Chris Ferguson challenge - alternate

[allthatremains]

I believe a better and faster way to build a "free" bankroll is this:

Research the best way to start a new account at any site (sign up bonus, new player freerolls, affiliate freerolls, rakeback, etc.). Deposit a reasonable amount that you are quite sure you can clear the matching sign up bonus in the alloted time. Participate in any new player freerolls, affiliate freerolls, and other promotions being offerred while you clear your sign up bonus.

Most of the sites allow 3 to 4 months to clear the sign up bonus. Play within your bankroll. Convert all of your points, rakeback and bonus back into your bankroll. Withdraw your original deposit once the sign up bonus has cleared. Going forward, only make deposits when reload offers are available and always withdraw your deposit once it has cleared.

Comparison to building exclusively through freerolls:

Advantages: 1. play when you want
2. play the games/levels that fit your style/bankroll
3. sign up bonus "cushion" and other "freebies"
4. freerolls still available
5. more realistic poker play

Disadvantages: 1. must make deposit for sign up bonus - need $
2. may lose deposit before clearing bonus

If you lose your deposit before clearing the sign up bonus, you probabaly need to go back to the play money tables/freerolls to work on your game. Once you feel you are a better player you can retry again at another site, and pay yourself back your lost deposit if things work out.

I have used this "system" on 4 different sites and have built a bankroll of $500. to $2000. on all of them. One advantage of playing on four different sites is you can participate in their different promotions and clear reloads at different times. - never boring. One disadvantage is, if I played all of my poker on one site I would be higher in their points system and receive more perks.

[Wyte22]

Originally Posted by allthatremains I believe a better and faster way to build a "free" bankroll is this: Research the best way to start a new account at any site (sign up bonus, new player freerolls, affiliate freerolls, rakeback, etc.). Deposit a reasonable amount that you are quite sure you can clear the matching sign up bonus in the alloted time. Participate in any new player freerolls, affiliate freerolls, and other promotions being offerred while you clear your sign up bonus. Most of the sites allow 3 to 4 months to clear the sign up bonus. Play within your bankroll. Convert all of your points, rakeback and bonus back into your bankroll. Withdraw your original deposit once the sign up bonus has cleared. Going forward, only make deposits when reload offers are available and always withdraw your deposit once it has cleared. Comparison to building exclusively through freerolls: Advantages: 1. play when you want 2. play the games/levels that fit your style/bankroll 3. sign up bonus "cushion" and other "freebies" 4. freerolls still available 5. more realistic poker play Disadvantages: 1. must make deposit for sign up bonus - need $ 2. may lose deposit before clearing bonus If you lose your deposit before clearing the sign up bonus, you probabaly need to go back to the play money tables/freerolls to work on your game. Once you feel you are a better player you can retry again at another site, and pay yourself back your lost deposit if things work out. I have used this "system" on 4 different sites and have built a bankroll of $500. to $2000. on all of them. One advantage of playing on four different sites is you can participate in their different promotions and clear reloads at different times. - never boring. One disadvantage is, if I played all of my poker on one site I would be higher in their points system and receive more perks.

Chris Ferguson is calling chuck norris to come take you out!

[allthatremains]

Originally Posted by Wyte22 Chris Ferguson is calling chuck norris to come take you out!

Thanks for the heads up.

[gamer4life27]

Trying to stel my thunder? Lol, jk. But seriously, the whole point of the Chris Ferguson challenge was not to get the most money in a certain amount of time, it was to teach people about proper bankroll management. And in order to get most of the promotions from depositing on a poker site, you would normally need a lot of cash (like $5,000), and a lot of time on your hands. Poker sites put there points system up so that you have to play a lot on there site in order to get a lot of points.

Plus, if you lose your bankroll, that's your money you lost. If you take this challenge, you basically lose the house money. So I would think the Chris Ferguson challenge would be the better route to take.

