Heads up hankering

On Friday night, my seeing the flop percentage was higher than I'd normally like, but for a good reason - during a long stretch in the middle of the session, I was playing heads up. It's unusual to get into heads up situations in a cash game, where anyone can join any empty seat at any time. I really enjoyed it, and realized I missed it from my sit and go days. When you play tournaments, if you play well enough, you're in heads up situations a lot. I'm going to treat myself to playing tournaments again when I hit the 8 million play dollar mark. At that time, I'll allow myself to lose up to one million play dollars playing tournaments, all for the sheer fun of playing them again.

During current Hold'em session you were dealt 65 hands and saw flop:
 - 12 out of 22 times while in big blind (54%)
 - 16 out of 22 times while in small blind (72%)
 - 15 out of 21 times in other positions (71%)
 - a total of 43 out of 65 (66%)
 Pots won at showdown - 11 of 25 (44%)
 Pots won without showdown - 15

delta: $14,629
cash game no limit hold'em balance: $4,593,654
balance: $7,043,062

My best pair of jacks

It's hard to make a lot of money when all you have is a pair, especially if they're not aces. Prudence will push you off that pair many a time, when an opponent bets big. If you do decide to call a big bet, it won't be because you believe your pair is the nuts; it will be because you believe your opponent is bluffing or on a draw. It doesn't take the nuts to beat a bluff, and it certainly doesn't take the nuts to beat a busted draw. Last night, I won my biggest pot of the session, $31,700, with a lowly pair of jacks. I had a hunch that might have been a personal best, so I checked it out. It was, by a whisker; my next largest pot won with a pair of jacks was worth $30,100.

During current Hold'em session you were dealt 115 hands and saw flop:
 - 12 out of 17 times while in big blind (70%)
 - 10 out of 18 times while in small blind (55%)
 - 36 out of 80 times in other positions (45%)
 - a total of 58 out of 115 (50%)
 Pots won at showdown - 7 of 14 (50%)
 Pots won without showdown - 7

delta: $9,993
cash game no limit hold'em balance: $4,579,025
balance: $7,028,433

A busted flush away

Fans of detective fiction may recognize within the title of this post the name of Travis McGee's boat. Travis being, of course, the hero of many wonderful novels by John D. MacDonald. Just recently, I bought the first book in the series, "The Deep Blue Good-by", on my Kindle; I've really been enjoying reading it on the train. What do I mean by this title? Simply that all I needed to turn a mediocre session into a good one last night was for an opponent not to have made a flush :-)

During current Hold'em session you were dealt 58 hands and saw flop:
 - 4 out of 7 times while in big blind (57%)
 - 4 out of 8 times while in small blind (50%)
 - 24 out of 43 times in other positions (55%)
 - a total of 32 out of 58 (55%)
 Pots won at showdown - 4 of 6 (66%)
 Pots won without showdown - 3

delta: $753
cash game no limit hold'em balance: $4,569,032
balance: $7,018,440

The elevator technique

Good cards come in bunches. You have to expect to go through long stretches when you're card dead, surely. Yet you also have to expect stretches, though shorter and more widely spaced ones, where hand after hand you're dealt good cards. How should you deal with those types of stretches? I try to use what I call the elevator technique. Imagine that your goal is to get to the highest floor you can in a skyscraper, using one of the elevators. The problem with the elevators in this building is that there aren't any floor number buttons to press, and on average, the elevators go down much more frequently than they go up. The only button you can press is an emergency button, which takes you down some random number of floors below the floor you were on when the doors last closed. Whenever the elevator doors open, you only have two choices - step off, and lose any chance of going higher, or stay on, and risk ending up on a lower floor. You know that the longer the elevator keeps going up, the more likely it is to go down soon, and precipitously. You're basically playing a game of chicken. How brave are you? You can't help but find out :-)

During current Hold'em session you were dealt 43 hands and saw flop:
 - 2 out of 5 times while in big blind (40%)
 - 1 out of 6 times while in small blind (16%)
 - 14 out of 32 times in other positions (43%)
 - a total of 17 out of 43 (39%)
 Pots won at showdown - 5 of 7 (71%)
 Pots won without showdown - 3

delta: $17,159
cash game no limit hold'em balance: $4,568,279
balance: $7,017,687

