Poker Stories

Dylan Weisman spent the pandemic "in the lab," pouring over numbers that few had ever bothered to look at before when it came to the game of PLO. While solvers had been in use for years by high-stakes pros for no-limit hold'em, pot-limit Omaha had been largely ignored, and Weisman saw an opportunity.  The work has paid off in a big way, with more than $6 million in recorded earnings since the summer of 2021. Of that, $4.4 million has come in some form of Omaha, putting him at no. 2 on the PLO all-time money list behind only Finland's Eelis Parssinen. The 32-year-old has earned wins at the PokerGO Cup, PGT Kickoff Series, U.S. Poker Open, PGT PLO Series, and PGT Mixed Game Series, as well as two World Series of Poker bracelets. In March, he chopped the Triton Montenegro $100,000 PLO high roller for nearly $2 million.  As a result of his stellar year on the circuit, which includes five titles and 14 final tables, the California native now sits just outside the top 10 in the Card Player Player of the Year race.  Highlights from this interview include cards with grandma, robotics academy, Dr. GTO can play the harmonica, being the youngest product of Moneymaker boom and gambling at 13, jobs for former poker players, $15 an hour after busting his roll, gravitating to Galfond, a model of business intelligence, teaching in Vietnam, burning out in Chicago leads to candles in Los Angeles, this seat is not open, six-figure buy-ins, ranking PLO players, keeping strategy secrets, the difference between your first and second bracelet, how long solvers actually take, heads-up vs. Blez for $200k, a bad beat that sent him to the ground, almost dying in a garage, and a hoodie that you can execute well inside of.

Scott Seiver called his shot in 2024, making it known that he intended to win World Series of Poker Player of the Year honors. After 17 cashes, nearly $1.5 million in earnings, and three bracelets, he accomplished his goal and will have a banner hanging at the Horseshoe/Paris for future generations of poker players to see.  With seven bracelets overall, Seiver now ranks seventh all time and is tied with such greats as Billy Baxter, John Hennigan, and Daniel Negreanu. Despite his focus on high-stakes cash games, the 39-year-old Ivy League grad has still managed to rack up more than $27 million in tournament earnings, including numerous high roller wins and a World Poker Tour title.Highlights from this interview include a first-time full-summer grind, abandoning his chips, playing regs vs. unknowns, being recognized by his peers, good enough at Omaha, low-stakes razz over high-stakes hold'em, $2,000 movie tickets, a prestigious deuce, last of the old school, the hall of fame, 10-2 with Doyle Brunson, and dad's D'Brickashaw disbelief.

Matt Savage was Tournament Director for the World Series of Poker during the poker boom, and has since spent more than a decade as the Executive Tour Director for the World Poker Tour. But the perennial Poker Hall of Fame nominee is also a co-founder of the Tournament Director's Association, which helped to standardize poker tournament rules.Every two years, poker room representatives from around the world come to Las Vegas for the TDA Summit, where they discuss the biggest issues facing the game and any needed rules changes or amendments.  This year's summit was held at the PokerGO studio at Aria, and featured a number of topics including the big blind ante, masks and wearable tech, random card theory, and just how late tournament registration should be open.  You can watch the full 13-hour replay of this year's summit on YouTube. 

Victoria Livschitz jumped head first into the shark-infested waters of the high roller scene in late 2021, having spent her pandemic lockdown studying all she could about the game. While others may have been intimidated by the talent at the very top of the pyramid, in an environment with very few women, Livschitz had already seen it all before, having found success with a number of different business ventures in male-dominated industries.  The Ukraine-born former chess champion emigrated to the United States following the fall of the Iron Curtain, landing in Cleveland. She worked odd jobs to finish school, including opening a chess academy, before landing in the automotive industry, doing research for Ford and General Motors. She then served as the principal architect for SunGrid, working on the world's first public cloud-based system, and later founded Grid Dynamics, a technology provider for many major Fortune 500 companies. After her company went public, Livschitz "retired," starting a food company to support her passion for hiking, RightOnTrek.  But after finding quick success in the poker high roller world, Livschitz is already climbing the women's all-time money list rankings, having already cashed for $1.8 million. Livschitz has four wins already, including an event at the 2023 EPT Paris festival and this year's Texas Poker Open, and recently managed to cash in four consecutive tournaments at the PokerGO Tour U.S. Poker Open.  Not content to just play the game at a high level, Livschitz has also partnered with high-stakes pros Andrew 'LuckyChewy' Lichtenberger and Nick Schulman to create the training tool OctopiPoker, and also donates her time to Pocket Queens, an organization dedicated to the advancement of women in poker.Highlights from this interview include a bad beat from Daniel Negreanu, the Hellmuth rite of passage, check mating, a one-way flight to Cleveland, playing 27 people at once, the shock of smiling, automotive research and neural networks, starting a tech company and going public, hiking 1,000 miles every year, danger in Peru, COVID coping, why entrepreneurship is the real gamble, befriending the high rollers, fixing poker tools, the lack of data for women in poker, don't say ladies, the no sleep superpower, the dry cleaning spy, the artistry of the game, 12-hour study sessions, and a prediction for 2026.

