eMarkM
05-11-2004, 03:14 PM
This week marks my 1st full year playing online tourneys regularly. My first experience was playing in the very first King of the Zoo tourney, a $30 event that attracted 42 participants, including many of the regulars on this board. I had always been a Paradise limit HE guy and this was my first venture outside of that site. So I deposited $100 in Stars for this and future King of the Zoo events. It certainly wasn't any +EV thing for me, I didn't give myself much of a chance against all these experienced players. But it was a hell of a lot of fun to chat with all the posters and I just took it as the social event that it was. I ended up 16th, out of the money, but had a lot of fun. I also got a taste of life outside of Paradise and I really like Stars software.
But after that I went back to my usual Paradise ring games and didn't log back onto Stars until a week or so before the next KotZ in the first week of June. I played in a couple of events and didn't do too well. The week of KotZ I signed up for a $50 PLHE tourney. There were 194 entrants and I took 3rd.
I was hooked. Wow, what a rush these tournaments are! Much more thrilling than the grind of ring games. I never felt anything like the rush of that final table. And now my Stars account was flush with the $1200 cash for future buy-ins. So I played in tourneys the next two days before KotZ II. I took 11/303 in a $30 PLHE and 18/230 in a $50 NLHE. Small cash for each, but I obviously had a knack for these multi tourney things. One of those tourneys taught me the "chip and a chair" lesson as I came back from T40 early to money. What drama!
The next day was KotZ II, PLHE. I took a disappointing 38/48, but the same night I entered a $50 LHE tourney with 126 players and made my 2nd final table of the week. 4th place and another $650. My $100 had balooned to nearly $2000. Man, moneying in these multis was easy! Four money finishes in one week. But through the rest of the month I didn't have another money finish. I played about a dozen tourneys and found out what a bad feeling you get when you invest 3 hours in an event and bubble just ahead of the money. So the rest of June was pretty uneventful, but the buyins weren't making too much of a dent in my newly minted Stars bankroll.
My next big breakthrough was early July. I took my biggest prize home to date, $1900 in a 198 person NLHE when I took 2nd. In this tourney I was 2nd small stack going into final table and here I learned what an EV boost you get just sitting out watching bigger stacks take on the chip leader. One by one the leader took out everyone in sight until I was HU with an insurmountable lead and I was happy with 2nd. The very next night I topped that one, big time. A three way chop in a $100 166 person event. That was worth $3500 and now I really had a serious roll on Stars. I finally started making withdrawals. Three weeks after that I had my first outright win. 1st place in $50 237 person NLHE event. I asked for a chop HU, was refused and couple hands later I'm looking at Aces with my opponent all-in. A very satisfying victory after some close calls and another $3500 added to the coffers.
Finally in August came a dry spell. With the exception of entering and winning $1200 in my first ever PLO event, I didn't even money, let alone make another final table for nearly two months. I spent all the $1200 from the PLO win in buyins trying to breakthrough and for the first time my total winnings dribbled away and I had "spent" the winnings of a previous big score.
I got back on track by moneying in a large Party tourney for about $1000. But Party tourneys left a real bad taste in my mouth. All-in abuse and the insufferable stalling were enough to drive me away from that site except for PPM events. I got back to the final table for the first time on Stars in late September in a PLHE tourney and $1400 win. But I was starting to burn out on it a little.
With the birth of my 2nd daughter I took a break from tourneys for a couple months. Played in only a handful from her birth in early October to Christmas. Day after Christmas, with the baby now sleeping though the night, I was able to get back into playing regularly on weeknights after the kids have gone to bed. That night I took 4th in a 300 person $50 NLHE for $1200. But over January, I basically lost ground to buyins, moneying here and there, some small final table scores letting me tread water.
Then Stars started the $10 rebuy and I moneyed in the 4 of the first 7 I played, including two final tables. A huge score with a HU chop and $3200 in one of them and with that win I finally broke through the doldrums and eclipsed my previous tournament winnings high water mark. Shortly after that I won a 117 person NLHE and $1500 and I felt I was back in the groove. But again over the next month, I burned through that $1500 in buyins and not doing much. I was playing a ton of tourneys compared to before, basically two and three tabling with my 9PM CT post-kiddie bedtime starts doing the $50 HE event and the $10 rebuy and even some Party and Paradise tourneys, too.
