So I tried to win the TLB
I finished my only course 2 Thursdays ago so my commitments with school were minimal, and most of my friends were in exam mode, so I figured what better way to celebrate than by winning the weekly tournament leader board (TLB) on Stars last week. I don't know what the point of this post is, but I figure I'll write it like a "trip report" of sorts and maybe people will find it interesting. If you're not interested in my ramblings and just want to see how I finished it's at the end so as not to ruin the story.
So the madness begins Saturday/Sunday night at midnight. I am going to get a head start on the week and start playing tournaments the very first minute they count. So I start playing whatever's being offered, mostly $10-$20 buy-ins at this time of night in a variety of games. I'm quickly off to a bad start and decide that the 3:45am $22 handed PL Holdem will be my last tourney for the night. I cash the 3:15 $10 NL but fall short of the big $$/TLB points. However I take down the 3:45 pot-limit for $800 and 267 TLB points. Not such a bad start after all. I crash and try to get some sleep before the big Sunday tourney.
When i get up I'm still running pretty hot. I final table 3 $20 180-man SNGs, finishing 3rd, 3rd, and 5th. Disappointing I still haven't been able to finish one of these off, but I make some decent $$ and the TLB points aren't bad (180/180/140). I also cash in the big Sunday $215 tournament (barely) and final table a $10 limit rebuy tourney that night but take a tough beat to finish 8th instead of tripling up. Before the results of the $215 tournament are counted I'm 2nd on the weekly TLB but since that tournament is so huge 3 people pass me from just being at the FT of that tournament alone and the winner gets so money points he is WAY ahead of me, and if he plays many more tourneys I will never catch him since only your best 10 scores count for the week. That's why it's so hard to win this thing. But I finish the day up $1500 making 5 final tables and off to a decent start in the TLB race.
Monday and Tuesday I go cold. I lose almost the entire $1500 I won Sunday without any relevant TLB scores even. I was playing more bigger buy-in tourneys as well but things just weren't going my way. Late Tuesday night though I'm in a position to erase all that at once when I final table a $22 NL Holdem tourney with 727 players. Unforunately I only manage an 8th place finish for $360 and 220 TLB points, but this helps right the ship at least. On Wednesday I have another close call. I final table MY tournament. The 7:45 $10 NL Holdem freezeout. Unfortunately I lose a couple key races (one with 12 or 13 left and my bustout hand) and I think I misplayed a hand on the bubble that cost me some chips to finish 6th. I get $550 and 295 TLB points but again so close to the big $$ and big TLB points. However both my TLB score and bankroll are moving in the right direction again. Late that night I'm deep in 2 tournaments, the $10 limit holdem rebuy and the 3:30am $100 NL freezeout. Unfortunately my internet connection drops and costs me some chips in both, though I'm still sitting well. I go pretty card dead at the final table in the limit tournament and finish 5th, and lose a tough hand with 99 vs JJ when I stop and go from the BB in the $100 NL to bust in the money but short of the FT in 14th. So many close calls but just can't get that big score. I'm now 5th on the TLB but at least 1000 points behind the winner of the big Sunday tournament.
So I sleep a few hours and get up on Thusday around noon to start playing again. The day gets off to a fast start when I finally break through and win a $20 180-person SNG for $1080 and 310 TLB points. This is my first win over $1000 in a long time. I have a deal with my roommates, called "beer country", that whenever I score over a grand I buy a dozen beers for the house, and they had been really getting on my case about my sucking this year. It was good to be back in beer country, hopefully I will be there a lot more freqently from now on. So I had a couple beers and some BBQ to celebrate then went back to work for my last serious night of the TLB challenge. After my win in the afternoon I had moved into 3rd on the weekly TLB with about 1900 points but still almost 1000 points out of first. Unless something drastic happened tonight I was going to give up because I had better/more important things to do and people to see on Friday and Saturday. Things really didn't go that well though, however I final tabled a Stud H/L and an Omaha H/L tournament late that night. I took a tough beat in the stud though to bust 8th and I don't actually know how to play Omaha H/L very well so when I stopped luckboxing I was out in 7th, though for once I had the best hand preflop. Neither finish was worth much money or TLB points though since they were smaller tournaments. I played a couple tournaments Friday afternoon before Greg's and bubbled a final table by being a donk because I didn't want to just fold into the money when I should have (only the FT paid).
