The sweet 1 6

As I've said before, a poker player can make a good living in the land of the ones. That is, winning one of every nine hands at a table with nine seats, for a winning rate of .111111. Winning at a higher rate is even better. Last night, I nearly achieved the sweet 1 6; that is, I won nearly one of every six hands. Interestingly, the sweet 1 6 translates to a winning rate of .166666.

During current Hold'em session you were dealt 43 hands and saw flop:
 - 3 out of 6 times while in big blind (50%)
 - 3 out of 6 times while in small blind (50%)
 - 15 out of 31 times in other positions (48%)
 - a total of 21 out of 43 (48%)
 Pots won at showdown - 3 of 4 (75%)
 Pots won without showdown - 4

delta: $25,595
cash game no limit hold'em balance: $5,209,486
balance: $7,566,439

LCHUD

Today I modified one of my poker utilities in order to be able to calculate my LCHUD. What the frack is that, you may well ask. It's yet another neo neo. LCHUD stands for Lifetime Cash game Heads Up Delta. Up until this moment, I've played 38,559 hands of cash game no limit hold'em. Of those hands, only 654 were heads up. When I ran the utility to total the hand deltas of those heads up hands, I discovered that my LCHUD is positive, although just barely; it's currently $748. Looking at the bar chart of my LCHUD over the course of my career, I see that it approximates a sine wave. I'm happy with that, as I don't think it's reasonable to expect much better. I'll be interested to see what my LTHUD (Lifetime Tournament Heads Up Delta) is, and whether its bar chart also approximates a sine wave; however, that's an exercise for another day.

Last night, I played reasonably well, but a cooler left me in the red. On hand 55, I flopped a queen high straight, but lost the huge main pot of $150,000 when an opponent made a full house on the river. As you might expect, winning the side pot of $13,628 didn't excite me very much. I was a 67% favorite after the flop, but it wasn't meant to be. What was very unusual about last night's session was that fully 83 of the 169 hands I played were heads up. My CHUD (Cash game Heads Up Delta) for last night's session was positive - a whopping $142 :-)

During current Hold'em session you were dealt 169 hands and saw flop:
 - 55 out of 58 times while in big blind (94%)
 - 41 out of 57 times while in small blind (71%)
 - 25 out of 54 times in other positions (46%)
 - a total of 121 out of 169 (71%)
 Pots won at showdown - 18 of 32 (56%)
 Pots won without showdown - 40

delta: $-42,820
cash game no limit hold'em balance: $5,183,891
balance: $7,540,844

Heads up heaven

I've said it before, and I'll say it again. I miss heads up play. I miss it badly. When you play tournaments, and have a reasonable amount of success, you get to play heads up a lot. When you play cash games, you almost never get to play heads up. There's no way to knock people out, since they can just reup at their discretion. Even if they don't reup, sooner or later they leave the table, leaving their seat open for someone else. It's basically a fluke if you ever find yourself playing heads up in a cash game.

Last night, I got to play heads up for a good number of hands in the final third of the session. My opponent was going all in way too often, and I knew I had a great chance to chip up against him if I picked my spots properly. On hand 55, he went all in when I'd been dealt a pair of nines. I called, and won a pot worth $24,164 with a full house, nines full of fours. On hand 66, he went all in when I'd been dealt ace eight offsuit. I called, and won a pot worth $43,018 with two pair, aces and fours. He only played two more hands against me before leaving the table.

There's definitely a different rhythm to heads up play. It's totally a feel thing. When you're on, you feel invincible. Not a bad feeling :-)

During current Hold'em session you were dealt 74 hands and saw flop:
 - 10 out of 18 times while in big blind (55%)
 - 9 out of 17 times while in small blind (52%)
 - 20 out of 39 times in other positions (51%)
 - a total of 39 out of 74 (52%)
 Pots won at showdown - 4 of 7 (57%)
 Pots won without showdown - 17

delta: $37,279
cash game no limit hold'em balance: $5,226,711
balance: $7,583,664

6max cash a tough nut to crack

I like to think my poker skills favor me to win in many different poker scenarios. There's one scenario, however, which my results prove I haven't mastered. It's 6max cash. That's when you're playing a cash game at a table with only 6 seats. In 1,055 cash game sessions I've played, only 22 of them have been 6max; all the rest have been at 9 player tables. In those 22 6max cash sessions, I've lost a total of $478,995, the bulk of that at the $500/$1000 stakes level. That's an eye-popping number, given my success in other poker flavors.