Milestone

Last night, I hit another milestone. My balance went over the 7 million play dollar mark again. It's the second time I've achieved this; the first time, I was playing tournaments, and my balance quickly fell way back down after a run of losses. Every time I cross a million play dollar boundary, I take a moment to think back on where I started, and how I got where I am. I started out scared of high stakes, and petrified of no limit. First I weaned myself of my fear of high stakes; much later, I weaned myself of my fear of no limit. I can't say I was ever actually afraid of playing tournaments in the past, since for some reason it never crossed my mind to play them until I'd been playing online cash game poker for about 3 1/2 years. I can say that, due to my experiences playing them, I have a healthy respect for how hard it is to make money playing them. You might even say I'm a teeny bit afraid of tournaments now :-)

During current Hold'em session you were dealt 66 hands and saw flop:
 - 7 out of 12 times while in big blind (58%)
 - 6 out of 11 times while in small blind (54%)
 - 24 out of 43 times in other positions (55%)
 - a total of 37 out of 66 (56%)
 Pots won at showdown - 2 of 8 (25%)
 Pots won without showdown - 4

balance: $9,807
cash game no limit hold'em balance: $4,551,120
balance: $7,000,528

A clockwork century

In cricket, a century is the accumulation of 100 runs without being "out" (note: I'm indebted to my father, who grew up in England, for this correction of my original, inaccurate definition). I'll adopt and adapt this term to poker. In poker, a century will stand for 100 consecutive sessions. In this context, a century where you've met your main statistical goals will henceforth be known as a clockwork century :-) As you know, my most longstanding statistical goal in poker is to achieve the golden ratio - winning at least twice as many sessions as the number of sessions I lose. That amounts to winning at least 67 of every 100 sessions. Mathematically, it comes out to 66 2/3, but it's kind of hard to win two thirds of a session :-) I've won 66 of my last 100 sessions, so I'm on the very cusp of the golden ratio. I'm close enough to lay claim to a clockwork century.

During current Hold'em session you were dealt 31 hands and saw flop:
 - 4 out of 4 times while in big blind (100%)
 - 2 out of 4 times while in small blind (50%)
 - 13 out of 23 times in other positions (56%)
 - a total of 19 out of 31 (61%)
 Pots won at showdown - 3 of 6 (50%)
 Pots won without showdown - 2

delta: $12,478
cash game no limit hold'em balance: $4,541,313
balance: $6,990,721

Folding machine

Last night, I was a folding machine. I'm arriving at the point where it feels natural and right to fold most of the time, which is a good thing. The more volatile the table, the more important it is to be able to fold early and often. When you finally get a good hand, take it to showdown. With any luck, you'll wind up winning a ton of chips. That's what happened to me twice last night. On hand 16, I won a pot worth $60,474 with two pair, queens and nines. On hand 46, I won a pot worth $42,389 with two pair, queens and eights. That was enough for me.

During current Hold'em session you were dealt 47 hands and saw flop:
 - 4 out of 5 times while in big blind (80%)
 - 1 out of 5 times while in small blind (20%)
 - 12 out of 37 times in other positions (32%)
 - a total of 17 out of 47 (36%)
 Pots won at showdown - 2 of 5 (40%)
 Pots won without showdown - 1

delta: $44,663
cash game no limit hold'em balance: $4,528,835
balance: $6,978,243

Snap call to oblivion

There are many ways to call in poker. The quickest, and certainly the most dangerous, is the snap call. A snap call is when you call right away, without thinking. In many cases, snap calls happen when the river card is so innocuous there's almost no chance it changed anything. In such cases, poker players tend unconsciously to use some mental shorthand. The thinking goes something like this: "I'm sure I'm ahead at the turn. If the river is a blank, I've won the hand, and will call any bet". Last night, on hand 50, I snapped called my way into oblivion. I'd hit a stealth two pair on the turn, and "knew" it was best. When an opponent bet $29,200 on the river, I snap called, and snap lost. My opponent had hit a straight on the turn and had only made a small bet. That bit of deception served him well. My snap call had less to do with the river card, which actually put a third club on the board, than it did with my perception of the style of my opponent, whose stack had been taking some wild swings. I thought he was playing loosely enough that his river bet was a stone bluff. I was wrong. At the end of the hand, I had a mere $716 left in chips. I was able to play another 16 hands before hitting the felt. I then reupped for the max. When I hit a fatty to win a pot worth $8,595 on hand 89, I knew that was my cue to call it a night.

