Four bagger

When you're trying to break out of a slump, small achievements loom larger than they otherwise would. Last night, I had such an achievement, winning my fourth session in a row. It sure felt big to me :-) My night got jump started on hand 9 when an opponent went all in on the turn. I'd just hit two pair, and called. My two pair held up, and I won a pot worth $74,200. That big cash influx allowed me to be really choosy about what hands I was going to play from that point on. That's a great position to be in, and I made the most of it.

During current Hold'em session you were dealt 63 hands and saw flop:
 - 5 out of 8 times while in big blind (62%)
 - 3 out of 9 times while in small blind (33%)
 - 19 out of 46 times in other positions (41%)
 - a total of 27 out of 63 (42%)
 Pots won at showdown - 5 of 9 (55%)
 Pots won without showdown - 1

delta: $52,983
cash game no limit hold'em balance: $4,811,332
balance: $7,168,285

An aqueous hand

Last night, I more than doubled up on the penultimate hand of the night. I call it an aqueous hand, not because it was watery, but because it was a full house of aces full of queens. It's always a good feeling when you have a full house, and an opponent goes all in. You know you can't lose! In truth, you're as safe as houses :-)

During current Hold'em session you were dealt 63 hands and saw flop:
 - 8 out of 10 times while in big blind (80%)
 - 5 out of 11 times while in small blind (45%)
 - 22 out of 42 times in other positions (52%)
 - a total of 35 out of 63 (55%)
 Pots won at showdown - 5 of 8 (62%)
 Pots won without showdown - 5

delta: $43,600
cash game no limit hold'em balance: $4,758,349
balance: $7,115,302

The outside edge of a lobster claw

Just as no two snowflakes are alike, and no two fingerprints are alike, no two bar charts of your stack size over the course of a session are alike. Looking at last night's, it reminds me of the outside edge of a lobster claw; it starts off with a small pinch inwards, is widest in the the middle of the session, and curves up nicely towards the end. When my stack went north of $50,000 on the penultimate hand of the session, I knew it was time to call it a night.

During current Hold'em session you were dealt 53 hands and saw flop:
 - 9 out of 9 times while in big blind (100%)
 - 7 out of 8 times while in small blind (87%)
 - 22 out of 36 times in other positions (61%)
 - a total of 38 out of 53 (71%)
 Pots won at showdown - 6 of 8 (75%)
 Pots won without showdown - 8

delta: $11,989
cash game no limit hold'em balance: $4,714,749
balance: $7,071,702

Saved by my fave

Last night, I was hoping to have a short session. In general, the shorter the session, the better the result. I desperately needed something to stop my slump. I was saved by my fave :-) In other words, my favorite type of hand came to my rescue. As you may know, my favorite type of hand is a flush. On hand 16, I more than doubled up when I made a king high flush on the turn. I don't know yet if my fortune has really turned around, but I'm really hoping it has.

During current Hold'em session you were dealt 17 hands and saw flop:
 - 1 out of 2 times while in big blind (50%)
 - 0 out of 2 times while in small blind (0%)
 - 4 out of 13 times in other positions (30%)
 - a total of 5 out of 17 (29%)
 Pots won at showdown - 2 of 2 (100%)
 Pots won without showdown - 0

delta: $37,883
cash game no limit hold'em balance: $4,702,760
balance: $7,059,713

Treading water

Last night, I treaded water all session long. That was actually a big improvement over the previous night. I ended up with a slight loss, as I didn't have the sense to take a small profit of just over $5,000 when I had the chance. I think I undervalue small profits too much. Better to take a small profit over a small (or big) loss any day. I'll try to correct my thinking.

During current Hold'em session you were dealt 109 hands and saw flop:
 - 15 out of 16 times while in big blind (93%)
 - 9 out of 16 times while in small blind (56%)
 - 39 out of 77 times in other positions (50%)
 - a total of 63 out of 109 (57%)
 Pots won at showdown - 7 of 11 (63%)
 Pots won without showdown - 8

delta: $-4,134
cash game no limit hold'em balance: $4,664,877
balance: $7,021,830

Down escalator

Down escalators don't drop steeply, and don't move that quickly, but they get the job done; you arrive at the floor below before you know it. The bar chart of my stack size over the course of Sunday night's session resembles a down escalator; it follows a nearly perfect trend line downwards. I hit the felt on hand 84, reupped for the max, and promptly resumed my slide. The only bright spot of the night was when I briefly got my second stack back up to $25,630 after it had fallen as low as $3,466. I have to admit, I'm in a major slump.

During current Hold'em session you were dealt 143 hands and saw flop:
 - 16 out of 21 times while in big blind (76%)
 - 15 out of 23 times while in small blind (65%)
 - 53 out of 99 times in other positions (53%)
 - a total of 84 out of 143 (58%)
 Pots won at showdown - 8 of 21 (38%)
 Pots won without showdown - 6

delta: $-71,970
cash game no limit hold'em balance: $4,669,011
balance: $7,025,964

The best time to get rockets

I've used the title of this blog post before, but I'm not going to apologize; I'll probably use it again someday. The best time to get rockets is the hand after you've just won a big pot. You can start building a new pot right away; most opponents will just think you're getting frisky with your winnings, and won't be afraid to call. Last night, I won a pot worth $47,500 on hand 77 with a ten high flush. The very next hand, I was dealt Ah Ac. I raised preflop to $800 and got two callers. I hit a set of aces on the flop, bet $600, got raised to $1,200, reraised to $1,800, and got one caller. I hit a fatty on the turn, and the bets from the prior round were repeated exactly. On the river, I bet $600 again, but my opponent didn't bite a third time; he just called. I won a pot worth $11,300, and called it a night the next hand.

During current Hold'em session you were dealt 79 hands and saw flop:
 - 6 out of 9 times while in big blind (66%)
 - 5 out of 10 times while in small blind (50%)
 - 31 out of 60 times in other positions (51%)
 - a total of 42 out of 79 (53%)
 Pots won at showdown - 8 of 14 (57%)
 Pots won without showdown - 3

delta: $15,367
cash game no limit hold'em balance: $4,740,981
balance: $7,097,934