And We’re Back! – Bankroll Challenge Day 17
Back in August, Doug Polk challenged himself to turn $100 into $10,000 playing online poker. #GrindNation entered the micro stakes expecting a smooth ride, armed with bankroll management and years of poker knowledge.
What we got instead was an exciting trip through a variance jungle, with glorious highs and devastating lows.
For 16 days he battled against skilled newbies, luckboxes and, most of all, the rake. Doug peaked on day 9, when multiple tournament wins sent the bankroll to a whopping $551.
But the micro stakes glory was short-lived. After some serious run bad and an ill-timed shot at 20nl/10nl heads up on day 13, the bankroll dipped to $138.
September saw Doug take a break from the Bankroll Challenge so he could travel abroad and play PokerStars’ WCOOP. Skipping the micros in favor of high stakes tournaments turned out to be a wise decision. Doug finished 2nd in the $10k High Roller for $455k, the biggest score ever streamed on Twitch.
The Bankroll Challenge remained on break throughout October, as Doug took the month off streaming to travel and focus on his YouTube channel, which has been updated daily with new episodes of shows like Poker Hands and Polker News.
November has arrived, and it’s time to get back to throwing up Dongers.
Welcome Back Bankroll Challenge
Doug started the Twitch stream by saluting the subscribers, which flew in as fast as he could shout them out. He discussed the past few months and explained his new stream schedule.
Doug will stream the Bankroll Challenge 2 days per week, on Mondays and Fridays.
After briefly considering a “high stakes” $2 R+A tournament, the challenge started with $1 Sit and Gos. Doug picked up Aces on the first hand.
Maybe this time we’re gonna run good guys!
Doug answered a few questions from Twitch chat as he faced a 4-bet from an early position player while holding JJ. Doug opted to flat call, eventually rivering a set of Jacks after the two players checked down.
“Is this how it’s gonna be?”
After min-cashing one SNG and busting the others, Doug’s bankroll was around even. It was time for a much needed break to Throw Your Dongers Up.
Bankroll Challenge Technical Difficulties
The set over set wasn’t Doug’s only run bad. The webcam started overheating, which prompted Doug to turn it for awhile. Twitch chat responded with (mostly) masturbation jokes.
During the now webcam-less stream, Doug finished in 2nd in 2 SNGs for a small boost. Meanwhile, an opponent’s marginal ICM call with AJ resulted in another near miss.
“Why would you do that?” He probably doesn’t know why Doug, it’s a $1 SNG
Twenty minutes and a 2nd place sit and go finish later, the webcam was back online.
Critical of a November Niner
The conversation with the chat briefly turned to the November Nine and a hand Doug discussed in the latest episode of Poker Hands.
Doug criticized second place winner Gordon Vayo for not adapting to Qui Nguyen’s aggressive play, even though he could see it in the delayed broadcast.
As the second hour of the stream came to a close, Doug caught a bluff with a well-timed misclick.
Doug had an overpair with 99 on the Button after low flop. He meant to bet but misclicked the check.
The turn paired the board and his opponent went for the lead, which Doug called. The river completed a flush draw and prompted another bet from Doug’s opponent. After thinking about it for some while, Doug decided to call, revealing that his opponent was bluffing with Queen-Jack (a hand he would have folded against a flop bet.)
Two hours into the stream, Doug was four tabling SNGs when the webcam overheated again, turning off. He promised this wouldn’t happen again in the following stream.
Someone in the Twitch chat wondered why would Doug chose to play on WSOP.com when there are unrelugated sites with lower rake and more action. Doug’s answer was simple:
“I want to promote legal and regulated online poker.”
Two and a half hours into the stream, the webcam came back just in time to see a Doug get AQ all-in against AK in another $1 SNG.
Oh the humanity.
It wasn’t all bad news. The player with A9 busted in 4th place, meaning Doug was in the money.
Doug finished that SNG in 2nd place, after jamming Q7 from the Button for (probably) a few too many big blinds. The bankroll sat at $144, up just a hair from the start of the day.
Tables were popping up left and right and eventually Doug was six tabling SNGs and tournaments. Eight tabling if you count Twitch chat and Discord.
The amount of tables, coupled with being entertaining for the camera, made him miss a few chances. At one point he timed out of pocket Queens in a hand that would have given him the massive chip lead. Doug was starting to show some signs of tilt, but he quickly shook it off.
Doug reassured the audience that he could handle the multi-tasking, but he didn’t get a chance to prove it as the stream ended abruptly due to more technical difficulties.
Despite the time outs and technical difficulties, Doug managed to book a small profit for the day. The Bankroll is now at $149.
Get daily updates from the Bankroll Challenge here!