During current Hold'em session you were dealt 90 hands and saw flop:
 - 5 out of 11 times while in big blind (45%)
 - 1 out of 11 times while in small blind (9%)
 - 24 out of 68 times in other positions (35%)
 - a total of 30 out of 90 (33%)
 Pots won at showdown - 6 of 12 (50%)
 Pots won without showdown - 5

balance: $-27,860
cash game no limit hold'em balance: $4,484,172
balance: $6,933,580

My quadfathers

I'm pretty sure I can count the number of times in my poker career I've had quads (four of a kind) without having to resort to my toes. One of the poker programs I still need to write is one which tabulates made hands, instead of just hole card hands; then I could say for sure how many times I've had quads. Last night, I had them on the penultimate hand of the night. I was dealt a pair of twos, flopped a set, and hit quads on the turn. I checked the flop, called a $2,000 turn bet, and checked the river. Of course, I was hoping that someone would bet on the river so I could come over the top, but no one did. I still raked in a decent pot worth $13,700. I quit the next hand, since I'd seen on the Card Player magazine website that there was free streaming video of the CPPT Wynn Main Event final table, and I wanted to watch.

During current Hold'em session you were dealt 16 hands and saw flop:
 - 3 out of 3 times while in big blind (100%)
 - 1 out of 2 times while in small blind (50%)
 - 5 out of 11 times in other positions (45%)
 - a total of 9 out of 16 (56%)
 Pots won at showdown - 1 of 2 (50%)
 Pots won without showdown - 1

delta: $7,746
cash game no limit hold'em balance: $4,512,032
balance: $6,961,440

Four bagger

Last night, I won my fourth session in a row. I'm borrowing the term "four bagger" from bowling; in that sport, it signifies four strikes in a row. I'm proud to say I have a nephew who has bowled two perfect games in his young bowling career. In case you don't know, a perfect game is achieved by bowling twelve strikes in a row. It's a very rare feat. It's hard to imagine what a comparable feat in poker might be. I'll take a stab at it and pick a number out of the air. My gut feeling is that winning 30 sessions in a row would be roughly comparable. By that standard, I haven't bowled a perfect poker game yet, but did come damn close. Starting on February 20, 2012, I won 29 straight sessions. I feel I'm about due to bust out another long one.

To mention last night's session briefly, I doubled up on hand 18. I was dealt a big slick, paired my king on the flop, and won a pot worth $78,734 when my kings held up.

During current Hold'em session you were dealt 34 hands and saw flop:
 - 3 out of 5 times while in big blind (60%)
 - 1 out of 5 times while in small blind (20%)
 - 11 out of 24 times in other positions (45%)
 - a total of 15 out of 34 (44%)
 Pots won at showdown - 2 of 6 (33%)
 Pots won without showdown - 2

delta: $37,741
cash game no limit hold'em balance: $4,504,286
balance: $6,953,694

My worst hand

As you may know, I love doing statistical analyses of my hand histories. For a long time, I've wanted to be able to aggregate my hand deltas by hand type. I recently finished writing a program to do just that, and it revealed a surprising fact. My worst hand, that is, the hand with which I've lost the most money, is ace jack offsuit. Since October 12, 2011, the date I turned on the PokerStars feature which auto-saves the hand histories, I've been dealt ace jack offsuit a total of 201 times. I've never folded this hand pre-flop, so all 201 instances have had a decisive result - either I won chips or lost chips. As it turns out, I've only won with this hand a paltry 56 times, but have lost with it a whopping 145 times. Bear in mind that this doesn't mean I went to showdown every time; some of the losses were the result of spending money on the flop and/or the turn but folding on the turn or the river. The sum of the deltas of the 56 wins comes out to $285,929. The sum of the deltas of the 145 losses comes out to $-596,433. The bottom line is that I've lost a staggering $310,504 with what seems like a very strong hand. This makes a fair amount of sense. With a weaker hand, I wouldn't be tempted to spend so much money on it, and would fold it much more often. With a stronger hand, it would win more often, statistically. So the worst hand sort of has to end up being a hand which is better than most, but not the best. Still, I'm surprised by the magnitude of my losses with this hand; it's an outlier. My next worst hand is ace eight offsuit, and I've only lost $89,905 with that. I'll keep this data in mind the next time I'm dealt my worst hand :-)

