PokerWorks

I started this challenge on Thursday, August 7th.  Please click here for details on the Bodog SNG $5k Challenge.

After 15 days and 173 SNG’s, I’ve decided to put this challenge on hold.  Here are my current numbers.

Overall Summary:
#Tourneys / 173
Total Entries / $4,523.80
Total Prizes / $5,320.00
Total SNG Profits / $796.20
ROI / 17.6%
ITM / 63%
Hourly rate / $6.88
Avg Finish / 4.79

While I’m well behind the pace I need to be in order to meet my goal of $5k in 60 days, that’s not why I’m putting this challenge on hold.  Let me explain the reasoning behind this decision.

Last week, Bodog laid off an estimated 200-300 employees from its work force and future payout requests will take at least two months to be received.  It’s stated in Bodog’s cashier to allow 40 business days to receive a courier check.   This leads me to believe Bodog is going through tough times therefore, I’ve requested a final payout of my online funds from Bodog which I guess I can expect to receive at the end of October or early November.  

Until this recent payout policy change, courier checks were taking an average of 4-5 weeks.  A few months ago they introduced a Bodog Debit Card to select players.  I was able to make withdrawals to my Bodog Debit Card which were received in 2-3 days.  This ability made Bodog my preferred choice for online poker.  Bodog has since disabled the ability to withdraw to my Bodog Debit Card.  It’s no longer an option for Bodog players.  

I presume things will get worse for poker players at Bodog before they get better.  This new policy will result in decreased player traffic.  SNG’s that used to take 15-20 minutes to fill will take even longer.  This Sunday’s 100k Guarantee had a 35k overlay making it the biggest overlay in the 100k in two years.  If you don’t mind waiting months to get paid, it’s still the best online poker tournament value available.

Since this challenge was based on Bodog’s unique Beginner SNG payout system (50% of the field is paid), selecting another site to run this challenge will be difficult.  Most sites SNG payout structure only pay 30% of the field.  I originally selected Bodog’s Beginner SNG’s to demonstrate how to turn a profit in online poker while minimizing risk.  

I discovered that Cake Poker pays the top 4 finishers in their single table turbo SNG’s.  After I get some money deposited there and run a sample of SNG’s I’ll decide whether it’s worth pursuing dependant on my results.  If my numbers are similar or better than Bodog’s Beginner SNG’s, I’ll resume the challenge there and report my progress here.  

Thanks for all the support and good luck at the tables.