Hoping the dream is still alive - from $10k triumph to $100k challenge
04-01-2024
, 08:55 AM
tl;dr of my bankroll challenge
- Grinding nlhe 6m cash online
- Completed the $10k challenge a few months back
- Currently playing NL200/NL400
- Embarked on the $100k challenge, currently standing at $16,663.31 towards the goal
- Fully documented my voyage so far on https://th3dr3amisstillalive.github.io, Instagram and Twitter/X
After taking a significant break from poker, I was driven by a compelling question last fall: Is the dream of succeeding in online poker still alive? Curious and hopeful to inspire others climbing from the micro stakes, I started on a $10k challenge. Having played high stakes during the game's earlier, less competitive era, I was keen to explore its feasibility in today's different climate, aiming to motivate emerging players struggling to break out of the micros. Despite documenting this journey on my self-hosted blog, the lack of traffic (except for tumbleweeds) and my unfamiliarity with SEO felt like speaking into a void. Consequently, I've decided to return to the more engaging, tried-and-tested forum blog posting.
I understand the allure of graphs for poker enthusiasts; part of my volume has been on untracked sites, which meant compiling the session data into a Google Sheets document. However, recent months have seen me completely stop playing untracked sites, ensuring future updates will only include graphs from PokerTracker/H2N, except for when showing the full challenge graph.
For a detailed view of my current standing, you can visit my latest blog post https://th3dr3amisstillalive.github.io/posts/week29 and read about it. So, today was the retirement of the old blog and now everything will be shared through this thread.
Graph for the total challenge so far:
Graph for March:
- Hands Played: 31k
- Profit: $3,866.67 ($3,616.67 + $250 in rakeback)
- BB/100: 4.23
- EV BB/100: 5.16
I will try to update this blog at regular intervals and will continue to share session updates on Instagram and Twitter/X. Your follow and engagement would be really cool and greatly appreciated! Additionally, I'm open to suggestions on specific topics or questions you'd like me to cover.
- Grinding nlhe 6m cash online
- Completed the $10k challenge a few months back
- Currently playing NL200/NL400
- Embarked on the $100k challenge, currently standing at $16,663.31 towards the goal
- Fully documented my voyage so far on https://th3dr3amisstillalive.github.io, Instagram and Twitter/X
After taking a significant break from poker, I was driven by a compelling question last fall: Is the dream of succeeding in online poker still alive? Curious and hopeful to inspire others climbing from the micro stakes, I started on a $10k challenge. Having played high stakes during the game's earlier, less competitive era, I was keen to explore its feasibility in today's different climate, aiming to motivate emerging players struggling to break out of the micros. Despite documenting this journey on my self-hosted blog, the lack of traffic (except for tumbleweeds) and my unfamiliarity with SEO felt like speaking into a void. Consequently, I've decided to return to the more engaging, tried-and-tested forum blog posting.
I understand the allure of graphs for poker enthusiasts; part of my volume has been on untracked sites, which meant compiling the session data into a Google Sheets document. However, recent months have seen me completely stop playing untracked sites, ensuring future updates will only include graphs from PokerTracker/H2N, except for when showing the full challenge graph.
For a detailed view of my current standing, you can visit my latest blog post https://th3dr3amisstillalive.github.io/posts/week29 and read about it. So, today was the retirement of the old blog and now everything will be shared through this thread.
Graph for the total challenge so far:
Graph for March:
- Hands Played: 31k
- Profit: $3,866.67 ($3,616.67 + $250 in rakeback)
- BB/100: 4.23
- EV BB/100: 5.16
I will try to update this blog at regular intervals and will continue to share session updates on Instagram and Twitter/X. Your follow and engagement would be really cool and greatly appreciated! Additionally, I'm open to suggestions on specific topics or questions you'd like me to cover.
04-01-2024
, 09:38 AM
04-15-2024
, 04:40 PM
What's up! Time for a quick update. This week, a new milestone was achieved in the $100,000 Bankroll Challenge. For the first time, the challenge roll crossed the $20,000 mark. This mark means I can now take shots at NL600. To be honest, I've already dipped my toes in the NL600 games a few times. It's mostly the same players anyway.
Graph so far in the challenge:
Some stats since the start of the challenge:
Highlights of the week
Biggest pot lost:
Biggest pot won:
General thoughts
Even though things are going well, I'm sometimes left feeling a bit jaded. I really want the dream of online poker to stay alive, but there are strong forces working against it, especially here in my home country. The government is coming down hard, with potential DNS blocking against foreign gambling-related sites looming. There’s a lot I could say about how misguided these measures are, but for now, I'll hold off.
Despite these challenges I feel like there is a lot of EV at midstakes still, which gives me hope for the continuation of this challenge and actually propels me forward. It reaffirms that the path I'm on is not only viable but also filled with potential. I still have a lot of leaks that I need to fix, but I am compensating for it in other parts of the game tree that I play quite well I think - at least compared to the opposition. I should probably not reg battle as much as I do, especially considering how aggressive BRM I play with in this challenge. The problem is that I love it so much and I am not the type to say no to a battle. But then again, this challenge isn't just about the bankroll numbers, it's about the journey, having fun, and growth along the way.