Barny Boatman spent much of his youth traveling the world, living in numerous countries and working a variety of jobs that included factory worker, bartender, journalist, English teacher, computer programmer, board game inventer, and even movie reviewer. But it was in the poker world that he found his true calling.  The London-born player graduated from home games with his brother Ross to bigger games with fellow Brits Joe Beevers and Ram Vaswani, forming what would later be known as 'The Hendon Mob.' Now a tournament database site, the Hendon mob would previously travel the tournament circuit together, and was featured prominently on England's 'Late Night Poker' television series shortly before the poker boom.  Boatman earned the respect of his peers in the states with three consecutive final tables at the World Series of Poker. There were plenty of close calls, but he finally nabbed gold in 2013 in a $1,500 no-limit event for $546,080. Boatman earned his second bracelet two years later in Germany, taking down a €550 pot-limit Omaha event at the WSOP Europe series. He's added another five WSOP final tables in the last couple of years, including a runner-up showing at the 2023 WSOP Europe €1,650 no-limit six-max event.  Most recently, he found the winner's circle at the 2024 EPT Paris series, pocketing a career best $1.4 million for taking down the €5,300 main event. As a result, the 68-year-old has become the oldest European Poker Tour champion in history, and is now a member of Team PokerStars as a brand ambassador.Highlights from this interview include what's in a name, the Archway game, getting expelled from school, channel cyberia and mystic monk, poker TV pioneer, the isle of man tournament with John Duthie, being a logo, accidentally creating a database, going broke on his first trip to Vegas, a regretable hand against Hasan Habib, a three-hour heads-up battle for a bracelet, dealing with insomnia, game ethics, charcoal portraits, the crooning punk, humor from Victoria Coren-Mitchell, four-day cash game sessions, and being mistaken for a dead guy.

Alex Fitzgerald has been a poker professional for half of his life, turning to the game when he was just 18 years old. In the nearly two decades since, Fitzgearld has racked up millions in online winnings with final tables on the World Poker Tour and European Poker Tour.  But unlike many other top players, he has also shared his knowledge, taking on students of all levels and steering them towards a better game. In fact, Fitzgerald has worked with more than a thousand players over the years, diagnosing their play, finding the leaks and plugging them so they can start winning fast.  Fitzgerald is also an author, writing The Myth Of Poker Talent, Exploitative Play In Live Poker, and The 100 Biggest Mistakes That Poker Players Make. Players looking for help can visit PokerHeadRush.com for Fitzgerald's free poker strategy newsletter and three training videos.Highlights from this interview include a not-so-deadliest catch, playing cards on the boat, why poker beat Arby's, being a poker doctor, writing books to get people fired up, talent vs. hard work, the moneyball of poker, humans being human, long-distance running, from death metal to rap battles, Christmas in Prague, and the 49-hour home game.