Then three weeks ago I became "King of the Zoo" by taking 3rd in the last event. I'm the points leader now in that competition. I don't know if that had any impact on what would follow, but I've been really on a tear lately on Stars. Started with a tourney the next day on Stars where I took 2nd in a 259 entrant event and $2300. Later that same night I took a 3rd in WSOP qualifier where top 2 went to the Show and the Three of Spades broke my heart as told in a different thread on this board.
Since 4/29, in a span of two weeks, I've made 11 final tables. A final table in seven of the last eight nights, including one where I was playing in two simultaneous finals in back to back events! Unfortunately, I haven't won any of them outright and some have been smaller events, so no +$1000K individual scores, but still it's been an incredible run. Not the best in terms of cash, but far and away my best in terms of competition.
Which brings us to today. I'm currently well entrenched in the Stars top 150 Tourney Leader Board. I'm in the top ten for the month of May so far. For the past 12 months I've played a total of 303 tourneys, 60 money finishes and 41 final table appearances. To get to the final table 13% of the time in contests averaging 285 participants I think is quite an accomplishment for having only the one year's experience.
For my next year I have the following goals:
1) Make at least one final table in a "major" online event for a five figure prize. I don't get to play in the Stars $200 on Sundays where top prize is serious five figures. That's family time, so this one will be tough. I've only played it once before. So Stars will be tough, but Party's tourneys have changed policies regarding all-ins and I will be playing a lot more of their $200 tourneys with +1000 competitors that run at times that are better for me to play in.
2) To win a vacation and buyin to major event. Aruba, PPM, Stars Carribean, WSOP, I'll take any of them. This past year I didn't make too big an effort towards these, but this year I will play in more qualifying events. Heck, I still have a week or so to get in this year's WSOP. I've come close three times already.
3) To maintain a top 150 status in the Stars TLB. I want to do this while still maintaining my "casual" schedule of starting at 9PM and playing in whatever's available over the next hour until I bust and go to bed. I was in the top 20 for weekly leader and the McEvoy freeroll last week, but when I saw what it takes to actually win it in terms of having to play every available event, I just can't make that kind of commitment. I'm not going to be one of the rabid players in every tourney, every day. I don't want to get caught up in a race, but just accomplish it during my natrual course of play.
I think all of these goals are realistic ones for me within the next twelve months.
Next week I'm going to be hooking up with davidross in Vegas for my first trip out there as a poker player during the craziest time of the year for poker. If any other 2+2ers are going to be out there, let me know, we're going to try and arrange a time and place we can meet. We'll be out there on the 20th and if we don't win a seat online, we'll be playing in some of the supers prior to the event. I plan on leaving the 24th, unless of course I'm in the WSOP and surviving. Look for me on the Leaderboard.
But after that I went back to my usual Paradise ring games and didn't log back onto Stars until a week or so before the next KotZ in the first week of June. I played in a couple of events and didn't do too well. The week of KotZ I signed up for a $50 PLHE tourney. There were 194 entrants and I took 3rd.
I was hooked. Wow, what a rush these tournaments are! Much more thrilling than the grind of ring games. I never felt anything like the rush of that final table. And now my Stars account was flush with the $1200 cash for future buy-ins. So I played in tourneys the next two days before KotZ II. I took 11/303 in a $30 PLHE and 18/230 in a $50 NLHE. Small cash for each, but I obviously had a knack for these multi tourney things. One of those tourneys taught me the "chip and a chair" lesson as I came back from T40 early to money. What drama!
The next day was KotZ II, PLHE. I took a disappointing 38/48, but the same night I entered a $50 LHE tourney with 126 players and made my 2nd final table of the week. 4th place and another $650. My $100 had balooned to nearly $2000. Man, moneying in these multis was easy! Four money finishes in one week. But through the rest of the month I didn't have another money finish. I played about a dozen tourneys and found out what a bad feeling you get when you invest 3 hours in an event and bubble just ahead of the money. So the rest of June was pretty uneventful, but the buyins weren't making too much of a dent in my newly minted Stars bankroll.
My next big breakthrough was early July. I took my biggest prize home to date, $1900 in a 198 person NLHE when I took 2nd. In this tourney I was 2nd small stack going into final table and here I learned what an EV boost you get just sitting out watching bigger stacks take on the chip leader. One by one the leader took out everyone in sight until I was HU with an insurmountable lead and I was happy with 2nd. The very next night I topped that one, big time. A three way chop in a $100 166 person event. That was worth $3500 and now I really had a serious roll on Stars. I finally started making withdrawals. Three weeks after that I had my first outright win. 1st place in $50 237 person NLHE event. I asked for a chop HU, was refused and couple hands later I'm looking at Aces with my opponent all-in. A very satisfying victory after some close calls and another $3500 added to the coffers.
