Salvaging a session

It goes without saying that no player can avoid losing sessions. They're an integral part of the game. Last night, my streak of nine straight winning sessions came to an end. Even though I ended up in the red, I consider that I salvaged the session by coming in first in the last sit and go I played. If I hadn't played it, I would have lost $155,500 on the night. If I'd lost it, I would have lost $205,500 on the night. However, since I both played and won it, I lost only $30,000 on the night. Puppy food :-)

style flavor buy_in entry players hands place winnings

SNG   NLHE    45000  5000       6    26     5        0
SNG   NLHE    45000  5000       6    70     2    94500
SNG   NLHE    45000  5000       6    26     5        0
SNG   NLHE    45000  5000       6     9     4        0
SNG   NLHE    45000  5000       6    21     4        0
SNG   NLHE    45000  5000       6    55     1   175500

delta: $-30,000
Sit and go no limit hold'em balance: $3,238,800
balance: $11,314,294

Breaking a rung

I love the variety of 8-game, and the challenge, and the fun. The only thing I don't like is the difficulty of making large sums of money playing it :-) Last night, after making the money in an MTT 8-game, I made a strategic mistake. Instead of trying to ladder up, I broke a rung instead. I was on the bubble of the first money jump, and instead of playing super cautiously, I went for it. I jammed my foot down on the rung I was standing on, and hit the rail (to mix metaphors :-)). Since only two places are paid in six seat sit and gos, there's no such thing as laddering up in them; I think I played that last MTT 8-game hand as if I were playing a six seat sit and go. I'll try to keep that in mind the next time I'm in a position to ladder up.

style flavor buy_in entry players hands entries paid place winnings

MTT   8-Game   4500   500       6    83      99   18    13     5790
SNG   NLHE    45000  5000       6   107       6    2     2    94500

delta: $45,290
Sit and go no limit hold'em balance: $3,268,800
balance: $11,344,294

Sweetness is fractal

Most of the time when I talk about being in the sweetness, I mean at the tournament level. However, I realize that sweetness has a fractal nature. This means that being in the sweetness can occur at any level. Lately, I've been in the sweetness at the session level. Stepping even further back, I've been in the sweetness at the annual level ever since I started playing online poker more than 7 years ago.

Last night, it took me a while to get into the sweetness at the tournament level. That fact, and the lateness of the hour, convinced me to quit while I was ahead :-)

style flavor buy_in entry players hands place winnings

SNG   NLHE    45000  5000       6    45     4        0
SNG   NLHE    45000  5000       6    10     5        0
SNG   NLHE    45000  5000       6    68     2    94500
SNG   NLHE    45000  5000       6    37     1   175500
SNG   NLHE    45000  5000       6    59     2    94500

delta: $114,500
Sit and go no limit hold'em balance: $3,224,300
balance: $11,299,004

The first rule of sweetness

Last night, I broke the first rule of sweetness, which can briefly be stated thus:

When you're in the sweetness, as soon as you fall out of it, stop playing.

Don't get me wrong, being in a position to break this rule is a great place to be :-) I made the money in the first four sit and gos I entered last night, failed in the fifth, then played one final sit and go (one too many), failing again.

The crazy thing about being in the sweetness (and this happens to me every time) is that you honestly believe you'll never fall out of it. You feel like Iron Man - in other words, invincible :-)

style flavor buy_in entry players hands place winnings

SNG   NLHE    45000  5000       6    45     1   175500
SNG   NLHE    45000  5000       6    91     2    94500
SNG   NLHE    45000  5000       6    66     1   175500
SNG   NLHE    45000  5000       6    51     2    94500
SNG   NLHE    45000  5000       6    12     5        0
SNG   NLHE    45000  5000       6     9     6        0

delta: $240,000
Sit and go no limit hold'em balance: $3,109,800
balance: $11,184,504

Fast big money

As I've noted before, poker is addictive. Given this fact, it's not too surprising that certain styles and flavors of poker are more addictive than others. For me, the most addictive form of poker of them all is sit and go no limit hold'em. It has two unbeatable attributes:

1. you can make tons of money
2. you can make it really fast

These can be combined into a single phrase - fast big money. Of course, both of these attributes have their "evil twin" flip sides:

1. you can lose tons of money
2. you can lose it really fast

Having now played over a thousand sit and go no limit hold'em tournaments, for a profit of nearly 3 million play dollars, I've proven to myself that I make fast big money considerably more quickly than I lose it :-)

style flavor buy_in entry players hands entries paid place winnings

MTT   8-Game   4500   500       6    20      99   18    62        0
SNG   NLHE    45000  5000       6    80       6    2     1   175500

delta: $120,500
Sit and go no limit hold'em balance: $2,869,800
balance: $10,944,504

A great start

On Friday night, I made a great start to my 2016 poker year. For the first time ever, I came in first in an MTT. It took a whopping 271 hands and 2 1/2 hours, but I finally got there. Even though it was gratifying, I feel there's much more luck involved in an MTT than in a sit and go. Therefore, I wasn't able to feel as elated as I otherwise would. Maybe I've been spoiled by success :-)

style flavor buy_in entry players hands entries paid place winnings

MTT   8-Game   4500   500       6   271     119   24     1   128640

delta: $123,640
MTT 8-game balance: $327,480
balance: $10,824,004

My favorite poker year

Now that it's over, I can unequivocally state that 2015 was my favorite poker year. That may seem strange, since I struggled mightily for most of it, and had little hope of making it back to the black as late as the beginning of November. However, not only did I make it back to the black, I ended up making a profit of over a million play dollars. That was so far better an outcome than I'd expected, my heart couldn't help but warm to the year as a whole, warts and all :-)

style flavor buy_in entry players hands entries paid place winnings

SNG   NLHE    45000  5000       6    82       6    2     2    94500
MTT   8-Game   4500   500       6    29      67   18    37        0
SNG   NLHE    45000  5000       6    51       6    2     1   175500

delta: $165,000
Sit and go no limit hold'em balance: $2,744,300
balance: $10,700,364