TRB1965's August Full Tilt Challenges

The purpose of this blog is to keep track of the challenges I have set for my self of the month of August on Full Tilt Poker. I'm not going to call them goals because some of them are a little too open ended to be called goals. Some of these I started late in July and I am carrying them forward into August.

1) Full Tilt's "Biggest Bonus Ever" - I don't think I can gain 1,667 Full Tilt Points (base points not modified by happy hour), mantain good bankroll management, and maintain my low multi-table comfort level all at the same time. But, I will be playing a lot (particularly in the first week of month while I'm on vacation.) I'll be tracking the FTP I've earned toward this promotion and the amount of the $100 bonus cleared as well as the impact on my bankroll.

2) Full Tilt Poker Academy Challenges - I'll try to clear at least 3 of the challenges (meaning complete them 10 times) as well as make progress toward several of the others (meaning complete tasks related to them.) I'll be tracking my challenge clearance, Academy Credits earned, and the impact on my bankroll.

3) Ironman One-A-Day - Earn a minimum of one Full Tilt Point (base not modified by happy hour) per day to qualify for the one-a-day challenge. I'll be tracking daily progress as well as the impact on my bankroll.

4) Ironman Bronze Status - Earning 50 Full Tilt Points (base not modified by happy hour) a day for 20 days may be beyond my reach given that on days I work, I can only play for a couple of hours maximum. Earning 100 Full Tilt Points a day for 15 days may simply be beyond my bankroll. However, I am off work on vacation for the first 9 days of the month and plan to play a lot on those 9 days. I'll be keeping an eye to my daily points earned and then trying to determine if it is possible to take a shot a Bronze Iron Man Status.

5) Overall Full Tilt Point Count - Not really a clear goal on this, but I would like to take this total and run it up a good deal this month. After all, I need to get started on earning the 6 million points for the Mini-Cooper!

Note that the bankroll progress calculations may well overlap and my play in a single session may count toward several different categories. I will try to keep all calculation accuarate to the challange so I can know the impact of that challenge on my bankroll.

This is to establish the starting point for reference for future updates.

1) I starting trying to achieve the Biggest Bonus Ever on Friday, 7/31. As of right now I have earned 36 points and cleared $2.15. By bankroll has decreased $2.47 cents in the same time frame.

2) I started trying to clear the challenges on Saturday 7/25. As of right now I have completed the "Guide to SNGs" challenge 8 (out of ten times).I have earned 240 Academy Credits. In the SNGs used to complete the tasks I have shown a profit of $2.60.

3) I have earned at least 1 FTP for today (8/1). I have increased my bankroll by $2.95 so far today.

4) As far as the Ironman Bronze goes, I have earned 10.25 points so far today. I will be do some cash game mutli-tabling later (during happy hour and beyond) and seeing where I get with this.

5) I have 151.94 Full Tilt Points. Only 5, 999, 849.06 left! LOL.

good luck in achieving the goals you have set out
i dont believe ill clear the bonus either because i only play micro limits atm till i get a bankroll happening however i have completed alot of the fulltilt academy point challenges theres some basic ones you shouldnt have problems with i.e play 30 hands at cap game 30 hands at nl game and 30 hands at pl game and a few other easier ones that i forgot about im also doing the ironman one a day freeroll so if you play in the freeroll at the end of the month ill catch you in it best of luck achieving all your goals you have set out

I'm mutli-tabling cash tables while I'm trying to do the Guide to NL Cash. I've played over 3 hours 4 tabling 10NL and I'm at 47 base FTP today so far. It will certainly be a huge grind to even come close doing this at the 10NL level.

Yeah the first three (Guide to SNGS, Guide to NL Cash, and Guide to MTTs) are level 1 challenges and look to be easy to accomplish.

I've completed the Guide to SNGs 10 times and am now working on the Guide to NL Cash.


Thank you and I hope to see you in the one-a-day freeroll.

1) Biggest Bonus Ever - I've earned 78 points, cleared $4.70, and my bankroll has decreased $3.39.

2) FTP Academy challenges. I've cleared the "Guide to SNGs" 10 times and am finished with it. I've cleared the "Guide to NL Cash Games" 1 time but am wainting for the results to be posted. Finished the SNGs up up 60 cents. So far I'm up $1.60 on the cash game challenge. I have 325 Academy Credits with 25 credits pending.

