Doug Polk Completes $100 to $10K Bankroll Challenge
Bankroll challenges are nothing new in poker, but never have they been more available for public viewing than now, with the growing popularity of Twitch streaming. In addition to players getting to show off their poker prowess whilst building their poker rolls, these challenges also provide viewers with concrete examples to fuel the poker dream.
While the retired Charlie Carrel just recently announced he'll be starting a $50 to $10K bankroll challenge to show it's still possible to grind up from a small amount online, Doug Polk just completed the challenge he started two years back.
We did it https://t.co/jNq3xy9EtQ
— Doug Polk (@DougPolkPoker)
On Tuesday, Aug. 22, Twitch viewers witnessed Polk pass the $10,000 mark after starting a bankroll challenge from $100 on Aug. 7, 2016. After 26 sessions, the roll was at $894 on Dec. 12, 2016 and he got back to the grind Jan. 19, 2017. That year, he put in 14 sessions and finished up with $1,364 on Nov. 21, 2017. He didn't get back to the challenge until May 4, 2018 and only decided to prioritize it less than a month ago on July 28, when he sat with $1,054 in the challenge roll.
The Last Push
True to his word, Polk consistently streamed his games, and 15 sessions later, he crossed the finish line. After back-to-back $1,000 wins on Aug. 12 and 14, and a -$2 session Aug. 21, Polk steamrolled his way to the finish line on the Aug. 22 stream, turning $3,318 into $10,100 with some profitable $1/2 followed by some winning $2.50/$5.
The session summary on the Upswing website notes there was the occasional $1K downswing in this final 11-hour stream, but nothing that Polk couldn't rebound from. He was also fueled by a fortunate misclick that worked out in his favor. You can check out highlights from the challenge in Polk's top ten video below.
Insights from Polk
Emboldened by his strong final push, Polk took to Twitter to share seven insights derived from his experiences in the challenge.
Bluffing is very strong at smaller stakes. But in general it varies by street:
- Preflop bluffing tends to be good because players dont raise you enough
- Flop bluffing is great because people play too loose vs 3b
- Turn bluffing tends to be dramatically worse
- River is amazing
Calling in big pots is much worse. Sort of a necessary evil, particularly as you get ready on players. While streaming, you really cant make big folds because people know what you have. If I hadn't streamed the challenge, I'd have folded a bit more
If you play on a smaller player pool site, Cash > Tourneys
You have fold equity in spots you would never have at higher stakes. Dont be afraid to slow play some spots where you think they have to call
Micro stakes are still extremely soft, building a roll def possible
On sites with no HUD, don't be afraid to go ham on some raise frequencies preflop because no one is even going to know what you are up to
- Overbet bluffing is completely ridiculously good at micros. Go HAM on those nit regs fearlessly!
