Well the Deans Challenge or Project Pokerquest or whatever bloody name I happen to give it has took a back seat again but is that any surprise. I am beginning to think that this entire thing is jinxed but I will be doing it at some stage thats for sure.

I have heard this week that Poker Pro Europe who I write for are expanding into Africa and will go on sale in casinos in South Africa and Swaziland. So “The Dean” will be known on the plains of the Serengeti and to the sand dunes of the Sahara…..hardly…..but its on the same continent.

Its amazing how many people know me now and the outlets that I am writing for just seems to grow and grow but its all good fun. What else is new? Oh yes, starting next month then I will be playing tournament poker for the first time in ages and playing in the weekly $100,000 tournament on Cake Poker every Sunday and then the monthly $250,000 one.

After saying how tournament poker doesnt fit my schedule well I will be fitting it in and I am scheduled to play my first event on Sunday 12th October. In fact I may start to like tournaments more than cash games and that really would be a turn up for the book.

Well time to go and get some shut eye but keep an eye open for regular reports of my tournament exploits on Cake Poker.

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With regards Project Pokerquest, I have been having some more thoughts about this and have decided on a few things. Firstly I am not going to multi-table despite what I said earlier. The point of not multi-tabling is that you can get into serious bad habits doing this. You will fail to develop your meta game skills and this is why I base my play on non poker tracking dependency.

Plus determining the correct bet size is a critical skill and feature of no limit play and this part of your game really suffers when you multi-table. Plus because I will be adding to my bankroll along the way then I dont see the need to multi-table as I wont have the urgency to build my bankroll up this way.

So the bottom line is that I will be looking to play at 100NL and then look to increase that by a level a month wherever possible.

BUT………through circumstances that are beyond my control then I am delaying the start again…..yes I know….but I have little choice. But rest assured that everyone will know what is happening and when and what has been happening if I dont get the time to report it sooner.

On a further note, I will now be writing for one of the biggest poker websites in the southern hemisphere in All Aussie Poker and I will be writing about highstakes poker which is something that I love.

Been some very interesting news come out this week about Brian Townsend of CardRunners fame and now a Full Tilt Pro…….he has only been multi-accounting thats what……oh dear…..oh dear….oh dear. Still…..at least he had the bottle to come out and say so.

So good luck at the tables and take care

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Well the DEANS HIGHSTAKES CHALLENGE will be starting shortly amd I am really looking forward to it. I will be playing at 100NL and probably playing 2/3 tables at once. This is hardly the bees knees when it comes to multi-tabling but as people who know me can tell you…..I am not a multi-tabler.

I am hoping to be jumping levels on a monthly basis and expect to be playing 200NL by the 1st of October and 400NL by the 1st of November and certainly 600NL by the end of the year. This is my plan and then hopefully hitting 1000NL by early next year.

This entire thing could blow up at any time and I must confess to being my own worst enemy at times but I suppose that this is part of the challenge. The big thing will be keeping discipline at the lower levels but if I can break even over the first few weeks or so then that wont be too bad.

But I think that the fact that I will be adding to my bankroll at specific periods deserves a little explaining. This challenge is more of a personal one than anything else and also I have spent huge chunks of my bankroll recently on certain other avenues and this has been far easier to do since my poker playing has taken an increased step back due to my writing and promotional work but I desperately want to mix the two again.

But this is more than just my effort to make money playing poker…….I already know that I can do that. This is about me going from lowstakes poker to the biggest games in online poker in 2 years. Far higher than I have ever played. I want to be mixing it with Dwan, Galfond, Antonius and Hansen and all the rest of them. I know that I have the ability, its the mindset that I have to conquor and the bankroll that I need to attain. I have been offered a $500,000 bankroll but even that cannot get me into the games that these guys play.

Can I turn a bankroll of a few thousand dollars into millions in two years……highly unlikely but the journey will and should be eventful and if I can say that I went from 100NL to playing with these guys at some stage then that would be a huge achievement and one that I will be very proud of.

