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!