The best green hand

For some years now, I've used the PokerStars feature which displays each suit in a different color. This makes it much easier to recognize flush draws and flushes. Hearts are still red and spades are still black, but clubs are green and diamonds are blue. Since the best suited hand is ace king, the best green hand is the ace and king of clubs. Last night, I was dealt the best green hand straight out of the gate, but couldn't win with it. Being dealt a premium hand like AKs is a double-edged sword; you're more likely to win with it, but you're also likely to lose more than you otherwise would if you can't win with it. I lost about 300 chips on that first hand, and things didn't improve from there.

style flavor buy_in entry players entries paid place winnings

MTT   NLHE    87000 13000       6      73   21    36        0

delta: $-100,000
MTT NLHE balance: $6,867,668
2019 balance: $15,323,750
balance: $61,858,010

Shot from guns

On Saturday night, I had a shot from guns tournament. On the very first hand, I was dealt baby cowboys (pocket jacks), flopped a set, went all in, got two callers, and tripled up. That was a harbinger of good things to come. I got under the lights again, and narrowly missed achieving a partial Monty.

style flavor buy_in entry players entries paid place winnings

MTT   NLHE   174000 26000       6      73   21     4   990000

delta: $790,000
MTT NLHE balance: $6,967,668
2019 balance: $15,423,750
balance: $61,958,010

House money

It's always nice to cash in the first tournament you enter in a session; when you do, you're playing with house money. You can reinvest that profit in additional tournaments, and potentially still come out with a profit, even if you fail to cash in any of the others. That's what happened to me last night. I made a minuscule return on investment, but it was still a return :-)

style flavor buy_in entry players entries paid place winnings

MTT   NLHE   174000 26000       6     115   30    12   540000
MTT   NLHE    45000  5000       6     136   36    55        0
MTT   NLHE    45000  5000       6      64   18     -        0
MTT   NLHE   174000 26000       6      39   10     -        0

delta: $40,000
MTT NLHE balance: $6,177,668
2019 balance: $14,633,750
balance: $61,168,010

A crooked straight

Every poker player who's being honest prefers playing with opponents with less skill than he or she has. However, not all such opponents are created equal. I much prefer opponents who are very nearly as skillful as I am. The really bad players are horrible to play against, since they'll make idiotic moves which sometimes pay off. Natural selection takes care of the really bad players in real money poker, but there's no such luck in play money poker.

Last night, I hit the rail when a bad player held out for his gutshot straight draw, even though I wasn't giving him the right price to call. That's what I call a crooked straight :-)

style flavor buy_in entry players entries paid place winnings

MTT   NLHE   174000 26000       6      95   24    19   330000
MTT   NLHE    45000  5000       6      95   24    51        0

delta: $80,000
MTT NLHE balance: $6,137,668
2019 balance: $14,593,750
balance: $61,128,010

One selfie night

I used to take poker selfies whenever I had one of the top 10 stacks in a tournament. Nowadays, I only take one when I'm the chip leader. Last night, I took one after shooting to the top of the leaderboard on a hand where four players went to showdown. I'd been dealt a big slick, and hit a pair of kings on the flop. They held up :-)

style flavor buy_in entry players entries paid place winnings

MTT   NLHE    45000  5000       6      87   21    18   970000
MTT   NLHE   174000 26000       6      83   21    44        0

delta: $-153,000
MTT NLHE balance: $6,057,668
2019 balance: $14,513,750
balance: $61,048,010

Not a bountiful harvest

MTT-B NLHE is my very worst poker style and flavor combo. Last night, I lost another $150,000 on it, bringing my career MTT-B NLHE balance to $-1,592,820. I think it's high time to just say no to bounties :-) The longer I play, the more poker style and flavor combos I consign to the scrap heap.

style flavor buy_in entry players entries paid place winnings

MTT   NLHE    45000  5000       6     117   30    33        0
MTT-B NLHE    44000  6000       6     143   36    66        0
MTT   NLHE   174000 26000       6      86   21    20   329000
MTT-B NLHE    87000 13000       6     187   45    76        0

delta: $-71,000
MTT NLHE balance: $6,210,668
2019 balance: $14,666,750
balance: $61,201,010

The dreaded quatro

I'm stealing another blog post title from myself, but it's not from this blog; it's from Fahrenheit 1451, a chess blog I abandoned four years ago. Here's an excerpt:

On Tuesday night, I set a personal worst. I lost the last four games of the session in a row. I call that the dreaded quatro. I should have quit sooner, but couldn't bring myself to. The imp of the perverse was at work yet again!

