So I probably spent too much time on this - but it was kind of a fun exercise. The idea was to try and evaluate my game - how good/bad/average am I in the Replay Poker realm? (Which is decidedly different from the “real life poker realm”) What could I learn from this evaluation to get better? Do other players see things in my evaluation that I missed? Feel free to be blunt if you have thoughts on what I’m saying below.
First, forget your Replay Ranking - it’s nice that Reply provides that metric, but as a practical application in a system where you can buy millions of chips and hence buy an increase in your rank, take that number lightly if at all.
The statistics Reply tracks for you are much more helpful - but still lacking something, so i included a self-analysis of those stats along with a 100 tournament stretch at nothing but SnG 6, no limit tables. (I know 100 tournaments may not be a truly statistically significant sample - but it was all I had the patience to keep track)
I also understand that the lack of consistent quality of competitors is a big factor - but you play whoever shows up at the table, and that’s that.
So anyway - first a quick stats analysis:
I’ve only played 20,921 total hands since joining - might seem like a lot, but I know it’s not.
Anyway, of those hands I folded 11,002 total times for a 53% overall fold rate. I’m OK with that given Replay’s particular format, blind structure, mix of player type, etc. At a real table with good players, I’m folding more often - but here, I’m OK with that number.
But here’s what I think was the most interesting stat: Pots won, 7,131
That’s a 34 percent win rate overall - and I guess that’s OK, but it’s not the interesting part.
The interesting part is that I’ve seen 13,454 flops. So statistically, when I saw a flop, I won the pot 53 percent of the time. I kind of like that number - maybe it should be better, but for now, I’m good with it.
So right or wrong, I feel pretty good about what my overall stats say about me - but they included ring games, SnG 3turbos, 6 seat tables and some 9 seat tables. I wanted an extended analysis of one type of game for consistent analysis - so I went with SnG 6 seat, 500 buy-in table. I ran into what I’d call both good and bad players here - as I suspect you run into at any table, but again - you play whoever shows up.
So anyway, here’s the overall list of my finishing position over 100 six-seat tournaments:
1st: 29 times
2nd: 18 times
3rd: 20 times
4th: 6 times
5th: 22 times
6th: 5 times
So what does this tell me? Well, first I do like the fact that I won 29 percent of the 6 seat tourneys I entered - and I like the fact that I finished in the money 47 percent of the time. From a profit standpoint, for the 50,000 chips I spent in entry fees, I gained 19,390 chips - a nearly 39 percent return. I’m good with that.
I think the most interesting line is getting knocked out in the 5th spot 22 times - and maybe that’s where I should be looking to improve. I can tell you why I think it happened there so much - I play it pretty safe early, but once that first player is out, my strategy was to be more aggressive because I wanted to be close to if not the chip leader when we hit the top four. My primary thought was "make it to the top two - try to ensure finishing in the money, and then let winning take care of itself - and being at or near the top of the chip count with four players left helped getting there. I think that strategy generally worked well - though looking at 22 knockouts in 5th, maybe I could be a bit more careful in those spots.
So what’s it all mean?? I dunno. Overall, I feel pretty good about my game right now, but I think it boils down to patience, and I think I might try to exhibit a bit more in the early rounds. Wait for my cards, pick my spots, try not to be too rash too quick. That doesn’t mean I don’t bluff out a pot from time while holding squat - I do - but perhaps be a bit more careful about that. Make sure I hang around, because as long as I’m hanging around, I’ve got a shot.