The streak is dead. Long live the streak!

Last night, the longest winning streak of my career came to an end. At 29 straight winning sessions, it was longer than my previous two longest streaks put together. It was so long, it started when I was still looking for a new job, was going strong when I received a job offer, and almost made it to the first day of my new job, which will be this coming Monday.

Call me egotistical, but at some point during the streak I started thinking to myself, "This must be how Joe Dimaggio felt when he was on his 56-game hitting streak." I felt like I could do no wrong, and that the streak would last forever.

When I first heard the phase "The king is dead. Long live the king!" it made no sense to me. How can the king live a single day, let alone a long time, when he's dead? Of course, the answer is that the phrase refers to two different kings. So you'll understand that when I say "The streak is dead. Long live the streak!" I'm referring to two different streaks. I'm hoping to start a new winning streak tonight.

During current Hold'em session you were dealt 159 hands and saw flop:
- 18 out of 27 times while in big blind (66%)
- 19 out of 27 times while in small blind (70%)
- 63 out of 105 times in other positions (60%)
- a total of 100 out of 159 (62%)
Pots won at showdown - 8 of 22 (36%)
Pots won without showdown - 19

delta: $-19,200
balance: $4,013,586

1-2-3

Last night, I had almost the shortest session one can have:

hand 1: I folded before the flop
hand 2: I doubled up when I flopped trip 6s
hand 3: I folded before the flop, and quit for the night

As easy as 1-2-3!

Friends and neighbors, I've now surpassed the four million mark. Not only that, within the last calendar year, I've amassed over three million play dollars. So the audacious goal I set myself when I hit the three million mark has now been realized, if we just backdate it :-)

During current Hold'em session you were dealt 3 hands and saw flop:
- 0 out of 0 times while in big blind (0%)
- 0 out of 0 times while in small blind (0%)
- 1 out of 3 times in other positions (33%)
- a total of 1 out of 3 (33%)
Pots won at showdown - 1 of 1 (100%)
Pots won without showdown - 0

delta: $41,426
balance: $4,032,786

Top pair triumph

On Tuesday night, I hit the felt on hand 31. I wasn't playing especially well, but wasn't playing especially badly either. Not surprisingly, I reupped for the max. Thirty hands later, I got almost all the way back to even when my top pair triumphed. I'd been dealt Kh 8d, and the flop came 8s 3s 5d. On the turn, which was the seven of clubs, an opponent bet enough to put me all in; I called. He was on a spade flush draw, but didn't make it; the river card was the seven of diamonds. Another opponent had already gone all in before the turn. My two pair, eights and sevens won a pot worth $77,644.

On hand 82, my ace high straight won a pot worth $57,600, and I was done for the night.

During current Hold'em session you were dealt 83 hands and saw flop:
- 11 out of 13 times while in big blind (84%)
- 9 out of 14 times while in small blind (64%)
- 27 out of 56 times in other positions (48%)
- a total of 47 out of 83 (56%)
Pots won at showdown - 3 of 13 (23%)
Pots won without showdown - 4

delta: $32,044
balance: $3,991,360

Happenstance, coincidence, and donkey action

I've been a James Bond fan from a young age. I enjoyed reading the books as much as watching the movies. A memorable quotation from "Goldfinger" inspired the title of this post:

Goldfinger said, 'Mr. Bond, they have a saying in Chicago: "Once is happenstance, twice is coincidence, the third time it's enemy action."'

Last night, I determined that one of my opponents was a real donkey. He kept going all in preflop. A couple of times, I got to see his hole cards, and he had rags both times. I'd been folding like a good boy every time he went all in, but I couldn't resist calling him when my hole cards were a suited ace jack. His hole cards were 7 6 offsuit. He hit a pair of sevens on the flop, but I hit a pair of aces on the turn. My aces held up, and I won a pot worth $80,600.

Going all in once is happenstance. Going all in twice is coincidence. Going all in a third time is donkey action!

During current Hold'em session you were dealt 51 hands and saw flop:
- 7 out of 8 times while in big blind (87%)
- 3 out of 6 times while in small blind (50%)
- 19 out of 37 times in other positions (51%)
- a total of 29 out of 51 (56%)
Pots won at showdown - 5 of 6 (83%)
Pots won without showdown - 3

delta: $59,127
balance: $3,959,316

Mac and cheese session

Mac and cheese is one of the great comfort dishes, and is a good metaphor for a very comfortable poker session. Last night, I won the first hand I played; that created the possibility of being above water all night. I had a hunch I'd never be underwater, and wasn't.

I'm trying to figure out what I'm doing so right lately. The nearest I can figure it, my showdown percentage is going up due to the fact that my seeing the flop percentage is going down. My seeing the flop percentage is going down because I've turned into a more selective player.

Another thing I'm perfecting is knowing when to quit. In the past, I'd get greedy and try to win more chips when I'd already made a sizable profit; as you might expect, that behavior usually backfired. Now, I almost disappoint myself sometimes when I call it a night, but know from experience that I'm doing the right thing.

During current Hold'em session you were dealt 23 hands and saw flop:
- 2 out of 3 times while in big blind (66%)
- 2 out of 3 times while in small blind (66%)
- 9 out of 17 times in other positions (52%)
- a total of 13 out of 23 (56%)
Pots won at showdown - 4 of 5 (80%)
Pots won without showdown - 2

delta: $38,600
balance: $3,900,189

Felt in eight, fatty late

Last night, I hit the felt in a mere eight hands. I was playing with a little more friskiness than usual, but on all 3 of the big hits my stack took, I had strong hands. Sometimes, that's just the way the cookie crumbles. I reupped for the max, and prepared for a long road back to the black. One interesting feature of the session after I reupped was that I was playing heads up or three handed for large stretches of it; that doesn't happen too often. I was dialed in, and won more than my fair share of the pots. I did get back into the black, eventually. When I won a pot worth $29,950 with a fatty (my slang for a full house) of kings full of sixes, I knew it was time to quit.

During current Hold'em session you were dealt 86 hands and saw flop:
- 22 out of 28 times while in big blind (78%)
- 23 out of 25 times while in small blind (92%)
- 29 out of 33 times in other positions (87%)
- a total of 74 out of 86 (86%)
Pots won at showdown - 16 of 22 (72%)
Pots won without showdown - 18

delta: $19,650
balance: $3,861,589

Triple high note

I've been ruminating a lot lately about how to know when to quit a session. Sometimes, it's not clear at all; at other times, it's clear as a bell. Last night, it was the latter. I had a triple high note signal. Here's what I mean:

1. I'd just won my largest pot of the night - $31,900
2. In winning this pot, I'd realized my largest hand delta of the night - $16,100
3. With this hand delta, my stack reached a new high for the session - $65,300

Of course, I was only sure about the last of these at the time, but had a strong suspicion about the other two.

During current Hold'em session you were dealt 106 hands and saw flop:
- 10 out of 13 times while in big blind (76%)
- 4 out of 14 times while in small blind (28%)
- 43 out of 79 times in other positions (54%)
- a total of 57 out of 106 (53%)
Pots won at showdown - 6 of 8 (75%)
Pots won without showdown - 5

delta: $25,300
balance: $3,841,939