In a poker context, the dreaded quatro is losing four MTTs in a row, in a single session. That's what happened to me last night. For variety, I think I may play some bounty tournaments tonight.

style flavor buy_in entry players entries paid place winnings

MTT   NLHE   174000 26000       6      88   21    50        0
MTT   NLHE    45000  5000       6      33    9     -        0
MTT   8-Game  45000  5000       6      56   12    25        0
MTT   NLHE    87000 13000       6     103   24    47        0

delta: $-400,000
MTT NLHE balance: $6,131,668
2019 balance: $14,737,750
balance: $61,272,010

Saved by Broadway

It's amazing how far you can go in poker when all hope seems to be lost. Perfectly timed luck can turn your fortunes around completely. That's what happened to me on Friday night. I was short-stacked, and had to go all in on a Broadway draw (a Broadway is an ace high straight). If I didn't hit it, I was out. Mirabile dictu, I hit in on the river, and was back in business! I rode that luck all the way to a fourth place finish. That extended my streak of under the lights finishes to 4. Even though I was doing my best to win the tournament, I'm kind of glad I came in fourth. Why? For the simple reason that it was my third straight fourth place finish, a freakishly rare occurrence for MTTs. My probability radar tells me this is probably the rarest sequence of events of my poker career, and will almost certainly never be repeated. An outlier of outliers, if you will :-)

style flavor buy_in entry players entries paid place winnings

MTT   NLHE    87000 13000       6      82   21     4   556000

delta: $456,000
MTT NLHE balance: $6,481,668
2019 balance: $15,137,750
balance: $61,672,010

A hell of a streak

Everyone knows it's silly to talk about a streak while it's still in progress, since you might jinx it. I've decided to be silly :-) Last night, I got under the lights again. That's 3 straight MTT NLHEs where I've achieved that, which is a new personal best. How sweet it would be to make it 4 straight tonight!

style flavor buy_in entry players entries paid place winnings

MTT   NLHE    45000  5000       6      76   21     4   266000

delta: $216,000
MTT NLHE balance: $6,025,668
2019 balance: $14,681,750
balance: $61,216,010

A blizzard of snowmen

This is one of my favorite blog post titles. It refers to the happy circumstance of receiving more than your fair share of snowmen (pocket eights) during a session. That's what happened to me last night. I was dealt snowmen 3 times, and won with them each time. Moreover, I was dealt about 6 big slicks, but decided to feature the snowmen in the title due to the season :-) I double-tabled again, and made it under the lights in both tournaments.

style flavor buy_in entry players entries paid place winnings

MTT   NLHE   174000 26000       6      80   21     6   807000
MTT   NLHE    45000  5000       6      68   18     4   257000

delta: $814,000
MTT NLHE balance: $5,809,668
2019 balance: $14,465,750
balance: $61,000,010

A nearly memory-free session

I remember almost nothing about last night's session. Other than that I failed to make the money, all I can recall are fragments of a single hand. I was dealt baby cowboys (pocket jacks), and briefly debated how to play them pre-flop. I decided to call instead of raise. That's it! Nothing else about the hand remains, including whether I won or lost it. I'll try to retain more of tonight's session.

style flavor buy_in entry players entries paid place winnings

MTT   NLHE   174000 26000       6      63   18    31        0

delta: $-200,000
MTT NLHE balance: $4,995,668
2019 balance: $13,651,750
balance: $60,186,010

Bad beat memory

Bad beats are easy to remember, when you're on the losing end. They're not as easy to remember when you're on the winning end, though. The reason? Poker ego. The more good luck figures in your success, the less credit you can take for it. If you want to take as much credit for your success as you can, you need to force good luck into as minor role as possible. What follows naturally from this is that you end up conveniently forgetting about some of the good luck that comes your way. I'm proud to say that the most memorable hand of last night's session was one where I was on the winning end of a bad beat. I was dealt pocket queens, but an opponent hit a stealth two pair on the turn. I spiked a queen on the river, meaning I hit a two outer. I felt suitably sheepish.

style flavor buy_in entry players entries paid place winnings

MTT   NLHE    45000  5000       6      97   24    37         0

delta: $-50,000
MTT NLHE balance: $5,195,668
2019 balance: $13,851,750
balance: $60,386,010

18 again

Last night, for the 11th time in my career, I came in 18th in an MTT NLHE. I made a profit in nine of those tournaments. Unfortunately, last night's tournament wasn't one of the nine. My percentile of 58.14 was the runt of the litter. In other news, I am so not missing MTT-R NLHEs :-)

style flavor buy_in entry players entries paid place winnings

MTT   NLHE   174000 26000       6      43   12    18        0

delta: $-200,000
MTT NLHE balance: $5,245,668
2019 balance: $13,901,750
balance: $60,436,010