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I have been playing the NL100 games on Cake Poker recently and things have been going far better than they did with the low stakes limit holdem games I can tell you. The money that I am ahead so far obviously doesnt count towards the challenge but I needed the preparation.

I have also decided to multi-table although I am not a great multi-tabler, I want to see if I can increase my bankroll more rapidly and get to play 200NL as quickly as possible. I havent decided yet how much of a bankroll I am going to start off with but I have decided on a name and I am going to call it THE DEANS HIGHSTAKES CHALLENGE.

I am also going to make this a two year venture and not a one because as I have said before, it isnt about just having the necessary bankroll that can allow you to play highstakes poker and especially online. It is about having the proper mindset and this is something that I have never had and at 40 years of age, there is a very strong chance that I never will……THIS IS THE CHALLENGE.

I want to go all the way from 100NL to the biggest games on the net in two years, far further than the 25-50 games that I periodically play. This would be a fantastic achievement given my age and the fact that I am rather set in my ways and dont like risking too much which is another remnant of my earlier life which I find difficult to break free of. Then when I have done it, I want to write my magnus opus and tell everyone how I did it.

But many people will already know as I will be writing about it in this blog anyway. But at times it will be a test of mind over matter especially at the low levels and the very high levels if I ever get there. What are my chances of pulling this off…….I would say that if I am indisciplined and have no money managament guidelines……ZERO!! If I maintain discipline at the 100NL and 200NL and stick to a good money management system and use a variation on Kelly Criterion to move up and down the levels when things run good and bad then I would estimate my chances at about 20%-25%. Its the mindset that I have to conquer, the fear of losing $60,000 or more in one big suck out at $300-$600…….that seems terrifying to me at this stage and that is something that I will have to get over but there is no point worrying about step 56 when I havent even started step 1 yet.

I have decided to add to my bankroll at regular intervals if things are going well. It would be wrong to do this if I am losing money because that would simply be throwing money at success which would be cheating but one thing that I will be doing is keeping a profit and loss from day one so everyone can see warts and all what is happening.

I think that I will start off playing FR 100NL on 2/3 tables for the first month to see what happens and then reassess.

Just on a side note, dont know if I mentioned this before but I now write for the FLUSH poker magazine which is nice. Anyway, have a good weekend and a good bank holiday.

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I still havent figured out a name yet for the “thing” that is happening on the 1st September……is it the 100k challenge……is it Project Pokerquest involving just yours truly or is it “The Deans Bankroll challenge”. Who knows and who cares…..its just a name but I still cannot make my mind up.

But one other thing that I forgot to mention the other day is that I dont think that I will be multi-tabling. I think that you really need to have a good look at your own game and its strengths and weaknesses. The key to maximising your earn rate at low stakes NLHE is by multi-tabling using tracking software.

Because I will be doing this on Cake Poker then obviously this wont be possible but in a way thats a blessing for the simple reason being that my true strengths rely heavily on my meta game (if you dont know what that means then take a look on wikipedia).

I am conversant with Poker Tracker and Poker Office but I wouldnt say that I was fully fluent with them which I think handicaps me at those levels if I am trying to emulate other players who use them. I dont have a statistically minded game at lowstakes but also, using tracking software will only take you so far as my meta game will stand an increase in many levels of play whereas normal multi-tabling play using tracking software cannot in most cases.

So the upshot of all this is that I will be single tabling at NLHE when I start and also I may also start at 100NL and not 200NL like I previously said. Another cheating method if you want to call it that is that I will be adding to my bankroll from my other poker wins to try and get to playing at higher levels as quickly as possible.

My ultimate goal is to actually get to play far higher than I have ever previously played ($25-$50 or 5000NL). I think that the first month will be difficult but I intend to dig in and tough it out.

Other news…..it looks like I may be writing for several other avenues shortly in Stox Poker, Flush Magazine and All Aussie Poker…..interesting times ahead.

CAKE POKER……WHERE YOU CAN AVOID THE USERS OF TRACKING SOFTWARE AND NOTE TAKERS BY CHANGING YOUR SCREEN NAME EVERY WEEK.

