Under the lights

Last night, I made it under the lights again. When I got there, though, I was the runt of the litter. I finished in sixth place after only a few hands at the final table. Had I been able to ladder up one spot, I would have recorded a partial Monty. As it was, I recorded a half Monty. I'm now in the blue again for this poker year, and am less than half a million away from getting into the blue once more for my career. Things are looking up :-)

style flavor buy_in entry players entries paid place winnings

MTT   NLHE   174000 26000       6     112   30     6   993000

delta: $793,000
MTT NLHE balance: $10,879,668
2020 balance: $3,857,343
balance: $65,665,353

AA > 99? nein :-(

Last night, I hit the rail when I was two-outed. I'd been dealt rockets, and was up against pocket nines. Only a nine on the river could beat me, and that's just what happened. That's a brutal way to go, but it's also quintessentially poker. I wouldn't have it any other way :-)

style flavor buy_in entry players entries paid place winnings

MTT   NLHE   174000 26000       6     113   30    58        0

delta: $-200,000
MTT NLHE balance: $10,086,668
2020 balance: $3,064,343
balance: $64,872,353

The streak is dead. Long live the streak!

The baseline for competence in an MTT NLHE tournament is outlasting the late registration period. If you do that, you're guaranteed to receive an official place at the moment you hit the rail, regardless of whether or not you made the money. If you don't do that, you receive the dreaded double dash instead. I equate that to a 0th place. Pretty shameful. I hate getting 0th places. Last night, in the second tournament I entered, I received a 0th place. That ended a streak of 20 straight tournaments where I received an official place. The streak is dead. Long live the streak :-)

style flavor buy_in entry players entries paid place winnings

MTT   NLHE    43500  6500       6     233   60    55    78000
MTT   NLHE    43500  6500       9     170   36     -        0
MTT   NLHE    43500  6500       6     184   48    25   111000

delta: $39,000
MTT NLHE balance: $10,286,668
2020 balance: $3,264,343
balance: $65,072,353

Shot from guns

In the second tournament I played last night, I was shot from guns. On the very first hand, I was dealt cowboys, got all my chips in the middle, went to showdown against three other players, and raked in a huge pot, nearly quadrupling my starting stack. Wish I could start every tournament that way :-) My good luck didn't end there; later on, I was dealt rockets, and later again, I flopped a full house of eights full of tens. My luck ran out after that, but not before I made the money.

style flavor buy_in entry players entries paid place winnings

MTT   NLHE    87000 13000       6     190    36   86        0
MTT   NLHE    43500  6500       9     281    63   19    73000

delta: $-77,000
MTT NLHE balance: $10,247,668
2020 balance: $3,225,343
balance: $65,033,353

77 < K8o

Last night, I hit the rail with an IG;WS hand. IG;WS is my shorthand for "In Good; Went South", which in turn is short for "I got my money in good, but the hand went south on me". I was dealt a pair of sevens, a player acting before me bet big enough to put me all in if I called, and I called. He turned over K8o (king eight offsuit), which meant I was a slight favorite to win the hand (56%). However, he paired his 8 on the flop, and the turn and the river were both bricks for me. C'est la guerre :-)

style flavor buy_in entry players entries paid place winnings

MTT   NLHE    87000 13000       6     142   36    86        0

delta: $-100,000
MTT NLHE balance: $10,324,668
2020 balance: $3,302,343
balance: $65,110,353

Biggest bubble

I set another personal borscht last night. I had my biggest bubble to date. In other words, I bubbled a tournament with more entries than any other tournament I've ever bubbled. I also had the second highest percentile ever for a tournament where I failed to make the money - 79.35.

style flavor buy_in entry players entries paid place winnings

MTT   NLHE   174000 26000       6     137   36    58        0
MTT   NLHE    43500  6500       9     310   63    64        0
MTT   NLHE    43500  6500       6     231   60    63        0

delta: $-300,000
MTT NLHE balance: $10,424,668
2020 balance: $3,402,343
balance: $65,210,353

