Hall of Shame

Play while you read this post (2008 House of Pain people will understand)

What do the following all have in common (this should be easy for any halfway decent sports trivia buff):

Mexico 9 (FIFA World CUP)
Washington Capitols/San Jose Sharks 17 (NHL)
Cleveland Indians 24 (MLB)
Tampa Bay Buccaneers 26 (NFL)
Anthony Young 27 (MLB - P)
PiMaster 25 (FTOPS)

The answer, of course, is they all are the longest losing streaks in their respective sports (ties not included). Yes, I have gone an incredible 25 straight FTOPS events without a cash. Four occurred last series, and the first twenty-one events of this series. To be honest, I haven't even gotten close to a cash. Given my historical cash rate of about 20%, this has approximately a 0.38% (.8^25) chance of occurring during any 25 tourneys (or about 1 in 265). So while it is very improbable, it will occur on rare occasion. I have about the same likelihood of cashing 11 times (0.40%) during any 25 events (I won't explain that math for you - it's a little more detailed).

The good news (I guess) is that it is unlikely to occur again in my lifetime for the FTOPS. However, it will likely happen again through just regular tournament play online. Interestingly, if your cash rate is around 15% (still decent), this has a 1.72% chance of happening (merely 1 in 58). This shows how streaky poker can be.

The last time I had a series go this poorly to start was the 2007 WSOP. I bricked out on the first 16 events that year, but I bailed myself out in the Main Event to only end the series down a tad. It would be a nice de ja vu if it could happen again. I have three events left I plan on playing - PLO w/ Rbs, NLH Bounty, and the Main Event.