Thrown off the bus

Close to four years ago, firmly embedded in my lengthy cash game phase, I wrote a blog entry entitled "The middle of nowhere"; here's how it began:

Playing poker can be likened to being on a long bus ride. You want to stay on the bus, and go as far as you can. Sometimes, though, you're forced off the bus, dropped off essentially in the middle of nowhere.

Hitting the rail (i.e., exiting a tournament) is much worse than hitting the felt (i.e., losing your initial stake in a cash game), and the feeling you get is correspondingly stronger. Instead of feeling like you're being dropped off in the middle of nowhere, you feel like you're being thrown off a moving bus :-)

I got thrown off the bus in the second tournament I played last night, missing the money by one measly spot.

style flavor buy_in entry players hands entries paid place winnings

MTT-R NLHE    43500  6500       9    22      65   15    39        0
MTT-R NLHE    43500  6500       9    95      47   12    13        0

delta: $-200,000
MTT with rebuys NLHE balance: $19,233,500
2017 balance: $20,143,350
balance: $31,561,180