How well do you play when you 1st sit down?

I recently was thinking to myself "I wonder if the 1st tournament I sit down and play shows any better or worse results?" I thought I might play tighter, possibly more distracted due to getting things setup, as well as being busy checking emails and working on other work. However, I also thought my mind is fresh and less prone to tilting. So I decided to give it more looking into. Since I actually have a daily running tally on every game I play, I basically went back to last January 2008 and copied my data onto another spreadsheet and deleted out every game except for the 1st sit in go I played each day. Here were my results:

Each SNG not being my 1st game: $10 per hour, per game

Each SNG as my 1st of the day: $7.60 per hour,  per game

It actually is much worse as I separated out the standard sng's from the "double-up" sng's. at $1.60 per hour, per game

(I figure the reason for this might just be because the double ups have no end game and are a bit less complicated to play.)

I will say the data used reflecting 1st sng's is 314 games taking 168 hours of play, which might seem like alot of data, but is still susceptable to random variance swings. I do believe when using common sense, it seems to make sense. In anything we do the 1st time, we are probably not at our best. As any sporting event you have ever been to might show, they all warm up prior to the big game. Why would it be any different for poker?

So how will this information guide my future play? I would probably like to delve deeper into the data and see if I am just playing too cautious or busting out earlier more often. This information, again, is based on how I play, and might not be as useful for somebody else who might be able to sit down with good energy and give 100% of their attention to every game. In my personal case, if I am playing winning sng's, I will keep playing into the night until I lose one or two. So if you look at the last 1 or 2 sng's I play each day it will probably show pretty bad results even though I am playing quite well.

My recommendation for other players out there: In my particular case I am still somewhat profitable my 1st game, however, most players with less experience and skill are probably fighting to keep their heads above water as it is, and starting off the day on a downswing is probably much more damaging and could cause an earlier bout of tilting. I would recommend trying to play smaller than your normal average buyin and if things work out well, than you can move up to a higher level of play feeling confident in your game, and if things do start off poorly you have already minimized your losses and can continue to play small until things work out better. This would be a much better strategy than what I typically hear when I talk with amateur players who get tilted and lose and then try and play bigger to make their money back, which leads to an inevitable crash to their bankrolls.

Lately I've been getting a lot of  questions on where to find a good book devoted strictly to sit'n'go's? Most of the poker books out there have maybe one chapter or a few pages devoted to these tournaments (Typically 6 or 10 player tournaments which pay 2-3 players based on finish.) In general, they will all basically tell you to play tight early and more aggressive late, with a few examples. In most cases I think it's ok advice for smaller buyins $1-30 buyins, but there are so many variables that can make or break you, it would be a good idea to study a little deeper. Check out "Sit 'in Go Strategy", by Collin Moshman.



It was first printed in 2007, so I'm sure at the higher limits, there are some strategies that might be debated, however, the book runs through a number of tough scenarios and specific ways to look at and play a hand based on strictly sit 'n go style tournaments. If you have read any of Dan Harrington's books, it is from the same publisher (2+2 publishing) and it has a very similar style of teaching. It runs for $24.95, which in my mind is probably the cost of what most people to play 1 single sit'n go, and you will probably make that money back hand over fist if you can retain some of it or plug a few leaks.   

I tried to find an applicable quote from the David Apostolico's book based off Sun-Tzu war strategies "Tournament Poker and the Art of War": "We are not fit to lead an army on the march unless we are familiar with the face of the country - its mountains and forests, its pitfalls and percipices, its marshes and swamps."

Good luck at the tables. Please keep the feedback coming (email, comments, and questions). Donkeyherder

 
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Year End Review and an Exciting New Year to Looking Forward

Well last year wasn't my most productive year in poker, at least not in the way of dollars made. Between our new baby and moving to a new home, my free time was utterly drained between wife, baby, moving, and "real" work. That being said, still another profitable and productive year.

