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The TG Poker Challenge.
Monday April 25th 2011.
I do not pretend to be Chris "Jesus" Ferguson. Ferguson gained recent notoriety by starting with exactly $0 on Pokerstars playing free tournaments that offer small
cash payouts and in a couple of years he was able to graduate to increasingly bigger tournaments until he had accrued over $100 000.
Well several years ago I started with $200 and I turned it into just over $3000 in just 2 years playing poker. I used that money to pay off a few debts and I have now
decided to attempt it again. This time I started on January 1, 2011 with $250 and a few very specific goals in mind.
I intend to document how it all goes in this blog so those of you who chose to follow along will either see me earn my way to the WSOP or I will crash and burn. All of
it will be here for your reading pleasure. This challenge will consist of only brick and mortar games. Nothing online. I will be truthful and accurate in all of my wins
and losses so you can be sure I am giving accurate updates. I also hope to inspire a few people to take up a challenge like this one. If you do, please let me know
how it goes. I may begin a poker challenge hall of fame on my website for those of you who take this challenge to great heights.
The rules:
All tournaments and cash games will be recorded with the exception of charity fundraisers. Why am I not including these tournaments? Well quite simply these
events often have large amounts of the buy-ins going to the charity as well as soaring blind levels that encourage re-buys and add-ons. Many $40 tournaments
quickly turn into $100 or $120 games with only a fraction often going to the prize pool. Its hard to make money playing this way. The purpose of these events is to
have fun, laugh, joke around with fellow players (and non-players) and make money for the charity. I do this with my own money because I believe in giving back.
My bankroll is my "poker business" and although I have fun playing my decision making is slightly different in a standard tournament. Feel free to argue this point if
you feel the need to and I may change my opinion........but I doubt it.
Here is what has happened to this point.
I joined a Sunday night league that had 18 players over 6 games. The buy-in was $30 per game with $20 going to the nightly pot and $10 going to the progressive.
Unfortunately the best I could do was a single second place finish which paid out $100. I played a $40 game in January and made an early exit. In March I earned
my first win in a $5 tourny at a friends house which gave me $45. My good luck continued the next day at Seneca Casino when I played a $100 bounty tournament
and secured a 3rd place finish. This was a huge gamble with a good portion of my bankroll but at this early stage I felt I needed to try and kickstart things. I won't be
so frivolous with a large chunk of my money again. Luckily I secured a 3rd place finish and that tournament earned me $336. I was also able to profit an extra $20
that day playing the ring game. I had bad luck two weeks in a row recently with a 6th place finish in a tourny that paid 5, and a 7th place finish in a tourny that also
paid 5. A ring game profit on that same night of $50 has me currently sitting with $396 in my bankroll.
I know what some of you are thinking. This guy is playing small games that hold little or no interest for me but that is not necessarily the point. I am a firm believer
that you are a more effective player if you are playing without fear and I intend to find my way into bigger games and use my bankroll to get me there. With my close
to $400 bankroll I can play a $10 or $20 game without too much stress. If I am able to earn the same $3000 I had a few years ago I will have no problem playing
$100 or $200 tournaments without worrying that I will lose the grocery money and my kids will go hungry.
Unless you make your living playing poker you should never use the money that you pay your bills with to play. If a losing night of poker means you will not be able to
afford the necessities in your life you should not be playing that game. Put aside some of your disposable income each paycheck and use that money and only that
money to play with. This will ensure that you will always enjoy the game. Your wins will be exciting because you will be able to watch your pile of money grow, and
your losses will roll off of you because you will simply start thinking about the next opportunity.
Goals. I have a several events lined up for the coming weeks including the $60 Thursday night game at Point Edward and ring games at Seneca and Niagara. I will
also try and make it to a WSOP circuit event in the fall or next spring at the latest with my eye on some bigger tournaments at Fallsview and Great Blue Heron.
Perhaps I can make it to AC in the next year or so with a trip to Vegas for the WSOP in 2012. My ultimate goal is to make it to Las Vegas for the WSOP Main Event
one day. I do not have a time table for this since $10 000 is a lot of money and I do not play poker full time.
I have no interest in becoming a professional poker player, but I do love the game and would love to be able to play whenever I want and never have to use my own
money again.
