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1,000 Poker Points -----> £1,000 Can it be done? ****Yes**** Latest balance £1,089.01 :
GaryQQQ
Member Posts: 6,804
Is it possible for a low-stakes recreational player to turn 1,000 Poker Points into 1,000 Pounds Sterling?
Probably not…………but there’s only one way to find out!
Tomorrow, Thursday 3rd January, I’ll be starting my 2013 New Year bankroll challenge. This time I’ve set myself a tough task; I have withdrawn every single penny from my Sky Poker account, my balance is exactly £0.00. All I have to play with is 1,000 Poker Points, I have no C4P payment due. I’m going to attempt to turn those 1,000 Poker Points into £1,000 playing low stakes MTTs and STTs on Sky Poker in my spare time.
Initially all I’ll be able to do is use my points to enter freerolls, hoping to kick-start a small bankroll. At the moment all the NLHE Freerolls cost 25 poker points to enter, so I have enough points for 40 attempts. I intend to enter the 10 point weekend Omaha Freerolls too, though I'm an Omaha novice with almost no experience. I’ll also be allowed to try to win tournament entries via any live show, forum and social media competitions that are open to all Sky players.
If I manage to scrape together a small cash balance from the freerolls I’ll then attempt to build it further by buying into micro-stakes games. At that stage the usual BRM rules will have to go out of the window; I’ll just cross my fingers, take a deep breath and jump into the softest games I see going. If/when my balance starts to move into more comfortable territory I’ll switch to the 40 buy-ins rule which worked so well for me last time round.
If at any stage my Poker Points run out and my cash balance falls to zero I have failed this challenge and it will come to an immediate end. No deposits or second chances are allowed, I'm giving myself just one try. I’ll document progress on this thread after each playing day complete with latest balance, full results and occasional graphs.
My small business demands a long working week, so I only have time to play poker for two or three hours per day in my spare time. My main playing times are late morning and early afternoon. Due to my early shifts (I'm up at 1-30am six days per week) I almost never play in the evening. In 2012 I took on a similar challenge, successfully turning a balance of £51 into £1,051. Here is a link to the thread for those who didn't see it;
http://tinyurl.com/a6x2j77
This year the starting balance of zero means the bar has been set far higher. It’s going to be very difficult to pull this off, the first few weeks will be particularly tough, though I can assure you I’ll be giving it my very best shot.
If you have any questions at any time please feel free to ask on this thread.
A screenshot of my Sky Poker account taken a few minutes ago.
(click pic or link to enlarge);
http://img141.imageshack.us/img141/8748/skyscreenshot020113.jpg
Cliff-notes of progress
Day 3- at the fifth attempt a 63p return from a freeroll gets the ball rolling
Day 23- with £6.94 accumulated in small freerolls cashes I start risking money in micro HU STTs
Day 31- with £12.21 in my account I win £50 for first place in the monthly Top of the Posts STT. I decide a £50 boost would make this challenge far too easy, so I withdraw the prize money immediately and continue as I was with £12.21.
Day 32- an £8.18 runner-up prize in a freeroll puts me just over £20, with only 198 Poker Points left at this stage I decide it's time to abandon freerolls and start concentrating on HU STTs
Day 42- after running my bankroll up to £47.51 in the HU STTs I start entering micro MTTs using an aggresive 20 buy-in rule
Day 44- my first MTT win comes in a small £2.30 Bounty tournament, balance now just over £60
Days 50-53- my first downswing of note sees me lose 44% of my balance in just 4 days, dropping from £78.50 to £43.41. I temporarily abandon MTTs to halt the decline.
Days 62-73- I take a 12 day break from online poker. During this time I have an enjoyable 5 night stay in Las Vegas paid for by the profit from my 2012 Bankroll Challenge. A trip report is posted on page 16 of this thread.
Day 78- After 11 playing days rebuilding my balance in STTs I'm ready to return to MTTs, this time using a somewhat more cautious 30 buy-in rule.
Day 80- My balance reaches a new high of £89.10, surpassing the pre-downswing balance of £78.50 recorded at the end of Day 49
Day 85 - Three figures is reached for the first time as I climb to £100.06
Day 92 - My biggest win to date comes in a £3.30 Bounty Hunter, my balance rockets to £176.36, to protect my balance from another rapid downswing I switch to a 40 buy-in rule
Day 96 - The £200 barrier is breached.