So for the week I had 2 wins, 11 final tables, and finished up about a grand. Surprisingly no one passed me on Saturday and I finished 3rd on the weekly TLB, which I was pretty happy with. I've almost guaranteed myself a spot in the WSOP freeroll for the top 100 TLB finishers in the month of April already, (I'm 4th at the moment for the month with 2766 points, top 20 scores count and I probably only need about 3200 to be a lock for the month), which pays the top 2 finishers a WSOP seat. Also I'm now 108th on the year with about 9700 TLB points so I'm in good shape to make it into the WSOP freeroll for top 150 on the year from Jan-June, which pays 4 seats, so I might get something out of this yet. Finally I'll post all my TLB finishes and my stats for Holdem tournaments on the month.
Tournament | Game | Date/Time | Buy-In | Entrants | Place | Points
___________|______________________|__________________|____________|__________|_________|_________
21925809 Hold'em NoLimit 2006-04-02 03:15 $ 10.00 578 31 86.82
21925811 Hold'em PotLimit 2006-04-02 03:45 $ 20.00 134 1 266.99
22388949 Hold'em NoLimit 2006-04-02 14:38 $ 20.00 180 5 138.39
21540953 Hold'em NoLimit 2006-04-02 16:30 $ 200.00 5243 724 88.85
22402371 Hold'em NoLimit 2006-04-02 18:33 $ 20.00 180 3 178.65
21925836 Stud Hi/Lo Limit 2006-04-02 19:00 $ 100.00 72 10 80.53
22411872 Hold'em NoLimit 2006-04-02 21:09 $ 20.00 180 3 178.65
22379769 Hold'em Limit 2006-04-03 00:30 $ 10.00 162 8 90.48
22379804 Hold'em PotLimit 2006-04-03 15:30 $ 20.00 108 10 75.80
22452416 Hold'em NoLimit 2006-04-03 17:14 $ 20.00 180 26 60.69
22379834 Hold'em PotLimit 2006-04-03 22:00 $ 50.00 108 16 70.18
22379886 Hold'em PotLimit 2006-04-04 16:00 $ 20.00 133 20 59.48
22507971 Hold'em NoLimit 2006-04-04 16:31 $ 20.00 180 26 60.69
22379890 Hold'em NoLimit 2006-04-04 16:45 $ 10.00 943 91 64.73
22379896 Hold'em NoLimit 2006-04-04 18:30 $ 5.00 1587 231 45.09
22379904 Hold'em NoLimit 2006-04-04 20:30 $ 20.00 727 8 219.87
22379929 Hold'em NoLimit 2006-04-04 23:30 $ 20.00 653 49 84.20
22379970 Omaha Hi/Lo PotLimit 2006-04-05 19:30 $ 10.00 424 39 66.30
22379971 Hold'em NoLimit 2006-04-05 19:45 $ 10.00 1287 6 294.49
22379974 Hold'em NoLimit 2006-04-05 20:15 $ 3.00 1865 53 89.68
22581294 Hold'em NoLimit 2006-04-05 21:12 $ 20.00 180 12 89.33
22594201 Hold'em NoLimit 2006-04-06 00:50 $ 20.00 180 20 69.19
22380007 Hold'em Limit 2006-04-06 01:30 $ 10.00 153 5 111.23
22380012 Hold'em NoLimit 2006-04-06 03:30 $ 100.00 144 14 96.25
22610729 Hold'em NoLimit 2006-04-06 12:49 $ 20.00 180 1 309.44
22380054 Hold'em NoLimit 2006-04-06 19:05 $ 3.00 1828 50 91.42
22380089 Omaha Hi/Lo Limit 2006-04-07 01:15 $ 20.00 171 7 114.00
22380091 Stud Hi/Lo Limit 2006-04-07 01:45 $ 20.00 56 8 61.02
22380117 Hold'em PotLimit 2006-04-07 15:00 $ 50.00 90 10 81.03
_________________________________________________________________________________________________
Total points: 3323.47
Tournaments Played: 109
Total Buy-ins: $3871
Amount Won: $5102.08
Net profit: $1231.08
ROI: 31.8%
ITM%: 18.35%
Final tables: 9
Plus I lost a couple hundred in the 20 or so other tournaments I played in non-holdem games (mostly Stud Hi/Lo), but made 2 more final tables. Not bad for 5 days I guess.