My poker:
In terms of performance, I ended the year fairly strong. I had a positive finish in 7 out of my last 8 months, included my last 3 in a row. While my games/hours had dropped this year, I am now pretty well settled and expect to gradually put in more time and effort into my games. I also finished the year at my highest average buyin level pretty much ever at $141 average buyin per game/(sit in go). Most of my focus has been $150-200 double up sit in go tournaments in which 5 out of 10 players get double their money back when the first 5 get eliminated. I've been tearing these up pretty well cashing about 57-60%. That might not seem all that great, but I would venture to say it is in the highest ranks for that limit. Going into next year I have got my niche pretty well figured out for now.  I will also probably play 1 or 2 events at the WSOP again this year depending on this success and hopes I should have a renter for my condo.

Here is my latest qoute from the David Apostolico's book based off Sun-Tzu war strategies "Tournament Poker and the Art of War": "Now the general who wins a battle makes many calculations in his temple before the battle is fought. The general who loses a battle makes few calculations beforehand. Thus do many calculations lead to victory and few calculations lead to defeat: how much more no calculation at all! It is by attention to this point that I can forsee who is likely to win or lose".

This year I also rarely had time to research my and my opponents play hand-by-hand. This year I hope to work out a few more leaks with my increasing spare time.

My buddy "dawgonu" has had a great year as well, cashing in some big tournaments and improved the leaks in his game all around. He has already won a trip to play in the Aussie Millions in a couple weeks and I expect us both to have another great year.

My poker related investments:
I plan on buying another 37"+ TV to use as a 4th monitor and get a Verizon hi-speed internet plugin as a backup internet connection. I'd also like to get a heavy duty power backup "UPS" that could endure any long lasting power outages. Typically it's not a problem here in sunny CA, but it has happened before and if I'm playing 3 $200 tournaments and registered in 2 more and I lose power, I could potentially easily lose $1,000 and my short term sanity!! Too me it's worth the investments.

My financial investments:
I pretty much cashed out all my stocks last year so I could take off 3 months of work to support my wife during her pregnancy. This was a very good decision, obviously for the time spent with my wife and coincidentally the stock market has plunged over 30% since then. I hope this years' success will give me an opportunity to rebuild that account and hopefully by then the markets have turned around.

My real job:
As with most people, my real job is not something I love with all my heart, but it pays the bills in a time where people are getting laid off, so I can't complain. I'd love to quit and play full-time, but it makes sense to keep doing what I'm doing. To me it's like paid exercise during a time in the day when my favorite game doesn't fill well anyways. I actually like doing my job which has me talking to alot people I've known quite a while and I get to drive around and do things on my own schedule in my company car. The only real downside is dealing with increasing administrative work and catching heat from management, especially over things you don't have much control and rarely getting any kind of compliments for a job well done the other 99% of the time. So I'll keep on for now until I am able to line up a better scenario.

My family:
Despite my desire to play poker 24/7 365 days a year, I realize if I want to at least maintain my current routine I will continue to try to be a good dad and helper around the house. While it makes obvious sense based on my results $ per hour etc., my wife still has a hard time seeing my time playing poker as equal to time working my real job or helping around the house. She says she understands, but when I'm sitting in a tournament with hundreds or thousands of dollars at stake and the baby is crying or the house is a mess, etc., you can tell it goes right out the window. In a way I can understand and unless I am asking for a divorce, I have just got to deal with it. I am young and already have more than most people twice my age and am very grateful to have a nice home, good family, good wife and blessed with a healthy child.

My Poker blog:
I started this blog less than a year ago with no experience or expectations what so ever. I didn't really expect to make much money off of this, but I'm glad I am able have my experiences documented and at least do something positive for others with all the experience I have in this way of life. I expect to do more reviews on mostly poker related stuff and continue to network myself around and get to know more people in the industry. I do enjoy writing but since it is something I don't really get paid for, I prefer to use my valuable free time to play. I do hope to continue to improve my content and have gotten some good comments and advice this year.

All in all I think I'm in a great spot to have a good year. The only obstacle I really see is my playing time is still at a part-time level, which should at least continue to improve with time and set me up to have a spectacular year hopefully by 2010.  Time will tell my fate I guess. Good luck at the tables. Please keep the feedback coming (email, comments, and questions). Donkeyherder


 
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