Under the lights

Last night, I got under the lights again. Making the money in MTT NLHEs is starting to feel as easy as taking candy from a baby :-) One hand was particularly memorable. I'd flopped a set, bet it big, and got one caller, who was all in at that point. He hit a flush on the turn, making me a big underdog, but then I hit a full house on the river. A classic redraw scenario.

style flavor buy_in entry players entries paid place winnings

MTT   NLHE   174000 26000       6      55   15     5   765000

delta: $565,000
MTT NLHE balance: $7,838,668
2020 balance: $1,021,000
balance: $62,829,010

Silly but fun extrapolations

It's silly, but fun, to extrapolate yearly totals at such an early point in the year. Hear are four:

sessions:          305
wagered:   $57,950,000
won:       $85,766,000
profit:    $27,816,000

Last night, I just missed getting under the lights again.

style flavor buy_in entry players entries paid place winnings

MTT   NLHE    45000  5000       6      95   24     7   209000

delta: $159,000
MTT NLHE balance: $7,273,668
2020 balance: $456,000
balance: $62,264,010

Late regging considered essential

The late registration period for an MTT NLHE on PokerStars is 44 minutes long. I've gone back and forth on when's the best time to enter this type of tournament, but am now convinced of when the worst time is - namely, before the late registration period has even begun. If you enter then, you guarantee all of the following:

1. there will be no dead money in the pool when you begin playing; this is bad because the more dead money there is in the pool, the better your chances of making the money
2. there will be a higher percentage of donkeys playing than if you'd joined later; this is bad because donkeys can break you with bad plays
3. you'll need to last the full 44 minutes to have a chance of making the money; this is bad because you're more likely to run into bad luck the longer you play

I think joining any time before half the late registration period has elapsed is non-optimal. Last night, I joined with 11 minutes left in the late registration period, and nearly made it under the lights. I'll give that another try tonight :-)

style flavor buy_in entry players entries paid place winnings

MTT   NLHE   174000 26000       6      53   15     7   534000

delta: $334,000
MTT NLHE balance: $7,114,668
2020 balance: $297,000
balance: $62,105,010

Just ducky

In poker parlance, ducks are pocket deuces. Last night, I received ducks three times. I think I won with them twice, which is more than could have been expected. If there's anything more satisfying than winning with ducks, it's winning with split ducks - in other words, winning when receiving only one duck and pairing it on the board. I won once with split ducks last night as well.

style flavor buy_in entry players entries paid place winnings

MTT   NLHE    45000  5000       6     109   30    11   132000
MTT   NLHE   174000 26000       6      83   21    31        0

delta: $-118,000
MTT NLHE balance: $6,780,668
2020 balance: $-37,000
balance: $61,771,010

yadtss

Last night, I had yadtss - yet another double-tabling success story. One thing I haven't mentioned about double-tabling is that in general, the buy ins won't be the same. One of the tables will usually have a significantly higher buy in than the other. One will be the big brother, and the other the little brother. That was the case again last night. Despite the disparity, each brother has the other one's back :-)

style flavor buy_in entry players entries paid place winnings

MTT   NLHE   174000 26000       6      83   21    14   404000
MTT   NLHE    45000  5000       6     105   30    10   127000

delta: $281,000
MTT NLHE balance: $6,898,668
2020 balance: $81,000
balance: $61,889,010

Self-sabotage

In a conservative estimate, I've made one million separate decisions in my online poker career. The actual number is probably closer to double that. The number of times I've meant to make one decision, but perversely made another, is certainly under 100, but isn't 0. I'm not talking about fingerfehlers; I'm talking about my subconscious refusing to obey my conscious will. In other words, self-sabotage. On the final decision of last night's session, I fully intended to fold, but called instead. That took me to the rail when I was within shouting distance of the money. I think I know why my subconscious took this enemy action - it was late, and I needed to get to bed :-)

style flavor buy_in entry players entries paid place winnings

MTT   NLHE   174000 26000       6      82   21    30        0

delta: $-200,000
MTT NLHE balance: $6,617,668
2020 balance: $-200,000
balance: $61,608,010

My 2019 poker year in review

Exactly one year ago today, I set myself the following goals for 2019:

- wager $90,000,000
- win $100,0000,000
- make a profit of $10,000,000

Here's how I did:

- I wagered $76,100,000
- I won $91,373,750
- I made a profit of $15,273,750

So I give myself an A on the year.

Here are my goals for 2020:

- wager $60,000,000
- win $72,0000,000
- make a profit of $12,000,000

The reason I'm setting all three goals below this year's levels is that I'm promising myself not to enter any rebuy tournaments at all in 2020 :-)


style flavor buy_in entry players entries paid place winnings

MTT   NLHE    45000  5000       6      88   21    48        0


delta: $-50,000
MTT NLHE balance: $6,817,668
2019 balance: $15,273,750
balance: $61,808,010