Now that's a prize pool

The most memorable thing about last night's session had nothing to do with me. It had everything to do with the size of the prize pool of the one MTT-R NLHE I entered. At a whopping $27,796,500, it was the biggest prize pool of any MTT-R NLHE I've ever entered. There were 27 money places; first place paid an eye-popping $5,995,500. I missed the money, more's the pity, and by a country mile.

style flavor buy_in entry players hands entries paid place winnings

MTT-R NLHE    43500  6500       9    43     112   27    50        0
MTT   8-Game  45000  5000       6    28      94   18    31        0

delta: $-150,000
MTT with rebuys NLHE balance: $33,822,500
2018 balance: $243,000
balance: $45,756,260

The Great Escape

Up until this year, the latest I'd ever had a yearly balance in the red was on December 8, back in 2016. This year really looked like it would mark the first annual loss of my career, but last night I pulled off a great escape! I came in first in the second MTT-R I entered, vaulting my 2018 balance back into the black. With three more nights to play in the year, I can play on all of them and still ensure that I make a profit by taking the simple expedient of only firing two bullets each night. My streak is safe :-)

style flavor buy_in entry players hands entries paid place winnings

MTT-R NLHE    43500  6500       9    90      81   18    19        0
MTT   8-Game  45000  5000       6    54      59   12    22        0
MTT-R NLHE    43500  6500       9   174      49   12     1  2924000

delta: $2,574,000
MTT with rebuys NLHE balance: $33,922,500
2018 balance: $393,000
balance: $45,906,260

$96,000 rung

Laddering up is so important in tournaments. It can mean the difference between profit and loss, or between a ho-hum profit and a tidy one. Last night, in the only tournament I entered, I made it under the lights, but was the short stack. I'd fired six bullets, so I needed to win $300,000 to break even. 9th place paid $351,000, so I was covered, but wanted more. By hook or by crook, I laddered up one rung, which added $96,000 more to my profit. Ka-ching :-)

style flavor buy_in entry players hands entries paid place winnings

MTT-R NLHE    43500  6500       9   105      73   15     8   447000

delta: $147,000
MTT with rebuys NLHE balance: $31,298,500
2018 balance: $-2,181,000
balance: $43,332,260

Going like sixty

Last night, I played well in all three of the tournaments I entered, finishing in the 60th percentile or better in each. Unfortunately, I didn't make the money in any of them. I gave myself a handicap in the first two by entering with only a short amount of time left in the late registration period; I'll avoid that mistake tonight.

style flavor buy_in entry players hands entries paid place winnings

MTT-R NLHE    43500  6500       9    40      50   12    20        0
MTT-R NLHE    43500  6500       9    28      45    9    18        0
MTT-R NLHE    43500  6500       9    50      37    8    14        0

delta: $-700,000
MTT with rebuys NLHE balance: $31,151,500
2018 balance: $-2,328,000
balance: $43,185,260

36th half splash

Last night, I registered my 36th half splash - i.e., session where I lost at least half a million play dollars. This was due in large part to firing too many bullets in the first tournament I entered. It was another unlucky 7 bullets, a number I'd sworn never to fire in a single tournament again. Never say never, right? :-)

style flavor buy_in entry players hands entries paid place winnings

MTT-R NLHE    43500  6500       9    80      46   12    19        0
MTT-R NLHE    43500  6500       9    42      59   12    16        0

delta: $-500,000
MTT with rebuys NLHE balance: $31,851,500
2018 balance: $-1,628,000
balance: $43,885,260

35th Full Monty

Almost exactly a year ago, I wrote a post entitled "The Full Monty"; in it, I used that phrase as a nickname for a straight flush. I now declare it to mean a session where I make a profit of at least one million play dollars. Under this new definition, last night I achieved the 35th Full Monty of my career. Once again, I had the premonition I was going to make the money long before I did.

style flavor buy_in entry players hands entries paid place winnings

MTT-R NLHE    43500  6500       9    33      54   12    26        0
MTT-R NLHE    43500  6500       9   121      54   12     3  1729000

delta: $1,429,000
MTT with rebuys NLHE balance: $32,351,500
2018 balance: $-1,128,000
balance: $44,385,260

The hurry down flavor

In 8-game, the flavor that can vanish your stack in a New York minute is deuce. The reason? The three draws. You generally won't know how good your holding is until all three draws are complete, but your opponents can make you play dearly for the privilege of staying in the hand to receive those draws. In certain spots, you're essentially forced to gamble. Last night, I only lasted 5 hands in the MTT 8-game tournament I entered. The final two were deuce hands, and I lost both. On the first, I lost 1,120 chips, and on the second, I lost my last 880 chips. I'm not complaining, though; deuce can be a hurry up flavor just as well as a hurry down flavor :-)

style flavor buy_in entry players hands entries paid place winnings

MTT   8-Game  45000  5000       6     5      70   18    44        0
MTT-R NLHE    43500  6500       9    52      69   15    25        0

delta: $-150,000
MTT with rebuys NLHE balance: $30,922,500
2018 balance: $-2,557,000
balance: $42,956,260

yato

Last night, I suffered yato - yet another tournament ofer. That is, another tournament where I didn't win a single hand. The good news? I only fired two bullets. I'm curious to find out my MTT-R NLHE ofer percentage; running the numbers ... 3.53%. Livable :-)

style flavor buy_in entry players hands entries paid place winnings

MTT-R NLHE    43500  6500       9    39      46   12    25        0

delta: $-100,000
MTT with rebuys NLHE balance: $31,022,500
2018 balance: $-2,407,000
balance: $43,106,260

A tale of two streaks

In last night's session, I ended a losing streak and posted a winning one. The one I ended was a losing session streak; I stopped it at 11, one session shy of my personal worst. The one I posted was a winning hand streak; I won 4 hands in a row, starting with hand 30. The most hands I've ever won in a row in an MTT-R NLHE tournament is 5.

style flavor buy_in entry players hands entries paid place winnings

MTT   8-Game  45000  5000       6    81      79   18    11    76000
MTT-R NLHE    43500  6500       9    94      63   15    12   244000

delta: $170,000
MTT with rebuys NLHE balance: $31,122,500
2018 balance: $-2,307,000
balance: $43,206,260

North of 30

I'm really enjoying playing MTT 8-game again. I realize I've missed it. The beauty is in the variety :-) You can't get bored, since the poker flavor keeps getting changed on you. Even though I'm in the red for my career in MTT 8-game, I've been well into the black in it before, and expect to be again. Out of curiosity, I just checked my career MTT 8-game itm (in the money) percentage; it's a respectable 34.46. That beats my career MTT-R NLHE item percentage, which is currently 31.21. I think any itm percentage north of 30 is a good achievement.

style flavor buy_in entry players hands entries paid place winnings

MTT   8-Game  45000  5000       6    98      75   18     9   109000
MTT-R NLHE    43500  6500       9    55      65   15    19        0

delta: $-91,000
MTT 8-game balance: $-188,830
2018 balance: $-2,477,000
balance: $43,036,260

Epic Badugi fail

Last night, I got crushed in the Badugi tournament I entered; I only lasted 8 hands. I hit one Badugi, but it lost at showdown to a better one. I then entered an MTT-R NLHE and did considerably better, though I failed to make the money. I think I'll go back to 8-game tonight.

style flavor buy_in entry players hands entries paid place winnings

MTT   Badugi  45000  5000       8     8      27    5     0        0
MTT-R NLHE    43500  6500       9    49      43    9    28        0

delta: $-300,000
MTT Badugi balance: $-100,000
2018 balance: $-2,386,000
balance: $43,127,260

