Challenge Update and Lessons

I started a bankroll challenge in mid-May to encourage myself to practice good bankroll management and set in motion a plan to reach my goal of high-stakes online cash games. The last three months have, in fact, been challenging.

The challenge is here if you would like to see the parameters. I started from 400nl and played until I reached enough of a bankroll to take a shot at 600nl. The start of the challenge could not have gone any better. I crushed 200nl and 400nl right away and was taking my first shot at 600nl within a few weeks.

My first shot went poorly, and due to a combination of running bad and playing bad, I had to move back down to 400nl to regrind. "No worries," I thought; I have taken lots of failed shot attempts before. I once again successfully regrinded the bankroll to take another shot at 600nl, and once again I lost and had to move back down.

The third time, and most recent, I took a shot at 600nl, I ended up playing a good player heads-up and got crushed, setting me back to 400nl once again. I am not sure why I played this player heads-up, as I just learned the format recently. I think I was impatient and getting tired of the grind.

This constant shot-taking and losing has been discouraging. I know that to win, I need to work hard, and luck at the right time can give the boost I need to move up and stay there. The saying is that luck is when preparation meets opportunity. I have been preparing well for when opportunity comes, but I have not been executing when the opportunity arises, or I'm forcing situations that are not good opportunities. I have been feeling impatient due to the failed shots, and it has been affecting my decision-making.

I have been playing on ACR Poker for a few years now, with experience ranging from 200nl up to taking shots at 3knl; however, I have never really had consistency with the limits I have played or with my game selection guidelines. I have often just played a limit if I thought it was a good game, disregarding my bankroll, or knowingly taking too much risk. The variance in online poker is high, and to be consistent and successful, I can't be so flippant with my bankroll decisions. In the past, a few careless shot-takes have sent me back years, and I can not keep having history repeat itself.

Within a couple of months of the challenge, I found myself impatiently looking to play higher stakes. I played 1kNL, justifying to myself that the game was good, I am fine taking risks, and it will not count for the challenge. I ended up losing that session, and winning in another 1kNL session after (which is why you will see some early 1kNL results before I should have been playing it). The whole point of this challenge was to keep myself accountable for bankroll management and being disciplined! I want to take this challenge seriously, and to do so, I need to make good decisions whether I am doing a challenge or not.

Most recently, I decided to start playing heads-up to hold the game lobbies so that if a game started, I would always have a seat. Learning a new format in the middle of this challenge was not part of the original plan. Although I do think that knowing how to play heads-up well is a good idea for 6-max players, I did not need to test my skills immediately against a tough player at 600nl during my third shot. I also went below the threshold of dropping down during the match. I didn't have the discipline to leave after I lost a couple of buy-ins.

In poker, there are two different aspects to success: technical skills and soft skills. Arguably the most important soft skill in poker is game selection. When I first started this challenge, I wasn't game-selecting at all. I felt confident to start playing 200nl and 400nl without it, as I've historically had great results at both limits. However, at 600nl, I really haven't had a large sample of hands, and the sample I do have is not good. I do not know if I am beating 600nl+ yet.

I know I can beat 400nl. I have a 200k hand sample beating it for 2.95bb/100. 600nl is a tougher game; there seem to be more studied regs, and fewer recreational players. I do not think it is required that I move up through stakes linearly, but I do think that 600nl is a good stopgap between 400nl and 1knl to prepare you for the tougher regs at 1knl. In fact, I think 1knl on ACR Poker is actually softer than 600nl. To beat 600nl+ I need to work on my soft skills.

I had a stint where I played a lot of 1knl and always game-selected. It resulted in a near six-figure upswing. I do not think it was just luck. I could feel the average skill of players was lower. I did not even play that great during that stretch; I just did a great job game-selecting.

If I am going to complete this challenge of becoming a high-stakes cash player, I need to be more consistent with how I make decisions. My decisions need to align with my goals. It is not just a game or challenge; it is my career, and I need to take it more seriously.

After three months, I am back to the starting bankroll of this challenge, 12k. I have made mistakes, but I can reset my mindset and approach and get back to taking shots intelligently at 600nl. I am effectively wiping the slate clean, doing what I know works, and avoiding the pitfalls.

Over the last three months, I relearned that I need to be careful with my game selection, not force opportunities, and be strict with my bankroll management. If I am consistent, learn from my mistakes, and apply those lessons to my decision-making, I see myself moving up and eventually completing this challenge to reach 5kNL.