25k the hard way

As I've said before, it's hard to make a profit for a session when you lose your first buy in. You're playing catch up at that point. It's even harder when you lose your first two buy ins. That's what happened to me last night. The third buy in was the charm :-)

style flavor buy_in entry players entries paid place winnings

MTT   NLHE    43500  6500       9     317   72    93        0
MTT   NLHE    43500  6500       6     249   60    79        0
MTT   NLHE   174000 26000       6     104   30    24   325000

delta: $25,000
MTT NLHE balance: $10,724,668
2020 balance: $3,702,343
balance: $65,510,353

Blind luck

One of the fascinating things about poker is that no matter how long you've played, you'll never run out of novel experiences. Things will happen to you that have never happened to you before; you will intermittently, but forever, experience personal firsts. Last night, I experienced another. In the second tournament I entered, I was severely short-stacked and fell in two hands in a row. The first time I was in the big blind; the second, in the small. I won both hands. That was simply blind luck (no pun intended :-)).

style flavor buy_in entry players entries paid place winnings

MTT   NLHE   174000 26000       6     156   42    87        0
MTT   NLHE    43500  6500       9     297   63    14   129000

delta: $-121,000
MTT NLHE balance: $10,699,668
2020 balance: $3,677,343
balance: $65,485,353

Foldfehler

In over the board chess, a fingerfehler is when you make a move you didn't really mean to make. In online poker, a clickfehler is when you click on an action button you didn't really mean to click on. If you meant to click on the fold button, but clicked on the call or raise button instead, that's what I call a foldfehler :-) Last night, after I'd already made the money, I jettisoned a fair-sized portion of my stack on a foldfehler. How much better might I have done otherwise? Unfortunately, I'll never know.

style flavor buy_in entry players entries paid place winnings

MTT   NLHE   174000 26000       6     121   30    21   378000

delta: $178,000
MTT NLHE balance: $10,820,668
2020 balance: $3,798,343
balance: $65,606,353

Third Full Monty

Last night, I achieved my third Full Monty of 2020. I'm on a pace to get nearly ten by the end of the year. That'd be a good haul, considering I've sworn off rebuy tournaments. Don't look now, but I've made the money for five straight tournaments :-)

style flavor buy_in entry players entries paid place winnings

MTT   NLHE   174000 26000       6     147   36     4  1688000

delta: $1,488,000
MTT NLHE balance: $10,642,668
2020 balance: $3,620,343
balance: $65,428,353

Last train to Clarksville

I love joining tournaments with just a minute left in their late registration periods; it's what I call taking the last train to Clarksville. All aboard! You feel like you snuck onto the train and didn't have to pay for your ticket. In some ways that's true, since a whole bunch of other players were thrown off the train before you got on, and left all their nice money on the train. It's just waiting there for you to pick it up :-)

style flavor buy_in entry players entries paid place winnings

MTT   NLHE   174000 26000       6     127   36    23   353000

delta: $153,000
MTT NLHE balance: $9,154,668
2020 balance: $2,132,343
balance: $63,940,353

Going like sixty

My lifetime ITM (in the money) percentage in MTT NLHE is just north of 40. That's a nice one to have, and I intend to maintain it. That's not to say that I can't do better in short bursts, however. I've made the money in twelve of my last twenty tournaments, for a percentage of 60 on the nose. Let's see how long I can stay going like sixty :-)

style flavor buy_in entry players entries paid place winnings

MTT   NLHE   174000 26000       6     152   42    28   370000

delta: $170,000
MTT NLHE balance: $9,001,668
2020 balance: $1,979,343
balance: $63,787,353

Closing in on 1,000 tournaments

Counting last night's tournament, I've played 967 MTT NLHEs in my career, only 33 away from the 1,000 milestone. The only variants I've played more are MTT-R NLHE (1,009 tournaments) and Sit & Go NLHE (1,607 sit and gos). MTT NLHE is destined to surpass both of them, since they're both on my "Do not play" list :-)

style flavor buy_in entry players entries paid place winnings

MTT   NLHE    43500  6500       9     258   54    28    67000

delta: $17,000
MTT NLHE balance: $8,831,668
2020 balance: $1,809,343
balance: $63,617,353