During current Hold'em session you were dealt 42 hands and saw flop:
 - 5 out of 6 times while in big blind (83%)
 - 2 out of 6 times while in small blind (33%)
 - 14 out of 30 times in other positions (46%)
 - a total of 21 out of 42 (50%)
 Pots won at showdown - 4 of 6 (66%)
 Pots won without showdown - 1

delta: $12,540
cash game no limit hold'em balance: $4,466,545
balance: $6,915,953

The only possible poker perfection

Perfection in any field of endeavor is problematical at best, and impossible in the majority of cases. Poker is no different from any other activity in this respect. I've come to realize that there's really only one way to achieve perfection in poker, and that is to win all your showdowns. You certainly can't win every hand you're dealt. Unless you're playing heads up, you can't expect to win even half the hands you're dealt. There are only two statistics you have any degree of control over - your seeing-the-flop percentage and your showdown percentage. Of these, there's only one you want to maximize - the latter. Of course, to achieve a perfect showdown percentage, you need a fair amount of luck. However, it's my contention that you need an even greater portion of skill. Last night, I achieved showdown perfection. The play I'm proudest of is the laydown I made on the penultimate hand. I was dealt a big slick, and the flop came 7h Ks 7d. I paid to see the turn, but folded when one opponent bet it big and another called. My poker radar informed me that at least one of them had a third seven. As it turned out, they both did.

During current Hold'em session you were dealt 42 hands and saw flop:
 - 5 out of 6 times while in big blind (83%)
 - 3 out of 6 times while in small blind (50%)
 - 9 out of 30 times in other positions (30%)
 - a total of 17 out of 42 (40%)
 Pots won at showdown - 7 of 7 (100%)
 Pots won without showdown - 2

delta: $69,972
cash game no limit hold'em balance: $4,454,005
balance: $6,903,413

One Hand to rule them all

The bar chart of my stack size over the course of Saturday night's session looks like a fat capital L tipped over on its side. A  whole lot of nothing went on for 34 hands; on the 35th, I nearly doubled up. Once again, I've decided to plagiarize one of my old blog post titles. That 35th hand is the One Hand which rules all the others :-)

During current Hold'em session you were dealt 44 hands and saw flop:
 - 3 out of 5 times while in big blind (60%)
 - 2 out of 6 times while in small blind (33%)
 - 14 out of 33 times in other positions (42%)
 - a total of 19 out of 44 (43%)
 Pots won at showdown - 4 of 7 (57%)
 Pots won without showdown - 0

delta: $43,070
cash game no limit hold'em balance: $4,384,033
balance: $6,833,441

Card-starved

One of the hardest skills to perfect in poker is playing well when you're card-starved. The difficulty lies in amping up your patience just when you're feeling the most impatient. I failed to do this on Thursday night, and paid the price. On the final hand of the night, I was dealt a big slick. I paired my king on the flop, got into a brief raising war with one opponent, and ended up going all in before the next street. I was a big underdog, since my opponent had flopped two pair. They held up, and I was done for the night.

During current Hold'em session you were dealt 56 hands and saw flop:
 - 4 out of 7 times while in big blind (57%)
 - 5 out of 8 times while in small blind (62%)
 - 21 out of 41 times in other positions (51%)
 - a total of 30 out of 56 (53%)
 Pots won at showdown - 2 of 7 (28%)
 Pots won without showdown - 2

delta: $-40,000
cash game no limit hold'em balance: $4,340,963
balance: $6,790,371

A perfect min session

There's something very appealing and satisfying about things in the miniature, things which have been distilled to their essence. Some examples: bonsai, haiku, sushi, ships in a bottle, miniature books, chess miniatures, dolls, doll houses, toy cars, toy trains. Let me suggest an addition to this list: miniature poker sessions. I'll call them min sessions for short. A min session is a short session which illustrates some basic poker truths, despite its brevity. A perfect min session is one where you win a small amount of money. Somewhat paradoxically, it's not a perfect min session if you win a ton of money. The idea behind the perfect min session is that you win what you can reasonably expect to win if you follow all the poker wisdom you've gained from your years of play. Winning a ton of chips in a single session is fun, but it's not the result of skill; you certainly can't expect to do it all the time. Winning a small amount of chips, consistently, is what you can expect to do most of the time, once you've become a poker sensai. Last night, I had s perfect min session. I'll let the stats speak for themselves.