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This next bankroll challenge thing is really starting to grab my attention. In fact I am still open as to what to actually call it. What I do know is that it will start on the 1st September, It will be on Cake Poker and I will start off playing either 100NL or 200NL. I really couldnt motivate myself to play any lower than that.

I had intended to play limit holdem but after having a bad warm up I have shelved that idea. I just dont think that I could handle a bad run in a card holding contest without it effecting me mentally. The only levels in which I can play limit hold’em without getting frustrated is at 10-20 and upwards but the bankroll for that would probably start at 300BB as a minimum and that means $6000 and probably $10,000 would be needed if your edge was small enough.

The vast majority of players either havent got that kind of money or are never gonna be prepared to lose that kind of money. But 100NL is a different story and you can possibly start with as little as $1000 if you run good and accept some risk of going bust. When you factor in rakeback which on Cake Poker is an absolutely excellent 33% and sign up bonuses too then you dont have to have that much money behind you in which to speculate with.

So no limit hold’em it is then and the only thing left to be seen now is in whether or not I can actually pull this off. Firstly I know it can be done because I have done it before and I successfully did it last year or was in the process of doing it before committements forced me to jack it in.

But I dont think calling it the $100,000 challenge like I did before is right. Firstly I may not have the time to play enough in order to make 100k in a year. But I want a challenge of a different kind and I need to be doing something where my poker actually means something and isnt just playing poker for the sake of it.

Also I am thinking of making this a two year thing……..can I go from 100NL to the biggest games on the net in two years. Now that would be a goal seeing as I have never played higher than 5000NL or 25-50 in laymans terms. But I would love to play 200-400 or 300-600 or to put it into buy in terms 60,000NL…..now that would be a game.

But to play at that level requires more than just money, it requires a totally different mindset to the one that I currently have with regards the maximum amount of money that I am willing to risk…..but I really would like to turn around in two years time and say that I pulled this off……now that would be one hell of a book.

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This week has seen some pivotal things happen to the way that I am thinking about my poker. I am railing the high-stakes NLHE games more than I used to as I am writing reports on them for Poker News. But I have had some bad results lately in the $25-$50, so much that it has actually put me down for the last quarter.

But my poker playing is now starting to come second best to my writing and the balance that I craved a couple of years ago is now an imbalance again but this time too far the other way. To be on top of your game then you need to be playing constantly and at a level like $25-$50 then I really dont think that you can just dip in and out when you feel like it.

But as my circumstances have changed then it has become apparent that my concentration levels have dropped substantially and I really need to correct this flaw. Some of my friends who know me well think that I dont have the patience or the discipline anymore to beat lower stakes NLHE games.

So I intend to prove them wrong, you know that I have been looking to do this bankroll challenge on Cake Poker for quite some time. Well starting on the 1st September I will be starting with a bankroll of $5000 and playing 200NL and try to be playing highstakes poker within 12 months using Kelly Criterion.

I will start with 25 buy-ins and whenever I have 25 buys in for the next level which is 400NL then I will move up so I will move up at $10,000 and likewise move down at $2500. To speed this process up then I will be looking to add to my bankroll by way of rakeback payments and other gambling income but I will only do this if I am being successful.

What I want to do is to be playing hopefully 600NL within a very short space of time and 1000NL by early in the new year. But I am going to have to remain disciplined and focused at the early levels. If I try and do a Chris Ferguson and start with nothing or with a very small amount of money then it isnt going to work.I just know that I will implode at some stage through boredom.

Also playing too low will do my head in and is why I will be adding money to the bankroll in careful increments. I have had some sick beats lately despite playing well but I have been playing in a couple of games that were far higher than my bankroll allows for. This is the cardinal sin and I was duly punished and to be honest…..I am not sorry now because you need to learn lessons in poker.

But poker is about human beings and we humans are not perfect and when we fall from grace while playing poker then our bankroll falls with it. Without going into details, I have been taking shots in games that my bankroll had no right being in. I got sucked out on with a crippling river card twice which was absolutely gut wrenching but this within the confines of my bankroll would have been a mere annoyance.