The incredible shrinking prize pool

PokerStars has upped their entry fees again. I'm not sure when this happened, as I only noticed it when looking at the numbers from last night's session. They do it in a sneaky way, since the new higher entry fee is buried within the old familiar total outlay number. The total outlay for a tournament is the buy in plus the entry fee. PokerStars keeps the total outlay the same, but increases the entry fee; that means the buy in has to decrease by the same amount. The prize pool for a tournament is the buy in times the number of entries. When the buy in decreases, the prize pool decreases. When the prize pool decreases, the payouts also decrease. What this all boils down to is that PokerStars has gotten greedy again; they're stealing money from their players, without a by your leave. That pisses me off.

style flavor buy_in entry players entries paid place winnings

MTT   NLHE    43500  6500       9     345   72    49    60000

delta: $10,000
MTT NLHE balance: $8,814,668
2020 balance: $1,792,343
balance: $63,600,353

Cold comfort

Last night, although I again failed to make the money, at least I improved on the prior session in the following ways:

1. I entered less tournaments (always a good thing for an ofer session)
2. I didn't enter any big buy in tournaments
3. I outlasted the late registration period in each tournament

Cold comfort for sure.

style flavor buy_in entry players entries paid place winnings

MTT   NLHE    45000  5000       9     288   63   110        0
MTT   NLHE    45000  5000       6     212   60    98        0

delta: $-100,000
MTT NLHE balance: $8,804,668
2020 balance: $1,782,343
balance: $63,590,353

A pox of cracked pocks

"Pocks" is poker slang for a pocket pair. When pocket pairs fail to win, they're said to have been cracked. Last night, I had a pox of cracked pocks, resulting in a sizeable loss. Here are the lowlights:

- in the first tournament I entered, I hit the rail when my cowboys (pocket kings) ran into rockets (pocket aces)

- in the second, my stack was crippled when I had cowboys again; I flopped a set, but lost to a rivered flush

- in the third, my stack was crippled when my rockets lost to a rivered set

- on my final hand of the night, my pocket eights lost to flopped trip sixes

Can I just say "Ouch"? :-)

style flavor buy_in entry players entries paid place winnings

MTT   NLHE    45000  5000       9     191   45     -        0
MTT   NLHE    45000  5000       6     178   48     -        0
MTT   NLHE   174000 26000       6     146   36     -        0

delta: $-300,000
MTT NLHE balance: $8,904,668
2020 balance: $1,882,343
balance: $63,690,353

In praise of 9max

Even though I play 6max more than twice as much as I play 9max, and even though I make a lot more profit per tournament in 6max, I have to say I enjoy playing 9max more. Why? It's simple; there are more fish in 9max. It's way more fun to play with fish than with sharks. The fish are in a hurry to be gone. Sometimes they get gone so fast you can't help making the money. That's just the way I like it :-)

style flavor buy_in entry players entries paid place winnings

MTT   NLHE    45000  5000       9     273   63    34    65000

delta: $15,000
MTT NLHE balance: $9,204,668
2020 balance: $2,182,343
balance: $63,990,353

Queen high

The most memorable hand of last night's session was one I was sure I'd lose. I was dealt a queen and a low card offsuit, and was up against three opponents. No one was doing any betting. When all the community cards had come out, all I had was a measly queen high. Imagine my surprise when the pot came my way :-)

In other news, I recently set a dubious record; I've now crossed one of the million dollar boundaries 20 times. Here are my top 10 million dollar boundary crossings:

20 $64,000,000
19 $53,000,000
17 $59,000,000
17 $52,000,000
17 $45,000,000
17 $10,000,000
17  $9,000,000
15 $54,000,000
15 $46,000,000
15 $12,000,000

As a reminder, only million dollar boundaries which are in your rear view mirror have an odd number of crossings.

style flavor buy_in entry players entries paid place winnings

MTT   NLHE   174000 26000       6     170   42    30   414000

delta: $214,000
MTT NLHE balance: $9,189,668
2020 balance: $2,167,343
balance: $63,975,353

The imp of the perverse

I first used this blog post title on April 1, 2011. Here's an excerpt of what I had to say:

Wednesday night, I lost a ton of chips. $80K worth, to be precise. The maximum starting stake at two consecutive tables. Both hands that I rode to the felt, I had no business going all in on. What's more, I knew as I was going all in that I had no business doing it -- both times. Edgar Allan Poe called such behavior "the imp of the perverse".

