A Most Incredible Poker Journey
Written by: Scott Lum
I retired on December 1, 2023, with a plan to dedicate my time to becoming a full-time poker player. My goal wasn’t just to play poker in my spare time but to spend a significant amount of time studying and training to improve my game and make my playing sessions more productive. While it hasn’t been the most profitable year, it has certainly been a memorable and rewarding 12 months.
As a new RECing Crew member, my goal is to turn this blog into an archive of concepts I’m studying and document my journey to become a better full-time recreational poker player. My goal over the next year is to move from $1/3 to $3/5 and make some deeper runs in Vegas tournaments. I’ll be sharing with you what I’ve learned, both good and bad.
2024 By the Numbers:
Tournaments
- Buy-ins: $24,447
- Cashes: $23,198
- Net Loss: $1,249
- Hours Played: 550
- Tournaments Played: 125
- Cash Rate: 35 cashes out of 126 tournaments played (27%). For comparison, a good tournament cash rate for poker pros is around 15-20%. While they play larger-field tournaments and more skilled player pool, a 27% cash rate is a promising start. I figured it was probably easier to cash in my bar league tournaments, so I filtered for just my Vegas sessions, and I cashed in 11 of my 55 tournaments for 20% cash rate.
- Best Venue: Buzz Inn (local bar league), with $4,330 in net winnings ($27/hour).
- Least Profitable Venue: WSOP Series, with $2,280 in net losses.
Cash Games
- Net Profit: $2,160
- Hours Played: 458
- Hourly Rate: $4.71/hour or $24.83/session
Year-End Total:
Net profit: $911.
While it’s not an incredible financial result, it’s a solid start for someone in the early stages of learning and refining their game. I was disappointed by the lack of deep runs in big Vegas tournaments, but I’m thrilled with my 27% tournament cash rate. My goal for 2025 will be to focus on building deeper stacks earlier in tournaments to improve my chances of running deeper and making more final tables. I also want to play a higher volume in cash games and start playing more online games.
The Real Success: Experiences
While money wasn’t everything, poker brought me some amazing experiences over the past year.
1. Tournaments Played:
- Manila Deepstack
- WSOP Circuit and Bracelet Events
- EPT Barcelona (European Poker Tour)
- NAPT (North American Poker Tour)
- Qualified to audition for the Loose Canon in the Big Game
- WPT (World Poker Tour)
2. Notable Cashes: My first two cashes in WSOP bracelet events. My first-time cashing at the Pendleton Poker Roundup. Cashing the single Milestone tournament I played at EPT Barcelona.
3. Notable Players I Played With: Daniel Negreanu in WSOP Kickoff. Triple Crown winners Stephen Song in WSOP Mystery Bounty and Niall Farrell in Orleans Sunday Special. Playing with the best in the game was fantastic, but the biggest takeaway was observing their thought processes and how they approach the game strategically.
4. Joining RecPoker: I became part of the RecPoker’s RECing Crew team. The RecPoker podcast has always been the first podcast I’d listen to and it’s been a privilege to join the team.
Looking Ahead
I’m thrilled with the experiences and opportunities poker has brought me this past year. My hope for 2025 is to build on these foundations, improve my skills, and achieve deeper runs in tournaments.
I also look forward to expanding my role with RecPoker to help other recreational players develop their skills and find joy in the game, just as I have.
Here’s to an even more incredible poker journey ahead!
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