New York Giants Game Challenge

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McTap03 | Poker Articles, Poker Projects

Submitted by McTap03, this article belongs to the Poker Projects series

A new challenge is on the horizon that will be played along side my other current challenges (see my blog for those challenges). First, let me provide a little info before explaining this challenge.

I’m a HUGE NY Giants fan. It is almost obsessive once the season is in full swing. Most of my free time during the week leading up to the game is spent analyzing match-ups, talking about it on various forums, and making my picks for the several pools I’m in. I would say I’m just as obsessed with the Giants as with poker, only poker is 12 months a year, while my Giants obsession minimizes during the off-season (I still read as much as possible, just don’t throw myself fully into it until pre-season starts). My wife has come to terms that Sunday’s from September to February (Super Bowl) are pretty much off limits for family outings, ESPECIALLY if the Giants are playing. Yes I have a PVR, so I could record it, but what good is that. I am so involved with it that I now have my ritual clothing that I wear for each game, and now that my kids are a little older, they also ask to wear their jersey’s on game days (gotta love them!). So what does this have to do with a poker blog and a new challenge, let me tell you. A few years ago I found out that in 2009 the Giants would be playing against my good friend’s favourite team, the Oakland Raiders, in New York, and since I would be turning 40 that year, and he turning 30, we thought a road trip to the game would be necessary. So 2 ‘Major’ birthdays, and a huge rivalry amongst friends, meant fun times and plenty of drinking would be in order. Trying to make this happen would be our goal. We’ve spent the past 2 years talking about it and now that the schedule has been released, we now have a date: October 11th, 2009 1:00pm. Now comes the dilemma. The price of tickets for NY Giants home games are OUTRAGEOUSLY expensive. The reason, the stadium is mostly season ticket holders, so getting them through the box office/Ticketmaster does not happen. This then means that I/we need to look for other avenues to secure tickets. i.e. online ticket sellers (scalpers). The problem is that these guys mark up the price +300% because they know there is a demand for tickets, and they are allowed. This then makes a $110 ticket (lower bowl sections) anywhere from $300 to $500 a ticket, and when you are buying 2 each (our wives would be coming for the weekend and the game), it gets expensive fast. So 2 tickets to the game ($600-$900), 2 nights hotel (anywhere from $125 to $400, so $250 will be assumed), and transportation (gas) & food for 3 days (~ $250) makes this trip cost somewhere between $1200 and $1400 plus spending money. Ouch, but for the big 4-0, I can justify it. The problem is my buddy doesn’t think he can. Bummer, as this has been our goal for some time now. So unless things (price) change, I will be doing this trip with my wife only. And if that is the case (I have no problem taking her and she really wants to go to her first game), then I will chose a game closer to my actual birthday, in this case the November 22nd game vs Atlanta.

Now for the challenge and the poker aspect of this blog. Currently I have $130 on Stars that I will try to increase to $1400. This way I can go on the trip without it costing me any of my money (what a way to spend your b-day with a free trip/gift). The deadline date I will set will be September 1st. This allows me enough time to order and receive the tickets before the Oakland game (if that be the one I go to), otherwise I can extend it to October 1st, if I go with the Atlanta game. This breaks down to 133/163 days to complete this challenge. For the Sept 1st deadline, it will mean increasing my BR by a little more than $9/day, while the Oct 1st deadline makes it just under $8/day. Both of these are some aggressive numbers and will take some serious discipline, and solid playing, to achieve.

In order to do this, I will set the following rules:

* Start each session with proper BR rules (25x BI) and only multi-table if the total BI falls under this rule or if the total BI is less than $10.
* During a session, only move up levels once a profit of $10 has been made and the remaining covers the next level BI. For example, in order to play a $5+0.50 SNG on the same night I started out playing $3+0.40 SNG’s, I need to profit +$15.50 at the $3+0.40 SNG’s.
* End a session before losing more than 3 BI’s. This should minimize the amount I can lose in 1 night.
* If I make more than $10 in a night, end the session if buying into another SNG will drop me below $10. For example, if I profit $13 during a session, I must stop for the night or play a SNG with a BI of less than $3 as this secures my $10/day amount needed.
* During this challenge, I will play BI levels according to the following BR amounts:
o $175 and under – $3.40 SNG and lower
o $176 to $360 – $5.50 SNG and lower
o $361 to $780 – $11 SNG and lower
o over $781 – $22 SNG and lower
* Once my BR goes up a level, I will modify my rules for the specified BI SNG games. I will allow myself a 30% decline before dropping down BI levels. A post will follow specifying any new rules once I move up/down a level.

As you can see I will need to take a little more aggressive approach with my winnings, all while staying within proper BR management. My goal is to maximize my winnings by working off any hot streaks I may go on, while minimizing my loses. The 1 major problem that I see is that I don’t play every day, so missing days will increase my per day amount needed to reach my goal. If that be the case, I will follow the rule that before I can move up a level (during a current session) I must make the necessary amounts needed to keep my average at $10/day or more. Now when it comes to playing style, I will do my best to stick to solid ABC poker as this style lends itself to making the money fairly consistently at the lower level SNG’s.

One thing I will keep in mind with this challenge is that as long as I can make some of the money needed for the trip (preferably 50%), then I’m going. The big question will be whether or not my buddy, CanuckJack who is more of a casual poker player, will try to do the same thing with his BR on Titan (~ $150) so that we can go to the ‘birthday/bragging rights’ game together. Otherwise, the November game time line will skew the numbers even more in my favour. Either way, challenge on!

First step is to get my Bankroll up to $175 within the next 15 days.

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See you on the felt.

McTap03

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1 Comment to New York Giants Game Challenge

Mark
April 24, 2009

Good post McTap….like how your rules on bankroll management also protect your profit.
Look forward to receiving updates from you on how your bankroll evolves.

Mark

Mark’s last blog post..Don’t Get Married to a Hand

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