3) I have earned at least 1 FTP today (8/1). I have increased my bankroll by $2.03 today.

4) I cleared 50 FTP Points today. That gives me 1 (of 20) days cleared toward Ironman Bronze status.

5) I have 219.98 Full Tilt Points. Only 5,999, 780.02 left to go!

The best of luck to you Tony on this challenge, hopefully you accomplish most or all of your goals. I'm hoping to start a BR sometime soon on FTP and try to create my own challenges/goals.

1) Biggest Bonus Ever - I've earned 149 points and cleared $8.92 and my bankroll has decreased $6.55 since I started trying for this on Friday 7/31.

2) FTP Academy Challenges - I've closed out the 10 "Guide to SNGs" challenges and I've cleard 4 of the "Guide to NL Cash Games" challenges. The Cash challenges are moving a lot slower than I anticipates. And keep separate track of a bankroll for this is virtually impossible as I mixing my play all over the place. I've earned 500 Academy Credits.

3) FTP One-A-Day - I've earned at least 1 FTP both days in August.

4) Ironman Bronze - I've earned at least 50 base points both days in August. My bankroll has decreased $1.13 in August. The same bankroll applies to both the FTP One-A-Day adn the Ironman Bronze as they both started with play on August 1.

5) Full Tilt Points - 371.72 Full Tilt Points earned.

1) Biggest Bonus Ever - I've earned 149 points and cleared $8.92 and my bankroll has decreased $6.55 since I started trying for this on Friday 7/31.

2) FTP Academy Challenges - I've closed out the 10 "Guide to SNGs" challenges and I've cleard 4 of the "Guide to NL Cash Games" challenges. The Cash challenges are moving a lot slower than I anticipates. And keep separate track of a bankroll for this is virtually impossible as I mixing my play all over the place. I've earned 500 Academy Credits.

3) FTP One-A-Day - I've earned at least 1 FTP both days in August.

4) Ironman Bronze - I've earned at least 50 base points both days in August. My bankroll has decreased $1.13 in August. The same bankroll applies to both the FTP One-A-Day adn the Ironman Bronze as they both started with play on August 1.

5) Full Tilt Points - 371.72 Full Tilt Points earned.

End of August 4 Update
Really bad day today with my opponets hitting 3, 4 and 5 outers galore inlcude one all-in hand after the turn where I ahd two opponents with a combined 3 outs and lost. The good news is I kept getting my money in way ahead.
1) Biggest Bonus Ever - I've earned 308 points and cleared $18.49 and my bankroll has decreased $14.51 since I started trying for this on Friday 7/31.

2) FTP Academy Challenges - I've closed out the 10 "Guide to SNGs" challenges and the 10 "Guide to NL Cash Games" challenges. I've started working on the "Betting Bascis" challenge, but it moving VERY slowly. I've complete one task and 2/3 of another task but I haven't even touched the other three task. One task seems very simple - open raise from the late or middle position exactly 3 times the big blind with AK, AQ or a pocket pair 9 or higher. And I've spent 2 days with getting those cards in those positions and having everyone fold to me so I can open raise! ARG!
3) FTP One-A-Day - I've earned at least 1 FTP all 4 days in August.

4) Ironman Bronze - I've earned at least 50 base points all 4 days in August. My bankroll has decreased $9.09 in August. The same bankroll applies to both the FTP One-A-Day adn the Ironman Bronze as they both started with play on August 1.

5) Full Tilt Points - 508.43 Full Tilt Points earned.

This isn’t going very well. I really need to show a profit today (Thursday or I’ll have to change tactics). I’d rather give up on the Ironman Bronze than have my bankroll continue to dwindle.

1) Biggest Bonus Ever - I've earned 360 points and cleared $21.58 and my bankroll has decreased $22.44 since I started trying for this on Friday 7/31.

2) FTPAcademy Challenges - I've closed out the 10 "Guide to SNGs" challenges and the 10 "Guide to NL Cash Games" challenges. I've started working on the "Betting Basics" challenge, but it’s moving VERY slowly. I've complete two tasks and 2/3 of another task but I haven't even touched the other two task. One task seems very simple - open raise from the late or middle position exactly 3 times the big blind with AK, AQ or a pocket pair 9 or higher. And I've spent 3 days without getting those cards in those positions and having everyone fold to me so I can open raise! ARG!

