Decided I wanted to try and push myself and I normally excel when my words are out in public so here I go.

About me:
Played poker for nearly 10 years, originally played HU hypers on stars, went from 1.50s to 1ks until action dried up and I decided it wasn't worth it staying up all night playing. Now I have moved to GG, I started playing 200 RnC. I wasn't completely new to the format, I've playing 500z on stars before and some 1k/2k reg tables but I stopped since I didn't find it so easy to mix formats. I have played almost 700k hands since my transition in mid 2023 but I should really massively improve this volume, hence this challenge to force me. I also played some 1k reg tables on gg but I was decently surprised with the level of play there so want to take some time to consider my approach to come back.

My approach:
I will count the challenge as 100 working days, for me this means every day except Friday or Sunday. It's also possible I miss some days around christmas and new year. So I am setting my end goals as the last day of March and I will start tomorrow. I think in a worst case scenario I can estimate 3bb/100 rb and aim for 0bb/100 wr. This would leave me needing to do just over 8k hands/day, approximately 10 hours work. I will not focus on making it a strategy thread but I may drop interesting hands from time to time. Each day I will have a checklist of things I need to accomplish and I will post graph update ever 10 working days. Since I started playing RnC my biggest volume day is 9603 hands and its the only day I played more than 8k hands, and my biggest volume month is 100k hands, so its going to take a massive effort for me to get close.

Other aims in each day:

In this challenge I also try and excel with my off table approach. I will also have 100 days of exercise and stretching. Normally I would run a lot but I am carrying an injury currently so my exercise will be bouldering and gym work. Bouldering takes much more time so the majority will be gym work since I have a home gym I do not need to travel. I also have a German Shepherd that I need to do about an hour of activity a day with. I also learn Estonian, so I will put 15 minutes a day into that. Then I will try and eat very clean, that I wont miss a single day with. I will allow myself two cups of tea a day, and the rest will be clean whole foods and water. Finally, I will also do a minimum of 1 hour theory a day, this will mostly be me checking my hand histories and seeing if my thoughts align with reality.

Post challenge:
Once it is over I may continue this thread to chronicle my journey. I have had one thread previously and it definitely helps me stay on track with my goals so here I go.

Very interesting thread, will be following. Gl mate. Looking forward to see interesting hands from 200RnC and your thoughts about how difficult is that game? As you said 1k reg tables were difficult.

Thanks! It's a difficult game in its own way. In my previous games it was always much clearer what type of person I was playing. If they are professional and their school of thought. in RnC I feel like there is so many people that are in a massive grey area between fish and reg. So there are just many different points where you might adjust, but having to constantly factor those factors into your play for long hours every day is tiring. It's not difficult in the sense that mistakes get punished so much, but having the constant stream of new regs that you have to figure out coupled with a pool that is often playing very non-gto type strategies it is always going to be difficult to overcome the rake substantially. Also it's tricky when the high flux of regs in the pool means people are often very hidden so you have to just work with presumptions a lot, and I think the hidden nature benefits them more than me so that also contributes to toughness.

1k reg tables were probably more difficult than they needed to be for me as I tried to rarely close tables and not game select particularly, but then given what I thought GGs approach to bumhunting was I was very surprised to see some regs practicing very blatant bumhunting and tables effectively collapsing when fish left so I had the quandary of how I should approach it. Not to say the quality of reg play there wasn't considerably higher and I made some mistakes that definitely got punished, but I did handicap myself in terms of difficulty.

So I decided I will start the first week with 6400 hands a day, have some house things that I have to do and switching from 2 red bulls a day to zero always causes some withdrawal headaches so trying to not make days too intense for that. Day was not bad, I got some nice donations, I also donated some stacks

Day 1:
6400 hands
stretches done
2 hours theory done

Day 2 aims:
6400 hands
stretches
workout
1 hour theory
15 minutes Estonian study.

GLGL. Very impressive rise in hypers. We used to play at $15s at the same time many years ago. Was there still that much money to be made at $500s and $1ks by the time you got there?

