Negreanu enters the ring for a version of the Ferguson Challenge

First I would like to apologize for taking so much time off of writing the blog. I really have been crazy busy with all kinds of things going on.

That's enough of that.

So Daniel Negreanu announced that he has started a challenge with online poker over at Poker Stars. It is similar to Chris Ferguson's challenge which I have commented on in the past. The format that Negreanu has laid out is interesting and may also be feasible.

His basic rules, although subject to amendment as he has mentioned, are pretty straight forward. He will attempt to turn $10 into $100,000.00 over a few years using straight forward strategy and a solid small ball approach with good bankroll management.

He started at $.01/.02 and has since moved up to $.02/.05. The rules go like this. He must have a minimum of 500 times the big blind and he can never buy in for more than 1/5 of his existing bankroll. That is pretty much it. He has left it open to amendment as he moves up to the higher levels but this has yet to be put into action.

Now, in the past when reviewing and trying out Chris Ferguson's challenge, I had my doubts. Simply because his rules were incredibly strict, particularly as they apply to bankroll management and playing in the micro levels online make it incredibly difficult to move forward. If you want more details about his challenge you can check out a couple of my earlier entries.

So I decided I would take a swing at Negreanu's challenge. Firstly, I would like to say I don't believe I am of the same calibre player as Daniel or Chris but I believe I can hold my own. Secondly, I believe that playing initially at the lower levels, most players are on similar play fields only because things are happening that wouldn't happen with better players at higher levels because people in the "micros" don't care about pushing all-in at anytime just for the hell of it.

Anyway, I started out and much like Daniel, I made it through to the next level. Having gotten my role up to $25, I was able to graduate to $.02/.05. That being said, the difficulty now ensues. If I get busted with one buy in that takes me down to $20 and according to the rules, I have to drop back down. In fact, with any session that I drop down beyond $25 I am supposed to drop down. At such low levels, the play is pretty bad but the luck factor is kicked up a couple notches. Needless to say, it has been difficult getting out of this position while adhering to the rules.

I was of course curious to see how Daniel had been doing and found out something interesting. Negreanu had commenced the challenge around the beginning of the year. He had posted over at Full Contact Poker near the end of January that he had moved up to the next level and also outlined all his sessions for anybody who may be interested. However, there hasn't been another entry from him since. This could mean many things. He may not be continuing with the challenge, he may simply not be posting his progress at the moment or he may be having difficulty.

Personally, I think it is incredibly difficult to pull it off. Both Negreanu and Ferguson's challenges are crazy tough. This is not to say they are impossible. I just think the nature of play in the micro levels online combined with strict bankroll guidelines make it tough to move.

I have tried the challenge on both Full Tilt and Poker Stars and I am of the mind set that it is incredibly difficult to move forward and make anything online. I take crazy beats one after the other in close proximity to one another and every time I think I'm about to move forward I get knocked down again. I have come to the conclusion that I am a super online donk. If anyone has figured out a way to conquer the repetitive low percentage underdog hands from taking you out with such high frequency, I would love to hear from you.

If somebody pushes all-in preflop with pocket 4's and I have pocket AA and I call, we go heads up and he spikes a 4, I'm not sure what I'm supposed to do anymore. Do I fold the AA preflop? This type of thing seems to happen way too frequently for me to overcome. I know that low percentage hands will hit from time to time, it is just the incredible frequency that occurs online that gets me. Often, only a few hands apart. In the meantime, I will stick to "brick and mortar" games for my income and leave the online gains to the magicians.

Good luck all and hope to hear from you, especially if any of you are in the midst of trying the challenge.