Omaha crush

For a long time, I thought I hated Omaha, but that turns out not to be entirely true. I do hate pot limit Omaha, but I'm developing a bit of a crush on limit Omaha 8 or better. I played an MTT 8-game last night, and limit Omaha 8 or better was the rotation I did the best in. It's back to Badugi tonight.

style flavor buy_in entry players hands entries paid place winnings

MTT   8-Game  45000  5000       6    93      63   12    18        0

delta: $-50,000
MTT 8-game balance: $-247,830
2018 balance: $-2,086,000
balance: $43,427,260

Auspicious first Badugi hand

Last night, I played Badugi for the first time ever, and really enjoyed it. I won the very first Badugi hand I played, and hit my first Badugi just two hands later. That's a four card hand where each card is of a different suit and denomination. Badugis are quite hard to come by, and you don't need to hit one to win a hand (but it sure helps :-)). I did well in the Badugi tournament, even leading it at one point, but failed to make the money. I was double-tabling the Badugi tournament with an 8-game tournament, and did make the money in the 8-game. In other news, my 2018 balance went more than 2 million into the red, and my blue distance hit a new all time high of $11,057,000. Double ouch!

style flavor buy_in entry players hands entries paid place winnings

MTT   8-Game  45000  5000       6   109      70   18    11    67000
MTT   Badugi  45000  5000       8    50      61   12    14        0
MTT-R NLHE    43500  6500       9    61      68   15    23        0

delta: $-333,000
MTT with rebuys NLHE balance: $31,378,500
2018 balance: $-2,036,000
balance: $43,477,260

A yen for novelty

I've now been playing no limit hold'em, my predominant poker flavor, for more than seven years. I love it, but am getting a hankering to play other flavors. Of course, I'll never give up NLHE, but that doesn't mean I can't play other poker variants. One which I've never tried, but which looks like a lot of fun, is called Badugi. I'm going to scour the Pokerstars offerings to see if I can scare it up :-)

style flavor buy_in entry players hands entries paid place winnings

MTT-R NLHE    43500  6500       9    15      78   18    55        0
MTT-R NLHE    43500  6500       9    64      61   15    19        0

delta: $-350,000
MTT with rebuys NLHE balance: $31,678,500
2018 balance: $-1,703,000
balance: $43,810,260

The 10 million dollar man

With last night's loss, my blue distance topped 10 million play dollars once again. My streak of profitable years is in serious jeopardy. I'll definitely play out the string. That's all I have to say for now :-)

style flavor buy_in entry players hands entries paid place winnings

MTT-R NLHE    43500  6500       9    43      48   12    27        0
MTT-R NLHE    43500  6500       9    61      50   12    22        0

delta: $-450,000
MTT with rebuys NLHE balance: $32,028,500
2018 balance: $-1,353,000
balance: $44,160,260

Near perfect futility

Last night, I came about as close as you can to achieving the worst possible outcome, without actually achieving it :-) In two tournaments played, I won a total of two hands. Both of them came in the second tournament. I hit the rail in that tournament with a holding of AQo (ace queen offsuit), losing to an opponent who had A6o (ace six offsuit). Before the flop, I was a 70.9% favorite to win the hand. Sometimes, you just can't win for losing :-)

style flavor buy_in entry players hands entries paid place winnings

MTT-R NLHE    43500  6500       9    34      54   12    39        0
MTT-R NLHE    43500  6500       9    32      39    8    22        0

delta: $-350,000
MTT with rebuys NLHE balance: $32,478,500
2018 balance: $-903,000
balance: $44,610,260

4-freq rockets

Last night, in the second tournament I entered, I was dealt pocket rockets twice in 109 hands. That meant I was getting them at better than four times their normal frequency. I'll take it! I won both of those hands, and eventually got under the lights. Counting tonight, I have 21 more nights of poker to play in 2018. Only time will tell whether or not I make a profit on the year; I'm on the edge of my seat :-)

style flavor buy_in entry players hands entries paid place winnings

MTT-R NLHE    43500  6500       9    16      69   15    53        0
MTT-R NLHE    43500  6500       9   109      60   12     8   421000

delta: $-29,000
MTT with rebuys NLHE balance: $32,828,500
2018 balance: $-553,000
balance: $44,960,260

Six zero crossings

After taking a good look at my poker data from last night, not a lot stands out. The most interesting feature is that my stack made six zero crossings in the one tournament I entered. That's quite unusual. A much commoner number is two, which is almost always a whaleback.

style flavor buy_in entry players hands entries paid place winnings

MTT-R NLHE    43500  6500       9    43      61   15    27        0

delta: $-150,000
MTT with rebuys NLHE balance: $32,857,500
2018 balance: $-524,000
balance: $44,989,260

All underwater tournament

Technically, it's possible to be underwater for an entire tournament and still end up making the money. Possible, but vanishingly unlikely. I've never accomplished this feat. Last night, I experienced an all underwater tournament, and missed the money by a country mile.

style flavor buy_in entry players hands entries paid place winnings

MTT-R NLHE    43500  6500       9    40      71   15    29        0

delta: $-250,000
MTT with rebuys NLHE balance: $33,007,500
2018 balance: $-374,000
balance: $45,139,260

qngo

Introducing a neo neo: qngo. It stands for "quads never get old". On Friday night, I flopped quad sevens on hand 18, waited until the river to bet them, and got one caller. I only won a pot of 900 chips with them, but they still put a big smile on my face :-)

style flavor buy_in entry players hands entries paid place winnings

MTT-R NLHE    43500  6500       9    31      97   27    70        0

delta: $-150,000
MTT with rebuys NLHE balance: $33,257,500
2018 balance: $-124,000
balance: $45,389,260

Apples coming in

One evidence of the power of poetry is that years after you first encounter certain images, they remain with you, and indeed stay with you for the rest of your life. One such image for me is "apples coming in", from Robert Frost's "After Apple-Picking":

My instep arch not only keeps the ache,
It keeps the pressure of a ladder-round.
I feel the ladder sway as the boughs bend.
And I keep hearing from the cellar bin
The rumbling sound
Of load on load of apples coming in.

Last night, I got under the lights again, and earned a bunch of apples :-)

style flavor buy_in entry players hands entries paid place winnings

MTT-R NLHE    43500  6500       9   132      70   15     7   639000

delta: $539,000
MTT with rebuys NLHE balance: $33,407,500
2018 balance: $26,000
balance: $45,539,260

Slickout on the bubble of the bubble

When you're the short stack at your table, and nearing the money bubble, getting dealt a premium hand is manna from heaven. In most cases, you should shove. That's what I did last night, when I was dealt a big slick on my final hand. It didn't work out for me, but I don't regret it. I missed the money by two spots. In other words, I bubbled the bubble :-)

style flavor buy_in entry players hands entries paid place winnings

MTT-R NLHE    43500  6500       9    75      58   12    14        0

delta: $-300,000
MTT with rebuys NLHE balance: $32,868,500
2018 balance: $-513,000
balance: $45,000,260

A rash of whalebacks

Last night, I had another whaleback. That's a tournament where my stack started out underwater, broke the surface at some point, and then at a later point fell back into the depths, never to return. I've had a rash of whalebacks lately - 7 in the last 11 tournaments. I tend to think of whalebacks as a good sign. They tell a consistent story. They're basically what happens to your stack when you make good decisions. The tournament will beat you down eventually; you just want to delay the beating as long as you can :-)

style flavor buy_in entry players hands entries paid place winnings

MTT-R NLHE    43500  6500       9    62      49   12    25        0

delta: $-150,000
MTT with rebuys NLHE balance: $33,168,500
2018 balance: $-213,000
balance: $45,300,260

Drawing dead in real time

It's never fun to discover after the fact that you were drawing dead on the river on your final hand of a tournament. It's even less fun to find this out in real time, before the river card has even been dealt. Least fun of all is to find this out in real time, after having had every expectation of winning the hand. That's precisely what happened to me last night.