Graph so far in the challenge:
Some stats since the start of the challenge:
- Sessions played: 133
- Total hours played: 244.95
- Biggest downswing so far: -$6960.42, which accounted for 43% from the previous peak at the time
Highlights of the week
Biggest pot lost:
Biggest pot won:
General thoughts
Even though things are going well, I'm sometimes left feeling a bit jaded. I really want the dream of online poker to stay alive, but there are strong forces working against it, especially here in my home country. The government is coming down hard, with potential DNS blocking against foreign gambling-related sites looming. There’s a lot I could say about how misguided these measures are, but for now, I'll hold off.
Despite these challenges I feel like there is a lot of EV at midstakes still, which gives me hope for the continuation of this challenge and actually propels me forward. It reaffirms that the path I'm on is not only viable but also filled with potential. I still have a lot of leaks that I need to fix, but I am compensating for it in other parts of the game tree that I play quite well I think - at least compared to the opposition. I should probably not reg battle as much as I do, especially considering how aggressive BRM I play with in this challenge. The problem is that I love it so much and I am not the type to say no to a battle. But then again, this challenge isn't just about the bankroll numbers, it's about the journey, having fun, and growth along the way.
04-24-2024
, 05:42 PM
Time for another update. Lately, I've been navigating some rough turbulence. It's typical that this happens just as I've transitioned my blogging adventure here - but that's just the way it goes. This past weekend, I endured the toughest session yet in this challenge, dropping 12 buy-ins at NL400:
After reviewing all the hands, I recognized some suboptimal lines and some -EV river calls in big pots. Despite this, I don't think my overall performance during the session was too bad. Humility is key, though, and I must admit, I probably should have quit earlier. I kept thinking about past comebacks at higher stakes and wondered, "Why not now?" Unfortunately, it wasn't meant to be.
A couple of days later, after some intense study sessions and theory work with GTOWizard, I attempted to get back into the swing of things. The results were mixed - nothing special. However, today I dropped another $1.6k, which was quite challenging mentally. Because of this, I decided to quit the session early to prevent any onset of poor play. Reflecting post-session, I realized I needed a break from the tables.
It's interesting how, even after all these years, the highs and lows still affect me. My eagerness to quickly climb back to high stakes might be causing some anxiety. What if I don't make it back? Moreover, it's becoming frustrating to face another significant downswing shortly after recovering from the last one.
When I return, I plan to not play higher than NL200 for a while, but we'll see how I feel once I'm back.
Below, I've included the overall graph of my journey so far and some stats from the last 72,000 hands from the tracked sites:
Overall graph of the $100,000 bankroll challenge:
Last 72k hands from tracked sites:
So, I've decided to take a small break to focus on some coding projects and distance myself a bit from poker. I will update once I am back into the swing of things. Until then, peace out.
After reviewing all the hands, I recognized some suboptimal lines and some -EV river calls in big pots. Despite this, I don't think my overall performance during the session was too bad. Humility is key, though, and I must admit, I probably should have quit earlier. I kept thinking about past comebacks at higher stakes and wondered, "Why not now?" Unfortunately, it wasn't meant to be.
A couple of days later, after some intense study sessions and theory work with GTOWizard, I attempted to get back into the swing of things. The results were mixed - nothing special. However, today I dropped another $1.6k, which was quite challenging mentally. Because of this, I decided to quit the session early to prevent any onset of poor play. Reflecting post-session, I realized I needed a break from the tables.
It's interesting how, even after all these years, the highs and lows still affect me. My eagerness to quickly climb back to high stakes might be causing some anxiety. What if I don't make it back? Moreover, it's becoming frustrating to face another significant downswing shortly after recovering from the last one.
When I return, I plan to not play higher than NL200 for a while, but we'll see how I feel once I'm back.
Below, I've included the overall graph of my journey so far and some stats from the last 72,000 hands from the tracked sites:
Overall graph of the $100,000 bankroll challenge:
Last 72k hands from tracked sites:
So, I've decided to take a small break to focus on some coding projects and distance myself a bit from poker. I will update once I am back into the swing of things. Until then, peace out.
Last edited by Wyldpytch; 04-24-2024 at 06:12 PM.
05-27-2024
, 04:21 AM
What's up, everyone.
An extended break from the bankroll challenge grind seems to have done wonders! 😂 I jumped back into action and took down the $150 CSOP+ Coinmasters $20k GTD tournament at Coinpoker last night. A much appreciated $5700 boost to the bankroll towards the $100k goal.
Sometimes stepping away is the best way to come back stronger. (Just kidding, I obviously just ran really well to bink the tournament
)
I am still on a semi-break I guess, so the updates will be sparse.
An extended break from the bankroll challenge grind seems to have done wonders! 😂 I jumped back into action and took down the $150 CSOP+ Coinmasters $20k GTD tournament at Coinpoker last night. A much appreciated $5700 boost to the bankroll towards the $100k goal.
