Looking at the bar chart of the size of my stack over the course of last Friday's session, the most striking feature is the right half of it - once I hit the $70K plateau, I maintained it for another 60 hands before finally calling it a night. I never dipped below $70K again, nor did I ever hit $80K. I'll take consistency like that any day! If you can maintain a plateau for a long time, eventually you'll hit another killer hand.
By the way, the killer hand which pushed me up to $70K in the first place was an ace high flush; I won a pot worth $39,662 with it.
During current Hold'em session you were dealt 110 hands and saw flop:
- 14 out of 18 times while in big blind (77%)
- 11 out of 19 times while in small blind (57%)
- 42 out of 73 times in other positions (57%)
- a total of 67 out of 110 (60%)
Pots won at showdown - 9 of 16 (56%)
Pots won without showdown - 5
delta: $31,924
balance: $1,782,917
Tuesday, May 31, 2011
Friday, May 27, 2011
An ace and a face
Last night, I took a pretty big gamble about a third of the way through the session, and it really paid off. I was dealt "an ace and a face", which is my latest neo neo and means what you'd think, an ace and a face card. In this case it was an ace jack suited, and an all in preflop raise from a bigger stack forced me to decide whether to go all in with it or fold. I decided to go all in, and was one of three players left in the hand. Since two of us had gone all in, there were no more betting rounds, and all the hole cards were revealed. I didn't like my chances at all when I saw the holdings of the other two players - a big slick and a pair of tens. The PokerStars odds calculator informs me that I had only a 22.8% chance of winning at that point. Three low cards on the flop missed everybody, but I paired my jack on the turn. The river card paired one of the low cards on the board, and my two pair of jacks and fours won the main pot of $77,600. Interestingly, the amounts of the side and main pots were almost identical; the pair of tens won the side pot of $77,904.
That was definitely the riskiest play I made all night. It enabled me to really pick and choose my spots. When I got my stack up to almost $100K I knew I'd had the best of my night, and happily called it quits.
During current Hold'em session you were dealt 77 hands and saw flop:
- 10 out of 14 times while in big blind (71%)
- 13 out of 15 times while in small blind (86%)
- 38 out of 48 times in other positions (79%)
- a total of 61 out of 77 (79%)
Pots won at showdown - 6 of 10 (60%)
Pots won without showdown - 10
delta: $57,000
balance: $1,750,993
That was definitely the riskiest play I made all night. It enabled me to really pick and choose my spots. When I got my stack up to almost $100K I knew I'd had the best of my night, and happily called it quits.
During current Hold'em session you were dealt 77 hands and saw flop:
- 10 out of 14 times while in big blind (71%)
- 13 out of 15 times while in small blind (86%)
- 38 out of 48 times in other positions (79%)
- a total of 61 out of 77 (79%)
Pots won at showdown - 6 of 10 (60%)
Pots won without showdown - 10
delta: $57,000
balance: $1,750,993
Thursday, May 26, 2011
Friskiness
Last night, I had a long session where I played very well about 98% of the time; however, I played one hand very poorly, and it cost me $36,500 in profit. On the hand in question, I got frisky. In general, that's a bad thing; when you're being frisky, you neglect to go through the fundamental poker analysis you should be performing on every hand. Wouldn't you know, it was my old friend/nemesis the stealth two pair. When I saw it, my poker brain turned off. I decided that it couldn't lose, and didn't even bother to check the draws on the board when one of my opponents went all in on the turn. I called, and got what I deserved; my opponent had hit a straight.
Sometimes you get lucky when you're being frisky, but more often than not you don't. It's just silly not to check the draws on the board; there's no excuse for that. Anyhow, I'm not down on myself; I still managed to end the night with a small profit.
During current Hold'em session you were dealt 134 hands and saw flop:
- 11 out of 18 times while in big blind (61%)
- 10 out of 19 times while in small blind (52%)
- 48 out of 97 times in other positions (49%)
- a total of 69 out of 134 (51%)
Pots won at showdown - 9 of 19 (47%)
Pots won without showdown - 4
delta: $11,650
balance: $1,693,993
Sometimes you get lucky when you're being frisky, but more often than not you don't. It's just silly not to check the draws on the board; there's no excuse for that. Anyhow, I'm not down on myself; I still managed to end the night with a small profit.
During current Hold'em session you were dealt 134 hands and saw flop:
- 11 out of 18 times while in big blind (61%)
- 10 out of 19 times while in small blind (52%)
- 48 out of 97 times in other positions (49%)
- a total of 69 out of 134 (51%)
Pots won at showdown - 9 of 19 (47%)
Pots won without showdown - 4
delta: $11,650
balance: $1,693,993
Wednesday, May 25, 2011
Twenty-sixed
Last Friday night, I suffered a double felting. The first time was my fault; I played a high pair too aggressively, and got walloped by a set. The second time was not my fault; I got twenty-sixed. That is to say, I had a 74% chance of winning after the flop, but didn't win. My set of sevens lost to a nine high straight made on the river. Whatcha gonna do?
I've really been missing poker! Work has been busy, and I haven't had time to play. I'm really looking forward to playing tonight!