First of all, an explanation: you can see what your chances of winning a hand are before the final cards are dealt as long as no more bets are possible, thanks to a helpful option of the PokerStars software. I'm sure this feature can be turned off if you want to, but I've never wanted to. No more bets are possible when all the players remaining in the hand have either gone all in or called the largest all-in bet.

Here's how my painful hand went down: I was dealt 7s 6d, the flop came 4c 5s 5c, and the turn was the 8 of diamonds, giving me a straight. I shoved on the turn, and got one caller. Cards went on their backs, and the PokerStars software displayed that I had 0% chance of winning the hand, before even dealing the river card. My reaction was essentially "Wait - what???" The explanation: my opponent had been dealt 4d 4h, so he'd flopped the moon, the sun and the stars. I had a meager 1.92% chance of winning the hand after the flop, and, as previously mentioned, a 0% chance after the turn.

To add insult to injury, my percent at turn utility informs me that my holding, with that flop and turn, beats 90.42% of all other holdings. I got my money in as bad as you can get it in, when I thought I was getting it in as good as you can get it in. Go figure :-)

style flavor buy_in entry players hands entries paid place winnings

MTT-R NLHE    43500  6500       9    58      66   15    24        0

delta: $-150,000
MTT with rebuys NLHE balance: $33,318,500
2018 balance: $-63,000
balance: $45,450,260

7 bullets

The first time I used this blog post title (which was just last month), I asserted the following:

If I never fire 7 bullets in a single tournament again, it'll be far too soon :-)

Despite my best intentions, I fired 7 bullets in the only tournament I entered last night. Not surprisingly, I failed to make the money. My aggregate loss for the tournaments where I've fired 7 bullets has now topped 9 million play dollars. If I can keep it under 10 million in perpetuity, I'll be doing very well :-)

style flavor buy_in entry players hands entries paid place winnings

MTT-R NLHE    43500  6500       9    56      68   15    21        0

delta: $-350,000
MTT with rebuys NLHE balance: $33,468,500
2018 balance: $87,000
balance: $45,600,260

One premium hand too many

In poker, as in life, you can get too much of a good thing. That's what happened to me last night. I kept getting dealt premium hands and winning with them, until finally, I got dealt one premium hand too many. It was yaao - yet another aces out. I had an excellent chance of making the money; all that was required to get there was to be dealt cocktail napkins until the money bubble burst. Instead, I got dealt rockets, and you know the rest :-)

style flavor buy_in entry players hands entries paid place winnings

MTT-R NLHE    43500  6500       9    73      66   15    24        0

delta: $-100,000
MTT with rebuys NLHE balance: $33,818,500
2018 balance: $437,000
balance: $45,950,260

Double twin killing

Last night, I got under the lights again, for the first time in just over two weeks. I was the second shortest stack when the final table began, but laddered up several spots with virtually no effort on my part. On the very first hand of the final table, two opponents got knocked out by a third opponent. Just nine hands later, the same thing happened. It was a double twin killing! I'll take a fifth place finish like that any day of the week :-)

style flavor buy_in entry players hands entries paid place winnings

MTT-R NLHE    43500  6500       9    93      52   12     5   727000

delta: $577,000
MTT with rebuys NLHE balance: $33,918,500
2018 balance: $537,000
balance: $46,050,260

Triple up

In rebuy tournaments, it's common for some players to get large infusions of chips early on, doubling, tripling, or even quadrupling their stacks. The longer you last in a tournament, however, the harder it gets to double or triple up. Last night, I more than tripled up on hand 57, which is pretty unusual. For that to happen, not only do you have to have a premium hand, but slightly less premium hands must have been dealt to two of your opponents. I finally made the money, halting my session losing streak at eight.

style flavor buy_in entry players hands entries paid place winnings

MTT-R NLHE    43500  6500       9    86      77   18    13   303000

delta: $53,000
MTT with rebuys NLHE balance: $33,341,500
2018 balance: $-40,000
balance: $45,473,260

The last time I fell in

I've mentioned before that there are three ways for all your chips to go into the middle:

1. the all in
2. the call in
3. the fall in

Of the three, the one to avoid like the plague is the fall in. I'll go further than that - I'll categorically state that you should never allow yourself to fall in if you haven't made the money yet. In practical terms, that means going all in proactively, rather than waiting for the fall in to happen to you. If you've made the money, there's no harm at all in falling in - it simply means you were employing a "ladder up" strategy, which may or may not have worked out for you.

Last night, I missed the money for the eighth consecutive session. The good news is, I didn't fall in once during that stretch. The last time I fell in was on November 16, but that was in a tournament where I'd already made the money. The last time I fell in during a losing cause was longer ago - on November 8, to be precise.

style flavor buy_in entry players hands entries paid place winnings

MTT-R NLHE    43500  6500       9    50      46   12    27        0

delta: $-150,000
MTT with rebuys NLHE balance: $33,288,500
2018 balance: $-93,000
balance: $45,420,260

The lonely bullet

Last night, I had my seventh losing session in a row. That brought my 2018 balance down to $57,000, or just over the price of a single bullet. I've fired 1,531 bullets in 2018 so far. Only having one bullet to show for it is pretty pitiful! However, as a wise man once said, "It ain't over til it's over" :-)

style flavor buy_in entry players hands entries paid place winnings

MTT-R NLHE    43500  6500       9    40      66   15    23        0

delta: $-100,000
MTT with rebuys NLHE balance: $33,438,500
2018 balance: $57,000
balance: $45,570,260

Double flush

As I've said before, my favorite hand is a flush. Even though it's not the most powerful hand, it gives me the best feeling of any hand when I hit it. Last night, I had two flushes, and the second came just two hands after the first. An embarrassment of riches :-) I didn't make the money, but had plenty of fun.

style flavor buy_in entry players hands entries paid place winnings

MTT-R NLHE    43500  6500       9    84      75   15    19        0

delta: $-150,000
MTT with rebuys NLHE balance: $33,538,500
2018 balance: $157,000
balance: $45,670,260

Drawing mighty thin

The most memorable hand of last night's session, as is often the case, was one which I lost. I was dealt AJo (ace jack offsuit), and flopped a pair of aces. A queen on the turn gave me a straight draw, but also gave an opponent a set of queens. I was drawing mighty thin, as only a ten could save me. The river was a brick, but luckily I didn't lose any more chips than I'd already put into the pot, as my opponent just checked and I checked behind. My stack was severely crippled, however, and I hit the rail three hands later. Once again, my 2018 balance is on life support. I ain't afeared, though :-)

style flavor buy_in entry players hands entries paid place winnings

MTT-R NLHE    43500  6500       9    66      75   15    31        0

delta: $-150,000
MTT with rebuys NLHE balance: $33,688,500
2018 balance: $307,000
balance: $45,820,260

Autopilot

Last night, I played on autopilot. I remember almost nothing about the session. The clearest memory I have is that I didn't make the money. That's not actually a memory, come to think of it. You can't remember something which didn't happen :-)

