I finally won a poker tournament...

anarres · 30-06-2005, 16:26

After entering quite a few tournaments I've finally won one!

One of the forms of poker I've been playing recently is MTT (multi-table tournaments). These can be Fixed Limit (boring), Pot Limit, or No Limit, and can have entry prices from $1 to $100 (and even higher!).

Until yesterday I had never won an MTT. I've won plently of 1 or 2 table poker (9 or 18 players), but these are not considered proper tournaments and they are over pretty quickly. This last 2 weeks I have started placing (i.e. finishing in the money) in about 1/2 of the MTT's I enter, and quite highly in some (2nd out of 129, 10th out of 480, 28th out of 1480).

Last night I had my first big win with 1st place in a $50 Pot Limit game (means you can raise the bet by up to the amount of money already in the pot - unlike No Limit where you can go all in at any point). There were 143 people (IIRC), and I won just over $2100.

As an aside, I was telling my ex-housemate just 2 days ago that I really needed a win to convince myself I was good enough after so many close misses. *Almost* winning at poker is a brutal thing, akin to being offered a glass of water in the desert, just to have it poured out at your feet. At last I can say my thirst is quenched.

romeothemonk · 30-06-2005, 16:38

Need some more details here. Is this online or in a casino? 7-card texas hold-em?
Do you chop pots? (i.e. buy out the 2nd or 3rd place guys, completely legal)
Anyway, good luck with poker. It is too luck based for me. I almost always finish in the top 1/3 whenever I play, but I don't have the money to spend on it. So I post on CDZ which is free.

Rik Meleet · 30-06-2005, 17:05

You are using your time-off well !!

Markstar · 30-06-2005, 17:34

Wow, congrats!

My girlfriends brother (and good friend) introduced us to Texas Hold'em this easter and I liked it. Actually it is not so much about luck, especially not in the long run. Would be a nice game for a get-together.

anarres · 30-06-2005, 18:43

romeo - it's Texas Holdem played online at www.pokerstars.com. No chops, I didn't need to since I had the biggest stack from when there were 20 players right to heads up, then it was up and down for a bit but I came through.

As for the luck element - it is certainly true that in the long run it shouldn't matter, but in the short term it makes a world of difference. For example - I was much more likely to win a tourney I was in a few days ago ($50 rebuy tourney), and I was chip leader to the last 20 places, at which point I had 50 hands of lame cards and a very agressive table, and so lost my stack slowly but surely and went out 10th. In this tourney I was all in at one point with the worst hand (and won on the river), and on several occasions (at least 3 or 4) I was all in with a roughly 50/50 shot of winning the hand (pair vs 2 over cards), winning each time.

Although people say they'd rather be lucky than good (a very common saying in poker), if you are bad you will ALWAYS lose a tourney with more than 9 people. If you are good you ALWAYS need to get more than your fair share of good luck to win, or to reach the final table.

Markstar, we'll see what we can do!

30-06-2005, 16:26	#1
anarres anarchist butcher Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: United States of Whatever. Posts: 4,677	I finally won a poker tournament... After entering quite a few tournaments I've finally won one! One of the forms of poker I've been playing recently is MTT (multi-table tournaments). These can be Fixed Limit (boring), Pot Limit, or No Limit, and can have entry prices from $1 to $100 (and even higher!). Until yesterday I had never won an MTT. I've won plently of 1 or 2 table poker (9 or 18 players), but these are not considered proper tournaments and they are over pretty quickly. This last 2 weeks I have started placing (i.e. finishing in the money) in about 1/2 of the MTT's I enter, and quite highly in some (2nd out of 129, 10th out of 480, 28th out of 1480). Last night I had my first big win with 1st place in a $50 Pot Limit game (means you can raise the bet by up to the amount of money already in the pot - unlike No Limit where you can go all in at any point). There were 143 people (IIRC), and I won just over $2100. As an aside, I was telling my ex-housemate just 2 days ago that I really needed a win to convince myself I was good enough after so many close misses. Almost winning at poker is a brutal thing, akin to being offered a glass of water in the desert, just to have it poured out at your feet. At last I can say my thirst is quenched. __________________ <b>Calculate the probability of culture flips: Flip Calc</b>

30-06-2005, 16:38	#2
romeothemonk King Join Date: Aug 2004 Location: Yankton, SD. Posts: 1,310	Need some more details here. Is this online or in a casino? 7-card texas hold-em? Do you chop pots? (i.e. buy out the 2nd or 3rd place guys, completely legal) Anyway, good luck with poker. It is too luck based for me. I almost always finish in the top 1/3 whenever I play, but I don't have the money to spend on it. So I post on CDZ which is free. __________________ I am not crazy cause I take the right pills..................................... Everyday

30-06-2005, 17:05	#3
Rik Meleet Moderator Join Date: Sep 2004 Location: Nijmegen, Netherlands. Posts: 2,504	You are using your time-off well !! __________________ Social life ? Sounds like fun !! Where can I download that ?

30-06-2005, 18:43	#5
anarres anarchist butcher Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: United States of Whatever. Posts: 4,677	romeo - it's Texas Holdem played online at www.pokerstars.com. No chops, I didn't need to since I had the biggest stack from when there were 20 players right to heads up, then it was up and down for a bit but I came through. As for the luck element - it is certainly true that in the long run it shouldn't matter, but in the short term it makes a world of difference. For example - I was much more likely to win a tourney I was in a few days ago ($50 rebuy tourney), and I was chip leader to the last 20 places, at which point I had 50 hands of lame cards and a very agressive table, and so lost my stack slowly but surely and went out 10th. In this tourney I was all in at one point with the worst hand (and won on the river), and on several occasions (at least 3 or 4) I was all in with a roughly 50/50 shot of winning the hand (pair vs 2 over cards), winning each time. Although people say they'd rather be lucky than good (a very common saying in poker), if you are bad you will ALWAYS lose a tourney with more than 9 people. If you are good you ALWAYS need to get more than your fair share of good luck to win, or to reach the final table. Markstar, we'll see what we can do! __________________ <b>Calculate the probability of culture flips: Flip Calc</b>

30-06-2005, 17:34	#4
Markstar King Join Date: Jan 2004 Location: Germany. Posts: 1,746	Wow, congrats! My girlfriends brother (and good friend) introduced us to Texas Hold'em this easter and I liked it. Actually it is not so much about luck, especially not in the long run. Would be a nice game for a get-together.