Limited options

My current #1 tournament selection criterion is to choose only from tournaments whose late registration periods are at least two thirds over. In practical terms, this severely limits the tournaments I can join right away. I almost never want to wait around, and I definitely don't want to wait if it's late at night. These considerations caused me to do something last night that I've been studiously avoiding for a month - namely, entering a bounty tournament. It didn't end well. Although I made the money, I failed to make a profit. Note to self: if the only tournament I can join right away is a bounty, and it's late at night, just give poker a miss and go to bed :-)

style flavor buy_in entry players entries paid place winnings

MTT-B NLHE   174000 26000       9     137   36    27   156000

delta: $-44,000
MTT with bounties NLHE balance: $-1,736,820
2020 balance: $2,403,343
balance: $64,211,353

Bubbling the first money jump

I first used this blog post title on March 11, 2018. Here's an excerpt of what I had to say:

Just as there are different ways to exit a tournament, there are different ways to bubble. Bubbling the tournament itself is the least desirable, since there's no profit involved. I prefer to make a profit when I bubble :-)

Last night, I bubbled the first money jump again, so I min cashed. Once again, I entered the tournament with just one minute left in the late registration period. That's my new favorite way to join an MTT NLHE :-)

style flavor buy_in entry players entries paid place winnings

MTT   NLHE    45000  5000       6      94   24    19    84000

delta: $34,000
MTT NLHE balance: $9,378,668
2020 balance: $2,447,343
balance: $64,255,353

Ninepins

In some tournaments, players are really in a hurry to go big or go home. Those are the kind of tournaments I love :-) When enough opponents are that impatient, they go down like ninepins, and actually make it hard for you not to make the money. That's the kind of hardship to go out of your way to find. I found it in the second tournament I entered last night.

style flavor buy_in entry players entries paid place winnings

MTT   NLHE   174000 26000       6      71   18    36        0
MTT   NLHE    45000  5000       9     143   36    12    99000

delta: $-151,000
MTT NLHE balance: $9,344,668
2020 balance: $2,413,343
balance: $64,221,353

Successful failure

There are many kinds of success, and many kinds of failure. They all exist on the same spectrum. The good news about this is that when you fail, it's often the case that you didn't fail as badly as you might have done. Last night, I played three tournaments, and failed to make the money in any of them. That's certainly a failure. However, on the plus side, my percentiles were quite decent. That made me curious to see how last night's session compared to similar sessions. The findings:

- I've had 8 sessions in my career where I've played at least 3 MTT NLHEs and failed to make the money in any
- last night, my average percentile was 64.31
- that beats the average percentiles of 6 of the other 7 sessions, losing only to the 70.39 of my July 9, 2016 session

Successful failure like this is often a harbinger of success :-)

style flavor buy_in entry players entries paid place winnings

MTT   NLHE   174000 26000       6      88   21    29        0
MTT   NLHE    45000  5000       6     152   42    53        0
MTT   NLHE    87000 13000       6     107   24    42        0

delta: $-350,000
MTT NLHE balance: $9,495,668
2020 balance: $2,564,343
balance: $64,372,353

Two open shove exits

My win streak came to an abrupt end last night. I played two tournaments, and failed to make the money in either one. I hit the rail in the same way both times - by open shoving, getting one caller, and then getting crushed. Whenever that happens, it makes me feel a bit silly. Still, you need to be willing and able to pull the trigger, so I'm not disappointed with my aggressive play.

style flavor buy_in entry players entries paid place winnings

MTT   NLHE    45000  5000       9     149   36    39        0
MTT   NLHE    45000  5000       6     120   30    57        0

delta: $-100,000
MTT NLHE balance: $9,845,668
2020 balance: $2,914,343
balance: $64,722,353

A plethora of pairs

In hold'em, you should expect to receive a pocket pair once every 17 hands. Last night, in a short span of hands, I received a pocket pair three times. It was essentially every other hand. A plethora of pairs! They helped me survive on my way to the money. I've now made a profit four sessions in a row, and am officially in the sweetness.

style flavor buy_in entry players entries paid place winnings

MTT   NLHE    45000  5000       6     112   30    13   120000

delta: $70,000
MTT NLHE balance: $9,945,668
2020 balance: $3,014,343
balance: $64,822,353

Another personal first

Last night, I experienced another personal first - my first heart royal flush. I made the money for the third time in a row. I ran into some bad luck on my last hand. I'd been dealt cowboys (pocket kings), but lost to an opponent with snowmen (pocket eights), who hit a set on the turn. Whatcha gonna do?

style flavor buy_in entry players entries paid place winnings

MTT   NLHE   174000 26000       6      71   18    12   432000

delta: $232,000
MTT NLHE balance: $9,875,668
2020 balance: $2,944,343
balance: $64,752,353