How many hours have you broken even online?

[beach_bum]

I'm just curious about 5-10 and above online.

How long is the longest time you have broken even?

Also how often have you broken even for over 60 hours?

How about 100 hours?

Thanks

[Cyndie]

[jek187]

Beach Bum writes: [ QUOTE ]
How long is the longest time you have broken even?

Also how often have you broken even for over 60 hours?

How about 100 hours?

[/ QUOTE ]

Then Cyndie asks:

[ QUOTE ]
Do you mean one session or how many months or years?

[/ QUOTE ]

Now call me crazy Cynide, but it seems he's curious about HOURS.

But hey, ty for writing in the subject line, it's nice and easy to read.

[lorinda]

But hey, ty for writing in the subject line, it's nice and easy to read

LOL

Lori

[beach_bum]

I'm just curious about 5-10 and above online.

How long is the longest time you have broken even?

Also how often have you broken even for over 60 hours?

How about 100 hours?

Thanks

[GuyOnTilt]

I really don't understand the question...I don't "break even" over any given amount of time; I gain money. I guess I have gained, and then gone back into negative numbers for a particular session, so at one point I "broke even" after x amount of hours played for that session, but I really don't understand what you're asking, or why you're asking.

[HavanaBanana]

Only thing a Gambler can hope for is to Die in his sleep.

[GuyOnTilt]

This one's over my head...

[smudgex68]

Good question. I'm also interested in knowing the answer to this, but more specifically at the 1/2 level over 75 hours not just 60 or 100 hours

[crazy canuck]

I'm just curious about 5-10 and above online. How many hours have you broken even online?

Back in spring I didn't play for 2 months. I broke perfectly even.

[smudgex68]

So would that be approximately 1440 hours, or 960 hours assuming you sleep 8 hours a day?

[Cyndie]

[lorinda]

This one's over my head...

Ah the giveaway sign that although you are a really good poster, that you are still an SS'er at heart.

(Think famous songs....)

Lori

[beach_bum]

Not to be rude, but I find it hard to believe that this is a hard question to understand. Suppose you have won "X" dollars after playing 400 hours. Now suppose you play 60 more hours and are still up "X" dollars. You have broken even for 60 hours. Suppose you play 400 hours and are up "X" dollars. Now you play another 100 hours and are still up "X" dollars. You have broken even for 100 hours. Regardless of where you were at any time during the 60 or 100 extra hours, you are still at the same point after the end of the additional hours so you have broken even over those hours.


Here is the question again:

I'm just curious about 5-10 and above online.

How long is the longest time you have broken even?

Also how often have you broken even for over 60 hours?

How about 100 hours?

Thanks

[ElSapo]

Suppose you have won "X" dollars after playing 400 hours. Now suppose you play 60 more hours and are still up "X" dollars. You have broken even for 60 hours.

Nope. I'm just winning at a lower hourly rate.

Say I win $200 in 10 hours. Hourly rate, $20/hour.
After 60 more hours, I'm still up $200... Hourly rate, $2.85/hour.

Move down in limits.

[Mangatang]

These questions make no sense. A break-even player (by definition) will break even for an infinite period of time. Is that what you're asking?

A winning player will go though bad spells occasionally where he either loses for a period of time or doesn't manage to make as much as he normally does. A normal bad spell can run anywhere from 50 up to 300 big bets (however long it took to get there doesn't matter).

A losing player would be happy to break-even for any period of time.

So what was your question again?

[lorinda]

So what was your question again?

What he is asking is what is the longest time difference you can find in your records is where your all time Winnings (or losses) are the same figure.

Lori

[Homer]

I'm not sure what you're looking for, as the answer will vary based on a player's ability. If you post your EV and SD, then I can tell you the odds of you being even or behind after x hours.

-- Homer

[Mangatang]

This means nothing if you don't know if it's a winning or losing player. Is he saying that he's normally a winning player and that he's disappointed in breaking even for a long period? Or is he saying, "Hey, look how good I'm doing. I haven't lost any money over the last 60 hours"?