Please keep reading. Enjoy seeing how much money I can make playing poker but be aware of one thing......when you see me at your table, its your money I am
coming for.
TG
Monday April 25th 2011.
I do not pretend to be Chris "Jesus" Ferguson. Ferguson gained recent notoriety by starting with exactly $0 on Pokerstars playing free tournaments that offer small
cash payouts and in a couple of years he was able to graduate to increasingly bigger tournaments until he had accrued over $100 000.
Well several years ago I started with $200 and I turned it into just over $3000 in just 2 years playing poker. I used that money to pay off a few debts and I have now
decided to attempt it again. This time I started on January 1, 2011 with $250 and a few very specific goals in mind.
I intend to document how it all goes in this blog so those of you who chose to follow along will either see me earn my way to the WSOP or I will crash and burn. All of
it will be here for your reading pleasure. This challenge will consist of only brick and mortar games. Nothing online. I will be truthful and accurate in all of my wins
and losses so you can be sure I am giving accurate updates. I also hope to inspire a few people to take up a challenge like this one. If you do, please let me know
how it goes. I may begin a poker challenge hall of fame on my website for those of you who take this challenge to great heights.
The rules:
All tournaments and cash games will be recorded with the exception of charity fundraisers. Why am I not including these tournaments? Well quite simply these
events often have large amounts of the buy-ins going to the charity as well as soaring blind levels that encourage re-buys and add-ons. Many $40 tournaments
quickly turn into $100 or $120 games with only a fraction often going to the prize pool. Its hard to make money playing this way. The purpose of these events is to
have fun, laugh, joke around with fellow players (and non-players) and make money for the charity. I do this with my own money because I believe in giving back.
My bankroll is my "poker business" and although I have fun playing my decision making is slightly different in a standard tournament. Feel free to argue this point if
you feel the need to and I may change my opinion........but I doubt it.
Here is what has happened to this point.
I joined a Sunday night league that had 18 players over 6 games. The buy-in was $30 per game with $20 going to the nightly pot and $10 going to the progressive.
Unfortunately the best I could do was a single second place finish which paid out $100. I played a $40 game in January and made an early exit. In March I earned
my first win in a $5 tourny at a friends house which gave me $45. My good luck continued the next day at Seneca Casino when I played a $100 bounty tournament
and secured a 3rd place finish. This was a huge gamble with a good portion of my bankroll but at this early stage I felt I needed to try and kickstart things. I won't be
so frivolous with a large chunk of my money again. Luckily I secured a 3rd place finish and that tournament earned me $336. I was also able to profit an extra $20
that day playing the ring game. I had bad luck two weeks in a row recently with a 6th place finish in a tourny that paid 5, and a 7th place finish in a tourny that also
paid 5. A ring game profit on that same night of $50 has me currently sitting with $396 in my bankroll.
I know what some of you are thinking. This guy is playing small games that hold little or no interest for me but that is not necessarily the point. I am a firm believer
that you are a more effective player if you are playing without fear and I intend to find my way into bigger games and use my bankroll to get me there. With my close
to $400 bankroll I can play a $10 or $20 game without too much stress. If I am able to earn the same $3000 I had a few years ago I will have no problem playing
$100 or $200 tournaments without worrying that I will lose the grocery money and my kids will go hungry.
Unless you make your living playing poker you should never use the money that you pay your bills with to play. If a losing night of poker means you will not be able to
afford the necessities in your life you should not be playing that game. Put aside some of your disposable income each paycheck and use that money and only that
money to play with. This will ensure that you will always enjoy the game. Your wins will be exciting because you will be able to watch your pile of money grow, and
your losses will roll off of you because you will simply start thinking about the next opportunity.
Goals. I have a several events lined up for the coming weeks including the $60 Thursday night game at Point Edward and ring games at Seneca and Niagara. I will
also try and make it to a WSOP circuit event in the fall or next spring at the latest with my eye on some bigger tournaments at Fallsview and Great Blue Heron.
Perhaps I can make it to AC in the next year or so with a trip to Vegas for the WSOP in 2012. My ultimate goal is to make it to Las Vegas for the WSOP Main Event
one day. I do not have a time table for this since $10 000 is a lot of money and I do not play poker full time.