Day 113 - With the required 40 buy-ins in hand I move up to £5.75 Bounty Hunters
Day 127 - Due to points accumulated playing real money games my Poker Points total exceeds the 1,000 point starting balance. At this point I can claim to have turned 1,000 Poker Points into 1,018 Poker Points + £290.07.
Day 136 - With a balance of £333.93 in my account I'm now one third of the way there
Day 164 - After a lengthy plateau my biggest win to date comes in a £5.75 Bounty Hunter, the £125.38 first prize propels my balance to £497.51
Day 200 - After a month-long wobble I pass the half-way mark at long last when my second £5.75 Bounty Hunter first place finish moves me on to a pleasing £524.87
Day 234 - Now two-thirds of the way there as I climb to £672.58
Day 250 - My account balance hits £759.97, three-quarters of the way to the target.
Day 281 - After peaking at £765.57 I go on a month-long downswing, losing 20% of my balance and falling to £607.24. With my confidence low I develop an overly negative attitude, irrationally choosing to play a very low volume at micro-stakes, the low point of the challenge so far.
Day 299 - After getting my head straight renewed enthusiasm brings improved results. I increase volume and stakes and soon reach a new high, passing the £800 mark for the first time.
Day 311 - A short sharp heater climaxes with a win in a £22 Bounty Hunter. First place prize money of over £220 is enough to smash the target. The challenge is completed
The target was hit on page 45 of this thread. A long post with my final thoughts plus various statistics, graphs and trivia is posted on page 47.
Probably not…………but there’s only one way to find out!
Tomorrow, Thursday 3rd January, I’ll be starting my 2013 New Year bankroll challenge. This time I’ve set myself a tough task; I have withdrawn every single penny from my Sky Poker account, my balance is exactly £0.00. All I have to play with is 1,000 Poker Points, I have no C4P payment due. I’m going to attempt to turn those 1,000 Poker Points into £1,000 playing low stakes MTTs and STTs on Sky Poker in my spare time.
Initially all I’ll be able to do is use my points to enter freerolls, hoping to kick-start a small bankroll. At the moment all the NLHE Freerolls cost 25 poker points to enter, so I have enough points for 40 attempts. I intend to enter the 10 point weekend Omaha Freerolls too, though I'm an Omaha novice with almost no experience. I’ll also be allowed to try to win tournament entries via any live show, forum and social media competitions that are open to all Sky players.
If I manage to scrape together a small cash balance from the freerolls I’ll then attempt to build it further by buying into micro-stakes games. At that stage the usual BRM rules will have to go out of the window; I’ll just cross my fingers, take a deep breath and jump into the softest games I see going. If/when my balance starts to move into more comfortable territory I’ll switch to the 40 buy-ins rule which worked so well for me last time round.
If at any stage my Poker Points run out and my cash balance falls to zero I have failed this challenge and it will come to an immediate end. No deposits or second chances are allowed, I'm giving myself just one try. I’ll document progress on this thread after each playing day complete with latest balance, full results and occasional graphs.
My small business demands a long working week, so I only have time to play poker for two or three hours per day in my spare time. My main playing times are late morning and early afternoon. Due to my early shifts (I'm up at 1-30am six days per week) I almost never play in the evening. In 2012 I took on a similar challenge, successfully turning a balance of £51 into £1,051. Here is a link to the thread for those who didn't see it;
http://tinyurl.com/a6x2j77
This year the starting balance of zero means the bar has been set far higher. It’s going to be very difficult to pull this off, the first few weeks will be particularly tough, though I can assure you I’ll be giving it my very best shot.
If you have any questions at any time please feel free to ask on this thread.
A screenshot of my Sky Poker account taken a few minutes ago.
(click pic or link to enlarge);
http://img141.imageshack.us/img141/8748/skyscreenshot020113.jpg
Cliff-notes of progress
Day 3- at the fifth attempt a 63p return from a freeroll gets the ball rolling
Day 23- with £6.94 accumulated in small freerolls cashes I start risking money in micro HU STTs
Day 31- with £12.21 in my account I win £50 for first place in the monthly Top of the Posts STT. I decide a £50 boost would make this challenge far too easy, so I withdraw the prize money immediately and continue as I was with £12.21.
