Stopping the bitch

Yesterday, I finally had a winning session, stopping a nine session losing streak. I only made a small profit, but I'll take it. In other news, I achieved a dubious personal "best" - the smallest number of hands played in a tournament where I recorded an official place. That number, of course, would be one. I joined yesterday's final tournament during the break at the end of the late registration period, which meant I'd get an official place no matter what. I was dealt pocket rockets on my first hand, shoved preflop, and got one caller. My opponent had been dealt AJo (ace jack offsuit), so I was a 91.1% favorite to win the hand. However, my opponent spiked a queen on the river to make Broadway, and I was gone in a New York minute.

style flavor    buy_in  entry players entries paid place winnings

MTT   NLHE       44000   6000       9     352   99   104        0
MTT   NLHE       44000   6000       9     475  117    38   154000
MTT   NLHE       44000   6000       9     359   99   240        0

delta: $4,000
2025 balance: $-1,007,000
2025 blue distance: $1,007,000
balance: $15,290,303
MTT NLHE ITM pct: 41.49 (1288 of 3104)

Stopping the bitch

Last night, I stopped the bitch, registering a profitable session after three straight losing ones. I'd been hoping for a really big score, but had to settle for a modest one. I made the first money jump up from a min cash. On my final hand, I flopped top pair, but a second three showed up in the community cards on the turn. I just didn't believe that someone with a three in their hand would have called my half pot bet on the flop, but that didn't make it any less true :-)

style flavor  buy_in    entry players entries paid place  winnings

MTT   NLHE   4400000   600000       8     146   23    16   9750000

delta: $4,750,000
MTT NLHE balance: $332,471,468
2022 balance: $253,882,000
blue distance: $103,105,000
balance: $348,725,953

Stopping the bitch

Last night, I stopped the bitch, putting an end to my very expensive two session losing streak. I didn't do it in emphatic fashion, but at least I did it. I was forced to play a 6max cash game since all the 9max cash games were full. I keep going back and forth on which table size is better for cash games. 6max tournaments are way more profitable for me than 9max tournaments are, but I seem to play 6max cash and 9max cash equally well.

delta: $105,670
Cash game NLHE balance: $4,224,277
2022 balance: $-1,792,340
blue distance: $3,894,330
balance: $93,051,613

Stopping the bitch

Last night, I stopped the bitch, ending a five session losing streak in which I lost one million play dollars (aka "How to Lose a Million in Five Easy Lessons" :-)) . I didn't have as deep a run as I would've liked, but did better than a min cash. My blue distance is still too corpulent at over 2 million; I aim to trim it down some more tonight.

style flavor buy_in  entry players entries paid place winnings

MTT   NLHE   174000  26000       6      83   21    10   462000

delta: $262,000
MTT NLHE balance: $24,942,768
2021 balance: $1,571,000
blue distance: $2,101,000
balance: $79,236,453

Stopping the bitch

Long losing streaks are a bitch, and last night, I stopped the bitch. It was just a min cash, but beggars can't be choosy :-) The most memorable hand of the session was the one where I flopped a straight and also a flush draw. I would have preferred not to hit my flush, but did hit it; luckily there was no uberflush out there. I'll try to extend my modest winning streak to 2 tonight.

style flavor buy_in entry players entries paid place winnings

MTT   NLHE   174000 26000       6      92   24    20   320000

delta: $120,000
MTT NLHE balance: $20,207,668
2020 balance: $12,985,343
balance: $74,793,353

Stopping the bitch

On Friday night, I stopped my out-of-the-gate 2019 losing streak at 3. Along the way, I bubbled an MTT 8-game tournament. Bubbling is always bittersweet; it's the ultimate signal that you played well but have nothing to show for it. That's poker for you :-)

style flavor buy_in entry players hands entries paid place winnings

MTT-R NLHE    43500  6500       9   117      81   18    10   375000
MTT   8-Game  45000  5000       6    63      81   18    19        0

delta: $125,000
MTT with rebuys NLHE balance: $33,925,500
2019 balance: $-802,000
balance: $45,782,260

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

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

Stopping the bitch

Last night, I stopped the bitch. After seven straight losing sessions, I finally had a winning one. I made a $200,000 rebound, and dropped my blue distance below $2,000,000. There's no guarantee I'm out of my slump, but at least I broke the losing streak :-)

I made a disciplined laydown when I was getting close to the money and I had a suspicion a big stack was bullying me. It left me severely short-stacked, and I lucked my way into the money from there, just making the landing on the first foot of runway.

style flavor buy_in entry players hands entries paid place winnings

MTT-R NLHE    43500  6500       9   118      44    9     9   337000

delta: $237,000
MTT with rebuys NLHE balance: $28,885,500
2017 balance: $29,307,430
balance: $40,725,260

