All four nought

The best hand in deuce is 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, and is referred to as a #1. Last night, I hit the rail in the MTT 8-game tournament I entered when playing deuce; my 8 6 ran into a #1. What made this ending even more memorable was the way I obtained my 8 6. I was dealt 9h 5s Kd Jc Jh, discarded everything but the five, and drew 8s 4s 6d 2s. I'm pretty sure that's the best four draw I've ever had in deuce. Too bad it was all for naught :-) My consolation prize was doing well in the sit and go portion of the evening, and making a nice profit.

style flavor buy_in entry players hands entries paid place winnings

MTT   8-Game   4500   500       6    17      90   18    57        0
SNG   NLHE    44000  6000       6    12       6    2     5        0
SNG   NLHE    44000  6000       6    50       6    2     1   171600
SNG   NLHE    44000  6000       6    56       6    2     2    92400

delta: $109,000
Sit and go no limit hold'em balance: $4,279,400
balance: $12,316,994

The funnest flavor

I have a complicated relationship with poker. Since I'm playing for play money, it should be all fun and games. It's not, however. I'm very serious about doing well in the long term, even though it's only play money. That seriousness makes poker sometimes feel like a job. It means I can't just play the poker flavor I find the funnest, all the time. That wouldn't advance me toward my long term goal, which is to keep growing my balance.

The funnest poker flavor for me is 8-game. Last night, I played an MTT 8-game to start the session, and made the money. I was short stacked the whole time, but managed to pick myself up by my bootstraps several times. I had so much fun I'm going to start tonight's session the same way.

style flavor buy_in entry players hands entries paid place winnings

MTT   8-Game   4500   500       6    85     103   24    14     5790
SNG   NLHE    44000  6000       6    82       6    2     2    92400
SNG   NLHE    44000  6000       6    32       6    2     4        0
SNG   NLHE    44000  6000       6    12       6    2     4        0
SNG   NLHE    44000  6000       6    19       6    2     5        0

delta: $-106,810
Sit and go no limit hold'em balance: $4,165,400
balance: $12,207,994

Shot from guns

This is the fourth time I've used this blog post title, but the first I've used it in the context of sit and gos. In the first three posts, the context was cash games. Boy, it's been a long time since I've played a cash game, and boy, I don't miss cash games a bit :-) In a sit and go session, you're shot from guns when you come in first in the first sit and go of the night. That sets you up nicely for a guaranteed profit, provided you're willing to quit playing as soon as your profit drops to a min win. I was willing to do that last night.

buy_in entry players hands place winnings

 44000  6000       6    55     1   171600
 44000  6000       6    15     5        0
 44000  6000       6    88     3        0

delta: $21,600
Sit and go no limit hold'em balance: $4,273,000
balance: $12,314,804

Baby Did a Bad Bad Thing

I stole the title of this post from a song by Chris Isaak that I like a lot. There are certain things in poker you should never do. Of course, you won't be able to avoid doing them at times. More likely than not, you'll only realize you did something wrong after the fact. In such cases, all you can do is tell yourself, "Baby, I did a bad bad thing" :-)

The bad bad thing I did in the final sit and go I played last night was to go to war with the chip leader when we were down to three handed play and I had a very decent-sized stack. Here are the details: at the start of hand 50, I had 2,360 of the chips in play, the chip leader had 2,990, and the short stack had 650. I was dealt 6s Ah, and the flop came Ad 7h 5h. The chip leader bet 450, I called, and the short stack folded. The turn was 6c. The chip leader bet 1,350, I raised 410 to go all in, and the chip leader called. The river was 9s. The chip leader turned over Ac 7c, and I hit the rail.

I ran the numbers, and that's my most disappointing third place finish ever, based on my percentage of the chips in play at the start of the final hand (a sizeable 39.33). All I needed to do was concentrate on beating the short stack; if I'd done that, I would've had an excellent chance of making at least second place money.

buy_in entry players hands place winnings

 44000  6000       6    34     4        0
 44000  6000       6    79     2    92400
 44000  6000       6    38     5        0
 44000  6000       6    50     3        0

delta: $-107,600
Sit and go no limit hold'em balance: $4,251,400
balance: $12,293,204

The first place gap

One of the great lines in the 1964 movie "Dr. Strangelove" is spoken by the character played by George C. Scott:

General "Buck" Turgidson: Mr. President, we must not allow a mineshaft gap! 

His fear is that if there is an all-out nuclear war, and Russia has more mine shafts for people to escape to than America, Russia will have won. The notion is absurd on its face, but is delivered with seriousness and conviction. It's a superb satirical commentary on the illogicality of the Cold War arms race.

Right now, I'm keeping an eye on a gap of another sort - that between my first place and second place finishes. It's widening. Last night, with two more second places finishes, the gap tied its all-time previous high of 40. It's time for some more firsts :-)

buy_in entry players hands place winnings

 44000  6000       6    41     3        0
 44000  6000       6    92     2    92400
 44000  6000       6    82     2    92400

delta: $34,800
Sit and go no limit hold'em balance: $4,359,000
balance: $12,400,804

The high chaparral

This is the third time I've used this blog post title. Here's an excerpt from the post where I used it for the first time, on February 7th, 2014:

I never watched the western T.V. show "The High Chaparral", but I've always liked the name; it resonates with me. Playing sit and gos with the intention of making a long-term profit is an extremely ambitious undertaking; one might more appropriately call it a fool's errand :-) I hereby dub this quest my high chaparral!

When all is right in your sit and go universe, it's easy to forget how hard a task it is to make a long-term profit. Every now and then, I run up against a factoid which drives the difficulty home. Consider this: if you come in second every other sit and go you enter, you're doomed not to make a long-term profit. That's harsh, man! My results from Friday night's session set me to thinking along these lines. Had I played one more sit and to and failed to make the money, I would have had a net loss of $22,800 on the night.

buy_in entry players hands place winnings

 44000  6000       6    56     2    92400
 44000  6000       6     4     6        0
 44000  6000       6    80     2    92400
 44000  6000       6     8     5        0
 44000  6000       6    42     2    92400

delta: $27,200
Sit and go no limit hold'em balance: $4,324,200
balance: $12,366,004

Top 15 heads up comeback

I like coming in first. I like coming in first even better when I start heads up play way behind :-) Last night, that's what happened in the final sit and go I played. Heads up play began at the start of hand 43; I had just 22.6% of the chips, with 1,355 to my opponent's 4,645. 16 hands later, it was all over. This was my 15th best heads up comeback ever, in terms of chip percentage at the start of heads up play. I eked out a tiny profit on the night, the min win for a 5 bullet session at the $44,000 buy in structure.

buy_in entry players hands place winnings

 44000  6000       6    30     5        0
 44000  6000       6    83     2    92400
 44000  6000       6    44     3        0
 44000  6000       6    22     4        0
 44000  6000       6    58     1   171600

delta: $14,000
Sit and go no limit hold'em balance: $4,297,000
balance: $12,338,804