GL sir, will follow.

Yea, of course not anywhere near what the early guys made but 200k as year was very doable. Action was much lower but at the same time there was also less regs and it meant that you could really focus on each game and max roi. Also something to be said for having a very relaxed grind, in the lobbies for 8 hours a day but playing maybe an hour or two.

This is graph of 2019 to end of 2022:



Also meant to include in my op, but here is total RnC graph before start of challenge, comes out to around 2.1bb/100

Holy crap this makes me sick. WP!

Done all goals, very tough day, a lot of nasty spots and a few too many misplays, don't look at the graph daily but can't imagine today was good. Starting to feel a fatigued and definitely had to push today, but hopefully I can rally after 7 days or so once I'm in a rhythm.

Day 2:
(x) 6400 hands
(x) stretches
(x) workout - 30 minute run
(x) 1 hour theory, was actually more like 2 hours today though
(x) 15 minutes Estonian study.

Day 3 aims:
6400 hands
stretches
workout
1 hour theory
15 minutes Estonian

Good luck! Looks like if you run average, you'd only need around 5k hands per day to make it. Certainly very doable with a 500k hand sample

I love your analytical approach to your goal by the way!

Thanks, yea that is true, but I do expect my wr to be significantly lower than historical just because playing so much should mean my level falls off, as well being easier to adjust against since people just see more hands from me. At the same time though I am stronger than ever, but the pool also feels somewhat tougher recently so maybe that just balances out. I think realistically without hitting any bbj it will take around 7k hands a day.

Was having a very tough time in the morning, was definitely a tough day to keep on going and not just go and study some things. Made some dumb plays and got punished for it but brought it on myself somewhat

Day 3:
(x) 6400 hands
(x) stretches
(x) workout - 1 hour or so of playing and walking the dog, I count that today
(x) 1 hour theory
(x) 15 minutes Estonian study.

Day 4 aims:
6400 hands
stretches
workout
1 hour theory
15 minutes Estonian study


Sad hand from today, so close to bbj. Very sad when they jam since I'm not sure they actually jam QQ and KK here but you gotta hope.

GG Poker - $2 NL FAST (6 max) - Holdem - 6 players
Hand converted by PokerTracker 4

BTN: 129.43 BB
SB: 110.4 BB
BB: 101.5 BB
Hero (UTG): 125.93 BB
MP: 108.83 BB
CO: 96.35 BB

SB posts SB 0.5 BB, BB posts BB 1 BB

Pre Flop: (pot: 1.5 BB) Hero has T T

Hero raises to 2 BB, MP raises to 6.8 BB, fold, fold, fold, fold, Hero calls 4.8 BB

Flop: (15.1 BB, 2 players) 3 A A
Hero checks, MP bets 3.3 BB, Hero calls 3.3 BB

Turn: (21.7 BB, 2 players) 7
Hero checks, MP bets 12.85 BB, Hero calls 12.85 BB

River: (47.4 BB, 2 players) A
Hero checks, MP bets 85.88 BB and is all-in, Hero calls 85.88 BB

MP wins 214.65 BB

First day where I didn't hit all goals, I still hit poker ones though, but was a pretty brutal day, unfortunate spots deep and ugly spots all over, but managed to grind through it. Spent way too long with theory but it happens sometimes, Take Friday off and Saturday is day 5. Will post first graph after end of tomorrow.

Day 4 aims:
(x)6400 hands
(x) stretches
workout - Missed today, did too much theory and ended up too far behind schedule
(x) 1 hour theory - Actually did around 3 hours of theory
15 minutes Estonian study - Didn't manage to do, ended up finishing too late

Day 5 aims:

6400 hands
stretches
workout
1 hour theory
15 minutes Estonian study

I also thought I should post at least 1 big pot from each day, I'll try to keep it to some interesting big ones and backdate it now:

Monday - Questionable one v kinda recreational player, not even happy to bet but when he jams thought overly polarising and hopefully a lack of full houses, maybe living in fantasy land though