During current Hold'em session you were dealt 22 hands and saw flop:
 - 2 out of 3 times while in big blind (66%)
 - 1 out of 2 times while in small blind (50%)
 - 8 out of 17 times in other positions (47%)
 - a total of 11 out of 22 (50%)
 Pots won at showdown - 1 of 2 (50%)
 Pots won without showdown - 3

delta: $14,995
cash game no limit hold'em balance: $4,380,963
balance: $6,830,371

The straight flush that wasn't

Last night I had a long, unproductive session. The most I lost on a single hand came early on; I lost $24,600 on hand 8 without even going to showdown. I'd flopped an open ended straight flush draw, but neither the straight nor the flush hit, and I folded on the river. That may have set a personal "best" for most chips lost without going to showdown.

Even though I only played at one table, the last half of the session was very different from the first, since there were fewer players at the table. I did better in the second half, but still lost money in both halves. At least I had the sense to quit before hitting the felt a second time :-)

During current Hold'em session you were dealt 151 hands and saw flop:
 - 27 out of 36 times while in big blind (75%)
 - 26 out of 35 times while in small blind (74%)
 - 39 out of 80 times in other positions (48%)
 - a total of 92 out of 151 (60%)
 Pots won at showdown - 10 of 29 (34%)
 Pots won without showdown - 22

delta: $-68,855
cash game no limit hold'em balance: $4,365,968
balance: $6,815,376

Delights of three

For the fourth time in the last five posts, I find myself reusing a title. If the shoe fits, though, it's not a bad idea to wear it :-) I was triply lucky last night, all on a single hand. Here are the three ways I was lucky:

1. I was dealt pocket rockets
2. one of my opponents was dealt a strong hand, A K offsuit
3. that opponent was frisky enough to go all in preflop

Rockets dominate A K offsuit, to the tune of 92%. Needless to say, I won the pot, which was worth $91,600. It's a very bad idea to go all in with A K offsuit, unless you're heads up; even then, it's a risky play. Why is it such a bad idea? Simple. If one of your opponents has a pair, and calls you, you're in a coin flip situation. You're actually a slight underdog to win. A K offsuit turns out to be a 47% dog to a lowly pair of twos. Regarding my call, I can honestly say that I will never fail to call with rockets when faced with an all in preflop bet. I love rockets, even though I bitch about them sometimes :-)

During current Hold'em session you were dealt 22 hands and saw flop:
 - 2 out of 2 times while in big blind (100%)
 - 2 out of 3 times while in small blind (66%)
 - 6 out of 17 times in other positions (35%)
 - a total of 10 out of 22 (45%)
 Pots won at showdown - 2 of 3 (66%)
 Pots won without showdown - 0

delta: $51,600
cash game no limit hold'em balance: $4,434,823
balance: $6,884,231

Loose cannons

On Saturday night, several players at the table I joined were real loose cannons. They can be fun to play against, but you don't want to make a habit of it. Also, you don't play want to play lengthy sessions against them. The biggest problem with loose cannons is that every now and then, they're actually going to have a hand. The longer you play against them, the more likely they are to get that hand, and hurt you with it. The best way to play against them is to wait until you get a reasonably good hand, bet it, and be prepared to go all in with it. You don't need a premium hand to beat a loose cannon; you only need a reasonably good one. Saturday night, I called an all in bet from a loose cannon to go all in myself on hand 68. I won a pot worth $52,572 with two pair, kings and tens. The "loosie" only had a high card ace after failing to make his gutshot straight draw. I got out of Dodge the next hand.