So the madness begins Saturday/Sunday night at midnight. I am going to get a head start on the week and start playing tournaments the very first minute they count. So I start playing whatever's being offered, mostly $10-$20 buy-ins at this time of night in a variety of games. I'm quickly off to a bad start and decide that the 3:45am $22 handed PL Holdem will be my last tourney for the night. I cash the 3:15 $10 NL but fall short of the big $$/TLB points. However I take down the 3:45 pot-limit for $800 and 267 TLB points. Not such a bad start after all. I crash and try to get some sleep before the big Sunday tourney.
When i get up I'm still running pretty hot. I final table 3 $20 180-man SNGs, finishing 3rd, 3rd, and 5th. Disappointing I still haven't been able to finish one of these off, but I make some decent $$ and the TLB points aren't bad (180/180/140). I also cash in the big Sunday $215 tournament (barely) and final table a $10 limit rebuy tourney that night but take a tough beat to finish 8th instead of tripling up. Before the results of the $215 tournament are counted I'm 2nd on the weekly TLB but since that tournament is so huge 3 people pass me from just being at the FT of that tournament alone and the winner gets so money points he is WAY ahead of me, and if he plays many more tourneys I will never catch him since only your best 10 scores count for the week. That's why it's so hard to win this thing. But I finish the day up $1500 making 5 final tables and off to a decent start in the TLB race.
Monday and Tuesday I go cold. I lose almost the entire $1500 I won Sunday without any relevant TLB scores even. I was playing more bigger buy-in tourneys as well but things just weren't going my way. Late Tuesday night though I'm in a position to erase all that at once when I final table a $22 NL Holdem tourney with 727 players. Unforunately I only manage an 8th place finish for $360 and 220 TLB points, but this helps right the ship at least. On Wednesday I have another close call. I final table MY tournament. The 7:45 $10 NL Holdem freezeout. Unfortunately I lose a couple key races (one with 12 or 13 left and my bustout hand) and I think I misplayed a hand on the bubble that cost me some chips to finish 6th. I get $550 and 295 TLB points but again so close to the big $$ and big TLB points. However both my TLB score and bankroll are moving in the right direction again. Late that night I'm deep in 2 tournaments, the $10 limit holdem rebuy and the 3:30am $100 NL freezeout. Unfortunately my internet connection drops and costs me some chips in both, though I'm still sitting well. I go pretty card dead at the final table in the limit tournament and finish 5th, and lose a tough hand with 99 vs JJ when I stop and go from the BB in the $100 NL to bust in the money but short of the FT in 14th. So many close calls but just can't get that big score. I'm now 5th on the TLB but at least 1000 points behind the winner of the big Sunday tournament.
So I sleep a few hours and get up on Thusday around noon to start playing again. The day gets off to a fast start when I finally break through and win a $20 180-person SNG for $1080 and 310 TLB points. This is my first win over $1000 in a long time. I have a deal with my roommates, called "beer country", that whenever I score over a grand I buy a dozen beers for the house, and they had been really getting on my case about my sucking this year. It was good to be back in beer country, hopefully I will be there a lot more freqently from now on. So I had a couple beers and some BBQ to celebrate then went back to work for my last serious night of the TLB challenge. After my win in the afternoon I had moved into 3rd on the weekly TLB with about 1900 points but still almost 1000 points out of first. Unless something drastic happened tonight I was going to give up because I had better/more important things to do and people to see on Friday and Saturday. Things really didn't go that well though, however I final tabled a Stud H/L and an Omaha H/L tournament late that night. I took a tough beat in the stud though to bust 8th and I don't actually know how to play Omaha H/L very well so when I stopped luckboxing I was out in 7th, though for once I had the best hand preflop. Neither finish was worth much money or TLB points though since they were smaller tournaments. I played a couple tournaments Friday afternoon before Greg's and bubbled a final table by being a donk because I didn't want to just fold into the money when I should have (only the FT paid).
So for the week I had 2 wins, 11 final tables, and finished up about a grand. Surprisingly no one passed me on Saturday and I finished 3rd on the weekly TLB, which I was pretty happy with. I've almost guaranteed myself a spot in the WSOP freeroll for the top 100 TLB finishers in the month of April already, (I'm 4th at the moment for the month with 2766 points, top 20 scores count and I probably only need about 3200 to be a lock for the month), which pays the top 2 finishers a WSOP seat. Also I'm now 108th on the year with about 9700 TLB points so I'm in good shape to make it into the WSOP freeroll for top 150 on the year from Jan-June, which pays 4 seats, so I might get something out of this yet. Finally I'll post all my TLB finishes and my stats for Holdem tournaments on the month.
