SURGING!!! – Bankroll Challenge Day 9
In a surprising day 8 of Doug Polk’s bankroll challenge, the two time bracelet winner worked his WSOP.com balance to over $200 for the first time. The celebration was short lived, however, as a series of bustos towards the end of the session left him break even to the dollar.
The stream itself was supposed to be the surprise, happening on a Friday, outside his usual Sunday to Thursday schedule. But what was truly surprising was that bankroll spike and fall. This challenge was beginning to feel like the poker equivalent of the Myth of Sisyphus, with the bankroll going up and then down forever.
Can Doug Polk and his hoard of BAZAMs and DONGERS finally break through in this challenge? Or Is he cursed to carry this bankroll up a hill just to see it tumbling down again and again?
Giving Back to the Community
A big theme of today’s stream was giving back to the community that has formed around this streams. Before starting today’s session, Doug Polk did the Twitter bankroll giveaway. The winner, Santiago, received $178 as well as a follow back from Doug.
Then came the Upswing Poker $500 Invitational Freeroll. Doug himself played it during the stream, min cashing for $8. The winner of the event walked away with $135 and a free Upswing Poker Lab.
To sweeten the viewing pot further, Doug announced that $500 will be given away to a random Twitch viewer at a random time sometimes this week. You can get all the details of this challenge on Doug’s official Facebook page.
Don’t miss a stream/chance to win with Doug’s schedule for the week below!
Remember to stay tuned and be active in the #GrindNation community to be eligible to win some of this great prizes.
Congratulations to all the winners!
Being More Liberal With the Bankroll
Doug started the stream reflecting aloud on his past success in $5 sit and gos and explaining that his bankroll tactics thus far were likely too conservative. He then decided to hop into some NL10, the highest stakes he’s played in the challenge so far.
Doug did not take this decision lightly, but he felt the risk to his healthy bankroll was worth taking to chase the larger edge at NL10. The action started with username DougPolkPkr being seen sitting down on a selection of NL2, NL4 and the controversial NL10 table. A few tournaments were added later.
Soon after the second hour mark, it was clear that the odds were not in Doug’s favor to win the day. He busted out of tournament after tournament, with bad beat after bad beat. The chat was ready to hoist the white flag.
The Poker Dream
Four hours into the stream, Things did not looked great for the hero of this epic. History repeated itself, and just as it happened when he first moved up from NL2 to NL4, his bankroll suffered a huge hit. After losing 6 buy ins at NL10, the roll sat at $117.
The people were disappointed, but entertained. Doug decided to remain optimistic and continue the grind.
After all, he is not doing this for the money. Like he repeated in his FAQ, he is doing it for to prove that the poker dream is alive.
He is doing it to prove it to the micro stakes grinder who has given up trying to move up.
Or to the up and comer with hope for a poker-filled future, who is terrified after reading countless threads claiming the poker dream died with Full Tilt.
And especially to prove it to the naysayers and jaded cynic. who laughed at the idea of turning $100 into $10k as if it were some kind of strange and disproven alchemy.
Armed with righteous cause and the heart of a world champion, Doug carried on. He reg’d a few $3 and $5 tournaments with guarantees ranging from $100 to $800.
Spitting on the Face of the Poker Gods
‘‘I’m not here for the min cash, I’m here to win’’ said the people’s hero as he grinded tournaments relentlessly.
After busting out from a couple of tournaments and min chasing a couple more (including the Upswing Poker Freeroll), Doug had reached the final table of a $3 tournament with a $100 guarantee. He plowed through the field until he was heads up with ‘ApokerJoker’ for first prize.
It wasn’t too long before the tournament had it’s final all-in when Doug jammed with AQ suited against ApokerJoker’s pocket queens.
It looked grim for Doug for a moment before the turn Ace (‘from Space!’ as Doug/Tony G would say) sent all the chips his way. The bankroll now stood at $205.88!
Three hours later, Doug was heads up in another final table, this time in an $800 guarantee tournament He was battling for more than $300 for first place, a figure that would more than double the bankroll.
He had the chip lead on his opponent, PongStars15, when he found his KJo all in, covering his opponen’ts Q5o. The flop brought the equity to a near 50%/50% shot.
The turn is the 
, giving Doug a hammerlock on the hand.
Now we just have to fade the river…
That works!
What a rush! A mist the Upswing Emojis were thrown in celebration as Doug Polk announced that the bankroll now stood at an amazing $552.
Get daily updates from the challenge here!
(Serious about improving your poker game? Check out the Upswing Lab! Doug Polk and Ryan Fee collaborated on this A to Z poker training course and the great reviews keep rolling in!)
