So I opened up eight tables NL50 tables, buying in at 20bb ($10). I’d worked out that 6 max is actually more effective than full ring – since the rake is divided by the number of players dealt into the hand then the total rake you acquire per orbit is the same no matter whether it’s 6 or 9 players. The difference is though that 6 max you acquire that rake in 6 hands, while in full ring it takes 9 hands, so clearing the bonus takes a 1/3 less hands in 6max.
The downside is that it’s harder to multitable 6max since your turn comes around so much quicker, but 8 is still within my capability (at least for this SSS stuff where my VP$IP plummets to 15%).
So I started clicking away, and it quickly became obvious that this was going to be a high variance thing and I was way out of my bankroll comfort zone. I was immediately surprised how readily people called your shoves, even when you hadn’t entered a pot for the last 30 hands. I started out taking as many pots as I lost, but then a few went awry and I started to doubt what I was doing. So I stopped after only 20 minutes.
End result was a loss of only $14 which was remarkably good considering how much luck was involved – ridiculously this was actually offset by an accident when I was setting things up – I had installed Windows 7 the day before and Full Tilt still had its default settings. So I turned on autorebuy but messed up the 20bb setting, which resulted in me sitting at a table with a full $50 stack! I was folded to on the BB, and then in the button had KQs so thought I’d at least see the flop. I then took it down on a cbet, netting me $10! (I then quickly left the table!). So net result -$4 I guess 
PokerTracker all-in ev claimed I was $50 under ev, but I think it got confused by a threeway pot where I had QQ and so did one of the opponents…
On checking the bonus I’d cleared a few more dollars and it seemed that it matched up to general opinion that it’d take 7000 hands at NL50 to clear $100. I realised that playing 7k high variance hands just isn’t the way to clear a bonus…
So I switched back to my regular 4 tables of 100bb buy-in 6 max, now at NL10. After an hour and 380 hands I’d won about $30, and this only went to confirm that trying to play 7000 break-even hands just to clear $100 is a very stupid thing to do. Best to just accept the bonus and then ignore it – anything you clear is literally just a bonus!
I then had a break and came back for another 300 hands, but didn’t really improve much (all I achieved was halving the BB/100);
good to see your graphage is going in the right direction (at last). I thought the SSS thing you was trying to do could have got you in trouble. It’s an amazingly soul destroying strategy.
Are you playing this out on FT? If so I’d just be happy taking the increments and If i didnt quite clear the lot, well so be it. I’m pretty sure playing hard to reach (like i did yesterday) a specific monetary value in a certain time frame or just trying to accumulate x no. of points is pretty -EV$ as you you have half an eye on the prize when you should have both eyes on the tables.
Best do some work.
Yep, this FT. I cleared the first $10 this morning with a breakeven 400 hand session (some of the hands were definite laydowns, and I’m going to post about them when I get back home perhaps). With the rakeback and the $10 it put the session into credit though
I’m definitely going to stop considering my bonus while playing – it’s only ever bought me trouble. I remember when I started out I was trying to clear the sign-up bonus on Full Tilt and would start multitabling like mad when the happy hours were on. I lost a packet and only later found out that the happy hour FPPs didn’t count towards clearing the bonus!
Yeah I noticed those fpp’s didnt count and was a bit gutted. But you are so right. things like cash and points need to be less than an after thought while playing or preparing to play. I think just about everytime I’ve tried to clear a bonus. The actual bonus amount has been less than what I’ve lost trying to clear it
But no more!!!