More about Ferguson's $0 to $10000

Just found this article in my email

He's giving basic insight to his plan, mostly about the importance of BR management.

http://www.fulltiltpoker.com/tip-ema....php?utm_id=89

This inspired me to post my experiences, very similar to what Chris Ferguson is trying to do.

http://www.cardschat.com/f10/hott_es...00-more-84104/

Oh and this is very good advice, to most novice players, the BR management thing, is like organic chem. in college--no clue what it is. BR management it key to making a profit in poker.

SNIP, cut'n paste... Great stuff from Jesus and our local darling!

Really sound advice. My inner donkey is going nuts! Thanks.

Ferguson Goes From Zero to Hero

Chris Ferguson

April 27th, 2007

I'm almost a year into an experiment on Full Tilt Poker. I'm attempting to turn $0 into a $10,000 bankroll. With no money to start with, I had no choice but to start out playing Freerolls. Starting out, I'd often manage to win a dollar or two, but I'd quickly get busted and have to start over again. It took some time but, after awhile, I was eventually able to graduate to games that required an actual buy-in.

Even today, people don't believe it's really me when I sit down at Full Tilt's small stakes games. They ask what I'm doing down here, and often tell me stories about how they turned $5 into $500 or $100 into $1,000. Usually, these stories end with the person telling me that they went broke. There's no surprise there. These folks tried to quickly build a bankroll by gambling. They'd play in a game that was beyond their bankroll and, if they happened to win, they'd move up to a higher limit and risk it all one more time. Inevitably, they'd lose a few big hands and go broke.

For me, this experiment isn't about the money. It's about showing how, with proper bankroll management, you can start from nothing and move up to the point where you're playing in some pretty big games. I know it's possible because I did it once before, turning $1 into $20,000.
To ensure that I keep my bankroll intact, I've adopted some key rules:

• I'll never buy into a cash game or a Sit & Go with more than 5 percent of my total bankroll (there is an exception for the lowest limits: I'm allowed to buy into any game with a buy-in of $2.50 or less).
• I won't buy into a multi-table tournament for more than 2 percent of my total bankroll and I'm allowed to buy into any multi-table tournament that costs $1.
• If at any time during a No-Limit or Pot-Limit cash-game session the money on the table represents more than 10 percent of my total bankroll, I must leave the game when the blinds reach me.

I think a lot of players would do well to apply these rules. One great benefit from this approach to bankroll management is that it ensures you'll be playing in games you can afford. You'll never play for very long in a game that's over your head because, when you're losing, you'll have no choice but to drop down to a smaller game. You can continue to sharpen your game at that lower limit until your bankroll allows you to move up and take another shot. These rules also prevent you from being completely decimated by a bad run of cards.

Dropping down and playing lower limits is difficult for a lot of players. They view it as a failure and their egos get in the way. Many want to remain at the level they'd been playing and win back their losses. But this can lead to some pretty severe tilt - and that can go through a bankroll in a hurry. I know that dropping down was difficult for me in my run from $1 to $20,000. When I first played in the $25/$50 game, I lost. Sticking to my rules, I dropped down to the $10/$25 game. I had a losing streak there and had to go down to $5/$10. That was tough. After playing $25/$50, a $5/$10 game was boring to me.

But I had the discipline to stick to my rules, and that motivated me to play better at the lower levels. I really didn't want to lose any more because I knew the consequences: I'd have to play even lower and work even harder to get back to where I'd been, which could take as long as a month. If you ever find yourself bored or frustrated playing at the lower limits, you're obviously not playing well. Take a break from the game. Often, stepping away can give you a fresh perspective and heightened motivation to play well when you return.

There are a couple of more tips I'd like to share regarding bankroll management. First, you should never play in a game that is beyond your bankroll simply because the game seems to be soft that day. It's never soft enough to risk money that puts your bankroll in jeopardy. The other point is that you should avoid playing in games that are at the top of your bankroll limits, when a lower game offers more opportunity for profit.

I'm confident that by sticking to these sound bankroll management rules, I'll make it to my $10,000 goal. These rules are sure to help you as well, as you pursue your own poker ambitions. So, if you want to start your own quest - or play against me while I'm continuing with mine - come open a free account at Full Tilt Poker and look for me online. But hurry, because I'm hoping I won't be in the lower limits for too much longer.


Chris Ferguson

How much time has he given himself to reach 10,000?

Honestly if its gonna be a lot more than a year, then its not THAT impressive of a thing to do anymore lol.

I think it's just a year.

$10,000 online in a year is more than a vast majority of people make. Even if it takes him 13 or 14 months, it's still impressive, especially since he started at $0.

I don't quite understand this. For example, I recently won a buck in a freeroll. If I sit at a cash game, I'm supposed to get up if I have more than 10 cents in front of me or $1.10? How can you increase a bank roll from a measely starting amount. I read this article a month or so ago... it's just being reprinted with a more recent date.

Yes, you are, if you're going with the very conservative BR management rules (like Chris Ferguson is here). This method allows you to minimize big pots, or chances of losing big pots, and makes it more likely that you will end each session with a profit. It requires a lot of patience to do this at the micro levels, but if your BR can only sustain that much, then you have to deal with it. This is why I avoided the ring games in online poker, until I had amassed a BR of around $1000+ in order to begin to play the $50 Max tables at the least. It's easier to make a decent BR through SnGs with a small BR than ring games, then switching to ring games with a nice size BR.

Now you're thinking along the levels of micro-stakes, and saying how do you make a profit from just $0.10, but think about larger stakes. Think if you're playing a $1/$2 game where lets say it is a $400 Max buyin table. Once you gain $40, you leave the table. You keep doing this, and your profit will be on a constant upswing, while you would minimize your big losses, because you wouldn't be taking as much risk. This is the conservative, and ideal way for most players on a strict and limited BR, method to make a profit in poker and continue to build your BR.

However, this doesn't mean that you its wrong to not take this type of BR approach. Some people leave tables after doubling their Max buyin, or others when they make 50% of their max buyin, other people don't have set amounts they need to win (just go by feel and whether or not they're on a good rush or a bad one). It all depends on the player.

First off:

I'll never buy into a cash game or a Sit & Go with more than 5 percent of my total bankroll (there is an exception for the lowest limits: I'm allowed to buy into any game with a buy-in of $2.50 or less).
I won't buy into a multi-table tournament for more than 2 percent of my total bankroll and I'm allowed to buy into any multi-table tournament that costs $1.

And he ment that if he's winning he'll leave if he has won $7 on the table and only a $50 Bankroll. When you are first starting off there are pretty much no rules until you have a bankroll that can at least support the lowest limits. You just play solid poker and hope that you dont hit any bad beats. Ferguson even said that he had to restart several times.

Ok, thanks for the clarification. I have been playing 2/4 cent limit hold 'em the past 2 days since I won my buck and have built to $4.05 so far. I look for high % of players entering pot and high pot average. Since I'm ultra-tight in my hand selection, when I enter and get a good flop I stand to earn the most the most quickly.

Thats about all you can do until you have a proper bankroll built up.

just do that til 25 max. tables are retarded enough til then that you can fold anything but aa/kk/qq/ak and not look like a nit