Playing on autopilot is not necessarily a bad thing. It's really hard to make a bad decision on autopilot. If a difficult decision arises, the autopilot disengages and manual flying takes over. That didn't happen, therefore I can pretty safely conclude that no difficult decisions arose.

style flavor buy_in entry players hands entries paid place winnings

MTT-R NLHE    43500  6500       9    20      61   15    46        0

delta: $-150,000
MTT with rebuys NLHE balance: $33,838,500
2018 balance: $457,000
balance: $45,970,260

Call in

The most memorable hand of last night's session was the one where I was dealt pocket tens, an opponent acting before me bet enough preflop to put me all in if I called, and I did. My tens held, and I doubled up. Unfortunately, that chip infusion didn't last long enough, and I missed the money. I'm still happy with the way I played, however.

style flavor buy_in entry players hands entries paid place winnings

MTT-R NLHE    43500  6500       9    49      61   15    23        0

delta: $-200,000
MTT with rebuys NLHE balance: $33,988,500
2018 balance: $607,000
balance: $46,120,260

Deadly flush

One of the cruelest ways to hit the rail in poker is to "get there" on the river on the final hand, only to discover you are actually nowhere :-) That's what happened to me in the second tournament I entered last night. I hit a flush on the river, but it was a deadly flush, losing to a full house made by the same river card. Had I not made my flush, I would have folded to my opponent's river bet; hence, the deadliness :-)

style flavor buy_in entry players hands entries paid place winnings

MTT-R NLHE    43500  6500       9     9      56   12    40        0
MTT-R NLHE    43500  6500       9    72      60   12    16        0

delta: $-400,000
MTT with rebuys NLHE balance: $34,188,500
2018 balance: $807,000
balance: $46,320,260

yabb

Last night, my result was yabb - yet another bubble bubble. In other words, I finished two spots out of the money. I lasted longer than a bunch of the usual suspects, but another bunch lasted longer than I did. It's time to check the current value of my added on percentage; the answer: 55.01. I'd eventually like to get it down to 50.

style flavor buy_in entry players hands entries paid place winnings

MTT-R NLHE    43500  6500       9    53      66   15    17        0

delta: $-200,000
MTT with rebuys NLHE balance: $34,588,500
2018 balance: $1,207,000
balance: $46,720,260

Riverboy

In the one tournament I played on Friday night, I tied a personal best. I went all in 11 times. You have to have Lady Luck strongly on your side in order to survive that many all-ins. I survived the first 10, hitting the rail on the 11th. I haven't done the in-depth analysis yet, but am reasonably sure I was an underdog after the turn in most of the all-ins. Just call me riverboy :-)

style flavor buy_in entry players hands entries paid place winnings

MTT-R NLHE    43500  6500       9    96      97   27    14   315000

delta: $215,000
MTT with rebuys NLHE balance: $34,788,500
2018 balance: $1,407,000
balance: $46,920,260

One and done

Poker provides many opportunities to feel humble, yet paradoxically can also provide you with so much success that it's hard to feel humble. Case in point: the one and done tournament. This is a tournament when you only win a single hand. This guarantees that you won't make the money, and should be a humbling experience. And yet, when you've played poker as long as I have, it's actually not. I had a one and done tournament last night, and got curious about how often this happens to me. Quite a lot, it turns out. Better than a 10% clip! When you've had so many one and done tournaments, you know they're no big deal. All that really matters is making a profit over time; if you are, any incidental losses are just that - incidental.

style flavor buy_in entry players hands entries paid place winnings

MTT-R NLHE    43500  6500       9    29      77   18    42        0

delta: $-250,000
MTT with rebuys NLHE balance: $34,573,500
2018 balance: $1,192,000
balance: $46,705,260

Six poker selfies

It's hard to resist taking a poker selfie when you're at the top of the leaderboard :-) I wasn't able to last night; in fact, I took six selfies! Here are my chip counts for those six, along with my place at the time:

 80,325 (1 of 19)
100,350 (1 of 13)
110,600 (1 of 11)
 94,600 (2 of 9)
128,000 (1 of 8)
141,000 (1 of 7)

I wound up in 4th. To use one of my father's favorite phrases, I "put some color in the cheeks" of my 2018 balance :-)

style flavor buy_in entry players hands entries paid place winnings

MTT-R NLHE    43500  6500       9   159      67   15     4  1500000

delta: $1,400,000
MTT with rebuys NLHE balance: $34,823,500
2018 balance: $1,442,000
balance: $46,955,260

Freefall into the money

Last night, in the only tournament I entered, I had a long freefall into the money. It was actually a freefall from the peak, and lasted for 29 hands. I ran the numbers, and that was my career longest (percentage-wise) freefall from the peak into the money, clocking in at 44.62%. In other news, my 2018 balance returned to the black once again.

style flavor buy_in entry players hands entries paid place winnings

MTT-R NLHE    43500  6500       9    65      49   12    11   267000

delta: $167,000
MTT with rebuys NLHE balance: $33,423,500
2018 balance: $42,000
balance: $45,555,260

Polarized

One of the fascinating features of poker is polarization. That's the state you're in when the betting pattern of an opponent can mean only one of two things:

1. your opponent has air
2. your opponent has the goods

In such cases, your only choice is to go with your gut. On the final hand of the first tournament I entered last night, I was polarized. I'd been dealt a big slick, and the flop came 8h 5d 5c. An opponent who started the hand with three times as many chips as me raised me big on the turn. I had the feeling he was trying to bully me off the hand, and called. He made a river bet big enough to put me all in if I called. I still felt he was trying to bully me, so I called again. He had the goods. I don't feel bad about the way I played the hand; if you can't go with your reads, you won't last long in poker.

style flavor buy_in entry players hands entries paid place winnings

MTT-R NLHE    43500  6500       9    89      72   15    22        0
MTT-R NLHE    43500  6500       9    19      49   12    30        0

delta: $-300,000
MTT with rebuys NLHE balance: $33,256,500
2018 balance: $-125,000
balance: $45,388,260

Min cash

Last night, I min cashed. Sometimes, that's the most you can hope for, given your stack size, how far off the money you are, and the size of the blinds. I'll certainly take a min cash over missing the money, but it's not exactly exciting :-)

style flavor buy_in entry players hands entries paid place winnings

MTT-R NLHE    43500  6500       9    57      64   15    14   207000

delta: $57,000
MTT with rebuys NLHE balance: $33,556,500
2018 balance: $175,000
balance: $45,688,260

One hand to rule them all

Last night, I got back my 2018 balance back into the black. Looking at the bar chart of my stack size over the course of the only tournament I entered, one hand sticks out like a sore thumb. On hand 85, I was dealt pocket eights, flopped a set, went all in, got one caller, and wound up winning a 61,080 chip pot. One hand to rule them all :-)

style flavor buy_in entry players hands entries paid place winnings

MTT-R NLHE    43500  6500       9   109      52   12     4  1004000

delta: $854,000
MTT with rebuys NLHE balance: $33,499,500
2018 balance: $118,000
balance: $45,631,260

Nell mezzo del cammin

I first used this blog post title on November 26, 2013. Here's an excerpt of what I had to say:

I've only read bits and pieces of Dante's Inferno, but some lines have remained with me ... Here's the first:

Nell mezzo del cammin di nostra vita

In Allen Mandelbaum's translation: "When I had journeyed half of our life's way". ... Literally, "nell mezzo del cammin" means "in the middle of the road".