During current Hold'em session you were dealt 69 hands and saw flop:
 - 10 out of 14 times while in big blind (71%)
 - 8 out of 14 times while in small blind (57%)
 - 16 out of 41 times in other positions (39%)
 - a total of 34 out of 69 (49%)
 Pots won at showdown - 5 of 9 (55%)
 Pots won without showdown - 3

delta: $12,572
cash game no limit hold'em balance: $4,383,223
balance: $6,832,631

Punctuated equilibrium

You know you've been writing a blog for a long time when the most natural title for a new post turns out to be one you've used before. This is my third such in a row. Looking at the bar chart of my stack size over the course of last night's session, it's got punctuated equilibrium written all over it. On virtually every hand, one of three things happened:

1. nothing
2. I won a significant amount of chips
3. I lost a significant amount of chips

At one point, I'd doubled my starting stack amount. I should have quit then, but didn't. Why not? Because I was feeling invincible. That's a great feeling, but also a treacherous one. Time is the great equalizer in poker; the longer you play, the more things tend to even out. Whenever you manage to double your stack in a cash game, you should take the money and run.

During current Hold'em session you were dealt 104 hands and saw flop:
 - 9 out of 12 times while in big blind (75%)
 - 8 out of 14 times while in small blind (57%)
 - 35 out of 78 times in other positions (44%)
 - a total of 52 out of 104 (50%)
 Pots won at showdown - 5 of 10 (50%)
 Pots won without showdown - 8

delta: $-7,282
cash game no limit hold'em balance: $4,370,651
balance: $6,820,059

The land of the ones

For the second night in a row, I've stolen a blog post title from myself. Once again, it's a title I like, and it's also apropos. So once more, your remedy if you're disappointed is to sue me :-) What do I mean by the land of the ones? I could tell you to go read the old blog post, but that would be rude. The land of the ones is a fanciful way of describing the winning percentage you can expect at a full table. That percentage turns out to be 11.11111... The 1s never end; hence, the land of the ones. If you can fully accept and expect that you're only going to win 1 out of 9 hands, and play accordingly, the land of the ones can turn out to be a very profitable place over the long haul. I love it!

During current Hold'em session you were dealt 36 hands and saw flop:
 - 3 out of 5 times while in big blind (60%)
 - 2 out of 4 times while in small blind (50%)
 - 12 out of 27 times in other positions (44%)
 - a total of 17 out of 36 (47%)
 Pots won at showdown - 2 of 4 (50%)
 Pots won without showdown - 2

delta: $9,498
cash game no limit hold'em balance: $4,377,933
balance: $6,827,341

House falls on man

I've used the title of this post before, but I like it, and it's apropos. So sue me :-) I hit the felt on hand 34 when my trip threes with an ace kicker ran into a full house of threes full of queens. I reupped for the max, steadily lost more ground, and finally called it a night after hand 91. As someone famous (I forget who) once said, "Je ne regrette rien".

During current Hold'em session you were dealt 91 hands and saw flop:
 - 14 out of 17 times while in big blind (82%)
 - 7 out of 18 times while in small blind (38%)
 - 35 out of 56 times in other positions (62%)
 - a total of 56 out of 91 (61%)
 Pots won at showdown - 6 of 12 (50%)
 Pots won without showdown - 7

delta: $-63,561
cash game no limit hold'em balance: $4,368,435
balance: $6,817,843

Waitin' on a Sunny Day

"Waitin' on a Sunny Day" is one of my favorite Bruce Springsteen songs. It's also a good description of what it feels like playing poker sometimes. You realize you must wait for good things to happen, and that while you're waiting, the rain will fall (in other words, your stack will shrink). Sometimes, you're waiting for a single hand - a single sunny day - to make all right with the world. That's what I was waiting for last night. I got it on hand 29, when I won a pot worth $76,459 with a queen high straight.

During current Hold'em session you were dealt 30 hands and saw flop:
 - 3 out of 4 times while in big blind (75%)
 - 1 out of 4 times while in small blind (25%)
 - 9 out of 22 times in other positions (40%)
 - a total of 13 out of 30 (43%)
 Pots won at showdown - 2 of 2 (100%)
 Pots won without showdown - 1

delta: $36,459
cash game no limit hold'em balance: $4,431,996
balance: $6,881,404

The poker gods have a sense of humor

As you may know, I write my blog entries before playing, recapping the previous night's session. How ironic, then, that immediately after grousing about how pocket rockets have been letting me down lately, I was dealt them on the very first hand of the night! The poker gods certainly do a have a sense of humor. I decided I'd ride them to the end of the line, even if I crashed and burned. Much to my delight, I won a huge pot, one of the biggest of my career. It was worth $135,100, of which $95,100 was o.p.m. (other people's money). Two hands later, I hit a fatty on the turn, and won a pot worth $82,300, of which $44,900 was o.p.m. Can you blame me for quitting two hands after that?

