Sokolsky Opening. Has anyone had success persisting with the lines

I just watched this video on black’s strategy against the sokolsky

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=kpn-DWUettE&time_continue=171&embeds_referring_euri=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.google.com%2F

Has anyone played against this strange move by black…..C6??

Immediately it takes away the b5 option which I liked in other openings if the opportunity arose.

anyone who isnt merely testing the sokolsky will know what to do vs c6.

one of my fastest wins vs an expert in otb happened like this

premature but my opponent resigned after bxc5.
the only line that i dont like to see with c6 is 1.b4 c6 2.bb2 a5 because the recommended move is b5!? with a very interesting gambit. It is quite dangerous actually in practice, although if black plays it like an engine, he may end up with like a 0.5 edge after some arduous defense. I am not an attacker and dont play gambits, so the worry my opponent is booked to the teeth in accepting this gambit line ,especially in an OTB game does concern me ( it has never happened in my whole chess career though, and i have played 1.b4 in almost every tournament i have played).
the solution to that worry is either 3.bxa5 ?! which is unfortunate but not too bad or to play 2.e3 /2.c4 but this leads to its own possibilities that are poorly explored.

here is an example of the gambit line i mentioned earlier.

its a very polarizing position. Engine says roughly equal but players will tend to heavily favor one side of this position over the other. Im not saying i necessarily PREFER blacks position but dont like the pressure of being a pawn down playing with white here would give me. if white plays conservatively and doesnt begin a big attack, he will likely just be worse.

wow. That’s a neat trap earlier . When I saw the video presented it went through a few opening dynamics. White playing e4 or d4 too early if at all looked dubious though. So should they be avoided after c6?

yeah those lines he over are kind of wack, e4 is never played unless you play the gambit line with b5. In fact, its prob one of the very few times you should ever play e4 in the sokolsky (only major line which has e4 is 1.b4 e5 2.bb2 f6!? 3.e4!?! which is super romantic gambit line.Much safer is 3.b5

In your last illustration white looks better positionally but a pawn down. Perhaps drawish on first glance?

oh no, its not drawish, never confuse an eval near 0 with "drawish". often one side will come come crashing down, either black gets a nasty attack or white recoups his pawn with a nasty space and development lead OR black successfully calms down the flames and whites position deteriorates into a lost endgame.
the engine gives that position -0.2. which is rather a testament to a very fine balance. White has enough space and activity to never be worse if he plays correctly but if he drops the ball, black will simply be better. likewise, if black gets careless, he can be nuked off the board. One idea you often see if black plays and early e6 for example, is h4, and rh3 , an idea you encountered in some aggressive white lines vs the french defense.
my objection to this line as white is entirely stylistic. this gambit is better than 80% of gambits out there.