Thursday night, in the middle of the only tournament I entered, I was dealt pocket kings. They matured to a set of kings on the flop, held up, and gave me my biggest hand delta of the night - 4,650 chips. Unfortunately, things went south from that point, and I failed to make the money. Still and all, I'll take a set of kings in the middle of a tournament any day :-)

style flavor buy_in entry players hands entries paid place winnings

MTT-R NLHE    43500  6500       9    44      80   18    29        0

delta: $-150,000
MTT with rebuys NLHE balance: $32,645,500
2018 balance: $-736,000
balance: $44,777,260

7 bullets

As I've said before, the more bullets you fire in an MTT-R NLHE, the worse off you're likely to be. Last night, I fired 7 bullets in the only tournament I entered, which is far too many. In the 36 tournaments where I've fired 7 bullets, I've lost almost 9 million play dollars; it's my losingest bullet number by far. The next closest is 5 bullets, where I've lost a little over 3 million in 91 tournaments. If I never fire 7 bullets in a single tournament again, it'll be far too soon :-)

style flavor buy_in entry players hands entries paid place winnings

MTT-R NLHE    43500  6500       9    44      59   12    33        0

delta: $-350,000
MTT with rebuys NLHE balance: $32,795,500
2018 balance: $-586,000
balance: $44,927,260

Letting go of aces

One of the hardest things to do in poker is to let go of pocket aces. Sometimes, though, it's the right play. In 45,447 hands of MTT-R NLHE, I've received pocket aces 213 times, and have only managed to lay them down 13 times. Seeing as how they were cracked 35 times, I clearly needed to be letting go of them more often. Last night, I was able to fold pocket aces correctly, on a hand where the flop came 6h Qs 6s. Ironically, I lost more chips on that hand than on any other :-) I'm proud of that fold.

style flavor buy_in entry players hands entries paid place winnings

MTT-R NLHE    43500  6500       9    61      65   15    23        0

delta: $-100,000
MTT with rebuys NLHE balance: $33,145,500
2018 balance: $-236,000
balance: $45,277,260

Lord High Everything Else

Getting under the lights never gets old. Last night, I did it again, starting the final table in seventh position. I laddered up five spots, finishing in second place. When heads up play began, I had just 10.3% of the chips in play, with 40,046 to my opponent's 348,454. I was able to chip all the way up to 131,346 after 29 heads up hands, but hit the rail just two hands later, when my pocket sevens failed to hold up to my opponent's K5o (king five offsuit). The massive profit I made on the tournament put a huge dent in my 2018 losses, I'm happy to say :-)

style flavor buy_in entry players hands entries paid place winnings

MTT-R NLHE    43500  6500       9   153      53   12     2  2003000

delta: $1,853,000
MTT with rebuys NLHE balance: $33,245,500
2018 balance: $-136,000
balance: $45,377,260

$11,010,000

The gaudy number in the title of this post is my current blue distance. Needless to say, it's a new personal worst. The blue distance percentage of my all-time high total balance has now crept above 20, the highest it has been since I started playing MTT-R NLHEs. My 2018 losses are fast approaching 2 million. It's high time to get this ship turned around!

style flavor buy_in entry players hands entries paid place winnings

MTT-R NLHE    43500  6500       9    32      60   12    30        0

delta: $-100,000
MTT with rebuys NLHE balance: $31,392,500
2018 balance: $-1,989,000
balance: $43,524,260

Feltfirst

It's about time for another neo neo :-) Let me present feltfirst. This is when you go all in on the first hand of a tournament, and promptly hit the felt. Last night, I had a feltfirst in the second tournament I entered. As a rule, you should never go all in on the first hand of a non-rebuy tournament, and you should almost never go all in on the first hand of a rebuy. The only time you should do it is when you know for sure that you'll only have one opponent to beat. The only scenario which guarantees that is when a player to your left bets, everyone acting before you folds, and there are no active players between you and the player who bet. Unfortunately, I didn't follow this dictum; I was up against four opponents, and got what I deserved.

style flavor buy_in entry players hands entries paid place winnings

MTT-R NLHE    43500  6500       9    44      73   15    31        0
MTT-R NLHE    43500  6500       9    80      61   15    15   243000

delta: $-157,000
MTT with rebuys NLHE balance: $31,492,500
2018 balance: $-1,889,000
balance: $43,624,260

Stopping two bitches

Last night, I stopped two bitches - a 10 session losing streak and a 10 tournament losing streak. The former began on October 16, and the latter began on October 20. Before starting play, I flirted with the idea of playing sit and gos, but stayed with MTT-R NLHEs since I realized that switching styles would have been a panic move, and I'm not panicked yet :-)

style flavor buy_in entry players hands entries paid place winnings

MTT-R NLHE    43500  6500       9    47      82   18    26        0
MTT-R NLHE    43500  6500       9    79      68   15    12   401000

delta: $151,000
MTT with rebuys NLHE balance: $31,649,500
2018 balance: $-1,732,000
balance: $43,781,260

The land of the fives

Last night, in the only tournament I entered, I finished 28th of 63. That means I hit the 55th percentile. To be precise, the percentile was 55.55... . In other words, the land of the fives :-) That statistical oddity was the only bright spot of the session. I exited the tournament in a painful way, getting 5 outed on the river. My blue distance is fast approaching $11,000,000. I'm still putting even money on finishing 2018 in the black, however.

style flavor buy_in entry players hands entries paid place winnings

MTT-R NLHE    43500  6500       9    50      63   15    28        0

delta: $-300,000
MTT with rebuys NLHE balance: $31,498,500
2018 balance: $-1,883,000
balance: $43,630,260

Double seventy-five

Last night, I played about as well as you can play without making a profit. In the one tournament I entered, I played 75 hands, and did better than 76.19% of the entrants. There were two cruel features of the session:

1. I missed the money by a narrow margin
2. on the final hand of the night, I was a 68.18% favorite after the turn, but it wasn't meant to be

The good news is that I'm playing well.

style flavor buy_in entry players hands entries paid place winnings

MTT-R NLHE    43500  6500       9    75      84   18    20        0

delta: $-350,000
MTT with rebuys NLHE balance: $31,798,500
2018 balance: $-1,583,000
balance: $43,930,260

Double double sixty

When you're in a poker slump, as I now am, it helps to know that you've actually been playing well. I have various ways of determining this. One of the most reliable is looking at the percentile I reached in a tournament; whenever I finish at or above the 60th percentile, I know I was playing well. Another good indicator is lasting for a long time. Of course, that begs the question: what's a good definition of long time? :-) I'm picking 60 again. Any time I last 60 or more hands, I feel I must have been doing something right.

Last night, I achieved both of these goals in both tournaments I entered. You could call that a double double sixty :-)

style flavor buy_in entry players hands entries paid place winnings

MTT-R NLHE    43500  6500       9    60      60   12    22        0
MTT-R NLHE    43500  6500       9    63      57   12    15        0

delta: $-350,000
MTT with rebuys NLHE balance: $32,148,500
2018 balance: $-1,233,000
balance: $44,280,260

Loss portfolio

Lately, I've been padding my loss portfolio. That isn't as bad as it sounds :-) As I've remarked before, weathering downswings makes you a more resilient player. I've now lost 7 sessions in a row, which is a far cry from my personal worst of 12, but is still nothing to sneeze at. In that interval, I've lost an aggregate of $1,619,000, good for 27th place on my career list of losingest 7 session stretches. My blue distance is within whispering distance of $10,000,000 once again.