Tournament | Game | Date/Time | Buy-In | Entrants | Place | Points
___________|______________________|__________________|____________|__________|_________|_________
21925809 Hold'em NoLimit 2006-04-02 03:15 $ 10.00 578 31 86.82
21925811 Hold'em PotLimit 2006-04-02 03:45 $ 20.00 134 1 266.99
22388949 Hold'em NoLimit 2006-04-02 14:38 $ 20.00 180 5 138.39
21540953 Hold'em NoLimit 2006-04-02 16:30 $ 200.00 5243 724 88.85
22402371 Hold'em NoLimit 2006-04-02 18:33 $ 20.00 180 3 178.65
21925836 Stud Hi/Lo Limit 2006-04-02 19:00 $ 100.00 72 10 80.53
22411872 Hold'em NoLimit 2006-04-02 21:09 $ 20.00 180 3 178.65
22379769 Hold'em Limit 2006-04-03 00:30 $ 10.00 162 8 90.48
22379804 Hold'em PotLimit 2006-04-03 15:30 $ 20.00 108 10 75.80
22452416 Hold'em NoLimit 2006-04-03 17:14 $ 20.00 180 26 60.69
22379834 Hold'em PotLimit 2006-04-03 22:00 $ 50.00 108 16 70.18
22379886 Hold'em PotLimit 2006-04-04 16:00 $ 20.00 133 20 59.48
22507971 Hold'em NoLimit 2006-04-04 16:31 $ 20.00 180 26 60.69
22379890 Hold'em NoLimit 2006-04-04 16:45 $ 10.00 943 91 64.73
22379896 Hold'em NoLimit 2006-04-04 18:30 $ 5.00 1587 231 45.09
22379904 Hold'em NoLimit 2006-04-04 20:30 $ 20.00 727 8 219.87
22379929 Hold'em NoLimit 2006-04-04 23:30 $ 20.00 653 49 84.20
22379970 Omaha Hi/Lo PotLimit 2006-04-05 19:30 $ 10.00 424 39 66.30
22379971 Hold'em NoLimit 2006-04-05 19:45 $ 10.00 1287 6 294.49
22379974 Hold'em NoLimit 2006-04-05 20:15 $ 3.00 1865 53 89.68
22581294 Hold'em NoLimit 2006-04-05 21:12 $ 20.00 180 12 89.33
22594201 Hold'em NoLimit 2006-04-06 00:50 $ 20.00 180 20 69.19
22380007 Hold'em Limit 2006-04-06 01:30 $ 10.00 153 5 111.23
22380012 Hold'em NoLimit 2006-04-06 03:30 $ 100.00 144 14 96.25
22610729 Hold'em NoLimit 2006-04-06 12:49 $ 20.00 180 1 309.44
22380054 Hold'em NoLimit 2006-04-06 19:05 $ 3.00 1828 50 91.42
22380089 Omaha Hi/Lo Limit 2006-04-07 01:15 $ 20.00 171 7 114.00
22380091 Stud Hi/Lo Limit 2006-04-07 01:45 $ 20.00 56 8 61.02
22380117 Hold'em PotLimit 2006-04-07 15:00 $ 50.00 90 10 81.03
_________________________________________________________________________________________________
Total points: 3323.47
Tournaments Played: 109
Total Buy-ins: $3871
Amount Won: $5102.08
Net profit: $1231.08
ROI: 31.8%
ITM%: 18.35%
Final tables: 9
Plus I lost a couple hundred in the 20 or so other tournaments I played in non-holdem games (mostly Stud Hi/Lo), but made 2 more final tables. Not bad for 5 days I guess.
Comments
stp
you didn't quite reach your goal, but man, if I could do that and pull off 1200 bucks in a week, I'd quit work and school and play full time!
regardless, great report, and good job. keep it up, maybe try again next week
I noticed this last night and I was going to make a congratulatory post for you, but then I thought you might not want the recognition just yet.
Either way, congrats on a great run!
That's some serious skill, dude.
How your eyeballs didn't fall out of your head, I don't know.
Well done SirWatts!!!
JohnnieH