Day 32- an £8.18 runner-up prize in a freeroll puts me just over £20, with only 198 Poker Points left at this stage I decide it's time to abandon freerolls and start concentrating on HU STTs
Day 42- after running my bankroll up to £47.51 in the HU STTs I start entering micro MTTs using an aggresive 20 buy-in rule
Day 44- my first MTT win comes in a small £2.30 Bounty tournament, balance now just over £60
Days 50-53- my first downswing of note sees me lose 44% of my balance in just 4 days, dropping from £78.50 to £43.41. I temporarily abandon MTTs to halt the decline.
Days 62-73- I take a 12 day break from online poker. During this time I have an enjoyable 5 night stay in Las Vegas paid for by the profit from my 2012 Bankroll Challenge. A trip report is posted on page 16 of this thread.
Day 78- After 11 playing days rebuilding my balance in STTs I'm ready to return to MTTs, this time using a somewhat more cautious 30 buy-in rule.
Day 80- My balance reaches a new high of £89.10, surpassing the pre-downswing balance of £78.50 recorded at the end of Day 49
Day 85 - Three figures is reached for the first time as I climb to £100.06
Day 92 - My biggest win to date comes in a £3.30 Bounty Hunter, my balance rockets to £176.36, to protect my balance from another rapid downswing I switch to a 40 buy-in rule
Day 96 - The £200 barrier is breached.
Day 113 - With the required 40 buy-ins in hand I move up to £5.75 Bounty Hunters
Day 127 - Due to points accumulated playing real money games my Poker Points total exceeds the 1,000 point starting balance. At this point I can claim to have turned 1,000 Poker Points into 1,018 Poker Points + £290.07.
Day 136 - With a balance of £333.93 in my account I'm now one third of the way there
Day 164 - After a lengthy plateau my biggest win to date comes in a £5.75 Bounty Hunter, the £125.38 first prize propels my balance to £497.51
Day 200 - After a month-long wobble I pass the half-way mark at long last when my second £5.75 Bounty Hunter first place finish moves me on to a pleasing £524.87
Day 234 - Now two-thirds of the way there as I climb to £672.58
Day 250 - My account balance hits £759.97, three-quarters of the way to the target.
Day 281 - After peaking at £765.57 I go on a month-long downswing, losing 20% of my balance and falling to £607.24. With my confidence low I develop an overly negative attitude, irrationally choosing to play a very low volume at micro-stakes, the low point of the challenge so far.
Day 299 - After getting my head straight renewed enthusiasm brings improved results. I increase volume and stakes and soon reach a new high, passing the £800 mark for the first time.
Day 311 - A short sharp heater climaxes with a win in a £22 Bounty Hunter. First place prize money of over £220 is enough to smash the target. The challenge is completed
The target was hit on page 45 of this thread. A long post with my final thoughts plus various statistics, graphs and trivia is posted on page 47.
Comments
Wow!
Best of luck with this Gary.
Here's a kickstart for you, if you are agreeable.
Sky Poker will give you.......
1 x £11 Tourney Entry. You can choose ANY single £11 Tourney.
Free Entry to the Sky Poker BIG Freeroll on 10th February.
Really, this is sort of, & partly, by way of thanking you for the Results Threads you do. Communites only exist if people work at them, & you tick that box big time.
Let us know, please.
However I feel accepting the £11 Tourney Entry would go against the spirit of this challenge. If I were to bink even so much as a min-cash it would give a much easier starting balance than having to build from nothing.
I tell you what; I'll happily accept the tourney entry when this challenge is over, whether I succeed or fail. Cheeky I know, but if you don't ask you don't get!
Wow GOOD LUCK with this Gary, i wish you the Best m8
BOOKED!
I will arrange your "Big Freeroll" entry shortly.
The £11 Tourney offer stands, but will be placed in abeyance until you give the nod.
Good luck on your challenge
Question, what level of freeroll cash will make you switch from freerolls to real money? For example, if you win a fiver will you stop the freerolls and try to spin that or are you going to stick to freerolls until you hit a certain amount? Or do you have another plan?
Steve
ooops I mean good luck mate
"You Can't be Serious?!!!!!!!!!"
Personally I would love to play poker against John McEnroe. I think his table manners would be epic.........
Argueing that a player has mucked their hand....... "There over the Line!!!"
After his 4 bet raise preflop gets called by J5off......"How Can you Call That?!!!"
After his Aces get busted by 59off All in Pre.......... "You Can't be Serious?!!!"
Best of luck GaryQQQ - Hope you make it m8y.