I don't understand what valuable information can be deduced from his questions.

[Homer]

Probability of being even or behind after h hours = N(-uh^.5/sigma);

Where u = win rate and sigma = standard deviation

Example:

u = 1 BB/hr
sigma = 10 BB/hr

a) h = 25 hrs

P(even or behind) = N(-1*(25^.5)/10) = N(-.5) = 30.85%

b) h = 50 hrs

P(even or behind) = N(-1*(50^.5)/10) = N(-.707) = 23.98%

Actual numbers from other players are meaningless. Use your own u and sigma.

EDIT: Note that this can be used regardless of whether you are a winning or losing player.

-- Homer

[lorinda]

He isn't saying anything, he's asking a question.

Lori

[daryn]

oops, i thought h = 6.63 x 10^-34 J*s

and i thought i was doing well /images/graemlins/confused.gif

[Homer]

Isn't that some constant from chemistry...number of atoms in a mole or something. Damn it, stop giving me flashbacks to college...

-- Homer

[lorinda]

oops, i thought h = 6.63 x 10^-34 J*s

I always figured you were a bit of a planck Daryn.

Lori

[Mangatang]

Isn't that some constant from chemistry...number of atoms in a mole or something.

No, you're thinking of Avogadro's number (6.02 E23) /images/graemlins/confused.gif

[Homer]

Hmmm, then what is this "h" number? Planck's constant? I know that's a constant used in Physics but I can't remember what it is used for (gravitational constant maybe, no wait that's G...crap).

-- Homer

[Mangatang]

Don't worry about it, Homer. Both constants are only useful in college. The real world has little use for either of them. /images/graemlins/blush.gif

[pokerlover]

[Homer]

[MicroBob]

umm, i had decent run of cards a couple of months ago and i've been a profitable player ever sense.
somehow i think i still don't get the gist of the question.

i had a negative hour last week that ended a streak where i had made money in each of 10 consecutive sessions. i don't think this is it either.

can someone else please explain what exactly this question is supposed to be.

[GuyOnTilt]

Okay, I guess I kind of understand the question now, though I don't what valuable information can be deduced from it. I guess the longest I have "broken even" would be from when I first started playing poker as a losing player, to when I got out of the red for the first time. That was before I started keeping extensive stats on myself, but I'm guessing it was around 40 hours of play.

[GuyOnTilt]

(Think famous songs....)

Sigh...you girls are way too old for me. I'm guessing the song in question was mainstream before I was born. I'm going to have to claim "Youth" on this one.

[beach_bum]

Homer, thanks for the equation. Can you tell me what ^ is and what N is?


*****************

Probability of being even or behind after h hours = N(-uh^.5/sigma);

Where u = win rate and sigma = standard deviation

[Homer]

N() is the normal distribution function (you can solve for the normal distribution using Excel).

^ is to the power of (for example, 2^3 = 2 to the 3rd power = 8).

So, first solve for the value of (-uh^.5/sigma). This is the same as (-u/sigma)*sqrt(h).

Then, go into Excel and type =normsdist(x), where x is the value that you solved for.

-- Homer

[lorinda]

You're right, it's an oldie, however it is also amazing (and I hate this style of music usually)

I'm sure you must have heard it, but if you haven't go and listen to it right away.

THE GAMBLER - Kenny Rogers

On a warm summer's evenin', on a train bound for nowhere,
I met up with the gambler; we were both too tired to sleep.
So we took turns a starin' out the window at the darkness,
'Til boredom overtook us, and he began to speak.

He said: "Son, I've made a life out of readin' people's faces,
"And knowin' what their cards were by the way they held their eyes.
"So if you don't mind my sayin', I can see you're out of aces.
"For a taste of your whiskey, I'll give you some advice."

So I handed him my bottle and he drank down my last swallow.
Then he bummed a cigarette and asked me for a light.
And the night got deathly quiet, his face lost all expression.
He said: "If you're gonna play the game, boy, you gotta learn to play it right.