I have no interest in becoming a professional poker player, but I do love the game and would love to be able to play whenever I want and never have to use my own
money again.
Please keep reading. Enjoy seeing how much money I can make playing poker but be aware of one thing......when you see me at your table, its your money I am
coming for.
TG
Introduction
Yes I have blogged in the past and decided not to continue for various reasons.......but recently I have decided to try again. I love playing poker and I love talking
about it so I am going to write about a topic I believe strongly in when it comes to making you a better poker player. There are no long boring books to read that fill
your brain with tons of difficult math and there are no videos to watch. I won't even sit here and tell you not to play 7, 2 offsuit. Quite simply this is all about the poker
bankroll. Money management WILL make you a better poker player.
I'll give you an example of what I'm talking about.
If I sent you to the grocery store and told you to get groceries for the week and I handed you a credit card with an incredibly high spending limit you would likely go
and pick out whatever caught your eye. You would probably overpay or buy items that you don't really need. However, if I handed you $100 and told you that you had
to feed a family of four for a week with that money then you would be far more careful. You would compare prices and only buy products that would give you the most
value for your money. I think you can see where I'm going with this.
Lets apply this to poker.
Hand me $100 and force me to use that money and that money alone to play poker with and if I have $350 after 6 months of poker then I know exactly how much I
have won and lost. However, if after that, I am down to $75 six months later then I will know a little more about how I've been doing recently. You see, nobody needs
to tell you to avoid 7, 2 offsuit because after losing $275 you will figure it out for yourself. You will make better decisions. You will look for value and be more
selective about what you spend money on.
Enjoy my blog and feel free to email me with your comments. I may even add them to this page.
TG
Yes I have blogged in the past and decided not to continue for various reasons.......but recently I have decided to try again. I love playing poker and I love talking
about it so I am going to write about a topic I believe strongly in when it comes to making you a better poker player. There are no long boring books to read that fill
your brain with tons of difficult math and there are no videos to watch. I won't even sit here and tell you not to play 7, 2 offsuit. Quite simply this is all about the poker
bankroll. Money management WILL make you a better poker player.
I'll give you an example of what I'm talking about.
If I sent you to the grocery store and told you to get groceries for the week and I handed you a credit card with an incredibly high spending limit you would likely go
and pick out whatever caught your eye. You would probably overpay or buy items that you don't really need. However, if I handed you $100 and told you that you had
to feed a family of four for a week with that money then you would be far more careful. You would compare prices and only buy products that would give you the most
value for your money. I think you can see where I'm going with this.
Lets apply this to poker.
Hand me $100 and force me to use that money and that money alone to play poker with and if I have $350 after 6 months of poker then I know exactly how much I
have won and lost. However, if after that, I am down to $75 six months later then I will know a little more about how I've been doing recently. You see, nobody needs
to tell you to avoid 7, 2 offsuit because after losing $275 you will figure it out for yourself. You will make better decisions. You will look for value and be more
selective about what you spend money on.
Enjoy my blog and feel free to email me with your comments. I may even add them to this page.
TG
| The TG Poker Blog. Part 2 |
You want a piece of this action?
Sunday May 1 2011
I have decided to offer a piece of my bankroll to anyone who wants it. Here is how it will work. I am going to top up my bankroll by $4 to an even $400 and I am
offering 25% of it for staking until Dec 31st 2011.
So, if you decide you would like to purchase 10% of my bankroll it will cost you $40 (10% of $400). If on Dec 31st I have $1000 in my bankroll you will get 10% of
that amount which works out to $100. I will play a minimum of 10 times in cash games at the casino as well as a minimum of 10 poker tournaments. All
shareholders will receive an email in advance of any game I am going to play and an email after i am done. Here is a little bit of history to help with your decision. I
started on Jan 1, 2011 with $250 so if you had purchased 10% on that day it would have cost you $25 and you would already have $40. A profit of $15. I know its
not huge but I doubt your financial planner was able to do that so far this year....lol.
