Howdy folks!
I hope you enjoyed my massive punt last Friday, but I do have some good news to share as well, on January 12th I managed to complete my bankroll challenge after slightly less than 10 months.
The Results
General Stats:
- Won: $108.5k
- Hours: 780
- Overall winrate: $137.38/hour
- Overall BB/hour: 24.98
My deep stack stats for 300bb+ poker (just because they're absurd, and I ran very well near the end of the challenge)
- Won: $93.5k
- Hours: 382
- Winrate: $241.50/hour
- Bb/hour: 38 (lol)
Main stages of the challenge:
- $100 – $1,330 .55c – $16 PokerStars tournaments
- $1,330 – $4,000 $1/$3
- $4,000 – $900 $2/$5 shot take
- $900 – $10,500 $1/$3
- $10,500 – $20,000 $2/$5 and began shot taking $5/$10
- $20,000 – $60,000 $2/$5
- $60,000 – $100,000 Began shot taking $5/$10/$25, and $10/$25/$50. Had a mini downswing of nearly 10k, then won 10k at Champions Club over 2 days, another 10k at a $5/$10/$25 at the Lodge, and finally this video a whopping 28k over 3 days at Champions Club to close out the challenge.
Feel free to ask my any questions about the challenge, or just in general :)
BluffaloSam carefully documented the progress of the marathon on his YouTube channel.
Redditor's Questions
– Could you add some back story – what stakes were you playing before this, and are you new?
I played 1/3 for a few years in my early twenties, took a 7-year break and just got back into the game in late March last year to start the challenge.
– What did you do for work during the 7-year break vs now (if anything)?
Army for a few years, traveled Aus/NZ for a few years and bartended, and finally real estate for the past 2 years
– Did you study poker? How did you get so good?
Reviewing hands, and training sites.
– Any training sites you would recommend?
I used Upswing.
– Do you remember your first time playing? Would you say you were immediately hooked on the game?
Definitely. I played 3-handed $0.10/$0.25 in my friend's living room and lost hundreds. One day saw a Tom Dwan video on YouTube and saw how aggressive he was. Started winning in the home game as my aggression kicked up.
– Did you shot take so aggressively to try to complete the challenge or are you just very risk tolerant?
Very risk-tolerant. I'm pretty comfy losing half the roll and dropping down in stakes for my shot takes. It was also tough for me to move up from $2/$5 because after Vegas, $5/$10 barely ran anywhere I played (I played 3x $5/$10 sessions this challenge).
– Are you going to start playing the big game in Bobby's Room?
I think those are mixed games, and also way too big for me. Would be a really cool experience though.
– Do banks ask where did you get that huge amount of money from when you deposit them?
I just tell them poker.
– Don't they tax you for your poker winnings? What does the bank say when you say it's from regular poker winnings?
Unsure about taxes, need to speak to someone for this tax season. The bank just says ok and deposits it.
– Out of the “levels” you listed for this challenge, which one did you spend the most time in?
Probably $900-$11,000 at $1/$3 got around 380 hours of volume at $1/$3.
$2/$5 is probably a close 2nd though. Between the Cali/Wynn/Las Colinas games they were probably around 250-300 hours
– What was it like playing 1/3 with only $900? Did you just nit-grind a couple of sessions to not go bust?
I never change my game up. I wasn't too worried, but if I got back to $300, I'd just go back to online tournaments.
- Increased first deposit bonus
- Increased rakeback and reloads
- Help with deposits and cashouts
- Access to private freerolls
- Round-the-clock support
– What are your focuses for 2024 (professionally)?
I will try to keep climbing the stakes. I won't be back in America until late 2024, so hoping to have a bankroll that will support 50/100 shot takes, but most importantly, just continue growing the vlog.
– Hopefully, you’re the next Mariano. Best of luck. It’d be great to see you at Hustler and Bally’s.
Fingers crossed!
– Are you going to use proper BRM (bankroll management) and only play $5/$10 or will you continue to play $10/$25?
I'm plenty rolled for 10/25. That's like 4,000 bbs. I'm pretty comfy shot-taking when I have 2k bbs for the next stake, and usually shot-take below that.
– $100k – $1m when? Okay, real question; what’s next? Are you going back to a “real job” or is this your real job now?
Undecided right now, going to keep playing and vlogging. I'm really enjoying it, and will decide sometime in the near future.
Give me 3 years... I hope!
I'm in real estate back home, took some time off to road trip America and play poker during the slow season.
I thought it would be a cool way to kick off the vlog!
– Do you do any physical training or take any holistic approach to poker besides studying and playing?
I try to go to the gym semi-regularly, but nothing holistic.
– How many hours have you played poker over your lifetime?
Not sure how many over my lifetime, but maybe 2,000-3,000 hours.
– What's your end goal?
I'd like to reach $200/$400.
– How much percentage of your life does poker occupy?
Currently, a little less than half my life is occupied by poker.
– What's your favorite hobby?
I like skiing, chess, shooting guns, drinking, and making cocktails.
– How long did it take you to grind out of the microstakes?
I think about 40 hours. I'd generally register 1 big "wave" of tournaments, just anything in late reg or starting soon and play those out til finish, roughly 4 hours/day after work.
– Was it only tournaments at micro-stakes, or any cash ring games?
I don't even think I can beat 25nl online tbh. 😂
– Was your first shot take at $2/$5 a learning experience or just a downswing?
Learning experience for sure, preflop aggression isn't even comparable between the 2 stakes, but if you just sit there and play slightly tighter than you would at $1/$3 and just relax and watch what's going on, it's really not too different. If you have the roll for it, set yourself 1 day/week to play $2/$5 and if you're uncomfortable just 1 buyin, and consider it learning. It took quite a few sessions for me to get comfortable and adjusted to deepstacked play, but it's significantly more fun, and helps you prepare for higher stakes.
– How is the jump up from $2/$5 to the next level?
It's not too different, but at $5/$10 and higher you do find the occasional reg who studies, uses proper bet sizes, and understands theory.
– What's your favorite cocktail?
Manhattan for sure!
– So, what now?
More poker, hopefully at higher stakes