GG Poker - $2 NL FAST (6 max) - Holdem - 6 players
Hand converted by PokerTracker 4

BTN: 129.5 BB
SB: 92.68 BB
BB: 150.36 BB
UTG: 373.94 BB
MP: 332.68 BB
Hero (CO): 143.03 BB

SB posts SB 0.5 BB, BB posts BB 1 BB

Pre Flop: (pot: 1.5 BB) Hero has A Q

fold, fold, Hero raises to 2 BB, fold, fold, BB calls 1 BB

Flop: (4.5 BB, 2 players) 8 J T
BB checks, Hero bets 2.25 BB, BB raises to 11.25 BB, Hero calls 9 BB

Turn: (27 BB, 2 players) 8
BB bets 13.5 BB, Hero calls 13.5 BB

River: (54 BB, 2 players) K
BB checks, Hero bets 27 BB, BB raises to 123.61 BB and is all-in, Hero calls 89.28 BB and is all-in

BB wins 282.06 BB

Tuesday - A very similar spot, kinda hate the river, kinda hope he is too polarised and lacks some value.

GG Poker - $2 NL FAST (6 max) - Holdem - 6 players
Hand converted by PokerTracker 4

BTN: 280.28 BB
Hero (SB): 134.93 BB
BB: 231.49 BB
UTG: 116.22 BB
MP: 388.25 BB
CO: 19.04 BB

Hero posts SB 0.5 BB, BB posts BB 1 BB

Pre Flop: (pot: 1.5 BB) Hero has K A

fold, MP raises to 2 BB, fold, BTN raises to 7.5 BB, Hero raises to 23 BB, fold, fold, BTN calls 15.5 BB

Flop: (49 BB, 2 players) Q 2 K
Hero bets 12 BB, BTN calls 12 BB

Turn: (73 BB, 2 players) T
Hero checks, BTN checks

River: (73 BB, 2 players) K
Hero bets 19.5 BB, BTN raises to 245.28 BB and is all-in, Hero calls 80.43 BB and is all-in

BTN wins 268.35 BB


Wednesday - V reg, extremely sad river spot, again, just gotta hope sometimes.

GG Poker - $2 NL FAST (6 max) - Holdem - 6 players
Hand converted by PokerTracker 4

BTN: 546.32 BB
SB: 58.6 BB
Hero (BB): 111.1 BB
UTG: 155.21 BB
MP: 104.5 BB
CO: 156.45 BB

SB posts SB 0.5 BB, Hero posts BB 1 BB

Pre Flop: (pot: 1.5 BB) Hero has T 8

UTG raises to 2.3 BB, fold, fold, fold, fold, Hero calls 1.3 BB

Flop: (5.1 BB, 2 players) 6 5 3
Hero bets 1.53 BB, UTG raises to 4.8 BB, Hero raises to 12.14 BB, UTG calls 7.35 BB

Turn: (29.38 BB, 2 players) J
Hero checks, UTG checks

River: (29.38 BB, 2 players) A
Hero bets 14.69 BB, UTG raises to 140.77 BB and is all-in, Hero calls 81.97 BB and is all-in

Hero wins 218.19 BB


Thursday - V reg, I'm seeing a theme, a lot of call and hope

GG Poker - $2 NL FAST (6 max) - Holdem - 6 players
Hand converted by PokerTracker 4

BTN: 100 BB
SB: 100 BB
Hero (BB): 174.95 BB
UTG: 115.93 BB
MP: 233.01 BB
CO: 100 BB

SB posts SB 0.5 BB, Hero posts BB 1 BB

Pre Flop: (pot: 1.5 BB) Hero has 7 6

fold, MP raises to 2.2 BB, fold, fold, fold, Hero calls 1.2 BB

Flop: (4.9 BB, 2 players) K 3 4
Hero checks, MP bets 1.57 BB, Hero calls 1.57 BB

Turn: (8.04 BB, 2 players) 5
Hero checks, MP bets 11.42 BB, Hero raises to 44 BB, MP calls 32.58 BB

River: (96.04 BB, 2 players) 9
Hero bets 25.5 BB, MP raises to 185.24 BB and is all-in, Hero calls 101.68 BB and is all-in

MP wins 345.89 BB

Day 5 aims:

(x)6400 hands
(x) stretches
workout
(x) 1 hour theory
(x) 15 minutes Estonian study

Missed a few goals but got the poker ones, was definitely struggling to fit them all in, but I'll exercise today so I'm not missing much.