During current Hold'em session you were dealt 70 hands and saw flop:
- 5 out of 10 times while in big blind (50%)
- 7 out of 10 times while in small blind (70%)
- 32 out of 50 times in other positions (64%)
- a total of 44 out of 70 (62%)
Pots won at showdown - 4 of 9 (44%)
Pots won without showdown - 2
delta: $-80,000
balance: $1,682,343
I've really been missing poker! Work has been busy, and I haven't had time to play. I'm really looking forward to playing tonight!
During current Hold'em session you were dealt 70 hands and saw flop:
- 5 out of 10 times while in big blind (50%)
- 7 out of 10 times while in small blind (70%)
- 32 out of 50 times in other positions (64%)
- a total of 44 out of 70 (62%)
Pots won at showdown - 4 of 9 (44%)
Pots won without showdown - 2
delta: $-80,000
balance: $1,682,343
Friday, May 20, 2011
Chips for the taking
One of the easiest ways to build your stack is when you find yourself playing against one or more loose players. You first need to be able to recognize loose play, then wait for some good cards to come your way, and finally use the loose player's aggression against him. Or her. Last night, two women from Canada joined my table at about the same time. Both of them immediately started playing aggressively, and I tagged them both for loose players - one especially so. When I eventually got a premium hand of two kings, I got into a raising war preflop with the more aggressive of them, and ended up going all in. She only had a king ten offsuit, and was drawing dead on the river. I won a pot worth $104,200 and called it a night.
During current Hold'em session you were dealt 52 hands and saw flop:
- 5 out of 7 times while in big blind (71%)
- 5 out of 8 times while in small blind (62%)
- 20 out of 37 times in other positions (54%)
- a total of 30 out of 52 (57%)
Pots won at showdown - 8 of 10 (80%)
Pots won without showdown - 5
delta: $64,200
balance: $1,762,343
During current Hold'em session you were dealt 52 hands and saw flop:
- 5 out of 7 times while in big blind (71%)
- 5 out of 8 times while in small blind (62%)
- 20 out of 37 times in other positions (54%)
- a total of 30 out of 52 (57%)
Pots won at showdown - 8 of 10 (80%)
Pots won without showdown - 5
delta: $64,200
balance: $1,762,343
Thursday, May 19, 2011
The call of the cards
Last night, I had my sixth best session ever. That's not too shabby, considering I've had north of 400 sessions. Not only that, my stack hit a new all-time high. I love it when that happens! It's like the cool breath of fresh air you get after a spring thunderstorm. Everything's clean, and everything's possible again.
Another beneficial side effect of last night's session is that I may have stumbled upon the secret of how to maintain one's poker patience indefinitely. All you have to do is multitask! Since play was quite slow at my table, I decided to do some web surfing while I waited around for my turn to act. I found that I maintained my poker composure much better by acting almost like I wasn't even playing poker!
What's up with the title of this post? Glad you asked. It refers to the feeling I sometimes get when I'm dealt marginal hands which have potential. The cards call to me at these times, and their potential seems enormous. Last night, a jack nine offsuit called to me; I ended up hitting a straight on the river and winning a pot worth $12,100.
On the penultimate hand of the night, I hit a flush on the river and won a pot worth $117,900.
During current Hold'em session you were dealt 40 hands and saw flop:
- 4 out of 6 times while in big blind (66%)
- 3 out of 6 times while in small blind (50%)
- 12 out of 28 times in other positions (42%)
- a total of 19 out of 40 (47%)
Pots won at showdown - 3 of 6 (50%)
Pots won without showdown - 6
delta: $104,200
balance: $1,698,143
Another beneficial side effect of last night's session is that I may have stumbled upon the secret of how to maintain one's poker patience indefinitely. All you have to do is multitask! Since play was quite slow at my table, I decided to do some web surfing while I waited around for my turn to act. I found that I maintained my poker composure much better by acting almost like I wasn't even playing poker!
What's up with the title of this post? Glad you asked. It refers to the feeling I sometimes get when I'm dealt marginal hands which have potential. The cards call to me at these times, and their potential seems enormous. Last night, a jack nine offsuit called to me; I ended up hitting a straight on the river and winning a pot worth $12,100.
On the penultimate hand of the night, I hit a flush on the river and won a pot worth $117,900.
During current Hold'em session you were dealt 40 hands and saw flop:
- 4 out of 6 times while in big blind (66%)
- 3 out of 6 times while in small blind (50%)
- 12 out of 28 times in other positions (42%)
- a total of 19 out of 40 (47%)
Pots won at showdown - 3 of 6 (50%)
Pots won without showdown - 6
delta: $104,200
balance: $1,698,143
Wednesday, May 18, 2011
Hoarding impatience
There's a symbiotic relationship between patience and impatience at the poker table, at least for me. The more patient I am in the present, the less patient I'm apt to be in the future. Perhaps this means I only have the capacity for a finite amount of patience, and when it's used up, my impatience comes flaring to the fore! A different way to look at it is that when I'm being patient, I'm actually saving up (i.e., hoarding) impatience for a future splurge. I hope that's not actually the case, but I'm not sure.
Last night, I didn't see a flop until the seventh hand, which is quite possibly a session-opening record for me. There was a lot of action at the table, and I wasn't getting any hands that merited the price to see the flop. Eventually I saw some flops, and won some pots. At its peak, my stack hit $50K on the nose.
