A journey - much delayed ($8 to $8888 or quitting poker)

Starting a poker journey diary here to keep myself accountable. Hope someone out there finds it interesting.
All currency in USD and All-In Adjusted wherever possible.

Poker background (AFAIR)
2001-2003 - what could've been

• Caught the NLHE bug while at university in NYC. Didn't have any means to deposit onto the websites
  
• Got small $ playing the freerolls. Built bankroll to just a tad under 2000 on Absolute Poker
  
• Accidentally sat at a 2000NL instead of my usual 50NL. My first (and only) hand
  
  • BB dealt QQ. SB limp - I checked, fully ready to just fold / leave
    
  • Flop dry Q72r
    
  • Villain leads and I JAM
    
  • Villain called 77 and hit quads
    
  • I was crying shaking for a good few moments
    
  • Until Absolute Poker went bankrupt, I still had ~$50 left on it (from another table I had running). Never logged back in since
    
  
  
• For a few years I wondered how life would've been different
  

2005 - 2008 - oh this is as easy as I remember it

• Finished university. Moved back to HK, worked a job that was stress free but also with terrible pay (24K/year?)
  
• Deposited onto FullTilt $600 twice. Started winning after moving from SH to FR. Play 24 tables - very basic strategy
  
• I honestly don't know my Win Rate as I didn't study and didn't even have Poker Tracker until much later
  

2008 - 2011 - going semi pro - meeting the mega rich - Asia's decadent decade

• Quit my day job
  
• Switched to private tutoring (I am excellent at Math) and got a dream job at a tutoring center
  
  • 3 days work week (2 mornings, 1 full day) @ 50K/year
    
  • Owner was mega rich - wanted a tutoring center for her own kids
    
  • Center was losing well over 1M / year (hiring French / Italian / Spanish teacher from Native country - and pay for their housing?! - Designed bags to parents for XMas?!)
    
  • I had 4-8 hours of actual lesson time per week but often stay the entire day (entire room to myself, size of badminton court - designed for 1on1 lesson?!)
    
  
  
• I put in tons of hours played 24 tables - peaked at 400NL
  
• I was oh so very proud when I received my FullTilT Black Card (Equivalent to PS SuperNova)
  

2011 - 2021 - crushed

• Black Friday happened. I got locked out of $100k+. Just like 2003, my poker dream basically ended overnight
  
• I didn't miss online poker that much at first
  
  • I would frequent Macau and that was very profitable
    
  • My tutoring gig took off and I somehow ended up as the Go To guy for math tutoring on Quintessential (company specialized in helping the rich with daily tasks)
    
  • Met tons of interesting families (Sony CEO / Fox Asia CFO / White Bear Capital Founder / etc etc etc) and was getting paid $100+/hour
    
  
  
• Eventually FT came back and my fund was returned
  
• I could not beat the (much) tougher game anymore
  
• FR games weren't running and I moved back to SH and did not have the discipline to move down
  
• At least I had the self awareness to know I was a fish, 100k+ >> 80k. I withdrew all of it.
  
• Converted the remaining FT Points for roughly 10k, lost all of that.
  
• China cracked down on politicians / mega rich spending - the whales avoided Macau (so as to avoid probes by the govt)
  
• Along the way, I got married and have two lovely kids and created a startup (about break even).
  
• I play on GG(N8) infrequently, but I knew I was a losing player even at 25NL.
  

2021 - 2024 July - If you can't spot the fish ...

• Kids/ Startup took a majority of my time. Played poker as a -EV hobby. I would guess roughly -1k prior to 2021 on GG @25NL Rush
  
• In 2021, my deposit got rejected (BTC wild swings - deposit was delayed). I had $8 left in the account so I decided to spew around at 2NL
  
  • It was fun to out think opponents (granted villains were not really thinking)
    
  • It hit me real hard ... OMG at 25NL the others look / laugh at ME as THAT STUPID GUY. I didnt mind the money, but I sure mind looking stupid. Real sad / angry
    
  • Decide to not play about my skill pay-grade.
    
  • 2NL > 5NL > 5NL Rush > 10NL > 10NL Rush > 25NL > 25NL Rush. Finally reached my skill limit with bankroll about $1200
    
  • 25NL Rush @-2.5bb/100, slightly +EV after bonuses.
    
  
  

2024 July - August

• Something prompted me to take my game more seriously (to be revealed later)
  
• A full month of grinding yielded no noticeable change
  
• Move back to FR after so many years
  
• 10NL Ante FR +6bb/100 over 10k hands
  
• 25NL Ante has been much tougher, back to -2.2bb/100 (slightly +EV after bonuses).
  

2024 August 29 - Now - poker journey 3.0
Decided to systemically improve my game. Started a new DB on PT4. All games played on GG 25NL Ante.
Week #1 2024 August 29: No task - just play and know my baseline.

• Hands: 17k
  bb/100: -0.62
  BR: In Game -180 | Bonus +180 | Weekly Change: 0
  Note:
  

Week #2 2024 09 08: Track opponent play and develop notes for common villains.

• Hands: 17k
  bb/100: -12.94
  BR: In Game -620| Bonus +670 | Weekly Change: +50
  Note: A rare $285 GGCare Flip out saved a terrible week
  Note2: Over reliant on notes from small sample size >> bad play >> tilt >> worse play
  

Week #3 2024 09 15: Track opponent play and develop numerical stats for common villains. Table select - avoid regs. I had never table select before

• Hands: 19k
  bb/100: +1.06
  BR: In Game +50| Bonus +380| Weekly Change: +430
  Note: Very time consuming process off the table. OMG +1bb/100
  Note: Took MORE time to identify +EV / -EV regs to even better table select