Day 5 hand - Utg is a reg and bb fish, seems pretty ok to bet flop but flop isnt particularly favourable and I thought this line seems reasonable.

GG Poker - $2 NL FAST (6 max) - Holdem - 6 players
Hand converted by PokerTracker 4

BTN: 226.6 BB
SB: 100.5 BB
BB: 68.61 BB
UTG: 100 BB
MP: 114.26 BB
Hero (CO): 154.78 BB

SB posts SB 0.5 BB, BB posts BB 1 BB

Pre Flop: (pot: 1.5 BB) Hero has 8 8

UTG raises to 2 BB, fold, Hero raises to 7 BB, fold, fold, BB calls 6 BB, UTG calls 5 BB

Flop: (21.5 BB, 3 players) Q 9 8
BB checks, UTG checks, Hero checks

Turn: (21.5 BB, 3 players) Q
BB bets 7.1 BB, UTG calls 7.1 BB, Hero raises to 21.5 BB, BB calls 14.41 BB, UTG raises to 93 BB and is all-in, Hero calls 71.5 BB, BB calls 40.11 BB and is all-in

River: (269.11 BB, 3 players) 2

Hero wins 264.61 BB

End of week Summary:

Was a pretty difficult week, got my hands and theory done which I'm happy with but graph not a good start, a lot of tough spots where I hate both options, definitely wasn't A game all week but its too be expected also. Will think of how to approach the next week and commit to some start of week goals later today.

Graph of first 5 days:



Total summary (will track ev and results, but more concerned with hitting goal in ev, I only run it once and never reset stack so variance is probably higher than avg also):

Hands: 32,043
Ev profit: -2672.27
Actual profit: -2061.02
Leaderboard: 540
Flipouts: 91.26
platinum rewards: 766.10

Total ev results: -1274.91
Total results: -663.66

glgl following

Week aims:
32,000 hands
3 runs
90 mins Estonian study
5 days of stretches
7 days of clean eating

I might not do 6400 hands every day this week, but stagger it so some days I play more and other days less with leaderboard in mind. I originally planned to up it to 8k hands a day this week but still getting used to consistent good volume so I'll take one more week of this and reevaluate.

Day 6 aim:
6400 hands
stretch

Yoooo! Good luck! You have a hard job!

why did you check the set in a 3bet pot? it seems to me that when we then raise the turn we tell the opponent I don't have average hands, I either have a top range or trash, I could be wrong but this line makes the game easier for the opponent?

Hey, what's the story behind learning Estonian?

I checked the set since equity gonna swing so much, especially with a recreational often calling and giving great odds to the reg, so I figure this hand is gonna be a pretty nice check and let them do some betting on the turn. Also its fine that you're opponent knows you don't have an average hand, he is still in a not great spot with all his non nuts since with a recreational in the hand I can absolutely raise AQ here.
I've lived in Estonia for 7 years, have a house and a wife in Estonia so I'm pretty settled here, so decided to start learning the language also.

ahh i get the logic, i agree with your thoughts, gl gl

Not the easiest day again, had to take 150 minutes in the middle of my day whilst we had workmen at the house but managed to get the volume still, feel my level of play is down slightly, made a few too many uncharacteristic errors

Day 6 aim:
(x) 6400 hands
(x) stretch

Hand from today - Tough spot pre, people are so random in these spots you just have to guess and hope, I thought he can have AK, but I've seen abit too many worse hands to fold here, and I have top assume he doesn't only play jam or fold, but he has QQ, so who knows what the plan is

