A short time under the lights

It's always a good thing to get under the lights. Sometimes, though, there's not a whole lot you can do when you get there. In the second tournament I played last night, here were the chip counts when the final table started:

Seat 1: (107613 in chips)
Seat 2: (200930 in chips)
Seat 3: neostreet (9790 in chips)
Seat 4: (48558 in chips)
Seat 5: (54831 in chips)
Seat 6: (34151 in chips)
Seat 7: (64250 in chips)
Seat 8: (44981 in chips)
Seat 9: (99396 in chips)

I had just 1.47% of the chips in play. As you might expect, I didn't last long; 5 hands, to be precise. Still, I'll take that result any day.

style flavor buy_in entry players hands entries paid place winnings

MTT-R NLHE    43500  6500       9    15      83   18    56        0
MTT-R NLHE    43500  6500       9   121      82   18     9   463000

delta: $113,000
MTT with rebuys NLHE balance: $7,361,000
2017 balance: $8,300,825
balance: $19,718,655

An exaltation of aces

I had another stupendous result last night. Once again, I came in second in an MTT-R, this time for a profit of over 2 and a half million play dollars. This was due in no small part to my receiving from the poker gods an exaltation of aces. I got dealt pocket rockets four times in 161 hands, which is 5.49 times their normal frequency. My MTT-R balance broke the 7 million barrier, my 2017 balance broke the 8 million barrier, and my overall balance broke the 19 million barrier. Apart from simply reporting these numbers, I'm speechless.

style flavor buy_in entry players hands entries paid place winnings

MTT-R NLHE    43500  6500       9    43      83   18    51        0
MTT-R NLHE    43500  6500       9   161      63   15     2  2891000

delta: $2,691,000
MTT with rebuys NLHE balance: $7,248,000
2017 balance: $8,187,825
balance: $19,605,655

Musical chairs

Last night, I bubbled another MTT-R. When a tournament gets down to the money bubble, it's a lot like musical chairs. No one wants to be the one left standing. As a consequence, play tightens up dramatically. This particular bubble lasted a goodish number of hands. At one point, I had a bigger stack than about 5 other players, but alas, it just wasn't meant to be. I feel like I'm due for a big profit soon :-)

style flavor buy_in entry players hands entries paid place winnings

MTT-R NLHE    43500  6500       9    57      91   27    28        0

delta: $-150,000
MTT with rebuys NLHE balance: $4,557,000
2017 balance: $5,496,825
balance: $16,914,655

Sleepyhead

I'm pretty sure I set a personal record last night, but it wasn't the kind you want to set. I should have gone to bed after playing the first tournament of the night, but registered for another one instead. I was very sleepy, and had a hard time keeping my eyes open when it wasn't my turn to act. The danger of doing this is not opening your eyes in time, and getting auto sat out. I napped through the final 17 hands of the second tournament, and woke up to discover I'd hit the rail. Of course, it's possible that I did better than I would have done had I been awake, but it's a foregone conclusion that you can't win a tournament while sitting (or I should say sleeping) out.

style flavor buy_in entry players hands entries paid place winnings

MTT-R NLHE    43500  6500       9    46      82   18    55        0
MTT-R NLHE    43500  6500       9    66      75   15    35        0

delta: $-350,000
MTT with rebuys NLHE balance: $4,707,000
2017 balance: $5,646,825
balance: $17,064,655

Profit machine

Right now, MTT with rebuys NLHE tournaments are a profit machine for me; I'm averaging $174,379 a tournament. For comparison purposes, I'm only averaging $34,823 a tournament with my next best style and flavor, MTT with bounties NLHE. Cash game NLHE is a distant third, with an average of just $6,402 a session. Even though MTT with rebuys NLHEs have a higher burn rate and higher variance, the profit potential is just too good to pass up.

style flavor buy_in entry players hands entries paid place winnings

MTT-R NLHE    43500  6500       9    64      62   15    25        0

delta: $-150,000
MTT with rebuys NLHE balance: $5,057,000
2017 balance: $5,996,825
balance: $17,414,655

The maximum bullets calculus

Last night, in the first MTT-R I played, I fired 7 bullets - 1 buy in, 5 rebuys, and 1 add on. At $50,000 a bullet, that amounted to $350,000. The lowest rung of the money ladder paid $370,000, so I would still have made a profit had I made the money (which, alas, I did not). A good formula for the maximum number of bullets to fire is the largest number which still gives you a profit if you min cash. The problem with this calculus is, at the time you're rebuying, there's no way to know what the final payouts will be, so there's no way to know for sure if min cashing will still give you a profit. Considered in the sober light of day, 7 bullets seems like too many, for sure. The most I'd ever fired in an MTT-R before last night was 6, and I only did that once.

In the second MTT-R I played, I did way better, with 3 fewer bullets; I made it under the lights, and finished in fourth. On the strength of that great finish, my overall balance got back into the blue. These are the good old days, still :-)

style flavor buy_in entry players hands entries paid place winnings

MTT-R NLHE    43500  6500       9    54      72   15    33        0
MTT-R NLHE    43500  6500       9   111      68   15     4  1569000

delta: $1,019,000
MTT with rebuys NLHE balance: $5,207,000
2017 balance: $6,146,825
balance: $17,564,655

Fourth worst two bagger

Last night's session was almost a carbon copy of the one preceding it. Again, I played well, but again I lost $400,000. The $800,000 lost in the last two sessions makes them the fourth worst two bagger of my career. However, I'm still not batting an eyelash. I do admit, however, that if the next two sessions mirror the last two, I'll finally blink :-)

style flavor buy_in entry players hands entries paid place winnings

MTT-R NLHE    43500  6500       9    79      80   18    26        0
MTT-R NLHE    43500  6500       9    46      73   15    29        0

delta: $-400,000
MTT with rebuys NLHE balance: $4,188,000
2017 balance: $5,127,825
balance: $16,545,655