David Sklansky is perhaps the most prolific poker writer ever, and an all-around authority on all things gambling. The author of titles such as The Theory of Poker, Small Stakes Hold'em, DUCY?, Geeking, Grifting, And Gambling, and the latest, Small Stakes No-Limit Hold'em: Help Them Give You Their Money, is one of the few authors to simultaneously hold three spots on Amazon's top 100 bestsellers list.  The 76-year-old is a three-time World Series of Poker bracelet winner, and also took down the Poker By The Book invitational event on the World Poker Tour. When he wasn't gambling for a living, whether it was on poker, sports, or blackjack, Sklansky worked as a casino advisor. Not only did he invent the foundation for Caribbean Stud, but the 'resident wizard' famously convinced Bob Stupak to build the Stratosphere tower on the Las Vegas Strip.  Highlights from this interview include being the black sheep in a family of geniuses, logic puzzles from dad, the Ivy League poker game, being an 'insufferable' math rebel, hi-lo split declare, putting pen to paper in 1976, poker theory back to Neumann and Nash, being a GTO deviant, getting barred as a blackjack player, taking advantage of bad casino math, scheming with Bob, changing the Las Vegas Strip skyline, getting a state senator elected but losing a fixed race for mayor, a $30 million caribbean stud loss, challenging Donald Trump to a $1 million board game, matching JK Rowling, signing autographs for Ben Affleck and Matt Damon, owning two unique pieces of WSOP history, being the ultimate third wheel, the $1 million briefcase, Sklansky bucks vs. implied odds, avoiding a punch from Floyd Mayweather, and all five times he was held at gunpoint.

Wolfgang is a relative newcomer to the poker world, but that hasn't stopped him from finding a huge audience with his short-form vlogs. The Chicago native and Texas resident has a background in video production and editing which he has used leapfrog other top content creators to become one of the most watched poker players on the planet.The 29-year-old has seen a meteoric rise over the last year and recently became the first poker vlogger ever to reach one million subscribers on YouTube. He has racked up hundreds of millions of views overall while passing industry giants such as Brad Owen, Doug Polk, and even Daniel Negreanu, all while playing low-stakes cash games.  Highlights from this interview include joining the seven-figure club, completely missing the poker boom, Ukrainian dancing and German lessons, christian school degenerates, streaking Nutella butts, giving the algorithm what it wants, creating new players, Pokemon vs. fossils, making teachers go viral, red-card pantsing and game-winning headers, sweating a million dollar buy-in, smoothies with McDreamy, and why Just Beiber fired him from a commercial shoot.

Jeff Sluzinski, a content creator and pro better known to his viewers as Jeff Boski, was one of the pioneer poker vloggers on YouTube. In the last six years, the ACR Poker ambassador has built a sizable audience, posting more than 600 videos and racking up millions of views.Originally from Michigan, Boski has been a professional poker player for the better part of the last two decades, having discovered the game during the early 2000's boom. He gambled on his future, moving to Las Vegas with just $10,000 in his bankroll, and he hasn't looked back since. Boski is currently having one of his best years ever, picking up wins both live and online, while also holding his own against some of the best high roller players in the game today.Highlights from this interview include dealing with oil patterns and too much torque, striking out in calculus, talking people out of their money, upsetting the boss' daughter, turning around a $1,000 per day loss, how dog videos turned into a poker vlog, talking his way into an online poker sponsorship, having his own tournament on ACR, winning his way to Vietnam, playing Triton high rollers, Spock honesty, being a strip club affiliate, visualizing a Magic: The Gathering championship, Lil Dicky So Hard, ziplining backwards in Costa Rica, and enjoying the simulation in harmony.

It took less than four years from Jesse Lonis to climb from $200 tournaments to competing in high rollers with the best players in the world. The New York native kickstarted his career with a World Poker Tour final table in 2021 at the Lucky Hearts Poker Open and then followed it up with a deep run in the WSOP main event, taking 25th place overall. In 2022, the former construction worker won a bracelet in the WSOP Online series, and nearly added a second that summer while also making two final tables at the WPT World Championship series.  But the 28 year old has put together his best year in 2023. In January he finished third in the $25,000 high roller at the Hard Rock in South Florida for $260,000 and then added another $370,000 with a win at the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure. This summer, he made a last-minute decisino to play in the $50,000 pot-limit Omaha championship and broke through for his second bracelet and a massive payday of $2.3 million. He now has $6 million in career earnings.Highlights from this interview include new births, being the Lonfellow Deeds of his hometown, watching grandma play Full Tilt, working construction "like a dog in a cage," following in Gilly's footsteps, a long and brutal stay at Circus Circus, being an old school player, ging broke and coming back, where he keeps the bracelets, jumping into a $50k event, big sports bets, J-Lo, CCR, and bird presentations.

