If It Was Real: 160-Game Report

Making the final table is good. Advancing deep into the final table is even better. Our regular review of the last 20 live tournaments bares that out.

We reached seven final tables in those 20 games, including four in a row at the end. But our formula for success, based on a Kansas City area casino, only pays money for a top-five finish. We finished sixth four times in the 20-game span -- close, but no dinero. Only once (last Thursday) did we wind up fifth.

The grand total looks this way:

BUY-INS: 160 nights x $50 = $8,000

First -- 4 ($2,000)
TIE for first: 1 ($450)

Second - 6 ($2,400)

Third -- 6 ($1,800)

Fourth - 7 ($1,400)
TIES for fourth:
3 two-way ($450)
1 three-way ($67)

Fifth -- 10 ($1,000)
TIE for fifth: 3 ($150)

TOTAL -- 41 for $9,717

We only would have earned $100 in the last 20 games - a substantial $900 loss. And overall, our pretend profit is down to only 21.4 percent.

The overall lesson for us is that we need to keep pressing forward toward victory, not merely a final table seat. We'll see how that works....