Simulcash

Last night's session was yet another example of the power of double-tabling. Somehow, when I play two tournaments at the same time, they seem to prop each other up. I still don't know exactly why this happens, but the fact that it does happen is a good enough reason to continue the practice. I cashed in both tournaments last night; call it a simulcash :-)

style flavor buy_in entry players entries paid place winnings

MTT   NLHE    45000  5000       6      94   24    22    84000
MTT   NLHE    87000 13000       6      64   18     8   250000

delta: $184,000
MTT NLHE balance: $5,445,668
2019 balance: $14,101,750
balance: $60,636,010

The one that got away

Last night, I failed to outlast the late registration period in either of the tournaments I entered. In both, at the time I hit the rail, there were only 10 paying places. Whenever the number of paying places at the time you hit the rail is greater than 9 but not divisible by 3, you know you had an early exit. The most memorable hand of the night was one I folded preflop. I'd been dealt pocket tens, but faced a decision for my tournament life when a loose player bet big enough to put me all in if I called. I did the prudent thing by folding. With hindsight though, I wish I'd called :-) Several hands later the same loose player bet big again when I had a suited ace. Action folded around to me, and there was no one else to act behind me. I called, and shortly hit the rail. I forget what the loose player had, but it doesn't really matter. I made the right play based on his playing style, even though it didn't pan out.

style flavor buy_in entry players entries paid place winnings

MTT   NLHE   174000 26000       6      38   10     -        0
MTT   NLHE   174000 26000       6      37   10     -        0

delta: $-250,000
MTT NLHE balance: $5,261,668
2019 balance: $13,917,750
balance: $60,452,010

Late regging and min cashing

The easiest way to min cash an MTT NLHE is to register with only a couple of minutes remaining in the late registration period, stay under the radar, win a couple of pots, and fold into the money. That's exactly the path I took last night. However, it was just a coincidence that there was so little time left in the late registration period at the time I registered; I didn't wait. If all I cared about was min cashing, I'd wait to register every time. However, that's not all I care about. I don't wait for 2 reasons:

1. I enjoy playing poker too much to wait before starting to play
2. I have a better chance of winning the tournament by entering as soon as possible

style flavor buy_in entry players entries paid place winnings

MTT   NLHE   174000 26000       6      51   15    14   266000

delta: $66,000
MTT NLHE balance: $5,511,668
2019 balance: $14,167,750
balance: $60,702,010

Lightning strikes twice

Last night's session was virtually a carbon copy of the one before. Once again, I played a single tournament. Once again, it was an MTT NLHE. Once again, it was a $100,000 BI+EF. Once again, it was short (16 hands) but not sweet. And finally, once again, it was a twin killing exit. Lightning strikes twice :-)

style flavor buy_in entry players entries paid place winnings

MTT   NLHE    87000 13000       6      45   12     -        0

delta: $-100,000
MTT NLHE balance: $5,445,668
2019 balance: $14,101,750
balance: $60,636,010

Twin killing exit

Last night's session was short, but not sweet. I hit the rail in an unusual way, as one half of a twin killing. The other half was a player who'd been playing very loose, which is why I decided to call his all-in bet. Unfortunately for me, a third player acting after me also called, and he had the goods.

style flavor buy_in entry players entries paid place winnings

MTT   NLHE    87000 13000       6      21    7     -        0

delta: $-100,000
MTT NLHE balance: $5,545,668
2019 balance: $14,201,750
balance: $60,736,010

Two tournament milestones

Recently, I achieved two tournament milestones:

1. on November 12th, I played my 1,000th MTT-R NLHE
2. on November 29th, I played my 800th MTT NLHE

Even though I've made a killing playing rebuy tournaments, I don't enjoy them nearly as much as I enjoy regular tournaments. I aim to play way less MTT-R in the future, and way more MTT.

