What a difference seven years makes

It took me 177 sessions, and just over a year, to make my first $400,000; I accomplished that on March 26th, 2010. Now I routinely play nearly 300 sessions a year, and just last night lost $400,000 in a single session. What a difference seven years makes :-) Back then, I would have been horrified to lose $400,000 in a month, let alone a single session. Now I don't bat an eyelash.

Last night, I had another first - my first bubble in an MTT rebuy tournament. Bubbles hurt, but they also mean you're playing well. They're often harbingers of good things to come. Here's hoping!

style flavor buy_in entry players hands entries paid place winnings

MTT-R NLHE    43500  6500       9    91      67   15    16        0
MTT-R NLHE    43500  6500       9    66      47   12    20        0

delta: $-400,000
MTT with rebuys NLHE balance: $4,588,000
2017 balance: $5,527,825
balance: $16,945,655

The two pair that wasn't there

Last night, my session ended early due to a hallucination on my part. On my final hand, somehow I "saw" that I'd flopped a stealth two pair, when in fact all I'd flopped was middle pair. You can't blame me for going all in with my two pair that wasn't there :-) Luckily enough, I'd already made the money, but the mistake stung all the same. The money jumps are huge in rebuy tournaments, and I wanted to have at least one or two more of them. Live and learn!

style flavor buy_in entry players hands entries paid place winnings

MTT-R NLHE    43500  6500       9    77      72   15    11   380000

delta: $130,000
MTT NLHE balance: $2,601,668
2017 balance: $5,927,825
balance: $17,345,655

Average bullets

The wonderful thing about rebuy tournaments is that you're guaranteed to outlast the late registration period, provided you're willing to fire more bullets whenever you hit the felt :-) The minimum number of bullets you can fire in a rebuy tournament is one, but the practical minimum is actually three - one buy in, one rebuy, and one add on. That's the minimum number of bullets which gives you a fighting chance to make the money. I calculated the average number of bullets I fire in rebuys; it's currently 3.24. I also calculated the field average, and as you might expect, it's considerably higher - 5.72. I've seen players go well above 10 bullets fired, which is really insane, and not a profitable play.

style flavor buy_in entry players hands entries paid place winnings

MTT-R NLHE    43500  6500       9    79      76   18    14   412000

delta: $162,000
MTT with rebuys NLHE balance: $4,858,000
2017 balance: $5,797,825
balance: $17,215,655

Double rebuys

In rebuy tournaments, you should always rebuy for the maximum chips that you can. In practice, this means you should always do a double rebuy. I'm good about hitting the double rebuy button when I hit the felt, but not as good about doing a rebuy at the very start of a tournament. You can only join a rebuy tournament with a single buy in, but as soon as you do, a rebuy button will appear; you should always click it, and double the amount of chips you have to work with (even before you've started to work :-)). I forgot to do this in the first tournament I played last night; who's to say what it may have cost me? I won't forget tonight.

style flavor buy_in entry players hands entries paid place winnings

MTT-R NLHE    43500  6500       9    53      55   12    22        0
SNG   NLHE    17000  3000       9    23      45    7    27        0
MTT-R NLHE    43500  6500       9    54      52   12    23        0

delta: $-270,000
MTT with rebuys NLHE balance: $4,696,000
2017 balance: $5,635,825
balance: $17,053,655

Giving to get

The first game I ever loved was chess. I still love it. One of the hardest lessons to learn in chess, and one which I still haven't fully learned, is that many times, you must give in order to get. Indeed, "give to get" is a common chess puzzle hint. Over the last nine years, I've learned that in poker, too, you must give to get. In a poker context, giving to get means that you must have a willingness to take temporary losses when your goal is to achieve long-term gains. This willingness must be unconditional. You must be fully prepared to take these losses, and you must not regret them when they happen. This is a tall order, but achievable.

Last night, I gave to get. Though I had a losing session, I played the away I wanted to play, staying true to my poker principles. There's really nothing more that you can ask yourself to do at a poker table. And nothing less :-)

style flavor buy_in entry players hands entries paid place winnings

SNG   NLHE    17000  3000       9    21      18    4    13        0
MTT-R NLHE    43500  6500       9    67      80   18    40        0
MTT-R NLHE    43500  6500       9   108      76   18    16   370000

delta: $-200,000
MTT with rebuys NLHE balance: $4,946,000
2017 balance: $5,905,825
balance: $17,323,655

Futile century, and saved by snowmen

I played two MTT-Rs last night, and each featured an extreme rarity. In the first one, I played 101 hands and failed to make the money, achieving the mythical futile century at last. In the second, I "fell in" on hand 47, but was rescued from hitting the rail by being dealt pocket eights which held up, meaning that I was saved by snowmen :-) It was another blue session to boot. All is right in my poker world.

style flavor buy_in entry players hands entries paid place winnings

MTT-R NLHE    43500  6500       9   101      70   15    17        0
MTT-R NLHE    43500  6500       9   117      59   12     6   940000

delta: $640,000
MTT with rebuys NLHE balance: $5,126,000
2017 balance: $6,105,825
balance: $17,523,655

Third blue session in a row

Last night, I achieved something I hadn't achieved since February 10th of last year - namely, I had my third blue session in a row. That is, for the third consecutive session, I raised my overall balance to a new all-time high. I'm definitely in a "these are the good old days" period again :-)

style flavor buy_in entry players hands entries paid place winnings

MTT-R NLHE    43500  6500       9    74      80   18    12   393000

delta: $243,000
MTT with rebuys NLHE balance: $4,486,000
2017 balance: $5,465,825
balance: $16,883,655