"You got to know when to hold 'em; know when to fold 'em,
"Know when to walk away; know when to run.
"You never count your money when you're sittin' at the table.
"There'll be time enough for countin' when the dealin's done.

"Now ev'ry gambler knows the secret to survivin'.
"Is knowin' what to throw away, knowing what to keep.
"'Cos ev'ry hand's a winner and ev'ry hand's a loser,
"And the best you can hope for is to die in your sleep."

So when he'd finished speakin', he turned back toward the window:
Crushed out his cigarette and faded off to sleep.
And somewhere in the darkness the gambler, he broke even.
But in his final words I found an ace that I could keep.

"You got to know when to hold 'em; know when to fold 'em,
"Know when to walk away; know when to run.
"You never count your money when you're sittin' at the table.
"There'll be time enough for countin' when the dealin's done.

"You got to know when to hold 'em; know when to fold 'em,
"Know when to walk away; know when to run.
"You never count your money when you're sittin' at the table.
"There'll be time enough for countin' when the dealin's done.

You got to know when to hold 'em; know when to fold 'em,
"Know when to walk away; know when to run.
"You never count your money when you're sittin' at the table.
"There'll be time enough for countin' when the dealin's done

Lori

[BruceZ]

Quantum physics. E = hv, where E is energy, v is frequency.

Or delta_x *delta_p <= h/2pi, Heisenberg's uncertainty principle.

[Homer]

Thanks Bruce! While you're wandering over here in the dark side, can you confirm that the equation I posted in this thread is correct?

-- Thanks, Homer

[BruceZ]

[beach_bum]

Well, I am truly amazed at the response to this question. It's really not that hard. If you keep records you should be able to look at them and see how often you are at the same total win after a 60 or 100 hour chunk of time. The fact that so few people can understand the question tells me a lot about the quality of the information on this site. It's been 36 hours since my original post and out of 20 or so replies no one has answered my question and there has only been one useful response. Oh well...

[lorinda]

In the last two months my longest period of being level is 69.69 hours (and thats the truth despite the silly looking numbers).

However, it is not at a level, or a game that you asked, so I didn't give this number.

Lori

[stripsqueez]

i reckon your question could of been clearer - i also reckon those other replies were a bit mean

if you were me, not including when i started playing, what is the longest number of hours that elapsed before i surpassed my bankroll high point ??

hmmm...best guess...75

i wonder if some maths wizz can tell us what the figure should be given a set of variables ??...assume i make 2 BB's per hour in an average on-line hold'em game, and i play 2 games at once, and i have been doing it for 2000 hours

stripsqueez - chickenhawk

[beach_bum]

[Lebronomania]

Gotta admit that I'm appalled at how so many people can not understand the question. Then again, I'm sure you coulda phrased it better. Trust me, usually the posters are much brighter on this site.

Having said that, I really cant tell you the longest I've gone breaking even. Anyone know how to figure this on their PT?

[MicroBob]

"what is the longest number of hours that elapsed before i surpassed my bankroll high point"


holy crap!!! thank you thank you thank you!!!

i finally understand the question. i can sleep now.

i'm probably at about 13 hours right now....haven't played a whole lot this week and the OIC has treaed me most unkindly (as well as the 1/2 and 2/4 games). only about $60 off though so hopefully my streak will not stretch for too many hours.

i like looking at records for consecutive winning sessions or consecutive profitable hours...but this is probably not a very effective anti-tilt tendency.

[pokerwhore]

broke even? how about winning? I have logged way to many hours online! Over 100s and 100s of hours I am a winning player. So not sure what break even means.

[JayCo]

So I've been in bed with the flu for a week and this is the 2nd thread I've now read:
A question about win rate viariablitlity leading us to 1) Quantum physics and chemistry formulae, 2) a (minor) pissing contest about whether the question was worthy or understandable, and 3) the lyrics to the only Kenny Rogers song worth spending air on.
Ah, The ZOO. /images/graemlins/cool.gif

[BBill]

Quantum physics and chemistry formulae, 2) a (minor) pissing contest about whether the question was worthy or understandable, and 3) the lyrics to the only Kenny Rogers song worth spending air on.
This is great content IMO but the following lyrics are of a concern because I don't think they are politically correct!