[allthatremains]

Originally Posted by gamer4life27 Trying to stel my thunder? Lol, jk. But seriously, the whole point of the Chris Ferguson challenge was not to get the most money in a certain amount of time, it was to teach people about proper bankroll management. And in order to get most of the promotions from depositing on a poker site, you would normally need a lot of cash (like $5,000), and a lot of time on your hands. Poker sites put there points system up so that you have to play a lot on there site in order to get a lot of points. Plus, if you lose your bankroll, that's your money you lost. If you take this challenge, you basically lose the house money. So I would think the Chris Ferguson challenge would be the better route to take.

I would never suggest a deposit of $5000. The biggest deposit I made was $600. at FullTilt, because I knew I would be able to clear the 100% matching bonus within 120 days. I do not strive for points, I only play within my bankroll and the points and promos that come along are just a bonus.

I understand the point of the Chris Ferguson challenge. All I am suggesting is if you can scrape together enough for a deposit you could make it a lot easier on yourself. It worked for me on four different sites.

[gamer4life27]

But what if you don't have enough for a bankroll? This is a great way to both get a bankroll started, and to learn about proper bankroll management. Those are the main goals of this. Because if you pass this challenge, then you know you can do well with a regular bankroll. And by the time that happens, you would already have a bankroll.

[allthatremains]

Originally Posted by gamer4life27 But what if you don't have enough for a bankroll? This is a great way to both get a bankroll started, and to learn about proper bankroll management. Those are the main goals of this. Because if you pass this challenge, then you know you can do well with a regular bankroll. And by the time that happens, you would already have a bankroll.

O.K. I actually started out the freeroll way myself, about 3 years ago. I finished 3rd in a 12000 player Partypoker freeroll and won $50. When I went to play my $50. for real money, Partypoker told me I must make a deposit before I can play for real money. Obvoiusly you can only make your first deposit one time so I thought I might as well get the best sign up bonus I could clear.

I'm not sure if other sites let you play freeroll winnings without making a deposit first.

You will learn very little about bankroll management when you have no bankroll. Even when you win 50 cents in a freeroll, you will have to play outside of your bankroll just to play on the micros.

I'm not trying to steal your thunder, I'm just saying there is an easier way to do this for some.

[gamer4life27]

Well actually no. Many of the poker sites now let you play your winnings off of freerolls.

And as for winning $0.50, thats no bankroll. We all know that you actually have to have some $$$ to start playing the micro games. We aren't going to play the first winnings we get. We wait untill we get some actual cash to play with.

[allthatremains]

Originally Posted by gamer4life27 Well actually no. Many of the poker sites now let you play your winnings off of freerolls. And as for winning $0.50, thats no bankroll. We all know that you actually have to have some $$$ to start playing the micro games. We aren't going to play the first winnings we get. We wait untill we get some actual cash to play with.

1. At what point do you have "actual cash" ?

2. What % would you take to the cash game/tourney table from that "actual cash"?

[gamer4life27]

1. When we win freerolls, we get cash. Even if it's $0.50, after 5 of those cashes, thats $2.50.

2. Check out all the details here:

Online Poker at Full Tilt Poker - All Promotions: Chris Ferguson Challenge

[Vito_Nuccio]

Interesting concept, money needed, but only temp if playing well. I like this path better than starting with nothing and playing with the freeroll junkies every day. Poker is soooo much more enjoyable once some money is involved and play usually gets better farther up the ladder. If you are a newbie and are trying to hone your game in the freerolls, you are just hurting yourself, go play for some money to improve your game. Freerolls are too packed with bottom crawlers and donks, not enough good play to further your game.

The whole Ferguson thing has been around the poker world for a while now and is just a lesson on bankroll management, but a good one. Bankroll management is a very important factor concerning the way I treat both my poker accounts. Due to good rules bad streaks do no harm, just a small dent in the wad and not a chance of forcing a rebuy.

