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The play in week two of the Short Stack Challenge has solidified some of the thoughts I had after week one. My play was limited to only two days but I found that I was much more successful than last week.
Keeping my stack at a minimum of 20BB’s helped facilitate a quicker move up in levels. Where I might have had to double up twice last week due to losing money in the blinds, this week a single double up would allow me to move on to the next level. Using that strategy I was able to hit the 1/2 level which I was unable to obtain in week one.
Playing only premium hands helped keep the guess work out of the equation. That made the play easier but also much less fulfilling and also much more boring. It does appear to be the formula for success as a short stacker at this point so that’s what I’ll keep doing.
I started the week $18 in the hole but managed to come out $20 up. That means I’ll be starting at the .5/1 tables instead of the .25/.50 when I begin play this week.
I was reviewing my turbo stats for the year today and I found something interesting. I’ve played exactly 300 @ $6.50, 300 @ $12, and now 302 @ $24.
Since my games played at each level are identical I thought I would do a side by side comparison of my finish positions.
As you can see $6.50 was good, $12 was excellent, and $24 has been a bit of a struggle. I’m currently on my 3rd attempt of the year taking on the $24 SNG’s and this time it’s been going better. I still have work to do but since I’m currently only playing 4 a day it takes a long time to see if your really improving. Below is the chart for my last 50.
I’ve become profitable but the third place finishes are very much out of whack right now. The players are a bit more patient at this level so it takes longer to get short handed. I should probably start shifting gears a little earlier than I’m used to.
Still no MTT’s played this week but I did start playing the $24 Turbo’s and the $50NL games by the end of the week. I’m going to see how things go and I may split time and different levels for a while. I’m not going to update the stats for SNG’s based on every 100 anymore. Since I may be switching out at varying levels it will just be easier to start doing the stats on a monthly basis, utilizing the stats from that month only along with year to date charts on occasion.
Speaking of year to date I was looking at my best and worst day of play since I started with the SNG’s this year.
After 1,048 SNG’s that ranged from $5 HU to $24 Turbo’s best day: $193.50 on February 1st worst day: -$410.40 on May 23rd
It would be so much nicer if those numbers were reversed. It’s amazing that I’m still up after such a big loss day. That day accounts for me having a 5.5% ROI overall for all money levels combined this year.
After dropping back down to the $12 Turbos I’ve managed to finish up just over 200 of them. That means it’s stats time. I’ve been on a bit of a tread water/slight downturn over the last 80 or so.
I know I’ve been making some mistakes early in the tourneys. These could be avoided by tightening up a bit more. I’m falling into the rut that usually involves me loosening up and seeing to much post flop play. I don’t know if it’s boredom induced but it consistently happens when I playing one form of poker exclusively. I’m toying with some RAZZ play on occasion to see if I can mix it up. I might also look into Omaha. We’ll see.
Let’s see… 29 SNG’s played, 26 Out of the money, 18 in a row without a cash.
I now have a new single worst day ever.
At first I thought I was playing bad, then I thought I was getting sucked out on. I turned to Poker Tracker for the answer and loaded up the 18 consecutive losses. Nine losses were a result of me being behind when the money went in. Two were lost coin flips. Seven were losses where I was at least at 70% favorite.
Lost the ones I should have, couldn’t call a coin flip, and lost the ones where I was a heavy favorite.
Bad day indeed.
I’ve gone from a 30% ROI at the $24 level after 69 tournaments, to a -4.1% ROI after 111 tournaments. I’m not going to bother with the graphs like I usually do because it’s just to depressing.
For the immediate future I’m going to step down to the $12 SNG’s until I can right the ship.
Even after mentioning my incredible run it has continued. Deep down I know I’m running on the very high end of variance but damn I hope it last forever.
With the completion of my first 100 $12 Turbo SNG’s I present the stats:
Ran: 100 ROI: 57.6% ITM: 56.0%
Profit: $690.90
Told you I was running well. That works out to $36.17 an hour, by comparison I should really be at around $12 an hour based on my performance at the $6.50 SNG’s.
It’s not all blind luck and winning coin flips. I’ve really felt that I’ve been on top of knowing when to switch gears. I’ve adapted very well to my tables lately and that has really been a boost to the confidence level. Confidence fuels ones innate abilities and that’s always a good thing.
I almost hate to post this. I’m running so incredibly hot in the SNG’s right now I’m afraid if I tell anyone I’ll crash and burn.
My sample size is still low for the $12 turbos. 60 tourneys to be exact. In that 60 I’ve managed a 53.3% ITM and a 44.4% ROI. That comes out to over $26/hour when I’m playing. That’s a slight bit more than I make in my real job.
When reality decides to snap back I should settle down to a more believable 20% ROI. The run is nice, and I hope it lasts, but all good things do eventually come to an end. The players are a bit worse at this level than they were at the $6.50 turbos. I suppose most recreational players play the $12’s and those that are struggling to really learn play the $6.50’s. It’s not all that suprising that it works out that way.
Anyhoo, my good fortune has resulted in some good bankroll building and I’m now at $1,038.08. It took me 49 days to go from $300 to just over $1,200 (I withdrew 200 a few weeks back). That is certainly a lot faster than I did it when I started this blog way back when. I will therefore consider this bankroll building experiment a success!
I’ve been on a bit of a tear lately. Last night playing in the PSO league and also in The Mookie I managed to final table both. In the league event I was a dominant chip leader through most of the tournament and then got unlucky at the final table. In The Mookie I held the chip lead as well for quite a while but then I tightened up to much when we were down to the final two tables. This left me without enough ammo to mount much of a fight at the final table.
The two events were eerily similar. PSO League: 71 entrants 180 Minutes of play 7th place
The Mookie: 73 entrants 182 Minutes of play 6th place
Pretty weird huh?
Anyway the $12 turbo SNG’s have also been going well and my bankroll has seen exponential growth this week. I’m now up to $908.70.
No this is not a review of the movie. I haven’t even seen it. Instead I’ve reached the 300 milestone in $6.50 Turbo SNG’s. Things have gone well so far and I think it’s time to take a shot at the $12 SNG’s. I’ve played a few already and I don’t see a difference in the quality of play so I’ll expect to maintain my previous results.
Both my ROI and ITM have increased slightly over the last 100 SNG’s so that a good thing.
I’ve also managed to lower my 4th place finishes and picked up the slack with 3rd place finishes. First is where you want to be but I’m glad to get over the 4th place finish hump.
Here is my winnings graph just because it looks purrty.
