The Professor Challenge – Day 29: One Big Decision
Updated: Oct 16
💰 Bankroll Progress
Starting Bankroll: $485.165
Ending Bankroll: $467.745
Session Result: -$17.420
Rakeback: $5.10
Poker Room: Titi Poker
📖 Table of Contents
🎯 A Standard Session With One Huge Spot
Day 29 was fairly standard overall. The short-stack showdowns were neither especially lucky nor especially unlucky, and most of the session followed the same rhythm as the recent Titi Poker grind.
The bankroll moved from $485.165 to $467.745, for a -$17.420 session result.
The day was defined by one very large pot with AK. For context on the current strategy, read Day 28, Day 27, and our Titi Poker coverage.
🃏 AK in a 300BB Pot
The hand came at a 6-max table with two players sitting out. A middle-position player limped with roughly 100BB, and I raised the button to 3BB with AK and about 120BB behind.
The big blind 3-bet to 10BB, the limper called, and I 4-bet to 40BB. Both opponents called, creating an unusually large multiway 4-bet pot before the flop.
The flop came Q-T-3 with two hearts. The big blind checked, the middle-position player checked, and I shoved my remaining 80BB into a pot of roughly 130BB.
My reasoning was that I could still get some better hands to fold, while retaining meaningful equity when called. I had the gutshot to Broadway, two overcards and the Ace of hearts.
The middle-position player folded, but the big blind called with JJ. None of my outs arrived, and the pot — close to 300BB — went the other way.
⚖️ Was the Flop Shove Too Ambitious?
This is the key question from Day 29. The shove has logic because the stack-to-pot ratio was already very low and AK still had substantial equity. But multiway 4-bet pots dramatically reduce fold equity.
Once both opponents call a 40BB 4-bet, their ranges are much stronger and more condensed than in a normal single-raised pot. That means hands such as JJ, AQ, QQ, TT and strong draws are far less likely to disappear simply because I apply maximum pressure.
The result itself does not decide whether the shove was correct. The real question is whether the extra fold equity gained by shoving outweighs the value of checking back and realizing AK's equity in a spot where my opponents have already shown unusual strength.
💸 Another $5.10 in Rakeback
The Day 29 screenshot shows another $5.10 redeemable in rakeback.
That continues to matter because rakeback cushions the short-term swings created by both the short-stack strategy and large pots like the AK hand.
📺 Watch the Full Session
The complete Day 29 Titi Poker session is available on The Poker Broker YouTube channel below.
🎓 Technical Comment by Marchese del River
This is the most interesting hand of the Titi Poker phase in several sessions. Preflop, the 4-bet with AK is entirely reasonable, but the key detail is what happens after both opponents call. Two calls to a 40BB 4-bet materially change the ranges you should expect to face.
On Q-T-3 two-tone, AK still has useful equity, especially with the Ace of hearts, but the bluffing incentive is weaker than it would be heads-up. In a multiway pot, the probability that at least one opponent has a hand strong enough to continue rises sharply.
That is why I would lean toward checking back more often here. The SPR is already low, so you do not need to force the pot immediately. A check keeps dominated hands in, preserves your equity, and avoids turning a strong high-card hand with real outs into a bluff against ranges that may simply be too strong to fold.
The fact that JJ called is important evidence. If JJ is not folding in this environment after calling a 40BB 4-bet, then the shove is accomplishing less than intended. The adjustment should be population-specific: value bet relentlessly when they call too wide, but do not assume the same players will release medium overpairs in giant preflop pots.
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💭 Final Thoughts
Day 29 was a small losing session, but the result is secondary to the lesson from the AK hand. The bankroll closed at $467.745, down $17.420 from the start of the session, with another $5.10 in rakeback.
The important takeaway is that a strong hand does not automatically require maximum aggression. In a huge multiway 4-bet pot, understanding how little fold equity may remain is just as important as counting your outs.
The climb continues. The Bankroll Challenge goes on.