The only thing a gambler needs
is a suitcase and a trunk
and the only time he's satisfied
is when he's on a drunk

the male only connotation has to be accepted because of the syllable and rhyming scheme but I require more than just a suitcase and a trunk! Anybody know who I should contact with my protest ?

[beach_bum]

This is a close enough interpretation of the question, but believe it or not, it's not the question I asked. It's possible to have a longer time between bankroll high points than from one previous high point to that same high point. This happens when you reach a previous high point but then lose back some and end up at the same point as many hours before. Frankly, though, if people had trouble understanding my original question I don't think they're going to comprehend that. (For example, imagine a bell curve with two high bumps somewhere in the top area).

But thanks for your reply and answers to the paraphrased version of my question would also be interesting to hear.

[Cyndie]

and you want to know how long someone has stayed at a plateau without going higher?

Am I getting warmer? I bet Homer can calculate the probability of how long it rates to be before you break out of a lull and move on to new heights.

[JTrout]

I read over the original questions, twice. And I confess I had no idea what you were asking. Your clarification did help some, though.
.
And regarding the inept responses to your question- I had the opposite reaction. All these folks with their physics and formulas- it scares me how smart they are. I don't like thinking that I'm playing poker against some of 'em! Thank goodness there are enough fish to go around.
.
Regarding the answer to your question- I don't play 5-10, but at 3-6 I went about 4 weeks breaking even. Twice. And I've been playing app. 17 weeks. At app.30 hrs per week, that's over 100 hrs of breaking even. Twice.

[Homer]

Did you ever stop to consider the possibility that people might have had trouble understanding your question because it wasn't phrased well, instead of coming to the immediate conclusion that everyone here must be stupid? Furthermore, the answers to the question are irrelevant, other than to satisfy your own curiosity. They tell you nothing about your poker game.

-- Homer

[beach_bum]

[ QUOTE ]
Did you ever stop to consider the possibility that people might have had trouble understanding your question because it wasn't phrased well, instead of coming to the immediate conclusion that everyone here must be stupid? Furthermore, the answers to the question are irrelevant, other than to satisfy your own curiosity. They tell you nothing about your poker game.

-- Homer

[/ QUOTE ]

First of all I should say that your original response to my question was for the first 36 hours the only useful one and I do appreciate that. Since then there have been a few other informative ones.

Now here is my response to your message:

Yes, I considered that my question wasn't phrased as clearly as I thought it was which is why I've posted three clarifications. I don't think that constitutes an immediate conclusion that everyone here must be stupid. I do feel that for a serious winning player the question is pretty straight forward especially when you take into account the clarifications.

Regarding the answers to my question being irrelevant, I think you are being very short sighted. In addition, even though it’s not, suppose the only relevancy was to satisfy my own curiosity, what is the problem with that?

I find it pretty appalling that the majority of people found the question hard to understand and telling that there were almost no responses that answered the question and many that reprimanded me for being unclear or asking irrelevant questions.

[Nottom]

Personally, I understood the question but didn't answer because I don't see how it is relevant to anything. I'm sure there are players out there that have "broken even" for many years. Any player that has been playing for a reasonable amount of time and hasn't experienced at least a month or two of break even play is almost certainly lying.

As for me, after a pretty awful month of October you could say I'm breakeven for the past 6 months.

[beach_bum]

[ QUOTE ]
Personally, I understood the question but didn't answer because I don't see how it is relevant to anything. I'm sure there are players out there that have "broken even" for many years. Any player that has been playing for a reasonable amount of time and hasn't experienced at least a month or two of break even play is almost certainly lying.

As for me, after a pretty awful month of October you could say I'm breakeven for the past 6 months.

[/ QUOTE ]


Sorry to hear that, but thanks for the response.