Online HS Cash; $1m Challenge. By Luke Johnson.

Hello, glad to have you here, welcome, enjoy getting up to speed 😀

Thank you very much! ♥

Hi everyone

Yearly wrap-up time!

I will split this post into three chapters: I. Life, II. Work, III. Poker

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Chapter I: Life

I believe I have progressed more in life this year, than I have ever before in my adult life. There are still so, so many flaws in my person, which I am forever striving to improve upon, however, I am satsified and grateful for all I have worked on this year.

2024 marks the first full calendar year of being a parent -- of being absolutely responsible for another being that is dependant on me, whom I love more than anything else. The journey has been nothing short of amazing, and as each month goes by, I find myself enjoying it more and more; seeing Reyaan grow and develop, we find new, fun things to do together and laugh over. I really couldn't have expected it be this great.

You see, my mentality has shifted from self to selfless, for my family, without much/if any effort from me. A gradual happening. Before 2024, I would best describe myself as a self-motivated, quite egotistic, self-interested and ultimately selfish person. Now, I would better describe myself as less (not none) of the above and more serving to the needs of my family and those closest around me. In a nutshell: Today I find myself experiencing the most satisfaction and joy when serving and spending time with those closest around me.

I have also learned to 'let go' and enjoy the happening's, instead of always being focused on and wanting -- and therefore doing (working on) -- something. Not that my aim is to let life fly me by either; I am happier now being a little bit more of a middlegrounded person.

By the end of 2025 I hope to achieve a calmer life. Right now things are, from my POV, too busy. I have too many commitments, and thus struggle to keep up without working over time, taking time out from family time. I therefore suppose my absolute utmost aim for 2025 is to become less busy.

Chapter II: Work

This year I have come to understand that I am not only a poker player. Before and during approximately the first half of 2024, I suffered with some form of imposter syndrome re. being a poker player, as I was not playing the hours a professional 'should' play; I was not doing my job! I also knew, however, that I was working hard, just on other projects and interests. Eventually I've come to realise that your "work"/"job" shouldn't only reflect your chosen career. Moreover, if you are working on XYZ outside of your career, aren't they also your works and responsiblities, aka. your job(s)? Of course in a social setting one needn't list out all that they are doing in life, however, I believe it is important to distinguish the two.

For me personally, I have enjoyed spreading myself thinner over multiple projects throughout 2024, instead of only pokering. Though consequently, I have learned not to spread myself too thin. On a typical week, I aim to play ~14 hours of poker and study an hour a day. So let's say 20 hours a week. This is enough for me to stay sharp and -- from what I can tell -- stay ahead of the field. As I spread myself less thin in 2025, I plan to put more emphasis into poker again.

Chapter III: Poker

Without sounding too brief, I consider my poker in 2024 a SUCCESS. Now, if you had told me the results in January of 2024 for the year ahead, I likely would have been happy with the evBB, but disappointed with the $ & volume. After all, it is my first year, of eight total, as a professional not profiting from the tables alone! Fast forward to today, though, and again, I summarise a success. How and Why?

Skill:
... I played with zero game selection throughout the whole year, reg battling anyone from NL1k-5k at the start, and toward the end NL400-3k, ending with a 4.88evBB WR and ~55bi profit at an average stake of NL1.95k.

Mental Game:
... Despite being in a $ downswing for basically the whole year, I moved down stakes (it's not easy to put ego aside and move down when you are losing but still rolled to play higher 😆) and grinded back $110k and 75bi's, not incl. RB and other rebates. It would have been easy to perform a lot worse given the rough start, but I kept my head forward as best I could.

Volume:
... In January 2024 I had no idea of the work plans I've currently got going on (hint: I will be launching a poker tool training website soon 😀). So hitting 118k hands, along with the other responsibilities, as noted in Chapter's I & II, is A-OK with me

$:
...I cannot control variance. Profiting 55evBI's at an average stake of NL1.95k returns $107k without including RB. Yet I actually lost $169 instead of making $107k pre-RB. It sucks, but there's nothing I can do about running bad at HS, or running better at lower stakes. All I can do is remain objective, as I try to be.

It is not all sunshine and roses, though. Referring back to the Mental Game section. I moved down stakes, despite being rolled. What happened?

Did I feel like a loser player?
At times, yes. But upon initially moving down, no! I felt like I was at least maintaining a small WR, pre-RB.

How well rolled I?
Comfortably. More than enough to continue playing

So... why did I move down?
Because it felt easier, more secure, less exposed, more comfortable -- I didn't have to deal with the anxiety of dealing with the nightmare spots that tale you when playing NL5k and higher! In short, I moved down because of mental game leaks. Leaks that have continued to plague me when playing lower (NL400-3k) despite grinding back the $110k/75bi.

I have not got an answer for this. In fact, I am 100% sure there is no short answer to it. It requires a continued and concerted effort from be. Positively, I am improving. On the Poker front, this will be my #1 priority for my Poker in 2025.

2025 Goals:
Summarising all of the above, for me to boils down to the below three main focus area's/goals
1. Less busy
... become less busy, to reduce mental load and enjoy life

2. Selfless
... be as selfless as reasonably can be to those around, most especially because of all the good fortune I have been blessed with, a lot of which was out of my control. Sheer luck.

3. Mental Game
... get back to mentally coping with NL5k

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2024 Results:
BB:

$:

Stake:

Monthly:

... including rakeback and everything else, I profited $44,482.23 in 2024 from Poker.

Thank you to everyone for reading. Wishing you all a fantastic 2025!

Cheers, gooooood luck!

Update #11 - December 7th 2024 - 5th January 2025:

Results since 7th December:

BB:

$:

Stake:

Session:

Challenge Results so far - 1st August 2024 - 5th January 2025:

BB:

$:

By Stake:

Monthly:

Data:

Finally out of from this challenge's $70k downswing. HOPEFULLY onwards and upwards from here

Challenge Progress:
Playing: -$14,678.96 + -$10,000 tournament = -$24,678.96
Action Sold: +$21,860.82
Rakeback: +$16,638.09

Profit: $13,819.95/$1,000,000

oh man, this is so relatable

it's not just the pit of despair you enter during those downswings, but later on you realize that you would have earned 2-3x what you actually made if you just took more vacations (at the correct times)

thanks for sharing and glgl in 2025

Heh, yeah, the variance at the beginning of the year definitely set me back, but wcyd... if I hadn't had downswung then, I may have done in the future, and 10x worse. At least, that's what I'll tell myself 😉

With that being said, I am proud of myself for moving down and still grinding out of the $ downswing, whilst winning many bi's. Onwards and upwards, hopefully!