I just realized I've achieved a blog first - I've written a blog post without playing again after already blogging about my most recent session. The reason I didn't play online poker last night was that I was too busy playing online chess :-)

yaw

This is the second time I've used this blog post title. The first was on April 6 of this year; here's what I had to say:

Last night, I had yaw - yet another whaleback. I missed the money by three places. I played well, had fun, and outlasted a bunch of the usual suspects. I feel a big payday heading my way :-)

Almost everything applies equally well to last night's session; the only difference is that I finished well out of the money this time.

style flavor buy_in entry players hands entries paid place winnings

MTT-R NLHE    43500  6500       9    53      56   12    27        0

delta: $-150,000
MTT with rebuys NLHE balance: $32,498,500
2018 balance: $-883,000
balance: $44,630,260

yafftp

On Monday night, I suffered yafftp - yet another freefall from the peak. The rate this happens remains remarkably consistent over time, hovering around 32%. As I've mentioned before, this statistic has no correlation with making or missing the money, so it's actually a pretty silly one to look at. It's one of the standbys I use when I can't figure out what else to write about a session :-)

style flavor buy_in entry players hands entries paid place winnings

MTT-R NLHE    43500  6500       9    29      65   15    40        0

delta: $-100,000
MTT with rebuys NLHE balance: $32,648,500
2018 balance: $-733,000
balance: $44,780,260

First hand foldfest

Last night's session had only one interesting feature -  a foldfest on the first hand. I was in the big blind, and there were five other players at the table. All five of them folded, so I picked up the smallest pot possible, making a profit of one small blind (10 chips). It felt like a phantom hand, since I didn't have to act at all. Unfortunately, that was the highlight of the session :-)

style flavor buy_in entry players hands entries paid place winnings

MTT-R NLHE    43500  6500       9    42      75   15    33        0

delta: $-200,000
MTT with rebuys NLHE balance: $32,748,500
2018 balance: $-633,000
balance: $44,880,260

yako

Last night, I suffered yako - yet another kings out. In other words, I was dealt pocket kings, put all my money on them, and lost. Three of us went to showdown. Before the flop, I was a 58.6% favorite. After the flop, I was a 75.08% favorite. After the turn, I was a 4.76% dog. I lost to an opponent who'd been dealt pocket queens, and spiked a queen on the turn. This was the 14th kings out of my MTT-R NLHE career. I'm sure there'll be many more, but that's the nature of the poker beast :-) I actually wouldn't have it any other way.

style flavor buy_in entry players hands entries paid place winnings

MTT-R NLHE    43500  6500       9    26      73   15    40        0
MTT-R NLHE    43500  6500       9    42      75   15    27        0

delta: $-400,000
MTT with rebuys NLHE balance: $32,948,500
2018 balance: $-433,000
balance: $45,080,260

Mr. Showdown

As I've mentioned before, when I can't find enough positives in the most recent session to write about, I tend to widen the lens and write about positive trends over longer periods of time. Thursday night's losing session has persuaded me to adopt this tactic once again. I'd like to focus on how I've performed at showdown during my MTT-R NLHE career. Here are the numbers:

showdowns won:     2,982
showdowns lost:    2,644
total showdowns:   5,626
chips won:    22,108,397
chips lost:   11,527,485
chip delta:   10,580,912

The chart of my chip delta over time is a pleasure to see; steadily growing, with no end in sight :-)

style flavor buy_in entry players hands entries paid place winnings

MTT-R NLHE    43500  6500       9    23      81   18    48        0
MTT-R NLHE    43500  6500       9    61      48   12     9   281000

delta: $-169,000
MTT with rebuys NLHE balance: $33,348,500
2018 balance: $-33,000
balance: $45,480,260

Fumes

After last night's session, my 2018 balance is officially running on fumes. My extrapolated profit for the year is at its lowest positive point, a mere $171,172. It'll be touch and go whether I can actually end the year in the black. I'm reserving the right to play sit and gos in November, in hopes of a big cash infusion.

style flavor buy_in entry players hands entries paid place winnings

MTT-R NLHE    43500  6500       9    10      62   15    30        0

delta: $-100,000
MTT with rebuys NLHE balance: $33,517,500
2018 balance: $136,000
balance: $45,649,260

A counterfeit house

I first used this blog post title on October 29, 2014, back in my cash game days. Here's an excerpt of what I had to say:

Last night, on the final hand of the session, I lost the most money I've ever lost with a full house - $52,697. My problem was that I got there on the turn, and was so convinced I had a lock on the hand that I didn't pay attention to the river card. It paired the board, counterfeiting my full house, but I didn't notice. The board was showing two pairs, a very dangerous situation which I completely missed.

Something somewhat similar happened last night. I didn't make a mistake this time, but still lost the hand. I was dealt pocket threes, flopped a full house of threes full of queens, and shoved. I got one caller, who had flopped trip queens. I was a 77.07% favorite after the flop, and an 84.09% favorite after the turn. Unfortunately, the river card paired the turn card, counterfeiting my full house and giving my opponent a better one. What can I say? I got my money in good.

style flavor buy_in entry players hands entries paid place winnings

MTT-R NLHE    43500  6500       9    30      59   12    41        0
MTT-R NLHE    43500  6500       9    21      59   12    31        0

delta: $-500,000
MTT with rebuys NLHE balance: $33,617,500
2018 balance: $236,000
balance: $45,749,260

An unusual ofer

Casting about for an angle for this post, I stumbled upon an unusual ofer. Last night, I was dealt a pocket pair six times - twice in the first tournament I entered, and four times in the second. I failed to win a single one of those hands. That's definitely unusual. The good news is that I was still able to make a profit.

style flavor buy_in entry players hands entries paid place winnings

MTT-R NLHE    43500  6500       9    61      72   15    33        0
MTT-R NLHE    43500  6500       9    75      45    9     8   424000

delta: $74,000
MTT with rebuys NLHE balance: $34,117,500
2018 balance: $736,000
balance: $46,249,260

404 found

In my "A tale of two 404s" post on July 6, 2012, I explained the meaning of a 404:

Anyone who's done enough web surfing is familiar with the HTTP 404 error, which means "Page not found".

On Saturday night, I found a new meaning for it, in an online poker context - "$404,000 found" :-) I got under the lights again, and laddered up two rungs from 8th to 6th.

style flavor buy_in entry players hands entries paid place winnings

MTT-R NLHE    43500  6500       9    95      48   12     6   554000

delta: $404,000
MTT with rebuys NLHE balance: $34,043,500
2018 balance: $662,000
balance: $46,175,260

Flopping the moon

The most memorable hand of last night's session was the final one. I lost a hand I thought was a sure thing. It was so disorienting, I momentarily forgot that I'd made the money. I was dealt QTo (queen ten offsuit), and flopped a king high straight. In other words, I flopped the moon. The problem with flopping the moon is that you'll lose to opponents who turn the stars :-) That's what happened to me, when my opponent hit his flush draw on the turn.

style flavor buy_in entry players hands entries paid place winnings

MTT-R NLHE    43500  6500       9    59      77   18    17   297000

delta: $47,000
MTT with rebuys NLHE balance: $33,639,500
2018 balance: $258,000
balance: $45,771,260

