libbert Posted January 9, 2007 Share Posted January 9, 2007 Hi I recently found a podcast where Chris Ferguson (pro poker player) talked about a poker project he had. He turned $1 into $20000 by playing online poker (with a very tight bank roll management) So when I received 5 punds for free yesterday (CDPoker), I thought: "I have to try this!" I think that one of the most challenging things about this project is to staying motivated. So I have made a blog about it: http://lepolloloco.blogspot.com/ It is probably not very interesting for you guys to begin with, but maybe later when/if the project is a success. /Michael aka LePolloLoco Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DAC Posted January 9, 2007 Share Posted January 9, 2007 Re: Trying a Chris Ferguson Good luck! CD Poker certainly do like to throw their money about. Whats your first move going to be? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
libbert Posted January 9, 2007 Author Share Posted January 9, 2007 Re: Trying a Chris Ferguson Hi DAC I have almost reached the $50 mark. I was planning on signing up at pokerstars, they offer new players a 150% bonus up to $75. It is very difficult to find good bonus offers when you are playing 0,1-0,2 tables... /Michael Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robilaruk Posted January 9, 2007 Share Posted January 9, 2007 Re: Trying a Chris Ferguson good luck matey its not the easiest thing in the world to do, but great fun and your game WILL improve have been posting my progress here:ok http://www.punterslounge.com/forum/showthread.php?t=40046 Damo Hi I recently found a podcast where Chris Ferguson (pro poker player) talked about a poker project he had. He turned $1 into $20000 by playing online poker (with a very tight bank roll management) So when I received 5 punds for free yesterday (CDPoker), I thought: "I have to try this!" I think that one of the most challenging things about this project is to staying motivated. So I have made a blog about it: http://lepolloloco.blogspot.com/ It is probably not very interesting for you guys to begin with, but maybe later when/if the project is a success. /Michael aka LePolloLoco Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
libbert Posted January 14, 2007 Author Share Posted January 14, 2007 Re: Trying a Chris Ferguson Just a brief update... The roll is now $100. I hope that there is time to play next, eventhough I have a few exams coming up. When/if I reach $200 I will try a place call tridentpoker. They have a 100% sign up bonus. Does anybody have any experience with this site? /Michael http://lepolloloco.blogspot.com/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
libbert Posted March 9, 2007 Author Share Posted March 9, 2007 Re: Trying a Chris Ferguson Hi Everybody The roll is now $670... This is after a rather konservation poker strategy. The conclusion so far has been: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robilaruk Posted March 9, 2007 Share Posted March 9, 2007 Re: Trying a Chris Ferguson excellent progress :clap Damo Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
libbert Posted March 9, 2007 Author Share Posted March 9, 2007 Re: Trying a Chris Ferguson Hi Everybody The roll is now $670... Now playing NL$50. This is after a rather conservative poker strategy. The conclusion so far has been: - By far value to fold if reraised. People on these rather low limits seldom reraise if they do not have a hand with some strength. - Reraise often preflop for value. - Always play with full buy in. I often played with minimum buy in on NL$200 table. Here people consider you as a "fish" because you are low stack and are therefore reluctant to call all ins. Where would you put your money next (bank roll of $500-$750, NL$50)? I am thinking about Mansion. /LePolloLoco Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spireitedaz Posted March 13, 2007 Share Posted March 13, 2007 Re: Trying a Chris Ferguson You may well be up, but it certainly sounds like you're not following Chris's rules, so you may well end up broke. The idea is bankroll management. Believe he's started a second challenge, working his way up from nothing. Had to start on the freerolls. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
libbert Posted March 24, 2007 Author Share Posted March 24, 2007 Re: Trying a Chris Ferguson Hi You are quite right, I am not following a bank roll as strict as Fergusons at the moment. I will follow 30 buy ins when I reach NL200. I have learnt that is vital to move down in limits if you have lost a few buy ins. I lost 30% of the roll over 2 days last week, so had to go down or else the whole roll would be at risk. /Michael Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