In the last 5 casino tournaments I have played here are the results:
30 player field: 3rd Place finish (Top 3 cashed) $100 Buy-in
50 player field: I lasted about an hour and a half. Approx 35th Place $100 Buy-in
40 player field: Chopped 1st and 2nd place (Top 5 cashed) $80 Buy-in
80 player field: 9th place (Top 6 cashed) $80 Buy-in
50 player field: 5th place finish (Top 5 cashed) $60 Buy-in
Most recent casino cash game results:
1/2 NL. Buy-in $120, cashed $140. Profit of $20 (I was up $120 but suffered a bad beat...shit happens)
1/2 NL. Buy-in $100, cashed $450. Profit of $350
1/2 NL. Buy-in $100, Lost it all.
1/2 NL. Buy-in $100, cashed $220. Profit of $120
2/5 Limit. Buy-in $100, Lost it all.
I will be playing this week in another 1/2 NL game at the casino on Thursday so if you would like to get in do so now so you can take advantage of maximum profits.
You may purchase any percentage you want. You may purchase as little as 1% for $4 dollars up to 25% for $100 but once I have sold $100 of my bankroll I will cut
it off.
You can give me your money in person or I can bill you for the amount on paypal.
Please be aware there is no guarantee I will make money for you but I will do my best.......thats why they call it gambling. I can not guarantee results nor will I make
any promises your investment will see a return. Do not stake any amount you can not afford to lose. If you stake me for $40 then at least you know you can not lose
more than that amount, but if I go on a run and win a few grand in a big tournament then who knows what kind of profits you will see.....you just never know.
In the future I will also offer staking in individual tournaments I enter so keep checking in for that.
Thanks and I look forward to doing business with you.
TG
Sunday May 1 2011
I have decided to offer a piece of my bankroll to anyone who wants it. Here is how it will work. I am going to top up my bankroll by $4 to an even $400 and I am
offering 25% of it for staking until Dec 31st 2011.
So, if you decide you would like to purchase 10% of my bankroll it will cost you $40 (10% of $400). If on Dec 31st I have $1000 in my bankroll you will get 10% of
that amount which works out to $100. I will play a minimum of 10 times in cash games at the casino as well as a minimum of 10 poker tournaments. All
shareholders will receive an email in advance of any game I am going to play and an email after i am done. Here is a little bit of history to help with your decision. I
started on Jan 1, 2011 with $250 so if you had purchased 10% on that day it would have cost you $25 and you would already have $40. A profit of $15. I know its
not huge but I doubt your financial planner was able to do that so far this year....lol.
In the last 5 casino tournaments I have played here are the results:
30 player field: 3rd Place finish (Top 3 cashed) $100 Buy-in
50 player field: I lasted about an hour and a half. Approx 35th Place $100 Buy-in
40 player field: Chopped 1st and 2nd place (Top 5 cashed) $80 Buy-in
80 player field: 9th place (Top 6 cashed) $80 Buy-in
50 player field: 5th place finish (Top 5 cashed) $60 Buy-in
Most recent casino cash game results:
1/2 NL. Buy-in $120, cashed $140. Profit of $20 (I was up $120 but suffered a bad beat...shit happens)
1/2 NL. Buy-in $100, cashed $450. Profit of $350
1/2 NL. Buy-in $100, Lost it all.
1/2 NL. Buy-in $100, cashed $220. Profit of $120
2/5 Limit. Buy-in $100, Lost it all.
I will be playing this week in another 1/2 NL game at the casino on Thursday so if you would like to get in do so now so you can take advantage of maximum profits.
You may purchase any percentage you want. You may purchase as little as 1% for $4 dollars up to 25% for $100 but once I have sold $100 of my bankroll I will cut
it off.
You can give me your money in person or I can bill you for the amount on paypal.
Please be aware there is no guarantee I will make money for you but I will do my best.......thats why they call it gambling. I can not guarantee results nor will I make
any promises your investment will see a return. Do not stake any amount you can not afford to lose. If you stake me for $40 then at least you know you can not lose
more than that amount, but if I go on a run and win a few grand in a big tournament then who knows what kind of profits you will see.....you just never know.
In the future I will also offer staking in individual tournaments I enter so keep checking in for that.
Thanks and I look forward to doing business with you.
TG
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