The truth about bullets

One of the fascinating things about poker is that it insists on revealing its truths to you, whether or not you have the wisdom to listen :-) Many of its truths are so simple, it's hard to believe them. Let me show you what I mean. Here's the current breakdown of my MTT-R NLHE results, by number of bullets fired:

bullets  count        profit

      2    182   $43,244,500
      4     97    $9,130,000
      3    191    $2,589,000
     12      1       $10,000
      1      2     $-100,000
     10      1     $-500,000
     13      1     $-650,000
     11      4   $-1,237,000
      5     85   $-2,222,000
      6     26   $-2,534,000
      8      8   $-2,937,000
      9     10   $-3,012,000
      7     34   $-8,189,000 

The lesson to be learned from this is simplicity itself - never fire more than 4 bullets per tournament, ever. Period, full stop, the end. You'd think this would be simple advice to follow, but it's not. Last night I fired 7 bullets, and made a killing. It's just so tough to quit before the late registration period ends. Yet, that's what I'm going to train myself to do. The truth about bullets is that you want other people to be firing them, not you :-)

style flavor buy_in entry players hands entries paid place winnings

MTT-R NLHE    43500  6500       9   141      54   12     3  1997000

delta: $1,647,000
MTT with rebuys NLHE balance: $33,592,500
2018 balance: $211,000
balance: $45,724,260

A fairly common hybrid

I've talked frequently about freefalls from the peak in this blog. I've also talked about slickouts. Tonight I'm going to talk about hybrid tournaments which contain both a freefall from the peak and a slickout. I experienced one such tournament last night. I thought they'd be very rare, but when I ran the numbers, I discovered they're not as rare as I thought; this hybrid has now occurred 22 times in my MTT-R NLHE career.

style flavor buy_in entry players hands entries paid place winnings

MTT-R NLHE    43500  6500       9    32      53   12    32        0

delta: $-100,000
MTT with rebuys NLHE balance: $31,945,500
2018 balance: $-1,436,000
balance: $44,077,260

Stopping the bitch

The most I've ever lost in consecutive losing sessions is $2,950,000; that was a nine session stretch earlier this year. Any time you can stop a losing streak is good :-) Last night, I stopped a three session losing streak during which I lost $1,150,000. Stopping a losing streak of over a million play dollars definitely qualifies as stopping the bitch. Here's hoping I can add to my one session winning streak tonight :-)

style flavor buy_in entry players hands entries paid place winnings

MTT-R NLHE    43500  6500       9    70      53   12    10   297000

delta: $147,000
MTT with rebuys NLHE balance: $32,045,500
2018 balance: $-1,336,000
balance: $44,177,260

A thoroughly mediocre session

I've just been trying for about an hour to come up with an angle for this blog post, and have failed miserably. Therefore, what can I do but write about how mediocre last night's session was? Only a thoroughly mediocre session could stand statistical scrutiny for that long and come away unscathed :-)

style flavor buy_in entry players hands entries paid place winnings

MTT-R NLHE    43500  6500       9    45      63   15    33        0

delta: $-300,000
MTT with rebuys NLHE balance: $31,898,500
2018 balance: $-1,483,000
balance: $44,030,260

The 10 million dollar man

Friends and neighbors, I'm now a 10 million dollar man, blue distance-wise. That's a long way to fall from the peak. Speaking of falling from peaks, last night I had the longest freefall from the peak of my MTT-R NLHE career - 37 hands. I won the first hand and it was all downhill from there.

I have to admit, I'm toying with the idea of returning to sit and gos in November, a move I've dubbed a poker Movember in this blog. It would be a desperation play to try to get my 2018 balance back in the black, and I'll do my best to avoid succumbing to that temptation :-)

style flavor buy_in entry players hands entries paid place winnings

MTT-R NLHE    43500  6500       9    38      67   15    47        0

delta: $-450,000
MTT with rebuys NLHE balance: $32,198,500
2018 balance: $-1,183,000
balance: $44,330,260

You were never shovelier

This is probably the fourth or fifth time I've used this blog post title. It's definitely one of my favorites. Last night, in the second tournament I entered, I was dealt a pocket pair in 4 of the 48 hands I played. I shoved three of them preflop. The third shove did me in; I was a 59.82% favorite before the flop, a 3.10% dog after the flop, and was drawing close to dead after the turn; I had no chance of winning the pot, and a 4.76% chance of chopping it. At least I can say I got my money in good :-)

style flavor buy_in entry players hands entries paid place winnings

MTT-R NLHE    43500  6500       9    26      78   18    42        0
MTT-R NLHE    43500  6500       9    48      77   18    41        0

delta: $-400,000
MTT with rebuys NLHE balance: $32,648,500
2018 balance: $-733,000
balance: $44,780,260

In the sweetness

Every poker style / flavor combination has its own spin on what being in the sweetness means. Right now, I'm in the sweetness for MTT-R NLHE. I've finished in the money in four straight tournaments. That's a super hard thing to do. How do I know? Experience :-) I've now played 635 MTT-R NLHEs, and have only accomplished this feat 4 times. I've never had a longer streak. I have a chance to change that tonight; wish me luck!

style flavor buy_in entry players hands entries paid place winnings

MTT-R NLHE    43500  6500       9    83      81   18    15   407000
MTT-R NLHE    43500  6500       9    82      61   15     7   476000

delta: $483,000
MTT with rebuys NLHE balance: $33,048,500
2018 balance: $-333,000
balance: $45,180,260

Pocket royalty

Last night, I had the good fortune to be dealt a lot of pocket royalty. I was dealt pocket queens three times, and pocket kings three times. I won the first two times I was dealt the queens, and also won the first two times I was dealt the kings. On the final hand of the night, my third pocket kings lost to an opponent who'd been dealt pocket queens, and spiked a queen on the river. An interesting sidelight - I was above water at the start of every hand I played, which is a rarity.

style flavor buy_in entry players hands entries paid place winnings

MTT-R NLHE    43500  6500       9    78      71   15    13   264000

delta: $114,000
MTT with rebuys NLHE balance: $32,565,500
2018 balance: $-816,000
balance: $44,697,260

Something to celebrate

I haven't had a lot to celebrate, poker-wise, for quite a while. Even though I had a losing session again last night, I still found something to celebrate. It was a milestone - I achieved the 200th in-the-money finish of my MTT-R NLHE career. I've played 632 of these tournaments now, so my in-the-money percentage is 31.65. It's held quite steadily above 30 for a long time now. What I've lately been failing to do is ladder up significantly once I get into the money, but at least I'm getting into the money consistently. I'm betting I'll still be able to end the year in the black.

style flavor buy_in entry players hands entries paid place winnings

MTT-R NLHE    43500  6500       9    57      70   15    32        0
MTT-R NLHE    43500  6500       9    94      41    9     8   332000

delta: $-318,000
MTT with rebuys NLHE balance: $32,451,500
2018 balance: $-930,000
balance: $44,583,260

The cruelest game

Decades ago, I was interested in backgammon, and bought a book called "Backgammon: The Cruelest Game". Its awesome title has stayed with me all these years. I'm here to tell you that there are moments when poker usurps the mantle of cruelest game. I experienced such a moment last night. On the final hand of the only tournament I entered, I was two spots out of the money. I'd been dealt pocket eights, and was up against an opponent who'd been dealt KJo (king jack offsuit). The flop came 9s 8d Kc, giving me a set of eights and my opponent a pair of kings. At this point, I was a 94.85% favorite to win the hand. My opponent bet 5,700 chips on the flop, and I smooth called. The turn was the nine of clubs, giving me a full house, and my opponent kings up. At this point, I was a 90.91% favorite to win the hand. My opponent bet 6,000 chips on the turn, and I called all in with my last 4,825 chips. My opponent only had 4 outs - he had to hit one of the two remaining kings in the deck, or one of the two remaining nines. I had 40 outs. Disastrously for me, the nine of diamonds spiked on the river, and that was all she wrote. Definitely a cruel, cruel hand; one of the cruelest in recent memory. My blue distance is now in shouting distance of $10,000,000.