I hit the felt on a hand where I went all in preflop with a king queen offsuit. My opponent had a suited ace queen. I was a 24% dog at that point, but then caught a king on the flop, which made me a 68% favorite. After the turn, I was a whopping 84% favorite. It was not to be, however; my opponent caught a jack to complete a straight.
I'm fairly sure if I hadn't hoarded so much impatience earlier, I wouldn't have gone all in on the hand, but you never know. The only way to get anywhere in poker is by going all in at appropriate times; it's just devilishly difficult to know when those appropriate times are! That difficulty is one of the reasons poker is such a great game, and one of the reasons why I love it so much.
During current Hold'em session you were dealt 69 hands and saw flop:
- 8 out of 11 times while in big blind (72%)
- 7 out of 11 times while in small blind (63%)
- 31 out of 47 times in other positions (65%)
- a total of 46 out of 69 (66%)
Pots won at showdown - 3 of 13 (23%)
Pots won without showdown - 8
delta: $-40,000
balance: $1,593,943
Last night, I didn't see a flop until the seventh hand, which is quite possibly a session-opening record for me. There was a lot of action at the table, and I wasn't getting any hands that merited the price to see the flop. Eventually I saw some flops, and won some pots. At its peak, my stack hit $50K on the nose.
I hit the felt on a hand where I went all in preflop with a king queen offsuit. My opponent had a suited ace queen. I was a 24% dog at that point, but then caught a king on the flop, which made me a 68% favorite. After the turn, I was a whopping 84% favorite. It was not to be, however; my opponent caught a jack to complete a straight.
I'm fairly sure if I hadn't hoarded so much impatience earlier, I wouldn't have gone all in on the hand, but you never know. The only way to get anywhere in poker is by going all in at appropriate times; it's just devilishly difficult to know when those appropriate times are! That difficulty is one of the reasons poker is such a great game, and one of the reasons why I love it so much.
During current Hold'em session you were dealt 69 hands and saw flop:
- 8 out of 11 times while in big blind (72%)
- 7 out of 11 times while in small blind (63%)
- 31 out of 47 times in other positions (65%)
- a total of 46 out of 69 (66%)
Pots won at showdown - 3 of 13 (23%)
Pots won without showdown - 8
delta: $-40,000
balance: $1,593,943
Tuesday, May 17, 2011
Double trouble
The title of this post refers to the predicament one is in after doubling up. One thing I know for a fact about myself is that I'm constitutionally averse to quitting after doubling up early in a session. I may have done it once or twice, but much more commonly I hang around long enough either to lose it all or to have a really monster session.
Last Friday night, I doubled up on hand 13, when I won a pot worth $79,200 with four kings. I got crippled just one hand later, when I lost $76,800 due to having an underflush (note: an underflush is the opposite of an uberflush, and another "neo neo" (neostreet neologism :-)). I hit the felt just two hands after that.
As I had the previous two sessions, I reupped for the max at the same table, and fared much better the second time around. In fact, I managed to realize a profit on the night.
During current Hold'em session you were dealt 88 hands and saw flop:
- 9 out of 13 times while in big blind (69%)
- 5 out of 11 times while in small blind (45%)
- 32 out of 64 times in other positions (50%)
- a total of 46 out of 88 (52%)
Pots won at showdown - 8 of 14 (57%)
Pots won without showdown - 10
delta: $21,450
balance: $1,633,943
Last Friday night, I doubled up on hand 13, when I won a pot worth $79,200 with four kings. I got crippled just one hand later, when I lost $76,800 due to having an underflush (note: an underflush is the opposite of an uberflush, and another "neo neo" (neostreet neologism :-)). I hit the felt just two hands after that.
As I had the previous two sessions, I reupped for the max at the same table, and fared much better the second time around. In fact, I managed to realize a profit on the night.
During current Hold'em session you were dealt 88 hands and saw flop:
- 9 out of 13 times while in big blind (69%)
- 5 out of 11 times while in small blind (45%)
- 32 out of 64 times in other positions (50%)
- a total of 46 out of 88 (52%)
Pots won at showdown - 8 of 14 (57%)
Pots won without showdown - 10
delta: $21,450
balance: $1,633,943
Friday, May 13, 2011
Ending on an up note
Last night, I played quite well for 50 or so hands, but then got impatient and hit the felt when I inexplicably called a big bet on the flop with nothing but an ace high. After two more cards, I still only had an ace high, and lost to a pair of queens. One mitigating factor was that my hole cards were both overcards to the board at the flop; my real mistake was calling the big bet on the turn, now that I think about it. That last call put me all in; there was no way I should have called without so much as a pair.
Since this is my second post of the night, due to the Blogger outage, it's enabled me to notice something I might not have noticed before - namely, that both of the last two nights, I hit the felt in an eerily similar fashion. Both times, I went all in when I had no business doing so, and my stack sizes were almost identical at the start of the fateful hands: $27,500 on Wednesday night, and $27,900 last night. This may be an indication that I start to get dangerously impatient when my stack dips below 75% of its original amount. I dubbed this "stack tilt" in an earlier post, and I'm surprised to see it crop up again; I thought I was all over such nonsense.
As I did on Wednesday night, I reupped at the same table for the maximum starting amount. This time, I had better luck, and managed to win back a good chunk of what I'd lost. Both nights ended in a similar fashion - with me calling it quits after winning a nice pot. Last night, the pot was worth $33,284, an amount very similar to that of the session-ending Wednesday night pot. I wouldn't exactly call last night a Doppelsession, but it was pretty close!