Daniel Weinman topped the biggest World Series of Poker main event field in history, outlasting more than 10,000 entrants. Incredibly, he almost didn't play in the event and had to be convinced by friends, including six-time bracelet winner Shaun Deeb, to fly back from his native Atlanta, Georgia for the tournament.It was Weinman's second career bracelet, having won his first in 2022 on the way to finishing second in the WSOP Player of the Year race. And despite winning a first-place prize of $12.1 million, Weinman was back at his day job the next week, working as a software engineer for RF Poker, a company that facilitates the operation and security of poker livestreams.Although he focused on cash games for much of his career, Weinman also has a WSOP Circuit ring, and two World Poker Tour titles. In 2017 he won the Borgata Winter Open and followed that up a few months later with a season-ending WPT Tournament of Champions victory.Highlights from this interview include sweating the Wall Street trader game as a kid, playing 24 tables at once, getting robbed at a home game, too much Chinese poker, winning a WPT with his back against the wall, taking a 9-to-5 'poker' job after winning his first bracelet, livestream integrity, how he got talked into the main event, how a two-outer saved more than just his tournament, the reluctant acceptance of added attention, getting his face on a trading card, plans for the bracelet, broken putters, getting fired from the movie theater for beating his manager, golfing with professional athletes and Trump, and how he started his bankroll by being one of the best guitar hero players in the world.

Shaun Deeb was just 16 when he fell in love with poker, hosting tournaments at his home in New York. It wasn't long before he was focusing more on cards than school, and Deeb found himself quickly rising the ranks among the best online players in the world, reaching no. 1 in 2009.In the live arena, Deeb has done most of his damage at the World Series of Poker. Not only is he in an elite group of just 22 players with at least six bracelets, but he is consistently one of the best performers each summer in the WSOP Player of the Year race. In fact since 2015, Deeb has finished in sixth place or better six times! In total, he has racked up more than $13.5 million in live tournament earnings during his career, to go along with millions more won online.Deeb finished in second place in this summer's WSOP POY race, but also has four other wins in 2023, putting him in the top 20 of the year-long POY race as well. The 37-year-old has done it while also working on a weight-loss prop bet with Bill Perkins that will earn him a seven-figure payout if he can get down to 17 percent body fat by next summer's series.  Highlights from this interview include growing dreadlocks to lose body fat percentage, how WSOP main event champ Dan Weinman saved his summer, winning a circuit ring for his chicken fingers, 'retiring' after burn out, a team wafflecrush update, investing in a sub franchise over daily fantasy sports, letting Gus Hansen take his million dollar seat, being a 'foot-on-the-gas-type' player, slowrolling Mike Matusow, why Max Heinzelmann cost him Ben Lamb's money, not being afraid to speak his mind, passing his sparkly black crown to Ian Matakis, hating all music and refusing to dance, losing 5/6ths of a $200,000 pot, the biggest open face Chinese games, passing on the family restaurant business, 50-hour sessions, and undercooked chicken as a murder weapon.

Mike Gorodinsky is a three-time World Series of Poker bracelet winner, who is coming off a summer where he took down the $10,000 H.O.R.S.E. championship for $422,747. The Russian-born pro, who was raised in St. Louis, Missouri, won his first bracelet back in 2013, taking down the $2,500 Omaha and stud eight-or-better mix event. But Gorodinsky's biggest score remains the $1,270,086 he pocketed for winning the 2015 $50,000 Poker Players Championship. Although the 37-year-old has the resume of a tournament pro, with more than $4.2 million in cashes and the title of 2015 WSOP Player of the Year, he is also a feared cash game player. The mixed-games master spent years competing in some of the biggest cash games spread in the world, battling it out with the best players in Bobby's Room in Las Vegas for stakes as high as $4,000-$8,000Highlights from this episode include the move from St. Petersburg to St. Louis, eloping in Greece, drunk 1 a.m. online sessions, learning bankroll management the hard way, buying a car with all of his winnings, the online tournament that kept him in poker, a love for literature, an office in Tijuana, battling for high-stakes with Phil Ivey, million-dollar swings, the 'detriment' of having his own action, an 'unpleasant' loss to Phil Hellmuth, a weird history with the Poker Players Championship, giving away his bracelets, buy-in inflation, poker personalities, New Zealand restaurant games, fake beef with Doyle Brunson and the gift of the unlucky sweater.