Sometimes stepping away is the best way to come back stronger. (Just kidding, I obviously just ran really well to bink the tournament
)I am still on a semi-break I guess, so the updates will be sparse.
06-01-2024
, 03:07 PM
What's up!
After much reflection, I've decided to temporarily pause the $100k bankroll challenge. This wasn't an easy decision, but it's one that makes sense for my life right now.
Why I'm Pausing
I've reached a point where I don't feel I can invest more time into climbing the stakes in hopes of reaching high stakes. Parallel to poker, I've been nurturing some ideas for different coding projects. Thinking long-term and considering the kind of life I want to lead, it makes more financial and lifestyle sense to focus on these projects.
The Online Poker Climate
I still love poker as much as ever. However, the current uncertain climate in online poker, with concerns about bots, cheating, and real-time assistance (RTA), makes it feel like more of a gamble to invest my energy here. I wish I could be certain that online poker would be a sustainable way of living for the foreseeable future, but no one can truly guarantee that.
Life Balance and Financial Considerations
There are also aspects of making a living from poker that don't align with my vision of how I want to build my life. Scalability and automation are significant factors for me. In the tech world, if you have a successful SaaS product, you can scale and automate in ways that simply aren't possible with poker. My dream is to launch a SaaS with a high MRR, allowing me to travel the world and play high stakes for fun. Grinding mid-stakes online doesn't make sense to me EV-wise or life enjoyment-wise.
The Reality of the Poker Landscape
Online poker today is very different from what it was years ago. Sometimes I almost wish I hadn't experienced the "golden age" of online poker, as it colors my view of the current situation. The landscape has changed significantly, making it harder to justify full-time commitment if you have other similar or potentially better ways of earning good money.
The 100K Challenge Status
I’m ending this challenge with a bankroll of $19,530. While it's far from the goal, I see no reason to force it when I have mixed feelings about the game. Moving forward, I'll play poker when I feel like it, without the pressure of the 100K challenge. Instead, I'll focus my full attention on my coding projects and attempt to build some wealth outside of poker.
I always hated when non-poker players said, "If you can get this good at poker, imagine what else you could do." It took me 15 years to come to terms with this, but now I believe it's time to fully apply myself to other ventures. The current situation suggests that this might be a good idea.
Moving Forward
Who knows, I may change my mind and start grinding a lot of cash again; I can’t say anything for certain. I’ll still grind some cash games and MTTs, but it will come from a place of enjoyment rather than focusing on the 100K ladder.
If I bink something big or actually put in some decent volume at cash again, I will come back and update this thread.
Until then, good luck to all of you and GG!
After much reflection, I've decided to temporarily pause the $100k bankroll challenge. This wasn't an easy decision, but it's one that makes sense for my life right now.
Why I'm Pausing
I've reached a point where I don't feel I can invest more time into climbing the stakes in hopes of reaching high stakes. Parallel to poker, I've been nurturing some ideas for different coding projects. Thinking long-term and considering the kind of life I want to lead, it makes more financial and lifestyle sense to focus on these projects.
The Online Poker Climate
I still love poker as much as ever. However, the current uncertain climate in online poker, with concerns about bots, cheating, and real-time assistance (RTA), makes it feel like more of a gamble to invest my energy here. I wish I could be certain that online poker would be a sustainable way of living for the foreseeable future, but no one can truly guarantee that.
Life Balance and Financial Considerations
There are also aspects of making a living from poker that don't align with my vision of how I want to build my life. Scalability and automation are significant factors for me. In the tech world, if you have a successful SaaS product, you can scale and automate in ways that simply aren't possible with poker. My dream is to launch a SaaS with a high MRR, allowing me to travel the world and play high stakes for fun. Grinding mid-stakes online doesn't make sense to me EV-wise or life enjoyment-wise.
The Reality of the Poker Landscape
Online poker today is very different from what it was years ago. Sometimes I almost wish I hadn't experienced the "golden age" of online poker, as it colors my view of the current situation. The landscape has changed significantly, making it harder to justify full-time commitment if you have other similar or potentially better ways of earning good money.
The 100K Challenge Status
I’m ending this challenge with a bankroll of $19,530. While it's far from the goal, I see no reason to force it when I have mixed feelings about the game. Moving forward, I'll play poker when I feel like it, without the pressure of the 100K challenge. Instead, I'll focus my full attention on my coding projects and attempt to build some wealth outside of poker.
I always hated when non-poker players said, "If you can get this good at poker, imagine what else you could do." It took me 15 years to come to terms with this, but now I believe it's time to fully apply myself to other ventures. The current situation suggests that this might be a good idea.
Moving Forward
Who knows, I may change my mind and start grinding a lot of cash again; I can’t say anything for certain. I’ll still grind some cash games and MTTs, but it will come from a place of enjoyment rather than focusing on the 100K ladder.
If I bink something big or actually put in some decent volume at cash again, I will come back and update this thread.
Until then, good luck to all of you and GG!