During current Hold'em session you were dealt 5 hands and saw flop:
 - 1 out of 1 times while in big blind (100%)
 - 1 out of 1 times while in small blind (100%)
 - 2 out of 3 times in other positions (66%)
 - a total of 4 out of 5 (80%)
 Pots won at showdown - 2 of 2 (100%)
 Pots won without showdown - 1

delta: $140,537
cash game no limit hold'em balance: $4,395,537
balance: $6,844,945

Pocket rocks

No, the title of this post is not a typo. I didn't meant to name it "Pocket rockets". Lately, aces in the hole are starting to feel like more of a liability than an asset. They can really drag you down, like having rocks in your pocket instead of rockets. Last night, the most I lost on a single hand was $4,600. What was I dealt that hand? You guessed it, pocket rocks. Don't get me wrong, I still like getting dealt aces; I'm just realizing that I need to get better at playing them :-)

During current Hold'em session you were dealt 48 hands and saw flop:
 - 5 out of 7 times while in big blind (71%)
 - 3 out of 6 times while in small blind (50%)
 - 20 out of 35 times in other positions (57%)
 - a total of 28 out of 48 (58%)
 Pots won at showdown - 3 of 8 (37%)
 Pots won without showdown - 7

delta: $11,997
cash game no limit hold'em balance: $4,255,000
balance: $6,704,408

Three down elevators

The bar chart of my stack size over the course of last night's session doesn't paint a pretty picture. Three down elevators are clearly visible. I only remember the circumstances of one of them, which was when I hit the felt chasing a flush. It turns out an opponent was chasing a flush in a different suit, and happened to hit his. Let me take a peek at the hand histories at the other two...

forgotten down elevator 1: I called big turn and river bets with a pair of sixes; I have no idea what I was thinking

forgotten down elevator 2: with a pair of nines, which was top pair at the time, I made a big turn bet, and got called; the caller made a second pair on the river

The one bright spot was that I kept my seeing-the-flop percentage under 50; that's starting to become second nature.

During current Hold'em session you were dealt 86 hands and saw flop:
 - 7 out of 11 times while in big blind (63%)
 - 3 out of 11 times while in small blind (27%)
 - 27 out of 64 times in other positions (42%)
 - a total of 37 out of 86 (43%)
 Pots won at showdown - 2 of 6 (33%)
 Pots won without showdown - 8

delta: $-71,458
cash game no limit hold'em balance: $4,243,003
balance: $6,692,411

The champagne quit signal

I've always thought being dealt a hammer (deuce seven offsuit) after winning a couple of hands in a row is an excellent quit signal. Last night I realized there's an even more powerful talisman - I hereby dub it the champagne quit signal. This is when you're dealt pocket rockets after winning two big hands in a row. Why on earth would this make a good, let alone excellent, let alone superlative, quit signal? For the simple reason that rockets are so hard to let go of. Any hand that's hard to let go of is also a hand which can lose you a bunch of chips in a hurry. Why risk losing chips when you've just had a chip infusion? You can fold aces with style and flair when you've just had a nice boost to your stack. To honor their prestige, you make them your last hand.

Unfortunately, though I received the signal, I didn't heed it. The two hands before the signal, I won pots worth $44K and $18K, respectively. On the signal hand, I stuck with my rockets, and lost $14K. Had I heeded the signal, I wouldn't have been at the table to play the later hand when my stack absorbed a huge hit of $45K. I promise to obey the signal the next time I get it!

During current Hold'em session you were dealt 96 hands and saw flop:
 - 12 out of 17 times while in big blind (70%)
 - 11 out of 17 times while in small blind (64%)
 - 25 out of 62 times in other positions (40%)
 - a total of 48 out of 96 (50%)
 Pots won at showdown - 13 of 22 (59%)
 Pots won without showdown - 2

delta: $-29,223
cash game no limit hold'em balance: $4,314,461
balance: $6,763,869