GG Poker - $2 NL FAST (6 max) - Holdem - 6 players
Hand converted by PokerTracker 4

BTN: 202.4 BB
SB: 97.5 BB
Hero (BB): 193.22 BB
UTG: 105.12 BB
MP: 91.39 BB
CO: 191 BB
<br>10 BBadded to pot<br>
SB posts SB 0.5 BB, Hero posts BB 1 BB

Pre Flop: (pot: 11.5 BB) Hero has Q A

fold, MP calls 1 BB, CO raises to 191 BB and is all-in, fold, fold, Hero calls 190 BB, fold

Flop: (393.5 BB, 2 players) 3 2 Q

Turn: (393.5 BB, 2 players) 8

River: (393.5 BB, 2 players) 6

CO wins 389 BB

Day 7 - forgot to leave aims but I'll do it post day:

(x) run
(x) stretch
(x) 1 hour Estonian
(x) 3 hours theory
(x) 3000 hands

Walk up after 5 hours of sleep so just played until the daily leaderboard reset and will go for a bigger day tomorrow to compensate

Day 8 goals
7200 hands
Stretch

Hand from today - Biggest pot for a while, nice when it isn't even a tough decision


GG Poker - $2 NL FAST (6 max) - Holdem - 6 players
Hand converted by PokerTracker 4

BTN: 284.18 BB
Hero (SB): 341.15 BB
BB: 100 BB
UTG: 359.19 BB
MP: 142.78 BB
CO: 105.03 BB

Hero posts SB 0.5 BB, BB posts BB 1 BB

Pre Flop: (pot: 1.5 BB) Hero has 9 8

UTG raises to 2 BB, fold, fold, fold, Hero raises to 10 BB, fold, UTG raises to 31 BB, Hero calls 21 BB

Flop: (63 BB, 2 players) 3 T 9
Hero checks, UTG bets 31.5 BB, Hero calls 31.5 BB

Turn: (126 BB, 2 players) 8
Hero checks, UTG bets 296.69 BB and is all-in, Hero calls 278.65 BB and is all-in

River: (683.3 BB, 2 players) 6

UTG shows A K (Flush, Ace High)
(Pre 65%, Flop 48%, Turn 16%)
Hero shows 9 8 (Flush, Ten High)
(Pre 35%, Flop 52%, Turn 84%)
UTG wins 678.8 BB

Very much hovering around B game at the moment, playing ok but definitely scope to play better. Will go abit lighter on volume today and then be ready for a good grind on Saturday.

Day 8 goals:
(x) 7200 hands
(x) Stretch

Day 9 goals
5000 hands
stretch
30 minutes Estonian

Hand from yesterday - All good in theory, but I don't have great hopes of him calling the river with worse

GG Poker - $2 NL FAST (6 max) - Holdem - 6 players
Hand converted by PokerTracker 4

BTN: 100 BB
SB: 283.5 BB
BB: 144.98 BB
Hero (UTG): 455.27 BB
MP: 104.41 BB
CO: 118.41 BB

SB posts SB 0.5 BB, BB posts BB 1 BB

Pre Flop: (pot: 1.5 BB) Hero has K A

Hero raises to 2 BB, fold, CO raises to 6.13 BB, fold, fold, fold, Hero calls 4.13 BB

Flop: (13.75 BB, 2 players) J 6 6
Hero checks, CO bets 6.9 BB, Hero calls 6.9 BB

Turn: (27.55 BB, 2 players) A
Hero checks, CO bets 9.2 BB, Hero raises to 27 BB, CO calls 17.8 BB

River: (81.55 BB, 2 players) 9
Hero bets 106.02 BB, CO calls 78.39 BB and is all-in

Hero shows K A (Two Pair, Aces and Sixes)
(Pre 7%, Flop 2%, Turn 0%)
CO shows A A (Full House, Aces full of Sixes)
(Pre 93%, Flop 98%, Turn 100%)
CO wins 233.82 BB

Where are the other houses and wives located, if I may ask?