3) FTP One-A-Day - I've earned at least 1 FTP all 5 days in August.

4) Ironman Bronze - I've earned at least 50 base points all 5 days in August. My bankroll has decreased $17.02 in August. The same bankroll applies to both the FTP One-A-Day and the Ironman Bronze as they both started with play on August 1.

5) Full Tilt Points - 569.53 Full Tilt Points earned.

Update through August 6

Well Thursday was another day of very negative cash game play (down $14.91). I really think that I’m not playing poorly but I just can’t get big hands to hold up right now. In the past when I’ve went through slumps it has seemed to help when I change things up. I do still want to achieve my goals but I’m not going to let me bankroll keep bleeding to do it. So today (Friday) I am going to start off the day playing SNGs. I’ll start off with the $5.50 SNGs and see where I get over the course of the morning. Now I would have to play 17 of these to earn 50 FTP. That would require playing for approximately 17 hours single tabling, 9 hours double-tabling, or 6 hours triple-tabling. I’m going to start off the morning single-tabling. I have played these $5.50 SNGs in a long time. I want to get the feel for them again before I start multi-tabling. Then I’ll play it by ear from there. If I need to multi-table some cash table at the end of the day to add some FTP, I will do that, but I would like to have a positive day for the day. I really need it.

1) Biggest Bonus Ever - I've earned 412 points and cleared $24.72 and my bankroll has decreased $39.30 since I started trying for this on Friday 7/31.

2) 2) FTP Academy Challenges - I've closed out the 10 "Guide to SNGs" challenges and the 10 "Guide to NL Cash Games" challenges. I've started working on the "Betting Basics" challenge, but it’s moving VERY slowly. I've complete four tasks and one task to go. Since I’m going to be playing SNGs today, I’m going to switch over to the “SNG by the Numbers” challenge for today.

3) FTP One-A-Day - I've earned at least 1 FTP all 6 days in August.

4) Ironman Bronze - I've earned at least 50 base points all 6 days in August. My bankroll has decreased $34.48 in August. The same bankroll applies to both the FTP One-A-Day and the Ironman Bronze as they both started with play on August 1.

5) Full Tilt Points - 626.67 Full Tilt Points earned.

Hello,

Are you going to take the medals or play the freerolls? I think, The one a day gives out 15 medals or a 2k freeroll.

Hey i am doing the biggest bonus ever challenge . I have cleared $5.90 Of it.. and it is hard! I had to deposit money onto my account in order to play the higher staked games.. And i dont think i will be able to do it, Best of luck in acheving the goals you have set out for yourself!

I'm still deciding right now but leaning toward taking the medals. I'll can eventually use the medals to buy a cash bonus.

Still might decide to play the freeroll, but I'm leaning toward the medals.

Well fortunately I have $300+ to start the month from the completion on my freeroll project.

I was beginning to doubt if I could come close to the biggest bonus ever myself, but a decent day in the SNGs has brigthened the outlook considerably.

Update through August 7

MUCH BETTER! I really would have liked the results to have been even better, at least it was a profitable day. Still ran into some incredible outdraws, include one $5 SNG where I was a huge chip leader 4-handed and ran into a run of 10 hands where I had AK vs AA, QQ vs KK, and QQ vs AK, lost all three hands and failed to cash. For the day I managed to play nine $5.50 SNGs (ITM 6, 2nd-3, 3rd-3), 6 $1.25 SNGs (ITM 3, 3rd-3), and 58 hands on 10NL Cap (Down $1.13) at the end of the day to wind up over up $14.77 with 50.3 FTP earned for the day!

1) Biggest Bonus Ever - I've earned 462 base points and cleared $27.69 and my bankroll has decreased $23.00 since I started trying for this on Friday 7/31.

2) 2) FTP Academy Challenges - I've closed out the 10 "Guide to SNGs" challenges and the 10 "Guide to NL Cash Games" challenges. Completed 4 of the 5 task the first time from in “SNGs by the Numbers.” I need to win 2 SNGs to complete this. I have earned 1086 Academy Credits.