Doing something you know you have no business doing is the quintessence of the imp. Last night, the imp struck again. After narrowly missing the money in the first tournament I entered, I jumped right into another tournament, one with a much bigger buy in. I should just have cut my losses and called it a night, but couldn't summon the will.

style flavor buy_in entry players entries paid place winnings

MTT   NLHE    45000  5000       6     221   60    68        0
MTT   NLHE   174000 26000       6     151   42    66        0

delta: $-250,000
MTT NLHE balance: $8,975,668
2020 balance: $1,953,343
balance: $63,761,353

The best flop of the year

Last night, I had the best flop of my current poker year, and one of the very best of my career. I was dealt a pair of nines, and flopped quads. One opponent was betting, and I was smooth calling. I never raised until the river, and got paid off. That gave my stack a big boost, and made making the money as easy as taking candy from a baby :-)

style flavor buy_in entry players entries paid place winnings

MTT   NLHE    45000  5000       6     188   48    27   114000

delta: $64,000
MTT NLHE balance: $9,225,668
2020 balance: $2,203,343
balance: $64,011,353

The streak is dead. Long live the streak!

I first used this blog post title on March 31st, 2012. Here's an excerpt of what I had to say:

When I first heard the phase "The king is dead. Long live the king!" it made no sense to me. How can the king live a single day, let alone a long time, when he's dead? Of course, the answer is that the phrase refers to two different kings. So you'll understand that when I say "The streak is dead. Long live the streak!" I'm referring to two different streaks. I'm hoping to start a new winning streak tonight.

Last night, my pure ITM streak ended at six. I had high hopes of extending it to seven, but hit the rail when my two pair lost to a rivered straight. Time to start a new streak :-)

style flavor buy_in entry players entries paid place winnings

MTT   NLHE    45000  5000       6     192   48    62        0

delta: $-50,000
MTT NLHE balance: $9,161,668
2020 balance: $2,139,343
balance: $63,947,353

My favorite flush suit

In some sense, a straight flush is not really a flush; its greater rarity makes it a different animal. Likewise, a royal flush in not really a straight flush; its extreme rarity makes it a different animal as well - the rarest of all animals, in fact. Therefore, although my favorite royal flush is the one in clubs, it's not a logical inconsistency for me to assert that my favorite flush suit is not clubs. It's hearts. Last night, for the second time in the last four sessions, I flopped the nut heart flush. It warmed my heart :-)

style flavor buy_in entry players entries paid place winnings

MTT   NLHE    87000 13000       6     213   60    28   129000

delta: $79,000
MTT NLHE balance: $9,211,668
2020 balance: $2,189,343
balance: $63,997,353

Pure ITM streak

An ITM (in the money) streak is a streak of tournaments where you make the money. A pure ITM streak is a streak of the same kind of tournament where you make the money. Right now, I have a pure ITM streak going in MTT NLHE. It's five and counting; I'm going for six tonight.

style flavor buy_in entry players entries paid place winnings

MTT   NLHE    87000 13000       6     168   36    19   131000

delta: $31,000
MTT NLHE balance: $9,132,668
2020 balance: $2,110,343
balance: $63,918,353

Hoist with my own petard

I have good news and bad news about last night's session. First, the good news: I made the money for the fourth tournament in a row. The bad news: my chances of going deep in the tournament were 86ed when I ran into an opponent who made me pay on the river. He hit a flush on the turn, and value bet it both of the last two streets. Hoist with my own petard :-) I didn't hit the rail on that hand, but my stack took a big hit. Nonetheless, I'm happy with my play.

style flavor buy_in entry players entries paid place winnings

MTT   NLHE    45000 50000       6     118   30    16   431000

delta: $231,000
MTT NLHE balance: $9,101,668
2020 balance: $2,079,343
balance: $63,887,353

Pay me on the river

I first used this blog post title on January 18, 2013; here's an excerpt of what I had to say:

The more I play poker, the more I realize the importance of getting your opponents to believe they have you beat. That's the best way to get paid off. It's clear that the longer someone stays in a hand, the more reluctant they'll be to throw it away. The less you bet in the early stages of a hand, the more likely that players will stay in it. The stronger your hand is, the more important it is that you don't bet it big early on. This whole philosophy can be summed up in five words: "Pay me on the river".

