Flopping the stars

The most memorable hand of last night's session was the final one. I lost a hand I thought was a sure thing. It was so disorienting, I momentarily forgot that I'd made the money. I was dealt QTo (queen ten offsuit), and flopped a king high straight. In other words, I flopped the moon. The problem with flopping the moon is that you'll lose to opponents who turn the stars :-)

This is an excerpt from my October 13, 2018 post. Last night, my most memorable hand was the one where I flopped the stars. I was dealt pocket nines, and the other two nines appeared on the flop. I didn't dare bet my hand until the river, and it was a modest bet at that. I'm happy to report that I got one caller :-)

style flavor buy_in  entry players entries paid place winnings

MTT   NLHE   174000  26000       6      77   21    10   428000

delta: $228,000
MTT NLHE balance: $40,719,268
2022 balance: $-3,503,000
blue distance: $3,520,200
balance: $91,340,953

My most usual usual suspect

In my MTT NLHE career, I've run across certain players a multitude of times. I call them the usual suspects. There's one player I've run across more than any other; I call him my most usual usual suspect.

This is an excerpt from my November 15, 2021 post. I had a thoroughly mediocre session last night; the most notable thing about it was that I managed to outlast my most usual usual suspect, by 11 spots.

style flavor buy_in  entry players entries paid place winnings

MTT   NLHE   174000  26000       6      80   21    44        0

delta: $-200,000
MTT NLHE balance: $40,491,268
2022 balance: $-3,731,000
blue distance: $3,748,200
balance: $91,112,953

The first foot of runway

In an earlier post, I compared making the money in an MTT to landing an airplane. I actually had a particular airport (and runway) in mind when I made the analogy - Logan Airport in Boston. To land on the runway I'm thinking of, planes have to approach over water. This can be disconcerting to the passengers, to say the least :-) It's hard not to get the impression that the plane is coming in too low, and will hit the water first. Last night, in the final MTT NLHE I played, I thought my plane was coming in too low.

This is an excerpt from my November 28, 2016 post. Last night, as before, I thought I was going to hit the water, but luckily landed on the first foot of runway instead.

style flavor buy_in  entry players entries paid place winnings

MTT   NLHE   174000  26000       6      77   21    21   294000

delta: $94,000
MTT NLHE balance: $40,691,268
2022 balance: $-3,531,000
blue distance: $3,548,200
balance: $91,312,953

The Janus percentile

I remember almost no details of last night's session. The most striking thing about it was that my percentile was exactly 50. In other words, I outlasted precisely half the field. That and a dollar might buy you a small bag of potato chips :-)

This is an excerpt from my July 16, 2020 post. It applies equally well to last night's session. For the record, it was the 10th Janus percentile of my MTT NLHE career.

style flavor buy_in  entry players entries paid place winnings

MTT   NLHE   174000  26000       6      88   21    44        0

delta: $-200,000
MTT NLHE balance: $40,597,268
2022 balance: $-3,625,000
blue distance: $3,642,200
balance: $91,218,953

Out of cadence

Last October, I was in a fine Full Monty cadence; the longest gap between Full Montys was only ten tournaments. Since then, I haven't managed a single Full Monty; the gap is now 95 tournaments and counting. I'm overdue :-)

style flavor buy_in  entry players entries paid place winnings

MTT   NLHE   174000  26000       6      83   21    24        0

delta: $-200,000
MTT NLHE balance: $40,797,268
2022 balance: $-3,425,000
blue distance: $3,442,200
balance: $91,418,953

The perfect storm for a hero call

As a rule, I don't make hero calls. Last night, I made an exception. A hero call is when you have a marginal  hand, a player who acts before you bets huge on the river, and you can't shake the conviction that he's bluffing, so you call. You don't actually have to win the hand for this to qualify as a hero call; some wags, however, might classify it as a zero call :-) I didn't win the hand; instead, I hit the rail, as the call put me all in. Here's how the hand went down, as well as I can remember: I was dealt a pair of nines, and they were overcards to the flop. I bet on both the flop and the turn, and got one opponent to come along. The river put a third spade on the board; the door card of the flop, the turn, and the river were all spades. I was positive that my opponent hadn't backed into a flush. I also believed my opponent was bluffing, since he went all in on the river. If he truly had a winning hand, the best play would be to put out a value bet of some kind, to increase the chances of getting a call and winning a bigger pot. Going all in really doesn't make sense in this scenario. This was the perfect storm for a hero call. The flush draw distracted me from noticing that there was a straight draw out there, too. The big bet convinced me that my opponent was bluffing that he'd hit a flush, since it was a play I wouldn't make if I'd hit a flush. I was only right about one thing: my opponent didn't hit a flush. Instead, he hit a straight :-)

style flavor buy_in  entry players entries paid place winnings

MTT   NLHE   174000  26000       6      61   18    34        0

delta: $-200,000
MTT NLHE balance: $40,997,268
2022 balance: $-3,225,000
blue distance: $3,242,200
balance: $91,618,953

The best thing I can say about January

The best thing I can say about January, poker-wise, is that it's over. It was the third worst month of my career. I'm glad to be starting a new month, with a fresh slate :-)

style flavor buy_in  entry players entries paid place winnings

MTT   NLHE    45000   5000       6      85   21    32        0

delta: $-50,000
MTT NLHE balance: $41,197,268
2022 balance: $-3,025,000
blue distance: $3,042,200
balance: $91,818,953