During current Hold'em session you were dealt 82 hands and saw flop:
- 7 out of 11 times while in big blind (63%)
- 7 out of 12 times while in small blind (58%)
- 41 out of 59 times in other positions (69%)
- a total of 55 out of 82 (67%)
Pots won at showdown - 3 of 13 (23%)
Pots won without showdown - 7
delta: $-15,124
balance: $1,612,493
Since this is my second post of the night, due to the Blogger outage, it's enabled me to notice something I might not have noticed before - namely, that both of the last two nights, I hit the felt in an eerily similar fashion. Both times, I went all in when I had no business doing so, and my stack sizes were almost identical at the start of the fateful hands: $27,500 on Wednesday night, and $27,900 last night. This may be an indication that I start to get dangerously impatient when my stack dips below 75% of its original amount. I dubbed this "stack tilt" in an earlier post, and I'm surprised to see it crop up again; I thought I was all over such nonsense.
As I did on Wednesday night, I reupped at the same table for the maximum starting amount. This time, I had better luck, and managed to win back a good chunk of what I'd lost. Both nights ended in a similar fashion - with me calling it quits after winning a nice pot. Last night, the pot was worth $33,284, an amount very similar to that of the session-ending Wednesday night pot. I wouldn't exactly call last night a Doppelsession, but it was pretty close!
During current Hold'em session you were dealt 82 hands and saw flop:
- 7 out of 11 times while in big blind (63%)
- 7 out of 12 times while in small blind (58%)
- 41 out of 59 times in other positions (69%)
- a total of 55 out of 82 (67%)
Pots won at showdown - 3 of 13 (23%)
Pots won without showdown - 7
delta: $-15,124
balance: $1,612,493
How not to play pocket aces
I would have posted this entry last night, but Blogger was in read-only mode. That's the first time that's happened to me; they've got the site under control now.
On Wednesday night, I hit the felt after only 17 hands when I misplayed pocket aces. Here's how the hand went down:
Table 'Achates VI' 9-max (Play Money) Seat #1 is the button
Seat 1: (69600 in chips)
Seat 2: neostreet (27500 in chips)
Seat 3: (79100 in chips)
Seat 4: (18400 in chips)
Seat 5: (17100 in chips)
Seat 6: (37400 in chips)
Seat 9: (121034 in chips)
neostreet: posts small blind 100
Seat 3: posts big blind 200
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to neostreet [As Ac]
Seat 4: calls 200
Seat 5: calls 200
Seat 6: raises 200 to 400
Seat 9: calls 400
Seat 1: calls 400
neostreet: raises 200 to 600
gaudi2005 joins the table at seat #8
Seat 3: calls 400
Tick-Tock89 joins the table at seat #7
Seat 4: calls 400
Seat 5: folds
Seat 6: calls 200
Seat 9: calls 200
Seat 1: calls 200
*** FLOP *** [3s Th 5d]
neostreet: bets 8000
Seat 3: folds
Seat 4: folds
Seat 6: folds
Seat 9: calls 8000
Seat 1: folds
*** TURN *** [3s Th 5d] [7c]
neostreet: bets 18900 and is all-in
Seat 9: calls 18900
*** RIVER *** [3s Th 5d 7c] [6c]
*** SHOW DOWN ***
neostreet: shows [As Ac] (a pair of Aces)
Seat 9: shows [5s Td] (two pair, Tens and Fives)
Seat 9 collected 57600 from pot
The main problem with pocket aces is that they make you feel invulnerable. It's fairly common to overvalue them; I've done that my fair share of times, including this time. The main error in how I played the hand was that I treated my flop bet as a value bet instead of as a probe bet. If I'd been thinking probe bet, I certainly wouldn't have gone all in on the turn; I would have realized there was a strong probability that my caller had two pairs. Why else would he call? As always, hindsight is 20/20.
I reupped for the maximum stake at the same table, but never got anything going. When I finally won a decent sized pot of $38,600 (after going all in), I decided to call it a night.