goater14 Posted April 12, 2007 Share Posted April 12, 2007 Re: Trying a Chris Ferguson i tried it a few weeks ago got up to $1.72! and then got my pocket aces cracked and lost the lot:wall I know what you mean though alot of fun trying will definately try again in the near future. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slapdash Posted April 12, 2007 Share Posted April 12, 2007 Re: Trying a Chris Ferguson i tried it a few weeks ago got up to $1.72! and then got my pocket aces cracked and lost the lot:wall Sorry, but if you put yourself in a position where you could lose it all on one hand, I think you're missing the point. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
happyhornet Posted April 12, 2007 Share Posted April 12, 2007 Re: Trying a Chris Ferguson Although the Ferguson idea is to only commit a small proportion of your bankroll at any one time, at the lowest levels (ie $1.00) it surely is not unreasonable to bet your whole stack on the very best hands. If it works you are up to $4-ish, and can then revert back to not putting all of your stack on the line. If not, you start again!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slapdash Posted April 12, 2007 Share Posted April 12, 2007 Re: Trying a Chris Ferguson Although the Ferguson idea is to only commit a small proportion of your bankroll at any one time' date=' at the lowest levels (ie $1.00) it surely is not unreasonable to bet your whole stack on the very best hands. If it works you are up to $4-ish, and can then revert back to not putting all of your stack on the line. If not, you start again!![/quote'] Starting again is cheating! :rollin If you have to start again, you've failed. You're supposed to be pretending that the tiny amount you're starting with is your whole bankroll. If you lose it then you are broke. You have to sleep on the embankment, begging for cups of tea, for the rest of your life. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GaF Posted April 12, 2007 Share Posted April 12, 2007 Re: Trying a Chris Ferguson Chris fergusson didn't do that - the whole project was about Bankroll management - so at $1 he played at the lowest tables possible, until he could play for 5%..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GaF Posted April 12, 2007 Share Posted April 12, 2007 Re: Trying a Chris Ferguson Starting again is cheating! :rollin If you have to start again, you've failed. You're supposed to be pretending that the tiny amount you're starting with is your whole bankroll. If you lose it then you are broke. You have to sleep on the embankment, begging for cups of tea, for the rest of your life. TO be fair though, Fergusson failed first time and had to start again..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slapdash Posted April 12, 2007 Share Posted April 12, 2007 Re: Trying a Chris Ferguson TO be fair though' date=' Fergusson failed first time and had to start again.....[/quote'] Yes, so did I when I tried it, mainly (I think) because I couldn't find tables with a low enough minimum buy-in. Starting with $1, I think many people, however good at poker they are, will fail. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
happyhornet Posted April 12, 2007 Share Posted April 12, 2007 Re: Trying a Chris Ferguson At $0.01/$0.02, your $1 has almost no chance to evolve because the players at that level (I was there not so long ago) will call anything. As such, inventive post-flop play is almost a non-event. Consequently, IMO, you do probably need to gamble a bit in the very early stages. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spireitedaz Posted April 18, 2007 Share Posted April 18, 2007 Re: Trying a Chris Ferguson Yes, so did I when I tried it, mainly (I think) because I couldn't find tables with a low enough minimum buy-in. Starting with $1, I think many people, however good at poker they are, will fail. I believe Chris's next challenge, is to do it with a $0 bankroll, and win his stake money for his first cash games through freerolls. If he's doing it solely through Full Tilt, I'd be impressed, their freerolls can hardly be classed as generous. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jimany Posted April 18, 2007 Share Posted April 18, 2007 Re: Trying a Chris Ferguson I believe Chris's next challenge' date=' is to do it with a $0 bankroll, and win his stake money for his first cash games through freerolls. If he's doing it solely through Full Tilt, I'd be impressed, their freerolls can hardly be classed as generous.[/quote'] What? 27 payouts in a 2,400 player tournament is not generous??? :rollin PaddyPower (iPoker network) have SnG's as low as $0.10. So there is a few tries before you lose your $1 :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Masterplan Posted April 18, 2007 Share Posted April 18, 2007 Re: Trying a Chris Ferguson I believe Chris's next challenge' date=' is to do it with a $0 bankroll, and win his stake money for his first cash games through freerolls. If he's doing it solely through Full Tilt, I'd be impressed, their freerolls can hardly be classed as generous.[/quote'] iirc (if i remember correctly) he has turned this into almost $500 last time of reading. so he must be able to do something with those 27 payout places :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