But when you are stretched then the impact of flukey river cards magnifies in importance. But with Project Pokerquest being dead in the water then I am about to rekindle it……..ON MYSELF!! I was thinking about doing this on limit hold’em but I dont think that I have the stomach for low stakes limit holdem anymore to be quite frank.

Anyway I will keep you informed.

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Anyone who knows me knows full well that I cut my teeth playing limit hold’em online for years and especially at the lower levels. So when I started playing limit hold’em at 1-2, 2-4 and 3-6 over the past week and a half then you would have thought that I would have taken to it like a duck to water even after a few years…..not so.

I once wrote an article some time ago about the subject of higher stakes players beating low stakes games and that it wasnt always possible. Well while I am behind, I am not behind all that much. Could it be variance??? Possibly but when I do badly at something then I look at my game first and foremost as being the reason for the losses and not variance. You should only look at variance if you cannot see anything wrong and if you cannot see anything wrong then you should look again because you may not be looking hard enough.

Well it didnt take me long to flick through one of my old theory books on low stakes limit hold’em for me to realise that I hadnt been on the wrong side of variance at all but had in fact been playing badly. I have still been unlucky but I reckon that I could have broken even by playing better.

But I have been using too many high limit strategies in low stakes games simply because they have taken over my mindset. I should know better than this but how many times do we fail to do the obvious. So I have been going back to school with regards low stakes hold’em…..yeah I know. But something else that it shows is that all games at all levels play differently and if you dont identify the proper way to play then you aint going to make money its that simple.

But the lowstakes games have changed too over the years so I am going to have to adjust to that as well so we will just have to wait and see how that goes. This bankroll challenge may not happen and I am waiting for the go ahead from Cake Poker over the next week or two but if it does then September 1st sounds good. But anyway take care and stay tuned.

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I have had many projects in the past and Project Pokerquest was going to be one of my all time favourites. But things dont always work out the way that you plan them and so this is something else that has bit the dust and with it the subsequent book deal.

But my new sponsorship with Cake Poker is demanding far more of my time and this proved to be the final nail in the coffin for PP……sad but something that had to be done. At least I can take solace in the fact that the people who were involved have dramatically improved their poker knowledge as a result of working with me so I can rest easy on that score.

Speaking of projects, have been playing some low-stakes limit games on Cake Poker this week and things havent been going well. I am losing slightly but I cant seem to get a grip on the games although the variance in limit can be murderous. I am doing this in preparation for another bankroll challenge. My sponsor hasn’t agreed to this yet and I have been trying to ween my way off limit hold’em so am not overly sure if its going to happen.

But I am putting a lot of effort into making this deal with Cake Poker work and so other things have had to be chopped. Speaking of chopping things, regular readers of the WPT magazine who read my piece on SNG’s will be disappointed as this is getting chopped also.

Its getting difficult after a year of doing this to write a 3500 word article on something that is only 45 minutes long. So there are changes afoot these days.

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After my good win the other day then I might have known that I would have done my brains in…..so bad in fact I actually didnt want to write about it. But its a long time since I had a deck like that and $21k went winging across the table last night…..my head was spinning by the beats. Every time bar one I get some dummy to try and push me from the bees knees and they hit some hand against me…..runner runner trips, flush, backdoor boat you name it.

Sick the way poker goes sometimes. Meanwhile back on planet earth, I have been playing several tables at lowstakes limit games on Cake Poker in preparation for what may be another bankroll assault and I havent been doing well. Spewing too much money post-flop……lesson number one……dont mix your games because you can find that it can take you a while to mentally shift from playing high stakes NLHE to low stakes limit.

Well the football season is almost upon us and I have been having withdrawel symptoms since the end of Euro 2008. Who will win the league? Man Utd or Chelsea…….what a surprise….who else is good enough? Arsenal got close last season so they have a chance but I feel that they need a couple of players and Liverpool are not there yet.

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