During current Hold'em session you were dealt 55 hands and saw flop:
- 6 out of 7 times while in big blind (85%)
- 5 out of 8 times while in small blind (62%)
- 29 out of 40 times in other positions (72%)
- a total of 40 out of 55 (72%)
Pots won at showdown - 3 of 7 (42%)
Pots won without showdown - 3
delta: $-41,400
balance: $1,627,617
On Wednesday night, I hit the felt after only 17 hands when I misplayed pocket aces. Here's how the hand went down:
Table 'Achates VI' 9-max (Play Money) Seat #1 is the button
Seat 1: (69600 in chips)
Seat 2: neostreet (27500 in chips)
Seat 3: (79100 in chips)
Seat 4: (18400 in chips)
Seat 5: (17100 in chips)
Seat 6: (37400 in chips)
Seat 9: (121034 in chips)
neostreet: posts small blind 100
Seat 3: posts big blind 200
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to neostreet [As Ac]
Seat 4: calls 200
Seat 5: calls 200
Seat 6: raises 200 to 400
Seat 9: calls 400
Seat 1: calls 400
neostreet: raises 200 to 600
gaudi2005 joins the table at seat #8
Seat 3: calls 400
Tick-Tock89 joins the table at seat #7
Seat 4: calls 400
Seat 5: folds
Seat 6: calls 200
Seat 9: calls 200
Seat 1: calls 200
*** FLOP *** [3s Th 5d]
neostreet: bets 8000
Seat 3: folds
Seat 4: folds
Seat 6: folds
Seat 9: calls 8000
Seat 1: folds
*** TURN *** [3s Th 5d] [7c]
neostreet: bets 18900 and is all-in
Seat 9: calls 18900
*** RIVER *** [3s Th 5d 7c] [6c]
*** SHOW DOWN ***
neostreet: shows [As Ac] (a pair of Aces)
Seat 9: shows [5s Td] (two pair, Tens and Fives)
Seat 9 collected 57600 from pot
The main problem with pocket aces is that they make you feel invulnerable. It's fairly common to overvalue them; I've done that my fair share of times, including this time. The main error in how I played the hand was that I treated my flop bet as a value bet instead of as a probe bet. If I'd been thinking probe bet, I certainly wouldn't have gone all in on the turn; I would have realized there was a strong probability that my caller had two pairs. Why else would he call? As always, hindsight is 20/20.
I reupped for the maximum stake at the same table, but never got anything going. When I finally won a decent sized pot of $38,600 (after going all in), I decided to call it a night.
During current Hold'em session you were dealt 55 hands and saw flop:
- 6 out of 7 times while in big blind (85%)
- 5 out of 8 times while in small blind (62%)
- 29 out of 40 times in other positions (72%)
- a total of 40 out of 55 (72%)
Pots won at showdown - 3 of 7 (42%)
Pots won without showdown - 3
delta: $-41,400
balance: $1,627,617
Wednesday, May 11, 2011
Improbable windfall
Over the course of time, I've identified several design flaws in the PokerStars software. I've long been aware of the most dangerous one, and have often wondered if I'd ever fall victim to it. Well, I finally did, but the result was not what I expected. It's like this ...
The PokerStars client has a great time-saving feature where you can provisionally "act" before it's your turn to act; in the majority of cases, your provisional action will still be valid when it's really your turn to act, and the PokerStars software will promote it to your official action at that time, with no additional action needed on your part. You can make a provisional action at any time before your official time to act; also, you can change your mind and undo your provisional action at any time before your official time to act. So far, so good.
If someone makes a bet, and you want to provisionally call it, you click on a provisional "Call" button which contains the amount of the bet you're calling. If someone else makes a raise before it's your turn to act, the PokerStars client automatically rescinds your provisional call, since the raise rendered it obsolete. Still, so far, so good.
Here comes the really nefarious part. The PokerStars software uses the same screen location for the provisional "Call" button displayed whenever a bet or raise is made; it simply changes the amount being called. If you're very unlucky, when you're about to click the button to call a bet or raise of one amount, someone who acts before you can make a raise just before you actually click, so you can end up provisionally calling a higher amount than you thought you would be. To make matters worse, you might not have enough time to undo the provisional call before the PokerStars software promotes it to a real call. In the worst case scenario, someone can go all in just as you're clicking, and you end up calling a huge bet you never would have called were it not for this diabolical provisional call button.
I can think of a couple different ways the software could be improved to prevent this. The simplest way would be for the client to use different screen locations for provisional call buttons of different call amounts, so no call amount would ever be switched out beneath you. The obsolete provisional call buttons would be disabled, but their original call amounts would still be visible. Another method would be for the software to ignore clicks on the provisional call button some number of milliseconds both before and after the provisional call amount was changed, to give humans the reaction time to notice.
Last night, the worst case scenario happened to me. I was dealt an 8 6 offsuit, and was just clicking the provisional call button to call a small bet when someone acting before me went all in. To my horror, PokerStars provisionally put me all in. I frantically clicked to undo my provisional call, but in my panic, I clicked too many times, and actually succeeded in both undoing my provisional call and redoing it! At that point, the action was actually on me, and PokerStars promoted my provisional all in to a real all in. This was all preflop, and one other player had also called the all in. My 8 6 offsuit was up against a pair of queens and a pair of threes. Mirabile dictu, I paired my eight on the flop and made trip eights on the river, to win a pot worth $120,800! Poetic justice for falling victim to a bad user interface? I prefer to think so!
During current Hold'em session you were dealt 83 hands and saw flop:
- 7 out of 10 times while in big blind (70%)
- 6 out of 12 times while in small blind (50%)
- 39 out of 61 times in other positions (63%)
- a total of 52 out of 83 (62%)
Pots won at showdown - 4 of 15 (26%)
Pots won without showdown - 6
delta: $80,600
balance: $1,669,017
The PokerStars client has a great time-saving feature where you can provisionally "act" before it's your turn to act; in the majority of cases, your provisional action will still be valid when it's really your turn to act, and the PokerStars software will promote it to your official action at that time, with no additional action needed on your part. You can make a provisional action at any time before your official time to act; also, you can change your mind and undo your provisional action at any time before your official time to act. So far, so good.
If someone makes a bet, and you want to provisionally call it, you click on a provisional "Call" button which contains the amount of the bet you're calling. If someone else makes a raise before it's your turn to act, the PokerStars client automatically rescinds your provisional call, since the raise rendered it obsolete. Still, so far, so good.