In other news, I got under the lights again last night. The most memorable hand was the one when I was dealt A5o (ace five offsuit) and made quad fives.

style flavor buy_in entry players entries paid place winnings

MTT   NLHE    87000 13000       6      57   15     4   471000

delta: $371,000
MTT NLHE balance: $5,645,668
2019 balance: $14,301,750
balance: $60,836,010

KK < J9o

The most memorable hand of Friday night's session was the one which fatally crippled my stack in the second tournament I entered. I was dealt cowboys (pocket kings), but lost to an opponent who'd been dealt J9o (jack nine offsuit) and hit a magic flush on the river. He had the good grace to be sheepish and apologetic about winning the hand. I was double-tabling, and fared much better in my other tournament.

style flavor buy_in entry players entries paid place winnings

MTT   NLHE    87000 13000       6      70   18     9   274000
MTT   NLHE    87000 13000       6      26    8     -        0

delta: $74,000
MTT NLHE balance: $5,274,668
2019 balance: $13,930,750
balance: $60,465,010

Too many rockets

Is it possible to receive pocket rockets too many times in a session? Yes, indeed. Last night, I received them three times, hitting the rail the last time. The problem with rockets is that they're just too hard to lay down. As I recall, I lost to an opponent who hit a straight on the river. I think he must have had a flush draw as well, since the PokerStars client showed me that I was only a 60% favorite after the turn.

style flavor buy_in entry players entries paid place winnings

MTT   NLHE   174000 26000       6      73   21    21   279000
MTT   NLHE    45000  5000       6      87   21    42        0

delta: $29,000
MTT NLHE balance: $5,200,668
2019 balance: $13,856,750
balance: $60,391,010

Microsession

I define a microsession as one which lasts 10 hands or less. Although I don't have the hand histories, I'm sure that last night's session qualified. I joined a bounty tournament with 2 minutes remaining in the late registration period, lost half my stack on the first hand, and hit the rail several hands later when my pocket tens couldn't hold up. I realized recently that perhaps the reason I haven't found any massives lately is that I'm not using the proper search criteria; I'll look for MTT NLHEs with dirt cheap buy ins tonight :-)

style flavor buy_in entry players entries paid place winnings

MTT-B NLHE   174000 26000       9     122   27    56        0

delta: $-200,000
MTT with bounties NLHE balance: $-1,442,820
2019 balance: $13,827,750
balance: $60,362,010

Missing the massives

2015 was the year of the massive. My definition of a massive is a tournament with more than 1,000 entrants. They were plentiful back then at the 1,000 BI+EF level. I really enjoyed playing massives, and miss them. These days, it's rare for me to find a tournament which attracts more than 100 entrants. MTT-B NLHEs seem to attract more entrants than MTT NLHEs, so I might start playing more bounty tournaments.

style flavor buy_in entry players entries paid place winnings

MTT-B NLHE   174000 26000       9     148   36    56        0
MTT   NLHE    45000  5000       6      83   21    39        0

delta: $-210,000
MTT with bounties NLHE balance: $-1,242,820
2019 balance: $14,027,750
balance: $60,562,010

The rare zero bird

Last night, I had a sighting of the rare zero bird. That's a session where I break exactly even. In 2,982 career sessions, I've only had 2 such sightings. In terms of rarity, that's in between a full house and a four of a kind.

style flavor buy_in entry players entries paid place winnings

MTT   NLHE    45000  5000       6      89   21    18   100000
MTT-R NLHE    43500  6500       9      41    9    25        0

delta: $0
MTT NLHE balance: $5,221,668
2019 balance: $14,237,750
balance: $60,772,010

The one bullet challenge

As I've mentioned before, I have a love / hate relationship with rebuy tournaments. They've given me the lion's share of my profit, but not the lion's share of my poker enjoyment. When I haven't played rebuys in a while, I start to miss them; however, as soon as I start playing them again, I get aggravated anew by the asinine behavior of the superdonks. To keep my aggravation down to a minimum, I've decided to issue myself this challenge - only to fire a single bullet any time I play a rebuy. We'll see how I do :-)

style flavor buy_in entry players entries paid place winnings

MTT   NLHE   174000 26000       6      84   21     7   730000
MTT   NLHE    45000  5000       6      74   21    48        0

delta: $480,000
MTT NLHE balance: $5,171,668
2019 balance: $14,237,750
balance: $60,772,010

9 selfie night

I can't resist taking a poker selfie whenever I'm the chip leader in a tournament. On Friday night, I took 9 in the first tournament I played. Here are the numbers:

my chips remaining players

   3,993                36
  29,094                14
  29,114                 8
  38,495                 7
  41,685                 5
  67,410                 5
  77,976                 4
  89,948                 3
 104,004                 2

I ended up as Lord High Everything Else. To add a cherry on top, I had a royal flush on my way to that second place finish :-)

style flavor buy_in entry players entries paid place winnings

MTT   NLHE    45000  5000       6     114   30     2   502000
MTT-B NLHE    44000  6000       9     210   45    65        0

delta: $352,000
MTT NLHE balance: $4,691,668
2019 balance: $13,757,750
balance: $60,292,010