libbert Posted April 23, 2007 Author Share Posted April 23, 2007 Re: Trying a Chris Ferguson I have finally passed the $1000 mark. I find it a bit unlikely that I will reach the $10000 point in 2007, but who knows.... I might be lucky. I have changed the tactic, from playing with full buy in to a low stack, 15 times big blind at NL $100. I chance table when I have doubled. I find this strategy very effective mainly because people are biased towards low stacks. They believe that low stack = bad fishy player. So you will get extreme value when going all in with quite a large range of cards. I do not consider it cheating if you loose the initial amount and start again. This is my third attempt. A good place to begin is the ipoker network because they have 0.01-0.02 tables. /Michael Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spireitedaz Posted April 23, 2007 Share Posted April 23, 2007 Re: Trying a Chris Ferguson iirc (if i remember correctly) he has turned this into almost $500 last time of reading. so he must be able to do something with those 27 payout places :) Bloody hell, he really ought to consider turning pro. :rollin That's a lot of top 1% finishes just for a cash, assuming he did win it all on freerolls, 1st prize is only $15 !!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jimany Posted April 23, 2007 Share Posted April 23, 2007 Re: Trying a Chris Ferguson Bloody hell' date=' he really ought to consider turning pro. :rollin That's a lot of top 1% finishes just for a cash, assuming he did win it all on freerolls, 1st prize is only $15 !!![/quote'] Not sure if you were being sarcastic, but he is a pro. Won the WSOP main event a few years back. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GaF Posted April 27, 2007 Share Posted April 27, 2007 Re: Trying a Chris Ferguson 100 Ferguson Goes From Zero to Hero Chris Ferguson April 27th, 2007 I'm almost a year into an experiment on Full Tilt Poker. I'm attempting to turn $0 into a $10,000 bankroll. With no money to start with, I had no choice but to start out playing Freerolls. Starting out, I'd often manage to win a dollar or two, but I'd quickly get busted and have to start over again. It took some time but, after awhile, I was eventually able to graduate to games that required an actual buy-in. Even today, people don't believe it's really me when I sit down at Full Tilt's small stakes games. They ask what I'm doing down here, and often tell me stories about how they turned $5 into $500 or $100 into $1,000. Usually, these stories end with the person telling me that they went broke. There's no surprise there. These folks tried to quickly build a bankroll by gambling. They'd play in a game that was beyond their bankroll and, if they happened to win, they'd move up to a higher limit and risk it all one more time. Inevitably, they'd lose a few big hands and go broke. For me, this experiment isn't about the money. It's about showing how, with proper bankroll management, you can start from nothing and move up to the point where you're playing in some pretty big games. I know it's possible because I did it once before, turning $1 into $20,000. To ensure that I keep my bankroll intact, I've adopted some key rules: I'll never buy into a cash game or a Sit & Go with more than 5 percent of my total bankroll (there is an exception for the lowest limits: I'm allowed to buy into any game with a buy-in of $2.50 or less). I won't buy into a multi-table tournament for more than 2 percent of my total bankroll and I'm allowed to buy into any multi-table tournament that costs $1. If at any time during a No-Limit or Pot-Limit cash-game session the money on the table represents more than 10 percent of my total bankroll, I must leave the game when the blinds reach me. I think a lot of players would do well to apply these rules. One great benefit from this approach to bankroll management is that it ensures you'll be playing in games you can afford. You'll never play for very long in a game that's over your head because, when you're losing, you'll have no choice but to drop down to a smaller game. You can continue to sharpen your game at that lower limit until your bankroll allows you to move up and take another shot. These rules also prevent you from being completely decimated by a bad run of cards. Dropping down and playing lower limits is difficult for a lot of players. They view it as a failure and their egos get in the way. Many want to remain at the level they'd been playing and win back their losses. But this can lead to some pretty severe tilt - and that can go through a bankroll in a hurry. I know that dropping down