PokerStars Grand Tour Analysis

[CRStals]

After grinding Grand Tour for the last two weeks I had a session today that might put an end to my time on the Tour!

Won 3 tours in the two weeks which was fun (been playing from the $5 level).

Today I played 100 $5 games

I won 9... NINE

I lost all 9 of the $12 games.

Game didn't change - just didn't win a hand for 5 hours lol

AA all in 20bb v AK... lose
KK lose etc etc

Extracting value in standard spots and they river gutshot etc

I lost with a straight flush in one pot to a higher one...

Realising you can have a -$421 session playing the $5 in a format where bounties should keep you somewhat alive during a bad session was pretty crushing.

Unsure whether to keep grinding - lost all enjoyment of it today.

First off...don't get down on yourself. Keep in mind that this is a high variance format of poker and the swings can be big. You easily can go through dry spells that feel like they go on forever.

For example...I'm on one right now. After my last GT Win on Aug. 5th I haven't won one since. I'm at 225 $5 starts - $1265 in buy-ins, and I have only captured $776 worth of KO's for a loss of just under $500. It's tough when you lose flip after flip and get it in bad over and over but I will say this.

If you are bankrolled for this - and the recommendation is 200BI, and you can withstand that kind of a drought, then you can turn a profit at this.

Right now I'm sitting on one $60 and 5 $25 sprints (The $25's are all part of the stake I'm running which bought in at the $12) but the $60 is from a $5 I started a few days ago so I'm hoping to break free this week.

Winning 10% of your sprints is way below EV and I bet if you looked at your graph in PT4 your expected win will be much higher than your actual. That's a sign that you are playing well and getting unlucky and luck doesn't last forever.

Chin up - poker is not easy. If it is, everyone would be a winner.

 

[CRStals]

Hello

I ve played grand tours on pokerstars from the start i won couple of them and i have some final races too

Before 6 days happened somthing to me two times in a row on the same race (25$)

On 19/8 i ve played my grand tour matches as usual i won 4 in an a row and i climb to 25$ race with bounty of 27$
And then pokerstars starts the table with 3players of 25$ race (27$ bounty each)
And a player of 60$ buy in (54$ bounty) something that means pokerstars give him double chip advantage vs us

On the next day again i won 4 race in a row and i am going to play my 25$ race with 32$ bountys
Then pokerstars put in a table of 60$ players (and the 3 players has more than 60$ bounties) they play final race if someone won the match they get paid but still i have to play another race after if i won . so pokerstars give them again double stack advantage and if i won someohow vs 3 double stacks i have to play again another game

I informed support either greek one and the english one and noone response to me
Also sent a twitter and message to support on twitter and still no respone and this is the 6th day


Idk if something like this happened to you or anyone?

It happened once and I have heard it has happened to others. It's somewhat of a glitch but it's more around the traffic available in the system at the time you entered those sprints. While the goal is to always play with people with bounties close to you, because at some times people with $60 bounties aren't as plentiful as those with $25, it can happen that the system pairs you up together.

Bad - the $25 bounties have a big disadvantage
Good - if you overcome it you can skip the $60 level to win a grand tour

 

[CRStals]

Well it's been a while since I've posted my stats so here we go. It's slightly ugly as since my last GT Win on the 5th I've gone winless - 225 starts without a win...mind you I'm currently sitting on 5 $25 sprints from my ongoing stake and a $60 I spun up this morning from the $5's so tomorrow these numbers could look drastically different.

However I have suffered a dry spell. I was able to get my tournament chip graph in PT4 that I'll post later but since the last win I've run under EV in the GT.

My overall win rate is still around 29% which I'm happy with overall. Definitely saw an improvement with playing tighter early and more aggressive later and my win rate at the $25 level is solid which presents a challenge.

- Do I try and play from the $12's without the full bankroll - pros recommend 200BI for a given BI which I have for the $5's but not the $12's
- Do I stick it out at the $5's knowing the variance will be higher to win 4

I'm going to seek opinions but curious what you might think

 

[samsonand]

You do not always win dear friend, it is necessary to keep in mind that in poker the variance is very large but do not get discouraged by what happens, obviously decisions taken lightly affect the bankroll

 

[ProfessorGrind]

just read through this thread, and the advice - thank you for sharing your strategy!

 

[ChickenArise]

This just in

A key piece of info I think you all might want to know. I had a Grand Tour that I won up to the last level which was worth $50. I hadnt played it in about a month or more because I didnt want to start with fewer chips and be at a disadvantage (as you know the last level is a $60 buy in).

Today $50 Tournament Dollars appeared in my account. I had no idea where it was from as no email was sent telling me that my remaining Grand Tour game had been converted to T$.

But I finally looked and it is no longer there. So that is where the T$ came from as poker stars saw I havent played for a while and converted it to T$ quietly.

I am not complaining. Just thought I would let you guys know that if you dont want to continue a game because you would be short stacked, just let it sit. Eventually it will be converted to T$.

I hope this is not a sign that Grand Tour is coming to an end, but it could be. Has anyone else had their remaining game value converted to T$? Because if you have and it hasnt been sitting idle for over a month then the game is ending.

 

[Blue22]

Very interesting thread... thanks Chris and other responders. When I played this last I was definitely on a downswing and it did get frustrating with some of the bad beats and horrible rivers. Also, I was grinding it out from the $1 &$2 levels... which I agree is difficult. Will have to try some of these strategies if I get a bankroll to work with. It is quite a challenge and would be a lot of fun if you get hot.