44     113   30    32        0

delta: $-70,000
MTT NLHE balance: $2,072,548
2017 balance: $155,400
balance: $11,573,230

The runt of the litter

If you can help it, you only ever want to go to showdown against a single opponent. Of course, there will be times when three or more players can't be persuaded to relinquish their hands. In such cases, at least two of them are in for a world of hurt :-) When this occurs in an MTT, you can hit the rail in a New York minute. That's what happened to me last night, in just the second hand of the first MTT I entered. I was dealt Q7o (queen seven offsuit), and the flop came Qc 8d Td. I bet 90, got raised to 180, and called; a third player called behind me. The turn was the queen of spades (known as "the bitch" to lovers of the card game hearts); I bet 360, got raised by the third player, and called all in, just after the second player called. I never had a prayer, turning over the worst hand of the three; I was thus the runt of the litter. I had trip queens, the second player had a full house of tens full of queens, and the third player had a full house of queens full of tens. I think the only thing I did wrong in the hand was my final call; I should have known at least one of my opponents had me beat.

style flavor buy_in entry players hands entries paid place winnings

MTT   NLHE    17500  2500       6     2     300   72     0        0
MTT   NLHE    45000  5000       6    34     103   30    60        0

delta: $-70,000
MTT NLHE balance: $2,142,548
2017 balance: $225,400
balance: $11,643,230

Out with a bang, twice

There are many ways to hit the rail at a tournament. I prefer to go out with a bang, if I have to go out :-) That's what happened to me in both tournaments I entered last night. In each case, the absolute value of the final hand delta was the largest absolute value hand delta of the tournament. In each case, I went all in and got at least one caller. In hindsight, it was a bit unfortunate that I had to act first; had someone gone all in before me on either hand, I might have been able to get away from it. But as we know, that's poker :-)

style flavor buy_in entry players hands entries paid place winnings

MTT   NLHE    45000  5000       6    18     120   30    59        0
MTT   NLHE    17500  2500       6    28     362   96   146        0

delta: $-70,000
MTT NLHE balance: $2,212,548
2017 balance: $295,400
balance: $11,713,230

"I know what to do"

Ever since I saw the 1978 movie "Pretty Baby", starring Brooke Shields, Keith Carradine, and Susan Sarandon, one line delivery has remained etched in my mind. It's Brooke's delivery of the line, "I know what to do", as the character Violet. Violet makes this assertion with the innocent, and mistaken, assurance of youth. Clearly, Violet couldn't know, while still a virgin, what the experience of sexual intercourse would be like, even if she already knew all about the mechanics.

Poker is so protean a pastime that no poker player can ever completely know what to do. That's why, though I've now played online poker for more than eight years, some parts of my poker virginity are untried yet :-) I have enough playing experience to be able to utter "I know what to do"; however, the very act of saying it calls Violet to my mind, and I can't deny the hubris and inescapable inaccuracy of the statement. It's probably best only to think this thought, and never say it aloud.

style flavor buy_in entry players hands entries paid place winnings

MTT   NLHE    45000  5000       6    81     150   36    14   148000

delta: $98,000
MTT NLHE balance: $2,282,548
2017 balance: $365,400
balance: $11,783,230

Selectafehler

I don't remember a whole lot about the last session I played, which was last Tuesday. The reason I haven't played since then is that I've been sick, having come down with a case of pneumonia. I'm happy to report I'm very much on the mend, and eager to play some poker tonight. The one thing that stands out when I look at the session summary is that somehow I managed to pick a 9 max MTT without realizing it. This has inspired me to come up with another neologism - selectafehler :-) It's a subspecies of the genus fingerfehler, limited to tournament selection. Thankfully, my selectafehler only cost me $20,000, not $50,000 (as it might easily have done).

style flavor buy_in entry players hands entries paid place winnings

MTT   NLHE    16500  3500       9     6     809  162   415        0
MTT   NLHE    45000  5000       6    26     151   42    60        0
MTT   NLHE    17500  2500       6    50     507  132   113    31900
MTT   NLHE    45000  5000       6    81     136   36    10   153000
MTT   NLHE    17500  2500       6    12     434  114   255        0

delta: $24,900
MTT NLHE balance: $2,184,548
2017 balance: $267,400
balance: $11,685,230

Back to the two-step

As I've remarked before, I seem to play better when I'm multi-tabling. Right now I think the optimal number of tables for me to play at the same time is two. That's what I did last night. Since the registration periods of the $20,000 BI+EF MTT NLHEs and those of the $50,000 BI+EF MTT NLHEs are staggered, it works out well for me alternately to enter a $20,000 and a $50,000. I just missed going four for four.

style flavor buy_in entry players hands entries paid place winnings

MTT   NLHE    45000  5000       6    40     165   42    32    89000
MTT   NLHE    17500  2500       6    60     540  132   116    29200
MTT   NLHE    45000  5000       6    30     147   36    45        0
MTT   NLHE    17500  2500       6    95     404   96    39    59300

delta: $37,500
MTT NLHE balance: $2,159,648
2017 balance: $242,500
balance: $11,660,330

A great start

My last session of 2016 was my worst last session of a year ever. My first session of 2017 was my best first session of a year ever. Together, they comprise my fifth best rebound ever. I just missed making the final table. I really felt like I was in the zone, and hope that feeling continues tonight. As you can see, I had the patience to wait for a 6 max. If I never play another 9 max again, it'll be too soon :-)

style flavor buy_in entry players hands entries paid place winnings

MTT   NLHE    45000  5000       6   159     162   42     7   255000

delta: $205,000
MTT NLHE balance: $2,122,148
2017 balance: $205,000
balance: $11,622,830

My 2016 poker year in review

Despite a wretched final poker session of 2016 last night, I made a decent profit on the year. More importantly, I proved to myself the long term viability of playing MTT no limit hold'em. It was the only style and flavor where I made a profit, truth be told; that profit more than offset the losses I incurred in all the other styles and flavors I tried, combined. No stronger endorsement for continuing to play it is needed :-)

2016 was the year when my deep-seated dislike of cash games really came to the fore. This dislike is ungracious, since the bulk of my career winnings have come from cash games, but it's there nonetheless. The practical result is that I won't play any more cash games until I've forgotten how much I dislike them :-)

2016 was also the year when I was forced to conclude, once and for all, that sit and gos are not profitable for me, and never will be. I'm sorry to see them go, since they're a ton of fun to play, but go they must.

2016 was also the year when I fully realized that 9 max poker has much more variance than I like, and that my game is much better suited to 6 max.

I'm looking forward to another fun, and profitable, poker year.

style flavor buy_in entry players hands entries paid place winnings

MTT   NLHE    45000  5000       6    11     154   42    69        0
MTT   NLHE    45000  5000       6    10      77   21    40        0
MTT   NLHE    44000  6000       9    21     128   27    40        0
MTT   NLHE    16500  3500       9    32     448   90    75    20600
MTT   NLHE    45000  5000       6    38      61   18    19        0
MTT   NLHE    45000  5000       6    33      45   12     -        0

delta: $-249,400
MTT NLHE balance: $1,917,148
2016 balance: $717,466
balance: $11,417,830