Do I want to start over and just play freerolls to see if I can do it, no. As stated, too many donks down there. A freeroll with 2000 players or more fighting for a purse of $100 is not worth the time. I will play my current accounts and not get them to $10000, because I will take out some of the profits beforehand. Also, I do not see many other players letting $5000 sit in their account waiting for the magical $10000 line. I see the players who came from nothing to several thousand to be using the cash out button. Ferguson has millions in the bank, he thinks nothing to having 6-7 grand sitting dorment in some poker account. The rest of us could use that cash in the real world.

Later,

[mollila]

Originally Posted by allthatremains I believe a better and faster way to build a "free" bankroll is this: Research the best way to start a new account at any site (sign up bonus, new player freerolls, affiliate freerolls, rakeback, etc.). Deposit a reasonable amount that you are quite sure you can clear the matching sign up bonus in the alloted time. Participate in any new player freerolls, affiliate freerolls, and other promotions being offerred while you clear your sign up bonus.

Well the point of the Ferguson challenge is to start from zero dollars, so you do not have any money to make a deposit.

One should select a poker room which has good ways of starting a bankroll from $0. Good cash freerolls is perhaps the main way. Full Tilt also has the tournaments with cash prizes that you buy in with play money, as brought out in the Full Tilt 500,000 play money tournaments thread.

1st gets $5 2nd gets $3 And 3rd-18th get $2. From what I have observed, the average number of people is less than 50. So that's not a bad chance at getting some cash in exchange for the play money

[allthatremains]

Originally Posted by mollila Well the point of the Ferguson challenge is to start from zero dollars, so you do not have any money to make a deposit. One should select a poker room which has good ways of starting a bankroll from $0. Good cash freerolls is perhaps the main way. Full Tilt also has the tournaments with cash prizes that you buy in with play money, as brought out in the Full Tilt 500,000 play money tournaments thread.

No disrespect, but I think you forgot to put in the part about building your play money from 1000 or 2000 or whatever it is to 500,000 before you can enter these tournaments. No wonder there are only 50 or so who enter.

Well if this was real poker, you should plunk down your real 1000 or 2000 and turn it into 500,000! If it's not real poker you are probably hurting your game by playing in these, as Vito said.

The point of the Chris Ferguson challenge is as much about bankroll management as going from 0 to 10,000. We already know the percentages he said he took to the various tables, so it is no longer about bankroll management, but discipline to stick to your bankroll management.

In some ways I admire someone who has "made it" going back to freerolls and attempting this, because I personally couldn't(not that I have "made it"). But out of the thousands who copy Chris there may be a few who actually accomplish this. So what then. Do you think that FullTilt will have you join them as a pro? Nobody will even bother to verify if you actually did it.

All I am offering in this thread is a much easier way to do someting similar. It's not for everybody, and yes I realize you will be risking some real money to get things started.

[mollila]

Originally Posted by allthatremains No disrespect, but I think you forgot to put in the part about building your play money from 1000 or 2000 or whatever it is to 500,000 before you can enter these tournaments. No wonder there are only 50 or so who enter.

Play money is a lot easier to get, as people are allowed to reload back to 1000 every 5 minutes. You can get from 1000 to ~20,000 in a few hours by gambling. I suppose after that its more difficult to build up, but sounds like fun to try.

And that's what this experiment is for me and I guess for the others. Something fun to do.

[gamer4life27]

Originally Posted by mollila Play money is a lot easier to get, as people are allowed to reload back to 1000 every 5 minutes. You can get from 1000 to ~20,000 in a few hours by gambling. I suppose after that its more difficult to build up, but sounds like fun to try. And that's what this experiment is for me and I guess for the others. Something fun to do.

Lol, and that's what I did.

But in proper bankroll management, discipline is part of it. As Chris states in that article, he would sit down with people who took $5 to $500, or $10 to $1,000. And he said almost every single one of those story's ended up with them losing it all because they continued to play at the higher levels, when they didn't have the bankroll for it.