Three on a match

I used this blog post title once before, on November 20, 2012. Here's a brief excerpt of what I had to say:

The old superstition about three on a match has its poker analogue; you really don't want to be the third one going in to a huge pot.

Back then, I was playing cash games, but this advice applies equally well to tournaments.

This is an except from my October 12, 2020 post. Excerpts are fractal :-) Last night, on a hand where I was dealt rockets, I decided to be the third one in. That put me all in. I hoped my opponents would have hands which sabotaged each other, and they did :-)

style flavor buy_in  entry players entries paid place winnings

MTT   NLHE   174000  26000       6      78   21    18   339000

delta: $139,000
MTT NLHE balance: $26,932,768
2021 balance: $3,611,000
blue distance: $61,000
balance: $81,276,453

Three on a match

I used this blog post title once before, on November 20, 2012. Here's a brief excerpt of what I had to say:

The old superstition about three on a match has its poker analogue; you really don't want to be the third one going in to a huge pot.

Back then, I was playing cash games, but this advice applies equally well to tournaments. On my final hand last night, I was dealt a big slick (ace king). A player acting before me bet big enough to put me all in if I called, and a second player acting before me called. The correct play here was to fold, but I was both too impatient and too stubborn to do it. I had a decent chance to win after the flop, but the initial bettor hit a straight on the river, and that was all she wrote.

style flavor buy_in entry players entries paid place winnings

MTT   NLHE   174000 26000       6      28    8     -        0

delta: $-200,000
MTT NLHE balance: $23,631,668
2020 balance: $16,409,343
blue distance: $860,000
balance: $78,217,353

Three on a match

Last night's session was very short, and not at all sweet. I hit the felt on hand 14, when I made a bad decision. I'd flopped top and bottom pair. A player acting before me went virtually all-in (he only left himself $137 behind). To call, I'd have to put myself all in. If it had immediately been my turn to act, a call here would certainly have been defensible; however, another player acted before me, and he called the first player's $37,800 bet. Loud klaxons should have gone off in my head at this point; you really need to have the nuts to call in this situation, since you have to beat not one but two players. The old superstition about three on a match has its poker analogue; you really don't want to be the third one going in to a huge pot. A fold would have been the correct play here. However, I called. As it turned out, I was a 72% favorite after the flop, but the first player, who'd flopped middle and bottom pair, hit a full house on the turn, and that was all she wrote.

During current Hold'em session you were dealt 14 hands and saw flop:
 - 2 out of 2 times while in big blind (100%)
 - 2 out of 2 times while in small blind (100%)
 - 4 out of 10 times in other positions (40%)
 - a total of 8 out of 14 (57%)
 Pots won at showdown - 0 of 2 (0%)
 Pots won without showdown - 0

delta: $-40,000
balance: $6,252,387