Above the fray

The kind of session I like the best is when my stack never falls below its original starting amount. I hereby dub such a session an above the fray session. Of the 434 sessions of cash game no limit hold'em I've played since turning on the PokerStars feature which auto-saves the hand histories, 29 have been above the fray. Two of my last three sessions have been above the fray, including last night's.

One of the requirements of an above the fray session is that you win your first hand of the night. I got curious and wrote a tool to find out how many times I've achieved this. Of the 434 sessions mentioned above, I've won the first hand 87 times, good for 20%. Since I always join a table which has six players at it, I should win the first hand roughly one out of seven times, or a shade over 14% of the time. I take it as a good sign that I'm beating the odds straight out of the gate :-)

During current Hold'em session you were dealt 88 hands and saw flop:
 - 13 out of 17 times while in big blind (76%)
 - 8 out of 14 times while in small blind (57%)
 - 25 out of 57 times in other positions (43%)
 - a total of 46 out of 88 (52%)
 Pots won at showdown - 12 of 16 (75%)
 Pots won without showdown - 5

delta: $38,361
cash game no limit hold'em balance: $4,725,614
balance: $7,082,567

A failure to listen

The most dangerous mistake a poker player can make is not to listen. What is there to hear? Plenty, and none of it has to be words. Players communicate with each other via their bets. It's vitally important to listen to what a player is telling you by the size of his bets. The larger the bet, the more carefully you need to listen. Last night, I failed to listen in one crucial instance. I'd hit trip kings on the flop, and an opponent went all in when a queen showed up on the turn. I was too stubborn to fold. He turned over a pair of pocket queens for a full house of queens full of kings. I lost $44,702 on the hand, leaving me with only $8,158. I hit the felt a mere eight hands later. If I had taken the time to think things through logically, I would have realized my hand was beaten. The problem is, if you don't listen, you don't bother thinking :-)

During current Hold'em session you were dealt 67 hands and saw flop:
 - 5 out of 9 times while in big blind (55%)
 - 7 out of 9 times while in small blind (77%)
 - 25 out of 49 times in other positions (51%)
 - a total of 37 out of 67 (55%)
 Pots won at showdown - 3 of 9 (33%)
 Pots won without showdown - 3

delta: $-40,000
cash game no limit hold'em balance: $4,687,253
balance: $7,044,206

Score one for the trash man

The level of civility one encounters on PokerStars varies widely. Every so often, I run into an opponent who tries to get into my head by insulting me. I used to rise to the bait, but no longer. It's way more satisfying not to respond to such behavior at all. Last night, here are some of the insults one particular opponent hurled my way, over about a 20 minute period:

off suit Trash no blind neo ROOM SCUM
neostreet TRASHHHHH
neostreet is TRASHHHHHHHHHH
neo
Pusy
neo Psy
neostreet SCUM
neostreet TRASH had a Hand lmfao
scum bagggggggggggggggggggggggggg

On hand 50, I won a side pot worth $62,358 and a main pot worth $53,800 with three of a kind, queens. Score one for the trash man!

During current Hold'em session you were dealt 51 hands and saw flop:
 - 6 out of 8 times while in big blind (75%)
 - 2 out of 8 times while in small blind (25%)
 - 22 out of 35 times in other positions (62%)
 - a total of 30 out of 51 (58%)
 Pots won at showdown - 7 of 10 (70%)
 Pots won without showdown - 2

delta: $98,333
cash game no limit hold'em balance: $4,727,253
balance: $7,084,206

Two shark fins to end the night

Unlike the night before, I played with a decent amount of patience last night. For the first two thirds of the session, I was on a steady downward trend. I lost over $40,000 before I was able to stop the slide. I ended up playing at three different tables, since the first two tables quit on me. It was while I was at the third table that things finally turned around. I got two shark fins at the end of the session. Just as a reminder, a shark fin is when your stack takes a big upward jump, followed by a long series of small declines.

During current Hold'em session you were dealt 123 hands and saw flop:
 - 16 out of 22 times while in big blind (72%)
 - 13 out of 22 times while in small blind (59%)
 - 49 out of 79 times in other positions (62%)
 - a total of 78 out of 123 (63%)
 Pots won at showdown - 9 of 20 (45%)
 Pots won without showdown - 10

delta: $-17,219
cash game no limit hold'em balance: $4,628,920
balance: $6,985,873

Sessionus horribilus

Last night I had a sessionus horribilus - in other words, a horrible session. How horrible was it? Horrible enough to tie my worst ever cash game no limit hold'em session with a maximum starting stack of $40,000. I hit the felt, hard; not once, not twice, but three times. Friends and neighbors, that's $120,000 gone in less than 60 seconds (counting only the time I spent deciding whether to call huge river bets). Here's the short version of my tale of woe:

- on hand 36, I lost $24,660 to hit the felt the first time; my two pair of tens and fives lost to a king high straight

- on hand 45, I lost $38,040 to hit the felt a second time; my full house of threes full of sevens lost to a full house of aces full of sevens

- on hand 62, I lost $45,858 to hit the felt a third time; my queen high flush, which I'd made on the flop, lost to a full house of fives full of queens

I'm now over the $25 million dollar mark in play money lost in my online poker career. Thankfully, I'm over the $32 million dollar mark in play money won.

During current Hold'em session you were dealt 62 hands and saw flop:
 - 7 out of 7 times while in big blind (100%)
 - 6 out of 8 times while in small blind (75%)
 - 29 out of 47 times in other positions (61%)
 - a total of 42 out of 62 (67%)
 Pots won at showdown - 5 of 14 (35%)
 Pots won without showdown - 3

delta: $-120,000
cash game no limit hold'em balance: $4,646,139
balance: $7,003,092

Ending with a flourish

When it becomes clear that you're not going to have a winning session, the next best thing is ending with a flourish. Last night, I was underwater for 112 of the 116 hands I played. My stack hit its session low of $6,505 at the end of hand 75. At the end of hand 109, my stack was only $8,409. When I won four of the next seven hands, I knew it was time to quit.

During current Hold'em session you were dealt 116 hands and saw flop:
 - 11 out of 15 times while in big blind (73%)
 - 12 out of 16 times while in small blind (75%)
 - 48 out of 85 times in other positions (56%)
 - a total of 71 out of 116 (61%)
 Pots won at showdown - 10 of 20 (50%)
 Pots won without showdown - 9

delta: $-13,699
cash game no limit hold'em balance: $4,766,139
balance: $7,123,092

Top ten laydown

The most money I've ever spent on a hand without going to showdown is $33,411. Last night, on hand 40, I spent $20,600 without going to showdown; that was good for the eighth spot on my all time list of big money laydowns. I folded on the river since the river card made a flush possible, and an opponent went all in with his last $21,770. As it turned out, I would have won the hand had I called; I had a set of jacks and my opponent only had two pair. I got to see his hole cards since another opponent had gone all in earlier in the hand. I'm not sorry I folded, though; it was the right thing to do.

During current Hold'em session you were dealt 71 hands and saw flop:
 - 13 out of 17 times while in big blind (76%)
 - 13 out of 16 times while in small blind (81%)
 - 26 out of 38 times in other positions (68%)
 - a total of 52 out of 71 (73%)
 Pots won at showdown - 15 of 19 (78%)
 Pots won without showdown - 10

delta: $39,454
cash game no limit hold'em balance: $4,779,838
balance: $7,136,791