Last night, I got paid on the river on a hand where I flopped a nut flush. I was dealt an ace of hearts and another heart, and the flop was all hearts. I didn't bet it on the flop, and I didn't bet it on the turn. On the river, an opponent bet, I raised, he called, and I raked in a nice enough pot to set me up well for making the money. I did :-)

style flavor buy_in entry players entries paid place winnings

MTT   NLHE    45000 50000       6     319   84    53   100000

delta: $50,000
MTT NLHE balance: $8,870,668
2020 balance: $1,848,343
balance: $63,656,353

The rockets dilemma

It's always a good feeling to look down and find you've been dealt pocket aces. I'd be lying if I said this occurrence doesn't also introduce a frisson of trepidation. Aces are great, but aces can be cracked. This leads to what I call the rockets dilemma. Simply put, how do you play them? There's no objectively correct answer to this question. I think there is such an answer to the different question of how they should not be played. The answer to that question is that you should not immediately go all in. In last night's session, I was dealt aces once, and they were cracked. Did I go all in immediately? No. Did I go all in at all? No. Did I save myself some chips by playing the way I did? Most probably.

style flavor buy_in entry players entries paid place winnings

MTT   NLHE    87000 13000       6     118   30    18   215000

delta: $115,000
MTT NLHE balance: $8,820,668
2020 balance: $1,798,343
balance: $63,606,353

Saved by Broadway

This is the fourth time I've used this blog post title. The third was on December 22, 2019. Here's an excerpt of what I had to say:

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!

That paragraph applies almost perfectly to last night's session as well; the only incorrect information is the day of the week it was played. The river card was a ten, meaning that I only had the same odds as a gutshot draw to win the hand. It never gets old to be saved by Broadway :-)

style flavor buy_in entry players entries paid place winnings

MTT   NLHE    45000  5000       6     160   42    15   144000

delta: $94,000
MTT NLHE balance: $8,705,668
2020 balance: $1,683,343
balance: $63,491,353

Sloppy

It never pays to be sloppy in any endeavor, and that's especially true when the endeavor is poker. Last night, I was sloppy. I hit the rail in the first tournament I entered when I lost to a straight. The problem was that I didn't bother to check what hands the board supported which could beat mine. I was operating by feel alone, which is not a good plan. Come to think of it, I can't remember the last time I checked to see if a board supported a straight. That's a recurring hole in my game which I need to plug once more.

style flavor buy_in entry players entries paid place winnings

MTT   NLHE   174000 26000       6     111   30     -        0
MTT   NLHE    45000  5000       9     206   45    77        0

delta: $-250,000
MTT NLHE balance: $8,611,668
2020 balance: $1,589,343
balance: $63,397,353

Last blue days

As a companion piece to last night's blog, here are the last blue days of each year of my career:

2009-05-20       $342,247
2010-09-23     $1,047,691
2011-12-29     $3,446,119
2012-11-04     $7,183,821
2013-11-13     $7,830,132
2014-08-27    $10,264,826
2015-12-31    $10,700,364
2016-02-10    $12,966,294
2017-12-31    $45,463,260
2018-05-06    $54,484,260
2019-08-17    $66,129,410

In other news, I was amused to discover that last night's profit was as close as it could be to this year's average profit per session. You don't see that every day :-)

style flavor buy_in entry players entries paid place winnings

MTT   NLHE    45000  5000       9     244   54    22    74000

delta: $24,000
MTT NLHE balance: $8,861,668
2020 balance: $1,839,343
balance: $63,647,353