The Doobie Brothers

I've mentioned the word fatty on this blog before; it's my slang for a full house in poker. Since fatty is also slang for a marijuana cigarette, it follows that any other slang word for a marijuana cigarette could also serve as slang for a full house, once you know the fatty connection. Last night, I had a winning session on the strength of the Doobie Brothers - in other words, multiple full houses. I had three, but only won chips with two of them. On the first Doobie, my full house of queens full of eights lost to four of a kind, queens. On the second Doobie, my full house of jacks full of eights won a pot worth $31,327. On the third Doobie, which was my penultimate hand of the night, my full house of jacks full of tens won a pot worth $26,300. You could say that the second and third Doobies were houses that jacks built :-)

During current Hold'em session you were dealt 53 hands and saw flop:
 - 2 out of 5 times while in big blind (40%)
 - 4 out of 7 times while in small blind (57%)
 - 15 out of 41 times in other positions (36%)
 - a total of 21 out of 53 (39%)
 Pots won at showdown - 4 of 7 (57%)
 Pots won without showdown - 1

delta: $26,956
cash game no limit hold'em balance: $4,855,787
balance: $7,305,195

A dagger on the river

Some river cards come like daggers through your heart. At first you can't believe that you've been pierced, but you realize in the end. Last night, such a dagger came on hand 58. I'd been dealt Kh 6d, the flop came 5d Qs 4c, and the turn was 8s. When the river came the seven of spades, giving me a straight, I thought my luck was finally turning. Sadly, that was not the case. An opponent who'd made his flush on the river won the pot, worth $25,100. Even though I lost only $8,200 on it, that's the hand that really sticks in my mind. The very card that made a straight for me made a flush for my opponent. That just plain hurts!

When I look at the two hands where I lost more chips than I did on the dagger hand, I don't recognize what I might have been thinking. To be honest, on those other hands, I wasn't actually thinking at all; instead, I was hoping and praying. On hand 52, the first time I hit the felt, I was dealt Qc Ah. The board ran out 3d Tc 7d 5c 2c, and my ace high was the worst of the three hands which went to showdown; I lost $23,522 on that hand. On the final hand of the night, the second time I hit the felt, I was dealt 4h 5h. The flop came 2h Jh 7s, and I held out for my flush draw to the bitter end; I lost $22,743 on that hand.

I've looked at the numbers, and they don't paint a pretty picture. I've now achieved the personal worst I was half dreading. I've lost more money in the last 11 cash game no limit hold'em sessions than any other 11 session stretch of such sessions in my poker career - $388,217.

During current Hold'em session you were dealt 75 hands and saw flop:
 - 10 out of 12 times while in big blind (83%)
 - 3 out of 12 times while in small blind (25%)
 - 20 out of 51 times in other positions (39%)
 - a total of 33 out of 75 (44%)
 Pots won at showdown - 1 of 9 (11%)
 Pots won without showdown - 3

delta: $-80,000
cash game no limit hold'em balance: $4,828,831
balance: $7,278,239

Min win

In poker, a min raise is when you raise by the minimum amount, which is one big blind. You might think that the minimum amount you can win in a winning session would be the same amount, but you'd be wrong. The minimum amount you can win in a winning session is actually one play dollar, regardless of the size of the blinds. The reason is simple; since you can bet any amount which is at least the big blind amount, you can also lose any amount which is at least the big blind amount. If, for instance, you have $42,000, bet $1,999 on a hand, and lose, you end up with $40,001. If you decide to quit at that moment, you'll have achieved the perfect min win of a single play dollar.

Last night, I had an impressive min win; I won less than a big blind. In fact, I won the least I've ever won in 110 winning sessions of cash game no limit hold'em. I would have played longer, but the table quit on me, and I didn't feel like joining another.

During current Hold'em session you were dealt 81 hands and saw flop:
 - 21 out of 23 times while in big blind (91%)
 - 16 out of 22 times while in small blind (72%)
 - 25 out of 36 times in other positions (69%)
 - a total of 62 out of 81 (76%)
 Pots won at showdown - 12 of 26 (46%)
 Pots won without showdown - 19

delta: $192
cash game no limit hold'em balance: $4,908,831
balance: $7,358,239

Second worst AKo ever

The slump I'm in isn't giving up easily. Last night, my session ended abruptly when I suffered my second worst AKo ever. AKo is shorthand for ace king offsuit, which is normally a very strong hand. Unfortunately for me, I was up against an opponent who'd been dealt pocket rockets. I started the hand with $40,239, and ended it with nothing. Here are my top 5 worst AKos:

Kd As     -41600 Kd Kh As 9d 7s one pair logs\2011\1231\hands  88
As Kd     -40239 Kd Ks Jc Jd As two pair logs\2013\0527\hands  40
Kd As     -38900 Kd Kc As Qh 8d one pair logs\2012\1126\hands  11
Ks Ac     -38500 Ac As Ks Qc Ts one pair logs\2011\1117\hands   7
Kd As     -33900 As Ah Kd Kc Ts two pair logs\2012\0620\hands  25