3) FTP One-A-Day - I've earned at least 1 FTP all 7 days in August.

4) Ironman Bronze - I've earned at least 50 base points all 7 days in August. My bankroll has decreased $17.58 in August. The same bankroll applies to both the FTP One-A-Day and the Ironman Bronze as they both started with play on August 1.

5) Full Tilt Points - 677.16 Full Tilt Points earned.

Good job TRB amazing patience to try all these challenges at once GL

Also probably more than a tad bit of insanity to try so many different things at once!

Update through August 8

YES! I love the $5 SNGs on Full Tilt. Too bad I can’t play 18 of these every day to earn my 50 FTP. I played 11 $5 SNGs today. I was ITM in six of them. I won three and finished second in three. I did have to spend a short amount of time playing cash tables to finish off my points for the day. I sat down at two $0.25/$0.50 PL Holdem tables. I played 2 orbits on each table and I earned 13 FTP to put myself over the 50 FTP for the day. I looked for the tables with the highest average pot and joined those. Almost every hand was raked and the points really added up fast. I was down $2.25 at these but up $47.50 in the SNGs, so I was up $45.25 for the day. w00t! w00t!

1) Biggest Bonus Ever (Earn 1667 base FTP) - I've earned 413 base points and cleared $30.78 and my bankroll has increased $22.25 since I started trying for this on Friday 7/31.

2) 2) FTP Academy Challenges (Earn 2000 Academy credits) – I’m changing this one up a bit while still staying in the spirit of the originally stated goal. If I had completed the three “Guide To” challenges 10 times I would have earned 1100 credits. I’ll add 900 credits to that to be the “complete some tasks in other challenges” part. So far I have earned 1,196 Academy credits.

3) FTP One-A-Day - I've earned at least 1 FTP all 8 days in August.

4) Ironman Bronze - I've earned at least 50 base points all 8 days in August. My bankroll has increased $27.67 in August. The same bankroll applies to both the FTP One-A-Day and the Ironman Bronze as they both started with play on August 1.

5) Full Tilt Points - 728.61 Full Tilt Points earned.

Update through August 9

Not a great day. Weather in the area had the power flickering. The computer froze up a few times and I missed several orbits in a couple of SNGs that I failed to cash. I need to do other things this evening, so hit the $0.25/$0.50 PL tables to get my iron man points. Overall down $10 on the day.

1) Biggest Bonus Ever (Earn 1667 base FTP) - I've earned 576 base points and cleared $34.58 and my bankroll has increased $12.25 since I started trying for this on Friday 7/31.

2) FTP Academy Challenges (Earn 2000 Academy credits) –So far I have earned 1,359 Academy credits.

3) FTP One-A-Day (Earn 1 FTP every day) - I've earned at least 1 FTP all 9 days in August.

4) Ironman Bronze (Earn 50 FTP on 20 different days) - I've earned at least 50 base points all 9 days in August. My bankroll has increased $17.67 in August. The same bankroll applies to both the FTP One-A-Day and the Ironman Bronze as they both started with play on August 1.

5) Full Tilt Points (grab bunches!) – 827.11 Full Tilt Points earned.

Nice job finally having a profitable BR Tony, I still haven't had much luck making money. I might participate in tomorrow's CC freeroll and hope to make the money.

Will you be playing in the CC freeroll tomorrow?

Doubt that I'll play many freerolls in August. I need to focus on real money play so I can get the bonus and Ironman and try to give my bankroll a boost.

Update through August 10

Well back to work in the real world after my 9 day vacation. Not as much time for poker. I played 2 SNGs and failed to cash both of them. I then played a $0.25/$.50 pot limit Omaha ring table, saw 151 hands and left up $39.20. I also played a $0.01/$0.02 NLHE ring table specifically to clear Academy challenges, saw 35 hands and left up $1.52.

Full Tilt is updating the bonuses very slowly tonight, so I suspect that the totals are slightly higher than indicated below. For instance my Ironman widget indicates I have earned 71 FTP today but my Ironman page says I have earned 54.50 FTP today. I’m the bonus pages will catch up after I go to sleep tonight.