Here comes the really nefarious part. The PokerStars software uses the same screen location for the provisional "Call" button displayed whenever a bet or raise is made; it simply changes the amount being called. If you're very unlucky, when you're about to click the button to call a bet or raise of one amount, someone who acts before you can make a raise just before you actually click, so you can end up provisionally calling a higher amount than you thought you would be. To make matters worse, you might not have enough time to undo the provisional call before the PokerStars software promotes it to a real call. In the worst case scenario, someone can go all in just as you're clicking, and you end up calling a huge bet you never would have called were it not for this diabolical provisional call button.
I can think of a couple different ways the software could be improved to prevent this. The simplest way would be for the client to use different screen locations for provisional call buttons of different call amounts, so no call amount would ever be switched out beneath you. The obsolete provisional call buttons would be disabled, but their original call amounts would still be visible. Another method would be for the software to ignore clicks on the provisional call button some number of milliseconds both before and after the provisional call amount was changed, to give humans the reaction time to notice.
Last night, the worst case scenario happened to me. I was dealt an 8 6 offsuit, and was just clicking the provisional call button to call a small bet when someone acting before me went all in. To my horror, PokerStars provisionally put me all in. I frantically clicked to undo my provisional call, but in my panic, I clicked too many times, and actually succeeded in both undoing my provisional call and redoing it! At that point, the action was actually on me, and PokerStars promoted my provisional all in to a real all in. This was all preflop, and one other player had also called the all in. My 8 6 offsuit was up against a pair of queens and a pair of threes. Mirabile dictu, I paired my eight on the flop and made trip eights on the river, to win a pot worth $120,800! Poetic justice for falling victim to a bad user interface? I prefer to think so!
During current Hold'em session you were dealt 83 hands and saw flop:
- 7 out of 10 times while in big blind (70%)
- 6 out of 12 times while in small blind (50%)
- 39 out of 61 times in other positions (63%)
- a total of 52 out of 83 (62%)
Pots won at showdown - 4 of 15 (26%)
Pots won without showdown - 6
delta: $80,600
balance: $1,669,017
Tuesday, May 10, 2011
Action
I've blogged before about willingness. When you're willing to gamble, you bring action to the table. Last night, the table I joined had a bunch of willing players; consequently, it saw a lot of action! That was good, because I hit the felt fairly quickly - and not just once, but twice! The first time was definitely my fault. I went all in on a two pair, something I've sworn up and down repeatedly I'd never do again. I deservedly lost, to a straight. The second time was not my fault, though; I was the victim of a bad beat.
As you might have guessed, I stayed at the same table the whole night, and reupped for a second time after the bad beat. I quickly got some revenge on the player who'd taken me out on the bad beat; he went all in again preflop, I called, and my ace queen held up against his king queen. That pot was worth $95,300, and got me back on the right track.
As far as I know, I won the single biggest pot of my poker career tonight - $148,225. I made a nine high straight on the turn, and luckily for me, an opponent went all in when he hit trip jacks on the river. I also either set or tied my best-ever in-session rebound, coming back from $80,000 in the hole.
During current Hold'em session you were dealt 46 hands and saw flop:
- 5 out of 7 times while in big blind (71%)
- 3 out of 8 times while in small blind (37%)
- 18 out of 31 times in other positions (58%)
- a total of 26 out of 46 (56%)
Pots won at showdown - 6 of 10 (60%)
Pots won without showdown - 3
delta: $49,325
balance: $1,588,417
As you might have guessed, I stayed at the same table the whole night, and reupped for a second time after the bad beat. I quickly got some revenge on the player who'd taken me out on the bad beat; he went all in again preflop, I called, and my ace queen held up against his king queen. That pot was worth $95,300, and got me back on the right track.
As far as I know, I won the single biggest pot of my poker career tonight - $148,225. I made a nine high straight on the turn, and luckily for me, an opponent went all in when he hit trip jacks on the river. I also either set or tied my best-ever in-session rebound, coming back from $80,000 in the hole.
During current Hold'em session you were dealt 46 hands and saw flop:
- 5 out of 7 times while in big blind (71%)
- 3 out of 8 times while in small blind (37%)
- 18 out of 31 times in other positions (58%)
- a total of 26 out of 46 (56%)
Pots won at showdown - 6 of 10 (60%)
Pots won without showdown - 3
delta: $49,325
balance: $1,588,417
Monday, May 9, 2011
First parabola
The bar chart of my stack size over the course of last Friday's session is a thing of beauty. As far as I know, it's the first time I've achieved a parabola (or, to be more precise, the right half of a parabola). As the number of hands increases, the stack size increases exponentially. Of course, such a curve can only be maintained for a limited number of hands, but I happened to call it a night before I fell off the curve.
I had an embarrassment of riches in the luck department. On my luckiest hand, I flopped an ace high flush where the ace was one of my hole cards. I don't kid myself that I had anything to with this sudden influx of luck, but I'll take it!
During current Hold'em session you were dealt 95 hands and saw flop:
- 9 out of 15 times while in big blind (60%)
- 7 out of 14 times while in small blind (50%)
- 36 out of 66 times in other positions (54%)
- a total of 52 out of 95 (54%)
Pots won at showdown - 16 of 22 (72%)
Pots won without showdown - 6
delta: $107,100
balance: $1,539,092
I had an embarrassment of riches in the luck department. On my luckiest hand, I flopped an ace high flush where the ace was one of my hole cards. I don't kid myself that I had anything to with this sudden influx of luck, but I'll take it!
