The Professor Challenge — Day 2: First Small Win and an AK Spot
- The_Professor
- Jul 11
- 4 min read
Day 2 of The Professor Challenge is in the books.
Today I played another session on Nuts Poker, always at NL4 Flash NLH.
Nothing crazy happened.
No big heater, no disaster, no dramatic swing.
Just a normal micro-stakes session where I tried to stay focused, play better than Day 1, and keep building the roll one decision at a time.
The session ended with the bankroll at:
$115.74
The daily result shown in the career tab was:
+$2.05
It is not a huge win, obviously.
But after Day 1, I wanted exactly this: a cleaner session, a small step forward, and a few spots to review properly.
📊 Day 2 Session Report
The bankroll after Day 2 is:
$115.74
The career tab shows:
+$2.05 for the day
The challenge started from $112.43 after deposit fees.
So, for now, the bankroll is slightly above the starting point.
Nothing important yet, but at least the graph is moving in the right direction.
Day 2 felt better than Day 1.
Not because I won a lot.
I didn’t.
But because I felt a little less blocked.
On Day 1, I was probably too tight and too careful. That is normal after coming back to the game after years, but it is still something I need to fix.
Today I tried to open up a bit more, especially preflop.
Not spew.
Not ego poker.
Just less fear.
At NL4, I do not need to invent anything.
I need to play solid, avoid stupid calls, avoid tilt, and slowly understand how this pool plays.
That is the work.
🎥 Watch the Full Day 2 Replay
The replay is important because this challenge is not just about posting a bankroll screenshot after the session.
You can actually see the hands, the rhythm, the spots, and the mistakes.
That is the whole point of the challenge.
Real session.
Real bankroll.
Real review.
📈 Career Stats After Day 2
After Day 2, the career tab shows:
Stat | Value |
VPIP | 17% |
PFR | 15% |
3-Bet | 10% |
WTSD | 29% |
W$SD | 58% |
Steal | 25% |
Fold to 3-Bet | 59% |
C-Bet | 71% |
Fold to C-Bet | 56% |
Check-Raise | 4% |
Total Hands | 3,093 |
Total Games | 12 |
ROI | 1% |
The most important thing for me is that the numbers are already a little different from Day 1.
I am still tight.
Probably too tight.
But I am starting to play more hands and 3-bet more.
That was one of the first comments after Day 1: I cannot play Flash NLH like I am waiting only for premiums.
I still need discipline, but I also need to fight for pots.
The balance is not easy after years away from poker.
You remember some things.
You feel some spots.
But the game is faster now, and you cannot just sit there waiting.
Day 2 was a small adjustment in that direction.
🃏 Key Hand: AK in a 4-Bet Pot
This is the hand I wanted to review from the session.
I had A-K in the big blind.
Preflop:
UTG opens to $0.08.
HJ 3-bets to $0.24.
I am in the BB with A-K and 4-bet to $0.72.
UTG folds.
HJ calls.
Flop:
9-2-8
Pot:
$1.54
I check.
HJ bets $0.39.
And this was my question after the hand:
Always fold here?
In game, I really felt the spot was annoying.
Preflop is fine. I do not think there is much to say there.
But postflop I missed completely.
I am out of position.
The board is not great for A-K.
And when he bets, even small, I am sitting there with just ace high.
So my first instinct was: maybe just fold and move on.
But because the bet is small, I was not sure if folding every time is too weak.
That is why I picked this hand for the review.
🧠 Il Marchese del River’s Comment
Preflop is standard.
With A-K in the big blind against open and 3-bet, 4-betting is fine.
The interesting part is the flop.
On 9-2-8, A-K has missed completely.
No pair.
No clear draw.
Out of position.
So we should not fall in love with the hand just because it was strong preflop.
After the 4-bet gets called, villain can have many hands that are already ahead:
TT, JJ, QQ, sometimes slowplayed KK/AA, and some other hands depending on how loose he is.
So folding is definitely not a disaster.
But the important detail is the sizing.
He bets $0.39 into $1.54.
That is small.
Against this size, the answer is not “always fold”.
The answer is:
sometimes continue, sometimes fold.
If villain is passive and underbluffing, folding is completely fine.
At NL4, this is often the case.
People do not always bet enough air in 4-bet pots.
But if villain is capable of stabbing too much when we check, then calling once can be okay, especially because A-K still has two overcards and blockers.
The main mistake would be playing the hand automatically.
Not:
“I missed, so fold.”
Not:
“He bet small, so call.”
The correct thought is:
who is betting, with what range, and what is my plan on the turn?
Here, without reads, folding is probably fine and low variance.
But no, it is not an “always fold” spot in theory.
✅ Final Thoughts
Day 2 was a small winning session.
The bankroll is now:
$115.74
The career tab shows:
3,093 hands
The day result was:
+$2.05
The most important thing is not the money won today.
It is that I felt a little more comfortable than Day 1.
Still tight, still careful, but less frozen.
The AK hand is a good example of where I need to improve.
Preflop decisions are easier.
Postflop, especially after missing in 4-bet pots, the game becomes more uncomfortable.
That is where the review helps.
The goal for the next sessions is simple:
play a little more confidently, keep reviewing the key spots, and avoid turning small mistakes into big ones.
The climb is still at the very beginning.
But Day 2 was a small step forward.
Want to follow the challenge or ask us where to play based on your bankroll and country?
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