After a small break from poker back in March, I'm back to playing on a semi-regular basis. I had to withdraw January's winnings again, so I'm back to grinding it out at the micro limits (again). This time, however, simply grinding it out hand after hand just doesn't have the challenge it once did. I need something different, and Kuso's 1000PLO8 project on the Omaha board gave me the inspiration I needed. (Actually, I've seen similar ideas posted on 2+2, so I have no idea who came up with it first.

The Challenge

Take the $100 that Empire so kindly donated to my BR last weekend, and see if I can run it up to $25,000 playing nothing but Pot-Limit Omaha. Then, do it 5 more times for other games. $100 is 4 buy-ins for $25 PL/NL games, and 100 BB for limit games, and it's a nice round number to boot.

The Rules

* Only play one game at a time. No hopping back and forth between different games

* Only play full-ring games. If the number of players hits 6, unclick the "Auto post blinds" button. If there are still only 6 players by the time the blinds come around, find a fuller table.

* The site must be PT and PAHUD compatible. I'm really going to concentrate on reads and putting people on a hand (which is why I won't be multi-tabling), and PAHUD will help greatly here by showing mucked cards.

* Any bonuses earned along the way will go back into my regular BR. I have to win my way up the ladder, not bonus whore my way up.

PL/NL Rules

* Move up a level once I've reached 6 buy-ins for the new level.

* Move back down a level if I lose 2 buy-ins at the new level.

* The structure would look like this:

25's - $100 to $300
50's - $300 to $600
100's - $600 to $1200
200's - $1200 to $2400
400's - $2400 to $3600
600's - $3600 to $6000
1000's - $6000 to $12000
2000's - $12000 to $25000 at which point I'm done with that leg of the Gauntlet.

Limit Rules

* Move up a level once I've reached 150 BB for the new level.

* Move back down a level if I lose 50 BB at the new level.

* The structure would look like this:

.50/1 - $100 to $300
1/2 - $300 to $600
2/4 - $600 to $900
3/6 - $900 to $1500
5/10 - $1500 to $3000
10/20 - $3000 to $4500
15/30 - $4500 to $6000
20/40 - $6000 to $9000
30/60 - $9000 to $15000
50/100 - $15000 to $25000 at which point I'm done

The Games

* Pot-Limit Omaha
* Limit Hold-Em
* 7-card Stud (might need to stop at $15000 if I can't find games bigger than 30/60)
* Pot-Limit Omaha Hi-Lo
* No-limit Hold-Em
* 7-card Stud Hi-Lo

The Reward

Each time I complete a leg of the Gauntlet, I will set aside $3-4000 for travel expenses and entry fee into the appropriate "low" ($1500) buy-in event at the WSOP.


I have no idea how long all of this will take, but I'm already looking forward to it. I need something to shoot for beyond simply "accumulate as big a bankroll as possible", and this seems like just the ticket...

I'll try to post at least weekly updates with current bankroll and amount needed to reach the next level.

This sounds pretty cool, although I think starting with 4 buy-ins is pretty risky. If you can start your first month or so off well, you'll probable (read: hopefully) do well.

Everything I hear about PLO is that you need a huge BR to handle the swings. Is this enough to cover you? In the lower levels when you nut peddle you will be fine, but at the higher stakes you may want to allow more variance

Day 1

Leg: PLO
Step: $25

First session was pretty lackluster. Caught a few straights early on where I threw out a PSB and everyone else folded. The rest of the night was limp in, miss the flop, and fold... I never even had a solid draw to call flop/turn bets with.

One thing I'm trying to do here is tighten up considerably - previously, I was running almost 30% VP$P, which is too high - too many hands where I limped in with 3 good cards and one deadweight. I'm cutting down on those, and suited Aces that have nothing else going for them, and my VP$P was 19.72 for the first 72 hands.

Starting bankroll: $100.00
Current bankroll: $96.30
Won/lost: ($3.70)

Next step: $50 PLO
Needed: $203.70

Day 2

Leg: PLO
Step: $25

Whee!!! That was fun!!! 5 small sessions throughout the day, 5 wins.