was difficult for me in my run from $1 to $20,000. When I first played in the $25/$50 game, I lost. Sticking to my rules, I dropped down to the $10/$25 game. I had a losing streak there and had to go down to $5/$10. That was tough. After playing $25/$50, a $5/$10 game was boring to me. But I had the discipline to stick to my rules, and that motivated me to play better at the lower levels. I really didn't want to lose any more because I knew the consequences: I'd have to play even lower and work even harder to get back to where I'd been, which could take as long as a month. If you ever find yourself bored or frustrated playing at the lower limits, you're obviously not playing well. Take a break from the game. Often, stepping away can give you a fresh perspective and heightened motivation to play well when you return. There are a couple of more tips I'd like to share regarding bankroll management. First, you should never play in a game that is beyond your bankroll simply because the game seems to be soft that day. It's never soft enough to risk money that puts your bankroll in jeopardy. The other point is that you should avoid playing in games that are at the top of your bankroll limits, when a lower game offers more opportunity for profit. I'm confident that by sticking to these sound bankroll management rules, I'll make it to my $10,000 goal. These rules are sure to help you as well, as you pursue your own poker ambitions. So, if you want to start your own quest - or play against me while I'm continuing with mine - come open a free account at Full Tilt Poker and look for me online. But hurry, because I'm hoping I won't be in the lower limits for too much longer. Chris Ferguson Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Valiant23 Posted April 28, 2007 Share Posted April 28, 2007 Re: Trying a Chris Ferguson What he's trying to do is nothing new. :zzz :eyes ;) IF I were a millionaire like him I would be able to say that in my 18mths of low level poker I've won about £2,500, or $5,000. As it is I've used the money I won and put it to good use. :ok Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GaF Posted April 28, 2007 Share Posted April 28, 2007 Re: Trying a Chris Ferguson I think the message he's trying to get across is great :ok And an advocation of the approach we have pushed on PL (i.e. no need to risk your own money - build a bankroll through freerolls, then use that....) .... indeed, I think my mate Chris :tongue2 started this after reading that legendary post of yours Mr V :ok Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slapdash Posted May 18, 2007 Share Posted May 18, 2007 Re: Trying a Chris Ferguson I'm going to try this again, starting from zero. I'll do it exclusively on UltimateBet. I've never deposited there (only played the play money Royal Holdem and Roshambo), which makes it easy to keep track. So first step is to win some money in a freeroll. May take a while. Then I may try the low-limit Royal Holdem tables, if there's any action there, as on the play money tables most of the players really didn't get it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crouch Potato Posted June 21, 2007 Share Posted June 21, 2007 Re: Trying a Chris Ferguson I am playing on a table with Chris Ferguson at the moment. He says he's up to $800 in his new challenge, with about 6 months and 100 hours of play. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robsterling Posted June 23, 2007 Share Posted June 23, 2007 Re: Trying a Chris Ferguson To ensure that I keep my bankroll intact, I've adopted some key rules: I'll never buy into a cash game or a Sit & Go with more than 5 percent of my total bankroll (there is an exception for the lowest limits: I'm allowed to buy into any game with a buy-in of $2.50 or less). I won't buy into a multi-table tournament for more than 2 percent of my total bankroll and I'm allowed to buy into any multi-table tournament that costs $1. If at any time during a No-Limit or Pot-Limit cash-game session the money on the table represents more than 10 percent of my total bankroll, I must leave the game when the blinds reach me.As I am doing something a bit similar - trying to increase my bankroll sensibly, mainly as im a young beginner poker player with not a lot of money (so far from $20 to $140) - I was wondering a couple of things. Does anyone knows what buy-in Chris Ferguson uses on his tables as a multiple of BBs by any chance. And also when he says the money on the table, I am assuming he means his own stack? Or else I don't see how he could ever start. This is something I think I need to luck at myself as I often see myself getting to about $35 on a $5 buy in and then losing a couple of bit pots and being left with half my stack. Does anyone else use this rule? Thanks, Rob Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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