During current Hold'em session you were dealt 95 hands and saw flop:
- 9 out of 15 times while in big blind (60%)
- 7 out of 14 times while in small blind (50%)
- 36 out of 66 times in other positions (54%)
- a total of 52 out of 95 (54%)
Pots won at showdown - 16 of 22 (72%)
Pots won without showdown - 6
delta: $107,100
balance: $1,539,092
Friday, May 6, 2011
Running into aces
Last night, I got crippled at the first table I joined when I ran into pocket aces; I hit the felt soon after. All I had was a pair of kings, but they were top pair and I felt sure they were good. I discounted the heavy betting of the player who had the aces since he'd been playing very recklessly prior to that hand.
At the second table I joined, I fared much better. I almost got back to even on the night, but then was dealt another blow. I hit an ace high flush where the ace was one of my hole cards, but lost to a straight flush. Luckily for me, the opponent who made it started the hand with considerably less chips than me, or I would have hit the felt again.
I have a presentiment tonight's going to be a good night!
During current Hold'em session you were dealt 123 hands and saw flop:
- 19 out of 25 times while in big blind (76%)
- 23 out of 28 times while in small blind (82%)
- 45 out of 70 times in other positions (64%)
- a total of 87 out of 123 (70%)
Pots won at showdown - 15 of 24 (62%)
Pots won without showdown - 16
delta: $-29,350
balance: $1,431,992
At the second table I joined, I fared much better. I almost got back to even on the night, but then was dealt another blow. I hit an ace high flush where the ace was one of my hole cards, but lost to a straight flush. Luckily for me, the opponent who made it started the hand with considerably less chips than me, or I would have hit the felt again.
I have a presentiment tonight's going to be a good night!
During current Hold'em session you were dealt 123 hands and saw flop:
- 19 out of 25 times while in big blind (76%)
- 23 out of 28 times while in small blind (82%)
- 45 out of 70 times in other positions (64%)
- a total of 87 out of 123 (70%)
Pots won at showdown - 15 of 24 (62%)
Pots won without showdown - 16
delta: $-29,350
balance: $1,431,992
Thursday, May 5, 2011
Honest buttons
Last night, I couldn't get the early lift I've come to expect. My stack went slowly and steadily south. Part of the reason was that I ran into some honest buttons! By that I mean players with the dealer button (and thus the last to act) who had good hands, and bet them accordingly. Either my radar was off, or they chose their bet amounts exceedingly well, or some combination of the two. My radar told me three times the button was bluffing, and I was wrong all three times. In each case, if they'd bet bigger amounts, I probably would have folded instead of calling.
It took me 73 hands to hit the felt at the first table I joined. At the second table, I had to call it a night after 41 hands since it was getting late. There were two good takeaways from the losing session: 1. I was pleased with my discipline; I folded when I should have most of the time 2. it's good to lose often enough to keep yourself humble (something I definitely was not in my last post :-)
During current Hold'em session you were dealt 114 hands and saw flop:
- 11 out of 18 times while in big blind (61%)
- 8 out of 17 times while in small blind (47%)
- 46 out of 79 times in other positions (58%)
- a total of 65 out of 114 (57%)
Pots won at showdown - 3 of 14 (21%)
Pots won without showdown - 6
delta: $-57,600
balance: $1,461,342
It took me 73 hands to hit the felt at the first table I joined. At the second table, I had to call it a night after 41 hands since it was getting late. There were two good takeaways from the losing session: 1. I was pleased with my discipline; I folded when I should have most of the time 2. it's good to lose often enough to keep yourself humble (something I definitely was not in my last post :-)
During current Hold'em session you were dealt 114 hands and saw flop:
- 11 out of 18 times while in big blind (61%)
- 8 out of 17 times while in small blind (47%)
- 46 out of 79 times in other positions (58%)
- a total of 65 out of 114 (57%)
Pots won at showdown - 3 of 14 (21%)
Pots won without showdown - 6
delta: $-57,600
balance: $1,461,342
Wednesday, May 4, 2011
The platinum ratio
Faithful readers of this blog know that I strive to achieve what I call the golden ratio - a success rate of at least twice as many winning sessions as losing sessions. I've achieved it before, but slipped a bit below it some time ago, and have been hovering anywhere from 12 to 19 winning sessions below it ever since. However, in my young no limit Hold'em career, I'm far surpassing the golden ratio (when only my no limit Hold'em sessions are taken into consideration). In fact, I'm doing so well at no limit Hold'em that I've decided to name a new and much more difficult to achieve ratio - the platinum ratio. The platinum ratio is a success rate of at least three times as many winning sessions as losing sessions.
Of course, you know I must have hit it, or I wouldn't be bragging so hard :-) Last night, I hit it on the nose; I've now won 15 of 20 no limit Hold'em sessions. A really nice by-product of so many winning sessions is that my stack has been shooting up like a rocket; in those 20 sessions, my stack has grown by over half a million play dollars! If I keep playing this well, I'll hit 2 million play dollars before the summer has started in earnest.