Stopping the bitch

Last night, I stopped the bitch. My losing streak, that is. I did it the hard way - by getting in a big hole, then pulling out a first in a sit and go to climb out of it. I eked out a minuscule profit, but a profit nevertheless. We'll see if this can jump start me into a winning streak.

style flavor buy_in entry players hands entries paid place winnings

MTT-R NLHE    43500  6500       9    73      56   12    23        0
SNG   NLHE    42500  7500       9    27      18    4    10        0
SNG   NLHE    42500  7500       9    79      18    4     1   306000

delta: $6,000
MTT with rebuys NLHE balance: $18,540,500
2017 balance: $19,332,475
balance: $30,750,305

Stopping the bitch

On Monday night, I stopped the bitch, bringing my five session losing streak to a halt. I did it on the strength of the good showing I made in the middle of the three tournaments I played. However, it's a sobering fact that I've failed to make the money in 19 of the last 21 tournaments I've played. That's a brutal stretch.

style flavor buy_in entry players hands entries paid place winnings

MTT   NLHE    17500  2500       6     5     537  132   379        0
MTT   NLHE    45000  5000       6   141     146   36    17   124000
MTT   NLHE    17500  2500       6    37     438  114   240        0 

delta: $34,000
MTT NLHE balance: $2,287,148
2017 balance: $209,125
balance: $11,626,955

Stopping the bitch

This it the third time I've used this blog post title. Rereading the original post, I realize I can't improve on it, so I'm going to be lazy and quote it in its entirety:

Memorable quotes are powerful. The proof of their power is the very fact that you remember them, years, or even decades, later. When I was trying to think of a title for this post, I knew I wanted it to relate to the fact that I finally stopped my losing streak. It was a bitch of a streak. That sparked the memory - years ago, Cedric Maxwell, a great Celtics player, said that the Celtics were not going to let Bernard King, a great Knicks player, score at will on them - Maxwell said they were going to "stop the bitch". His choice of words struck me forcefully at the time I read it, and it strikes me equally forcefully now. In one breath, he was praising King, and at the same time claiming that the Celtics would shut him down - and incidentally implying that this would largely be due to his (Maxwell's) defensive efforts.
 
Last night, I stopped the bitch. After tying a personal record streak of nine straight tournaments out of the money, I finally got back into the money again.

Last night, I stopped the bitch. After setting a personal record streak of eleven straight tournaments out of the money, I finally got back into the money again.

style flavor buy_in entry players hands entries paid place winnings

MTT   NLHE    43500  6500       9    43     181   45    26    59000

delta: $9,000
MTT NLHE balance: $1,921,548
2017 balance: $4,400
balance: $11,422,230

Stopping the bitch

I first used this blog post title nearly two years ago. Here's an excerpt of what I wrote then:

... Cedric Maxwell, a great Celtics player, said that the Celtics were not going to let Bernard King, a great Knicks player, score at will on them - Maxwell said they were going to "stop the bitch". His choice of words struck me forcefully at the time I read it, and it strikes me equally forcefully now. In one breath, he was praising King, and at the same time claiming that the Celtics would shut him down - and incidentally implying that this would largely be due to his (Maxwell's) defensive efforts.

Friends and neighbors, after six straight losing sessions, I finally stopped the bitch. What a relief! I'm not claiming I've cured what currently ails me poker-wise, but at least I have this respite. We'll see how long it lasts.

During current Hold'em session you were dealt 53 hands and saw flop:
 - 7 out of 9 times while in big blind (77%)
 - 2 out of 6 times while in small blind (33%)
 - 20 out of 38 times in other positions (52%)
 - a total of 29 out of 53 (54%)
 Pots won at showdown - 4 of 6 (66%)
 Pots won without showdown - 5

delta: $33,675
cash game no limit hold'em balance: $6,688,221
balance: $9,821,120

Stopping the bitch

Memorable quotes are powerful. The proof of their power is the very fact that you remember them, years, or even decades, later. When I was trying to think of a title for this post, I knew I wanted it to relate to the fact that I finally stopped my losing streak. It was a bitch of a streak. That sparked the memory - years ago, Cedric Maxwell, a great Celtics player, said that the Celtics were not going to let Bernard King, a great Knicks player, score at will on them - Maxwell said they were going to "stop the bitch". His choice of words struck me forcefully at the time I read it, and it strikes me equally forcefully now. In one breath, he was praising King, and at the same time claiming that the Celtics would shut him down - and incidentally implying that this would largely be due to his (Maxwell's) defensive efforts.

Last night, I stopped the bitch. After tying a personal record streak of nine straight tournaments out of the money, I finally got back into the money again.

buy_in entry_fee num_players num_hands place winnings

 80000      1000           6         7     6        0
 80000      1000           6       101     2   168000

delta: $6,000
tournament balance: $1,411,090
balance: $6,541,821