Last night, I was forced to play at a 6max table, since there were no 9max tables available at my new favorite stakes level ($250/$500). Perhaps not coincidentally, I had a losing session, ending my five session winning streak. I have to admit that 6max cash is a tough nut to crack. I prefer 9max, since it's easier to win. I'm not sure why, but have a couple of theories. One theory is that the 6max tables attract a higher caliber of player. Of course, that theory still begs the question of why. Another theory is that there are only so many poker fish to go around, and there's statistically less chance of meeting them at a 6max table since poker fish tend to gravitate to the 9max tables. Of course, that theory also still begs the question of why.

Of course, just by bringing fish into the discussion, I've opened up another kettle of fish (pun intended). Would I rather play against fish, or against sharks? The answer, I have to admit, is that I'd much rather play against fish. I can hear your objections. "How can that be satisfying?", you ask. "Wouldn't you rather challenge yourself by playing against the best?" I hear you enquire. "How will you ever improve if all you do is play against mediocre players?", you wonder. Those are all valid objections. The only answer I have is that it's much more relaxing to play against fish, and poker should be a relaxing avocation :-)

During current Hold'em session you were dealt 118 hands and saw flop:
 - 20 out of 24 times while in big blind (83%)
 - 14 out of 24 times while in small blind (58%)
 - 46 out of 70 times in other positions (65%)
 - a total of 80 out of 118 (67%)
 Pots won at showdown - 5 of 12 (41%)
 Pots won without showdown - 18

delta: $-29,254
cash game no limit hold'em balance: $5,189,432
balance: $7,546,385

Kick-started

Last night, my session was kick-started on hand 43, when I won a pot worth $75,764 with three of a kind, fives. I beat another three of kind, fives, since I had a better kicker. My opponent put me all in on the river, and I looked him up. I knew he might have a fatty, but had a feeling he didn't. My poker radar isn't always in perfect working order, but it certainly was last night.

I have a theory why I'm doing better (so far) at these higher stakes tables. Since I'm used to lower stakes, I'm a bit intimidated by the higher stakes; the result is that I'm playing a lot more cautiously than my opponents are, and it's paying off. Typically, the hands I play are stronger, so I end up winning a higher percentage of the showdowns. As long as I can continue to stay intimidated, I'll do fine :-)

During current Hold'em session you were dealt 93 hands and saw flop:
 - 9 out of 11 times while in big blind (81%)
 - 11 out of 13 times while in small blind (84%)
 - 37 out of 69 times in other positions (53%)
 - a total of 57 out of 93 (61%)
 Pots won at showdown - 8 of 11 (72%)
 Pots won without showdown - 8

delta: $51,370
cash game no limit hold'em balance: $5,218,686
balance: $7,575,639

Four months in the wilderness

Last night, for the first time in four months, I returned my balance to the 7.5 million play dollar plateau. It was four months in the wilderness. As you may know, I like my balance to keep growing, with no end in sight. I don't like it when there are two many sessions in between the ones where I set a new all-time high. I'm still $142,187 away from getting into the blue again. When I do, I will surely have set a new record for sessions in the wilderness. My longest sojourn is currently 138 sessions, between May 20th, 2009 and March 17th, 2010; however, my current one, which started on May 19th, is at 136 sessions and counting. It's good to have these lengthy journeys every so often; they definitely keep me humble!

During current Hold'em session you were dealt 60 hands and saw flop:
 - 5 out of 8 times while in big blind (62%)
 - 4 out of 8 times while in small blind (50%)
 - 22 out of 44 times in other positions (50%)
 - a total of 31 out of 60 (51%)
 Pots won at showdown - 4 of 6 (66%)
 Pots won without showdown - 2

delta: $47,578
cash game no limit hold'em balance: $5,167,316
balance: $7,524,269

Two pair here, two pair there

Last night, I made a killing with two pairs. This can only happen when your opponents are playing pretty loosely. On hand 27, my two pair of aces and kings beat a busted flush pair of aces to win a pot worth $23,000. On hand 95, my two pair of aces and tens beat a two pair of kings and tens to win a pot worth $66,764. On hand 105, my two pair of kings and eights beat a pair of kings with an ace kicker to win a pot worth $51,250. I have to say, so far I'm loving these $250/$500 tables!

During current Hold'em session you were dealt 121 hands and saw flop:
 - 18 out of 19 times while in big blind (94%)
 - 13 out of 20 times while in small blind (65%)
 - 39 out of 82 times in other positions (47%)
 - a total of 70 out of 121 (57%)
 Pots won at showdown - 6 of 15 (40%)
 Pots won without showdown - 6

delta: $58,711
cash game no limit hold'em balance: $5,119,738
balance: $7,476,691