November Review - The Perfect Month

In the month of November I played poker on nineteen days, and went the entire month without a losing day at the tables (not considering FPP value or any other sort of rakeback, pure table winnings only). It truly was a beautiful thing, though such a streak should not be a goal for a player with a strong mental game, as said behavior could lead to booking small wins when playing well and turning small losses into large ones by extending sessions while fatigued or tilted. I won't be playing today or tomorrow as I have evening plans both days and want to get the bulk of my Christmas shopping done during the day. Here's a HEM snapshot for proof:



Obviously, I ran very well this month, better than I ever have over an 80k hand period that I can remember. I even ended up 0.5ptBB above AIEV which is unheard of for me!

My volume on the month was very low, a result of playing a mediocre number of hours combined with less hands per hour due to a lower number of tables. I definitely believe my game benefited from playing less tables however, and it very likely was a big factor in my winrate being so ridiculously high this month.

I also picked up $250 from a quarterly freeroll cash which didn't hurt. My total table winnings this month is actually my second highest total ever, which is nuts. My other comparable showings were over 180-210k hand samples, while this one was over only 83k. Variance was definitely on my side for a change.

The obligatory graph/table:


The bottom line:
$14,978.03 table winnings
+$1948.58 VPP value (34,796 VPPs * 3.5 FPPs/VPP * 1.6c/FPP)
+$250 quarterly freeroll cash
----------------------------------------------------------
$17,176.61 USD total profit

In December I'll need to grind out 46k VPPs to reach the 500k milestone bonus. This obviously is a significantly more than I put in this month, and with the state of the games will be a legitimate challenge for me. While it's going be a grind, I'm excited to have a serious goal for the month to keep me motivated. Hopefully I can get ahead of pace early and not have things go down to the wire on New Years Eve!

Rebuilding

Well, the jig is pretty much already up for the 2011-2012 Calgary Flames who it seems will finally go into a legit rebuild. Should be interesting to see what moves are made, as I'm certain that picking up Blake Comeau off waivers is only the beginning. Feaster may have some issues with the team's plethora of No Movement Clauses however.

The status quo for poker in November continues. The games are lousy, so I end up playing less tables/volume but am running well and it shows. On Friday I tied my all time record for most table winnings in a single day picking up ~$2.2k. It's worth noting too that had I faded one bare gutshot with one card to come at 600NL it would have been a 3k+ day! Certain whales just won't fold 65o on AJ84r for stacks.



I'm about half way through playing Final Fantasy Tactics for what is probably the sixth or seventh time. It wasn't intentional, but with my recent Suikoden 2 play through I ended up playing what I consider to be the two best RPGs of the PS1 era back to back. One of the best parts about FFT is that if you don't grind out a ton of levels early it is legitimately challenging for the first 60-70% of the game (until you get a jacked up Orlandeau or unlock the Arithmetician job). I've already seen the game over screen a couple times despite the fact I know the game inside out.

So Bad They're.... Good?

The games this month have been really bad in terms of total fish count, and as a result how many decent tables are available. On Friday the games were worse than I have ever seen on a Friday, and this is by no means rose colored goggles for the past or exaggeration. We need a poker mini-boom soon.

The good news is, despite game quality forcing lower volume, my winrate this month has been exceptional thus far. This is partially due to positive variance, but I imagine it is also a result of being forced to play less tables and playing a lot more shorthanded.

It also doesn't hurt to be put in spots where you can get stacks in with 100% equity (see first hand below) or when you can stack fish with K high (second hand):

PokerStars No-Limit Hold'em, $1.00 BB (9 handed)
UTG+1 ($112.75)
MP1 ($158.60)
MP2 ($95.50)
MP3 ($79.15)
CO ($92)
Button ($100)
Hero (SB) ($100.50)
BB ($117.55)
UTG ($100)

Preflop: Hero is SB with 9♦, 10♦
5 folds, CO bets $2, 1 fold, Hero calls $1.50, 1 fold

Flop: ($5) J♦, K♦, Q♦ (2 players)
Hero checks, CO bets $3, Hero raises to $12, CO calls $9

Turn: ($29) 6♣ (2 players)
Hero bets $22.50, CO raises to $78 (All-In), Hero calls $55.50

River: ($185) K♣ (2 players, 1 all-in)

Total pot: $185 | Rake: $3

Results:
Hero had 9♦, 10♦ (straight flush, King high).
CO had 5♦, 7♦ (flush, King high).
Outcome: Hero won $182

PokerStars No-Limit Hold'em, $2.00 BB (9 handed)
SB ($206)
BB ($379.05)
UTG ($412.40)
UTG+1 ($200)
MP1 ($74)
Hero (MP2) ($213.70)
MP3 ($115.80)
CO ($289.45)
Button ($270.35)

Preflop: Hero is MP2 with Q♠, K♠
2 folds, MP1 bets $6, Hero calls $6, 5 folds

Flop: ($15) 6♠, 7♠, 6♥ (2 players)
MP1 bets $22, Hero raises to $80, MP1 calls $46 (All-In)

Turn: ($151) 4♦ (2 players, 1 all-in)

River: ($151) J♦ (2 players, 1 all-in)

Total pot: $151 | Rake: $3

Results:
MP1 had Q♦, 10♦ (one pair, sixes).
Hero had Q♠, K♠ (one pair, sixes).
Outcome: Hero won $148


I finished up my Suikoden 2 replay a few days ago, and as expected from one of the greatest console RPGs ever it was spectacular. I'm now debating whether or not to give Suikoden 3 a go next.

Nearly Identical

Today was eerily similar to last Friday. From a poker perspective, this is a good thing as it means I ran well and won a bunch despite the games being pretty poor and not putting in a lot of hands. Graphs below to show what I'm talking about.

Today:


Last Friday:



Beyond that, just like last Friday the Flames lost a road game in which they just couldn't put the puck in the net. I'm glad Mikael Backlund is back in the lineup, but if the team doesn't string together some wins soon there's going to be a major overhaul of some kind coming and it might not be pretty.

I finished the Persona 2 remake for the PSP which was adequate. I was expecting the story to be a little less weird. You just don't quite know what to think when Hitler is the second to last boss in a game that is set in modern day Japan.

I also gave the original Suikoden a play through (I remember it being longer, but only ended up clocking in a little over 20 hours) and have already moved on to its sequel. While the first game is good it has a very sloppy translation and isn't truly great in any aspect. Suikoden 2 on the other hand has a better (though still not terribly good) localization, but has a truly amazing story and cast of characters paired with very enjoyable gameplay. It also benefits a bunch from the nostalgia factor present for those who have played the first game.

Awful Games, Awesome Variance

I'm going to go out on a limb and say that SSFR cash game quality was as bad as it has ever been on a Friday this past weekend. For much of Saturday the same held true, though this was to be expected due to the Quarterly VIP Freeroll - with every regular on at the same time it predictably creates an extremely unfavorable reg:fish ratio. The games did get a little better once most had busted from the donkament, quit grinding, and logged off.

Due to the terrible state of the games, I only managed ~10k hands the past two days. The good news is I ran super hot and made ~$2.6k cash winnings in the process. Some positive variance is really nice for a change! I also picked up a lot of hands early on in the Quarterly Freeroll, though went utterly card dead for the hour leading up to the bubble and busted shortly after for $250, just above a min-cash.



A productive weekend to say the least, even if the game quality is rather ominous. Perhaps the problem is isolated somewhat to full ring and I'll have to start mixing in some 6max tables.