1) Biggest Bonus Ever (Earn 1667 base FTP) - I've earned 635 base points and cleared $38.10 and my bankroll has increased $41.97 since I started trying for this on Friday 7/31.

2) FTP Academy Challenges (Earn 2000 Academy credits) –So far I have earned 1,372 Academy credits.

3) FTP One-A-Day (Earn 1 FTP every day) - I've earned at least 1 FTP all 10 days in August.

4) ) Ironman Bronze (Earn 50 FTP on 20 different days) - I've earned at least 50 base points all 10 days in August. My bankroll has increased 47.39 in August. The same bankroll applies to both the FTP One-A-Day and the Ironman Bronze as they both started with play on August 1.

5) Full Tilt Points (grab bunches!) – 902.48 Full Tilt Points earned.

As I suspected last night the bonus reporting was very slow last night. Here’s the number being reported this morning:

Biggest Bonus Ever is 467 FTP/ $38.84
FTP Academy Credits are 1,385.

nice job at the .25/.50 pot limit Omaha cash game. unfortunately you were unable to cash in any of the SNG's, but your still doing great with your BRM.

Update through August 11

Back on the $0.25/$0.50 PLO tables for me today. This time I skipped the SNGs and went straight to double-tabling the PLO. I played 315 hands, let up $3.60 and earned 166.20 FTP (my personal best for a single day.)
I didn’t wok on any of the Academy challenges today.

1) Biggest Bonus Ever (Earn 1667 base FTP) - I've earned 814 base points and cleared $48.81 and my bankroll has increased $45.57 since I started trying for this on Friday 7/31. I need to average 47.39 points per day through 8/29 to clear the full bonus.

2) FTP Academy Challenges (Earn 2000 Academy credits) –So far I have earned 1,372 Academy credits. I need to earn 668 credits to reach my goal.

3) FTP One-A-Day (Earn 1 FTP every day) - I've earned at least 1 FTP all 11 days in August. 20 days left to earn 1 point per day.

4) ) Ironman Bronze (Earn 50 FTP on 20 different days) - I've earned at least 50 base points all 11 days in August. My bankroll has increased $50.99 in August. The same bankroll applies to both the FTP One-A-Day and the Ironman Bronze as they both started with play on August 1. I need to earn 50 points on 9 different days to reach Ironman Bronze. I need to earn 50 points on 14 different days to earn Ironman Silver.

5) Full Tilt Points (grab bunches!) – 1,068.68 Full Tilt Points earned. 9,998,931.32 FTP to go for the Mini Cooper! LOL!

Most likely I'm going to concentrate on the PLO as long as I don't have any major losses there. I can really rack up the FTP playing those tables.

I was begging to think that I was going be marginal on accomplishing the Biggest Bonus ever, but If I can even come close to break even playing the PLO, I should be able to get there handily.

Update through August 12

I got home a little later than normal tonight. I decided just to play enough $0.25/$0.50 PLO to get my 50 FTP and then switch over to 2NL to try to accomplish some academy challenge tasks. It was really dragging after I switched over to 2NL, so I decided to make an early night of it. I played a total of 203 hands and was up $1.44.

1) Biggest Bonus Ever (Earn 1,667 base FTP) - I've earned 865 base points and cleared $51.87 and my bankroll has increased $47.01 since I started trying for this on Friday 7/31. I need to average 47.17 points per day through 8/29 to clear the full bonus.

2) FTP Academy Challenges (Earn 2,000 Academy credits) –So far I have earned 1,409 Academy credits. I need to earn 591 credits to reach my goal.

3) FTP One-A-Day (Earn 1 FTP every day) - I've earned at least 1 FTP all 12 days in August. 20 days left to earn 1 point per day.

4) ) Ironman Bronze (Earn 50 FTP on 20 different days) - I've earned at least 50 base points all 12 days in August. My bankroll has increased $52.43 in August. The same bankroll applies to both the FTP One-A-Day and the Ironman Bronze as they both started with play on August 1. I need to earn 50 points on 8 different days to reach Ironman Bronze. I need to earn 50 points on 13 different days to earn Ironman Silver.

5) Full Tilt Points (grab bunches!) – 1,120.20 Full Tilt Points earned.