Each additional losing session in this slump draws me closer to setting a new personal worst. Right now, my nine session slump clocks in at third worst ever:

   -370862 2011-06-16 2011-08-13 (2)
   -358562 2011-06-11 2011-06-24 (3)
   -308409 2013-05-19 2013-05-27 (2)

Perversely, one part of me wants to set a new personal worst; I need to be careful what I wish for :-)

During current Hold'em session you were dealt 40 hands and saw flop:
 - 2 out of 5 times while in big blind (40%)
 - 1 out of 5 times while in small blind (20%)
 - 14 out of 30 times in other positions (46%)
 - a total of 17 out of 40 (42%)
 Pots won at showdown - 4 of 6 (66%)
 Pots won without showdown - 2

delta: $-40,000
cash game no limit hold'em balance: $4,908,639
balance: $7,358,047

The slump continues

One of the facts of life for a poker player is that you're going to go through slumps. They're unavoidable. Though you don't have a choice about going through them, you do have a choice about what your attitude is going to be. The best thing about slumps is that they're survivable. The more slumps you survive, the better you'll be able to adopt a philosophical attitude toward them, and the better you'll be able to survive future slumps. Last night, I lost my full starting stack of $40,000 again. I've only won two of my last eight sessions. This clocks in at number 5 on my all time list of eight session cash game no limit hold'em slumps:

   -330862 2011-06-16 2011-06-28 (2)
   -319600 2011-06-11 2011-06-23 (3)
   -290862 2011-06-20 2011-08-13 (2)
   -278562 2011-06-13 2011-06-24 (3)
   -268409 2013-05-19 2013-05-26 (2)

Just as I try to refrain from predicting how long my winning streaks will last, I also try to refrain from predicting when I'll break out of a slump. The most explicit answer I can come up with right now to the question of when I'll break out of my current slump is "soon" :-)

During current Hold'em session you were dealt 68 hands and saw flop:
 - 10 out of 11 times while in big blind (90%)
 - 7 out of 10 times while in small blind (70%)
 - 21 out of 47 times in other positions (44%)
 - a total of 38 out of 68 (55%)
 Pots won at showdown - 2 of 8 (25%)
 Pots won without showdown - 6

delta: $-40,000
cash game no limit hold'em balance: $4,948,639
balance: $7,398,047

Uberflush

Last night, I had a winning session on the strength of an uberflush. On hand 35, an opponent who'd made a queen high straight on the river went all in. Another opponent who'd made a queen high flush on the river called with the rest of his chips. I'd made a king high flush on the river, and called with the rest of my chips. I won a pot worth $45,873. I would never go all in with a straight when the board was showing three cards to a flush, but I'm sure glad one of my opponents did!

During current Hold'em session you were dealt 36 hands and saw flop:
 - 7 out of 9 times while in big blind (77%)
 - 5 out of 9 times while in small blind (55%)
 - 9 out of 18 times in other positions (50%)
 - a total of 21 out of 36 (58%)
 Pots won at showdown - 2 of 6 (33%)
 Pots won without showdown - 6

delta: $5,273
cash game no limit hold'em balance: $4,988,639
balance: $7,438,047

Why I'm in a slump

It's no secret that I'm in a pretty major league slump. I've had only one winning session in the last six, instead of my usual four. This slump clocks in at #7 on my all-time list of six session cash game no limit hold'em slumps; here are the top 10 (the first value is the amount of money lost, and the last value is the number of winning sessions):

   -308362 2011-06-16 2011-06-24 (1)
   -299874 2012-01-18 2012-01-26 (0)
   -299800 2011-12-30 2012-01-06 (0)
   -290200 2011-06-11 2011-06-21 (2)
   -265200 2012-01-17 2012-01-24 (1)
   -243900 2011-06-14 2011-06-23 (2)
   -233682 2013-05-19 2013-05-24 (1)
   -222312 2011-12-28 2012-01-04 (1)
   -217800 2011-12-29 2012-01-05 (1)
   -210862 2011-06-20 2011-06-27 (2)

It's also no secret why I'm in this slump. My recent sessions are simply too long. I need to take the profit when I go up by at least $5,000, but I just can't seem to pull the trigger. Tonight, I promise to take the profit early, if I get the chance.

During current Hold'em session you were dealt 157 hands and saw flop:
 - 22 out of 25 times while in big blind (88%)
 - 18 out of 25 times while in small blind (72%)
 - 64 out of 107 times in other positions (59%)
 - a total of 104 out of 157 (66%)
 Pots won at showdown - 13 of 26 (50%)
 Pots won without showdown - 15

delta: $-25,864
cash game no limit hold'em balance: $4,983,366
balance: $7,432,774