The highlights:

Session 1 (before work) - only one big hand this time, but it was big enough. I flop a nut flush draw, call a ~$5 PSB on a blank turn, and then watch with amazement as villian donates the rest of his stack when the flush hits the river. Thanks, dude. Total: +$11.80

Session 2 (during lunch break) - another good solid session. This time, I got to stack the same short stack - twice. First time, he pushes with the idiot end of a straight. Second time, I bet out with a set of Aces, and he calls off the rest of his stack (not much by that time) with a pair of Kings. Total: +$12.31

Session 3 - (afternoon break) - didn't get to stack anybody this time, but did win a pretty decent pot uncontested with a set of kings - enough to put me in the black for the session. Total: +$5.22

Session 4 - (just before dinner) - I thought for sure my streak would break here. I wasn't catching any cards (VP$P of 8%), and was slightly in the red for most of it. Then, just before I head to dinner, this hand happens -

Party Poker
Pot Limit Omaha Ring game
Blinds: $0.10/$0.25
6 players


Stack sizes:
UTG: $23.85
UTG+1: $20.75
Brolyan: $24.25
Button: $9.70
SB: $29.65
BB: $20.20

Pre-flop: (6 players) Brolyan is CO with
UTG calls, UTG+1 folds, Brolyan calls, Button folds, SB calls, BB checks.

Flop: ($1, 4 players)
SB checks, BB checks, UTG bets $0.25, Brolyan calls, SB folds, BB calls.

Turn: ($1.75, 3 players)
BB checks, UTG bets $0.25, Brolyan calls, BB calls.

River: ($2.5, 3 players)
BB checks, UTG bets $0.25, Brolyan calls, BB folds.

Results:
Final pot: $3
UTG shows Qc 5c 4h Qs
Brolyan shows Ts Qh 2s Kc

I mean, the guy flops middle set and keeps throwing out these little min-bets. One good PSB and I'm long gone, but I'll chase all sorts of gutshots and backdoor flush draws at those bargain prices. Total: +$1.10


Session 5 (tonight) - This was the biggie. I was again pretty much card-dead again (9.59 VP$P), but it doesn't matter too much when you get hands like this -

Party Poker
Pot Limit Omaha Ring game
Blinds: $0.10/$0.25
9 players


Stack sizes:
UTG: $16.35
UTG+1: $22.60
MP1: $52.74
MP2: $32.19
Brolyan: $23.23
CO: $11.96
Button: $18.45
SB: $16.78
BB: $32.57

Pre-flop: (9 players) Brolyan is MP3 with
UTG folds, UTG+1 calls, MP1 calls, MP2 calls, Brolyan calls, CO folds, Button calls, SB folds, SB folds, BB raises to $1, UTG+1 calls, MP1 folds, MP2 calls, Brolyan calls, Button calls.

Flop: ($5.35, 5 players)
BB checks, UTG+1 checks, MP2 bets $2.1, Brolyan raises to $11.4, 3 folds, MP2 raises to $20.7, Brolyan calls all-in $10.83, MP2 calls.

Turn: ($49.81, 1 player + 1 all-in - Main pot: $49.81)


River: ($49.81, 1 player + 1 all-in - Main pot: $49.81)


Results:
Final pot: $49.81
MP2 shows Jc 2h 9s 9c
Brolyan shows Td Ah 8c As

This was the first hand all day when I felt there was some chance I could get stacked. If he was on a draw and hit, I'd be in trouble. After he re-raised on the flop, though, I couldn't really see him doing that with a draw - the initial PSB, sure, but someone on a draw will call my raise 99% of the time and wait for the turn before pushing. Thus, I was pretty certain he had a smaller set. And I was right. Total: $+24.51 (almost a full buy-in right there)

Starting bankroll: $100.00
Current bankroll: $151.24
Won/lost: $51.24

Next step: $50 PLO
Needed: $148.76

sorry to hear about the unfortunate results.

i think it's a good idea to get solid at a specific game before you make this kind of a run. for example, i already know i can beat the 100s and 200s at plo8, and i can see leaks in my observed opponents at the 400s and higher.

furthermore, i think it's a good idea to start with more than one "challenge buy-in" so that you don't worry about "going broke" in the early stage.

lastly, i think six buy-ins might be better for plo due to the higher variance as compared to plo8.

good luck!