style flavor buy_in entry players hands entries paid place winnings

MTT-R NLHE    43500  6500       9    87      55   12    14        0

delta: $-250,000
MTT with rebuys NLHE balance: $32,769,500
2018 balance: $-612,000
balance: $44,901,260

Worst 17 bagger ever

I had my choice of blog post titles tonight; I had to pick what bad news to lead with :-) Here's all the bad news, in no particular order:

- in the last 17 sessions, I've lost a whopping $4,046,000, a new personal worst for 17 consecutive sessions
- my blue distance is now at an all-time high of $9,383,000 (another new personal worst)
- my 2018 balance is now underwater; if it's still underwater at the end of the year, this will be my first yearly loss since I started playing online poker in 2008

style flavor buy_in entry players hands entries paid place winnings

MTT-R NLHE    43500  6500       9    36      83   18    40        0
MTT-R NLHE    43500  6500       9    52      62   15    32        0
MTT-R NLHE    43500  6500       9    82      60   12    20        0

delta: $-500,000
MTT with rebuys NLHE balance: $33,019,500
2018 balance: $-362,000
balance: $45,151,260

lud

With the realization that my 2018 balance will almost certainly go underwater in the near future, that got me wondering how late in the year my yearly balance has ever been underwater. I've coined a neo neo for that - lud, which stands for last underwater date. Here are my luds to date:

2009 April 16
2010 January 14
2011 January 7
2012 February 28
2015 November 15
2016 December 8
2017 March 26
2018 March 7

Note that I don't have luds for 2013 and 2014 for the simple reason that my yearly balance never went underwater in those years :-)

style flavor buy_in entry players hands entries paid place winnings

MTT-R NLHE    43500  6500       9    73      84   18    30        0
MTT-R NLHE    43500  6500       9    96      58   12     8   426000

delta: $-174,000
MTT with rebuys NLHE balance: $33,519,500
2018 balance: $138,000
balance: $45,651,260

15 bullet night

Last night, I fired way too many bullets - 15, to be precise. The culprit was the first tournament I entered, during which I fired 9 bullets. I started the tournament with an immediate rebuy, hit the felt three times in the late registration period, reupping with a double rebuy each time, and added on when the late registration period ended. My 2018 balance is now officially on life support; I don't see how I can keep it from falling into the red. That doesn't mean I don't believe I'll end the year in the black, but it's clear I'm going to have to dip into the red between now and then.

style flavor buy_in entry players hands entries paid place winnings

MTT-R NLHE    43500  6500       9    47      72   15    38        0
MTT-R NLHE    43500  6500       9    40      56   12    33        0
MTT-R NLHE    43500  6500       9    81      62   15    14   244000

delta: $-506,000
MTT with rebuys NLHE balance: $33,693,500
2018 balance: $312,000
balance: $45,825,260

Stopping the bitch

Last night, I finally stopped the bitch - I ended my MTT-R NLHE losing streak. At 11 straight tournaments, it was a beast. I now have two rules I hope to follow:

1. never late register for a tournament
2. never add on

Obeying rule 1 means I'll have to do more waiting than I'm used to, but patience is a virtue :-)

style flavor buy_in entry players hands entries paid place winnings

MTT-R NLHE    43500  6500       9    25     104   27    73        0
MTT-R NLHE    43500  6500       9   109      61   15    10   405000

delta: $205,000
MTT with rebuys NLHE balance: $34,199,500
2018 balance: $818,000
balance: $46,331,260

11th hour late regging considered harmful

Last night, I played 3 MTT-R NLHEs. I late regged the first two very close to the end of their late registration periods. I registered for the third before it began. Although I failed to make the money in any of them, I came closest in the third. Coincidence? I don't think so. There are several problems with 11th hour late regging, some of which I've covered before:

- you have less resources to enable you to get airborne
- you have less runway to get airborne
- you will almost certainly be forced to add on
- you will almost certainly be bullied by the bigger stacks

The late registration period for the tournaments I play is 29 minutes. From now on, I'm going to try to avoid entering tournaments which have less than 20 minutes left in their late registration periods; we'll see if I can stick to this.

style flavor buy_in entry players hands entries paid place winnings

MTT-R NLHE    43500  6500       9    52      58   12    20        0
MTT-R NLHE    43500  6500       9    19      56   12    24        0
MTT-R NLHE    43500  6500       9    98      52   12    14        0

delta: $-400,000
MTT with rebuys NLHE balance: $33,994,500
2018 balance: $613,000
balance: $46,126,260

Ace on the river

Last night, I hit the rail in a particularly painful way. I was a 95.45% favorite after the turn, but my opponent hit a two outer to a full house. To add insult to injury, his holding was rockets, and it was an ace on the river which did me in. That got me to wondering how many times I've seen an ace on the river in my MTT-R NLHE career, and whether I have an aggregate profit or loss in this situation. Looking into the archives ... It turns out I've seen an ace on the river 2,140 times, and have an aggregate profit of 288,455 chips for those hands.

style flavor buy_in entry players hands entries paid place winnings

MTT-R NLHE    43500  6500       9    74      42    9    12        0

delta: $-350,000
MTT with rebuys NLHE balance: $34,394,500
2018 balance: $1,013,000
balance: $46,526,260

Apockalypse now

I first used this blog post title on May 13, 2016. Here's an excerpt of what I had to say:

There are certain situations which arise at a poker table when everyone who stays in the hand more than willingly puts all their chips into the middle ... I was dealt Qs Qd, an opponent was dealt Qh Qc, and a second opponent was dealt Jc Js. In other words, it was pocks vs. pocks vs. pocks. Apockalypse now!

A similar circumstance arose on Saturday night. I was dealt 8c 8d, an opponent was dealt Qc Qh, and a second opponent was dealt As Ad. The queens went all in preflop, and the rockets and I called. The rockets went all in on the river, with a board of 7h Kc Kh 9d 2s. I called. The only reason all my chips didn't go into the middle is that I had both of my opponents covered. I lost 8,983 chips on the hand, which severely crippled my stack. I hit the rail ten hands later. My blue distance is now in shouting distance of 8 million dollars, and my 2018 balance is approaching life support territory. Am I worried? Not yet!

style flavor buy_in entry players hands entries paid place winnings

MTT-R NLHE    43500  6500       9    45      94   27    35        0

delta: $-100,000
MTT with rebuys NLHE balance: $34,744,500
2018 balance: $1,363,000
balance: $46,876,260

Ever less and ever worse

Last night, I had an ever less and ever worse session; each succeeding tournament, I lasted fewer hands than the previous one, and also had a lower percentile. My blue distance ratio increased to 13.9%, which is the highest it's ever been since I started playing MTT-R NLHEs. If it ever reaches 20%, I'll start to worry, but not until then :-)

style flavor buy_in entry players hands entries paid place winnings

MTT-R NLHE    43500  6500       9    68      94   27    33        0
MTT-R NLHE    43500  6500       9    40      76   18    34        0
MTT-R NLHE    43500  6500       9    39      83   18    61        0

delta: $-450,000
MTT with rebuys NLHE balance: $34,844,500
2018 balance: $1,463,000
balance: $46,976,260