Apockalypse Now

In yesterday's session, I received more than my fair share of pocks (pocket pairs). In the second tournament I entered, I was dealt pocket queens twice, and folded both times. Those are the hands I was proudest of, since I would've hit the rail had I not folded them. In the third tournament I entered, I was dealt pocket sevens three times, the first two of which were back to back. I lost the first one, but made a killing on the other two. Apockalypse now!

style flavor buy_in  entry players entries paid place winnings

MTT   NLHE    44000   6000       9     421   99   173        0
MTT   NLHE    44000   6000       9     322   81    21   155000
MTT   NLHE    44000   6000       9     312   81    44   123000

delta: $128,000
2024 balance: $3,822,000
2024 blue distance: $22,000
balance: $16,631,303
MTT NLHE ITM pct: 41.72 (1269 of 3042)

Apockalypse now

The most memorable hand of last night's session was the final one. I was dealt pocket tens and shoved. Not just one but two opponents called, and both of them had a pocket pair. One had queens and the other had rockets; I was the runt of the litter. It was another one of those "Apockalypse now" situations. I was drawing pretty thin on the river - I had just an 11% chance of winning. No ten magically appeared, and I was gone in a New York minute.

style flavor buy_in  entry players entries paid place winnings

MTT   NLHE   174000  26000       6      65   18    30        0

delta: $-200,000
MTT NLHE balance: $34,005,768
2021 balance: $10,584,000
blue distance: $403,000
balance: $88,249,453

Apockalypse now

The most memorable hand of last night's session was one I had to lay down. I was dealt pocket tens, but had to let them go before the flop due to a betting war between two of my opponents. That turned out to be a wise choice. One of them had pocket aces and the other had pocket jacks. Apockalypse now :-) The rockets held and the jacks hit the rail. Sad to say, that laydown was the highlight of my night. As far as I recall, I didn't win a single hand.

style flavor buy_in  entry players entries paid place winnings

MTT   NLHE   174000  26000       6      88   21     0        0

delta: $-200,000
MTT NLHE balance: $25,869,768
2021 balance: $2,548,000
blue distance: $1,124,000
balance: $80,213,453

Apockalypse now

The most memorable hand of last night's session was one that I folded before the flop. I'd been dealt pocket queens and was preparing to back them strongly. However, one player acting before me put in a big bet, which had me pondering. When a second player acting before me put in a big raise, there was nothing to ponder anymore; I folded gladly. The original bettor called all in. He turned over cowboys (pocket kings), and the raiser turned over rockets (pocket aces). The rockets held, and the kings hit the rail. Funnily enough, the river card was a queen, which would have won me a huge pot if I'd stayed in the hand. Nevertheless, my fold was correct.

style flavor buy_in entry players entries paid place winnings

MTT   NLHE   174000 26000       6      82   21     9   542000

delta: $342,000
MTT NLHE balance: $23,375,668
2020 balance: $16,153,343
blue distance: $1,116,000
balance: $77,961,353

Apockalypse Now

On the final hand of last night's session, I was dealt pocket rockets. I soon got all my chips in the middle. Three of us were left in the hand; since two of us were all in, all three sets of hole cards were flipped on their backs. I got a sinking feeling when I saw that both my opponents had pocket pairs; one had kings, and the other had tens. It was another Apockalypse Now situation. I knew I was the favorite, but also knew that my tournament life was in significant danger. I would've loved to have seen one or both of my opponents lacking a pocket pair. My sinking feeling was prophetic; the river card was a king, and I was sent packing.

style flavor buy_in entry players entries paid place winnings

MTT   NLHE    45000  5000       9      54   12     -        0
MTT   NLHE    45000  5000       6     104   30    41        0

delta: $-100,000
MTT NLHE balance: $9,057,668
2020 balance: $2,082,343
balance: $63,890,353

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

Apockalypse Now

Last night, in the last tournament I played, I finally made it back under the lights again. That's always a wonderful feeling! Three hands stand out in my memory. In two of them, I was dealt pocket sevens; in the third, I was dealt pocket eights. In each case, the hand held up, and my stack received a much needed chip infusion. Since pocket pairs are colloquially called pocks, I'm going to nickname that particular tournament "Apockalypse Now" :-)

style flavor buy_in entry players hands entries paid place winnings

MTT   NLHE    45000  5000       6    46     154   42    86        0
MTT   NLHE    17500  2500       6    38     473  114   287        0
MTT   NLHE    45000  5000       6    31      58   15     -        0
MTT   NLHE    17500  2500       6   169     390   96     4   262700

delta: $122,700
MTT NLHE balance: $1,932,848
2017 balance: $-145,175
balance: $11,272,655

Apockalypse now

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. Every so often such a hand shows up on a televised poker show. The hand which escorted me out of the third sit and go I played last night was worthy of such a broadcast. Here's how it went down: 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! We all went all in preflop. The flop came 5d 4h 2c, the turn was Ah, and the river was a dagger through the heart - the jack of hearts. Running the numbers, before the flop I had a 2.04% chance of winning the hand, a 21.02% chance of losing it, and a 76.14% chance of chopping the pot. Once again, it was a case of a hand which just wasn't meant to be.

style flavor buy_in entry players hands entries paid place winnings

SNG   NLHE    44000  6000       6    15       6    2     5        0
MTT   8-Game   4350   650       6    46      94   18    30        0
SNG   NLHE    44000  6000       6    30       6    2     4        0
SNG   NLHE    44000  6000       6    23       6    2     4        0
SNG   NLHE    44000  6000       6    67       6    2     2    92400
SNG   NLHE    44000  6000       6    31       6    2     2    92400

delta: $-70,200
Sit and go no limit hold'em balance: $2,928,040
balance: $10,618,865