Update through August 13

Horrid night of PLO. Just couldn’t flop anything and when I did I kept getting out drawn time and time again. Well, that’s why it’s called variance. I need to set some limits on nights like this and walk away earlier even if it means not making my Ironman numbers. I was down $54.34 on the day playing PLO.

1) Biggest Bonus Ever (Earn 1,667 base FTP) - I've earned 925 base points and cleared $55.46 and my bankroll has decreased $7.84 since I started trying for this on Friday 7/31. I need to average 46.38 points per day through 8/29 to clear the full bonus.

2) FTP Academy Challenges (Earn 2,000 Academy credits) –So far I have earned 1,409 Academy credits. I need to earn 591 credits to reach my goal.

3) FTP One-A-Day (Earn 1 FTP every day) - I've earned at least 1 FTP all 13 days in August. 18 days left to earn 1 point per day.

4) ) Ironman Bronze (Earn 50 FTP on 20 different days) - I've earned at least 50 base points all 13 days in August. My bankroll has decreased $2.42 in August. The same bankroll applies to both the FTP One-A-Day and the Ironman Bronze as they both started with play on August 1. I need to earn 50 points on 7 different days to reach Ironman Bronze. I need to earn 50 points on 12 different days to earn Ironman Silver.

5) Full Tilt Points (grab bunches!) – 1,180.09 Full Tilt Points earned.

Unfortunately you had a bad time at the cash table, hopefully you do well in todays PLO session. Maybe you should play a little NL Hold em, do you still play SNG's? Best of luck.

Hard for me to play SNGs on week days and still get to 50 points. For now it's probably cash session during the week and SNGs and cash session on the weekend.

If I have another bad session of PLO, I'll switch over to NLHE for a while just for a change of pace.

I'm learning lessons right now and trying not to loose my bankroll doing so.

From the $25 I got in my 3rd place finish on tuesday's CC freeroll, I just have $30 now. I've gotten over $40, but keep going down to $30. I'll do good in the 5/10c NL hold em tables, but then do terrible at the 1/2c, 2/5c PLO and NL hold em tables. I think i'm just going to call it quits at the PLO tables for now, haven't had a possitive session in a while.

I've played two SNG's and did terrible, so I think i'll be passing on them aswell. GL and TC.

Update through August 14

I had another down day playing PLO. I was down $30.80 but I did manage to get my 50 FTP.

The weekend is here and I’m going to slow down my play some and concentrate on the Full Tilt Academy challenges. I’ll be playing a lot of 2NL to try clear task related to some NLHE tasks. I’ll probably swing around to some SNGs and some higher level cash during happy hour, but I want to get some Academy tasks cleared Saturday and Sunday.

1) Biggest Bonus Ever (Earn 1,667 base FTP) - I've earned 977 base points and cleared $58.62 and my bankroll has decreased $38.64 since I started trying for this on Friday 7/31. I need to average 46 points per day through 8/29 to clear the full bonus.

2) FTP Academy Challenges (Earn 2,000 Academy credits) –So far I have earned 1,409 Academy credits. I need to earn 591 credits to reach my goal.

3) FTP One-A-Day (Earn 1 FTP every day) - I've earned at least 1 FTP all 14 days in August. 18 days left to earn 1 point per day.

4) ) Ironman Bronze (Earn 50 FTP on 20 different days) - I've earned at least 50 base points all 14 days in August. My bankroll has decreased $33.22 in August. The same bankroll applies to both the FTP One-A-Day and the Ironman Bronze as they both started with play on August 1. I need to earn 50 points on 6 different days to reach Ironman Bronze. I need to earn 50 points on 11 different days to earn Ironman Silver.

5) Full Tilt Points (grab bunches!) – 1,232.84 Full Tilt Points earned.

Are they releasing yours in $10.00 Increments or do you have to clear the whole Bonus??

As I understand the way this one works is that it will release the $100 once you earn it or it will release whatever portion you do earn after 30 days if you fail to earn the entire $100.

This verbage is on the Biggest Bonus ever tracking page "Your bonus will be paid out in full when you earn all of the required Full Tilt Points or as a pro-rated amount at the end of the 30 day clearance period if you do not earn all of your points."

This one isn't being tracked in the bonus section of the cashier.