Can I keep playing this well? I sincerely believe I can. But hold the phone - am I really playing well at all? Couldn't it just be that I'm in the middle of an incredible run of good luck? I honestly don't know, but I sure hope that's not the case. If I am in a bubble, though, I hope it doesn't pop for a long time!
During current Hold'em session you were dealt 47 hands and saw flop:
- 7 out of 7 times while in big blind (100%)
- 6 out of 8 times while in small blind (75%)
- 18 out of 32 times in other positions (56%)
- a total of 31 out of 47 (65%)
Pots won at showdown - 8 of 9 (88%)
Pots won without showdown - 6
delta: $22,550
balance: $1,518,942
Of course, you know I must have hit it, or I wouldn't be bragging so hard :-) Last night, I hit it on the nose; I've now won 15 of 20 no limit Hold'em sessions. A really nice by-product of so many winning sessions is that my stack has been shooting up like a rocket; in those 20 sessions, my stack has grown by over half a million play dollars! If I keep playing this well, I'll hit 2 million play dollars before the summer has started in earnest.
Can I keep playing this well? I sincerely believe I can. But hold the phone - am I really playing well at all? Couldn't it just be that I'm in the middle of an incredible run of good luck? I honestly don't know, but I sure hope that's not the case. If I am in a bubble, though, I hope it doesn't pop for a long time!
During current Hold'em session you were dealt 47 hands and saw flop:
- 7 out of 7 times while in big blind (100%)
- 6 out of 8 times while in small blind (75%)
- 18 out of 32 times in other positions (56%)
- a total of 31 out of 47 (65%)
Pots won at showdown - 8 of 9 (88%)
Pots won without showdown - 6
delta: $22,550
balance: $1,518,942
Tuesday, May 3, 2011
My favorite type of hand
Last night I did very well, more than doubling my starting stack. This is starting to seem routine, which could be a good sign. I had a double up on a single hand, going all in and winning with a queen high straight (which beat a nine high straight).
Rather than give a detailed account of last night's session, I thought I'd change things up and write a more general post. I want to talk about my favorite type of hand. Not to keep anybody in suspense, it's a flush. My love for flushes, and belief in their near indomitability, is so strong that once when an opponent displayed a flush at showdown my first reaction was that I'd lost, even though I'd made a full house!
I'll admit that sometimes I chase flushes, which can be expensive. I'll also admit that I believe in hunches, and invariably pursue the flush when I have a hunch.
During current Hold'em session you were dealt 35 hands and saw flop:
- 5 out of 7 times while in big blind (71%)
- 6 out of 8 times while in small blind (75%)
- 17 out of 20 times in other positions (85%)
- a total of 28 out of 35 (80%)
Pots won at showdown - 6 of 9 (66%)
Pots won without showdown - 4
delta: $54,906
balance: $1,496,392
Rather than give a detailed account of last night's session, I thought I'd change things up and write a more general post. I want to talk about my favorite type of hand. Not to keep anybody in suspense, it's a flush. My love for flushes, and belief in their near indomitability, is so strong that once when an opponent displayed a flush at showdown my first reaction was that I'd lost, even though I'd made a full house!
I'll admit that sometimes I chase flushes, which can be expensive. I'll also admit that I believe in hunches, and invariably pursue the flush when I have a hunch.
During current Hold'em session you were dealt 35 hands and saw flop:
- 5 out of 7 times while in big blind (71%)
- 6 out of 8 times while in small blind (75%)
- 17 out of 20 times in other positions (85%)
- a total of 28 out of 35 (80%)
Pots won at showdown - 6 of 9 (66%)
Pots won without showdown - 4
delta: $54,906
balance: $1,496,392
Monday, May 2, 2011
Big stack practice
On Saturday night, I quickly doubled my starting stack. I didn't quit at that point, as I likely would have done on a work night. I decided to have some practice being the big stack at the table. I've mentioned before that being in this position makes me a bit anxious and edgy, and I'm trying to learn to combat those feelings.
For the middle third of the session, my stack was north of $100K, but in the last third, it took some big hits. The biggest hit was for $28K, when my pair of queens lost to a pair of aces. That hand actually took my stack below its starting amount of $40K. Luckily for me, it popped right back above it on the very next hand, and I finally called it a night.
During current Hold'em session you were dealt 142 hands and saw flop:
- 23 out of 27 times while in big blind (85%)
- 22 out of 28 times while in small blind (78%)
- 62 out of 87 times in other positions (71%)
- a total of 107 out of 142 (75%)
Pots won at showdown - 10 of 26 (38%)
Pots won without showdown - 12
delta: $11,250
balance: $1,441,486
For the middle third of the session, my stack was north of $100K, but in the last third, it took some big hits. The biggest hit was for $28K, when my pair of queens lost to a pair of aces. That hand actually took my stack below its starting amount of $40K. Luckily for me, it popped right back above it on the very next hand, and I finally called it a night.
During current Hold'em session you were dealt 142 hands and saw flop:
- 23 out of 27 times while in big blind (85%)
- 22 out of 28 times while in small blind (78%)
- 62 out of 87 times in other positions (71%)
- a total of 107 out of 142 (75%)
Pots won at showdown - 10 of 26 (38%)
Pots won without showdown - 12
delta: $11,250
balance: $1,441,486
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