Finally in August came a dry spell. With the exception of entering and winning $1200 in my first ever PLO event, I didn't even money, let alone make another final table for nearly two months. I spent all the $1200 from the PLO win in buyins trying to breakthrough and for the first time my total winnings dribbled away and I had "spent" the winnings of a previous big score.
I got back on track by moneying in a large Party tourney for about $1000. But Party tourneys left a real bad taste in my mouth. All-in abuse and the insufferable stalling were enough to drive me away from that site except for PPM events. I got back to the final table for the first time on Stars in late September in a PLHE tourney and $1400 win. But I was starting to burn out on it a little.
With the birth of my 2nd daughter I took a break from tourneys for a couple months. Played in only a handful from her birth in early October to Christmas. Day after Christmas, with the baby now sleeping though the night, I was able to get back into playing regularly on weeknights after the kids have gone to bed. That night I took 4th in a 300 person $50 NLHE for $1200. But over January, I basically lost ground to buyins, moneying here and there, some small final table scores letting me tread water.
Then Stars started the $10 rebuy and I moneyed in the 4 of the first 7 I played, including two final tables. A huge score with a HU chop and $3200 in one of them and with that win I finally broke through the doldrums and eclipsed my previous tournament winnings high water mark. Shortly after that I won a 117 person NLHE and $1500 and I felt I was back in the groove. But again over the next month, I burned through that $1500 in buyins and not doing much. I was playing a ton of tourneys compared to before, basically two and three tabling with my 9PM CT post-kiddie bedtime starts doing the $50 HE event and the $10 rebuy and even some Party and Paradise tourneys, too.
Then three weeks ago I became "King of the Zoo" by taking 3rd in the last event. I'm the points leader now in that competition. I don't know if that had any impact on what would follow, but I've been really on a tear lately on Stars. Started with a tourney the next day on Stars where I took 2nd in a 259 entrant event and $2300. Later that same night I took a 3rd in WSOP qualifier where top 2 went to the Show and the Three of Spades broke my heart as told in a different thread on this board.
Since 4/29, in a span of two weeks, I've made 11 final tables. A final table in seven of the last eight nights, including one where I was playing in two simultaneous finals in back to back events! Unfortunately, I haven't won any of them outright and some have been smaller events, so no +$1000K individual scores, but still it's been an incredible run. Not the best in terms of cash, but far and away my best in terms of competition.
Which brings us to today. I'm currently well entrenched in the Stars top 150 Tourney Leader Board. I'm in the top ten for the month of May so far. For the past 12 months I've played a total of 303 tourneys, 60 money finishes and 41 final table appearances. To get to the final table 13% of the time in contests averaging 285 participants I think is quite an accomplishment for having only the one year's experience.
For my next year I have the following goals:
1) Make at least one final table in a "major" online event for a five figure prize. I don't get to play in the Stars $200 on Sundays where top prize is serious five figures. That's family time, so this one will be tough. I've only played it once before. So Stars will be tough, but Party's tourneys have changed policies regarding all-ins and I will be playing a lot more of their $200 tourneys with +1000 competitors that run at times that are better for me to play in.
2) To win a vacation and buyin to major event. Aruba, PPM, Stars Carribean, WSOP, I'll take any of them. This past year I didn't make too big an effort towards these, but this year I will play in more qualifying events. Heck, I still have a week or so to get in this year's WSOP. I've come close three times already.
3) To maintain a top 150 status in the Stars TLB. I want to do this while still maintaining my "casual" schedule of starting at 9PM and playing in whatever's available over the next hour until I bust and go to bed. I was in the top 20 for weekly leader and the McEvoy freeroll last week, but when I saw what it takes to actually win it in terms of having to play every available event, I just can't make that kind of commitment. I'm not going to be one of the rabid players in every tourney, every day. I don't want to get caught up in a race, but just accomplish it during my natrual course of play.
I think all of these goals are realistic ones for me within the next twelve months.
Next week I'm going to be hooking up with davidross in Vegas for my first trip out there as a poker player during the craziest time of the year for poker. If any other 2+2ers are going to be out there, let me know, we're going to try and arrange a time and place we can meet. We'll be out there on the 20th and if we don't win a seat online, we'll be playing in some of the supers prior to the event. I plan on leaving the 24th, unless of course I'm in the WSOP and surviving. Look for me on the Leaderboard.