Jose Ignacio "Nacho" Barbero was a top-ranked, world-traveling card player long before he ever found poker. The Argentinian discovered the game Magic: The Gathering as a teen, and he was soon leading the national team in global competitions.  After six years as a Magic pro, Barbero made the switch to poker. He broke out in 2010, scoring two of his three Latin American Poker Tour victories along with a win in the EPT London high roller for nearly $900,000. In the years since, he has continued to put up consistent results, while also competing in some of the biggest cash games around.  The last year has been incredibly profitable for Barbero on the felt. In the summer, he won his first gold WSOP bracelet and $587,000. Then in February, he finished fourth at the PokerStars Players Championship for a career-best $1.55 million. After a win and a runner-up showing at the Triton Vietnam series for $1.06 million, and a win in the PokerGO PLO series, Barbero now sits in first place in the 2023 Card Player Player of the Year race.Highlights from this interview include soccer distractions, the collapse of the Argentinian economy, getting saved by Magic, living in France, having his own sports card, losing big his first online session, winning his first live tournament, getting a poker sponsorship, live reads, a crypto disaster, the comeback begins, a huge final table mistake, catching a very important flight, winning a $500,000 pot from a billionaire, teaching Pokemon, and losing a bitcoin at the UFC.

Stephen Song has been tearing up the tournament circuit for the last few years. The New York-born, Connecticut-raised Song was a childhood chess prodigy who found poker while in college, ultimately making a deal with his parents to turn pro. After winning a tournament for nearly $33,000, he was able to pay back his tuition in full before hitting the road on his own.  In the years since, Song has racked up more than $5.1 million in live cashes, which includes a World Series of Poker bracelet and three WSOP Circuit rings. In 2022, the 27-year-old cashed in a whopping 44 tournaments and won the World Poker Tour Prime Championship for $712,000 en route to being named the GPI Player of the Year.  Highlights from this interview include living in London, nationally-ranked in chess, why school wasn't his thing, squash scholarships, penny-stakes poker with dad, puzzle pirates, winning back his college tuition, the 'glory days of poker' back in 2016, clearing make up for a deceased backer, winning live in front of mom and dad, getting through big fields, not being a dick swinger, never having a job, getting scolded for $1,000 on black, crushing tiger hidden dragon, self-driving cars, and why he won't 'update' his stack until the break.

Dr. Lara Eisenberg is not a professional poker player, but you wouldn't know it by looking at her results. She has already scored a WSOP Circuit ring, and a World Series of Poker bracelet, taking down the Ladies Championship in 2021. Then in December, she pocketed a career-high $481,500 for finishing runner-up in the WPT Prime Championship.  The 54-year-old has found a lot of success for someone who only competes on the circuit part time. When she's not staring down the pros at the table, she is usually running her own radiology practice out of her home in Maryland, or enjoying her other hobby, competitive skydiving.Highlights from this interview include being destined for medicine, why she chose not to be a surgeon, her time as a billiards hall hustler, jumping out of a plane on a blind date, landing in a Thailand driving range, becoming a world-record holder, being an early gamer, her time in WPT Bootcamp, FOMO about poker education, studying with apestyles, a profitable decision to late register, donating $30,000 of her winnings, looking for tells, hiking in the Pyrenees, Trinity costumes, the hat lady, and being confused for an astronaut.

Mike Holtz spent his teen years as one of the best gamers around. In fact, at one point he was considered the top-ranked World of Warcraft player and was recruited to join a traveling league called the World Series of Video Gaming. Unfortunately for the Maryland native, the league went bust and he was left looking for his next step in life.  There were numerous jobs and even a stint in jail, but after rediscovering his love for poker in a local home game, Holtz decided to move across the country to Las Vegas to be closer to the action. Although he started in cash games, he found himself to be better suited to tournaments, specifically online at WSOP.com under the name 'BrockLesnar.' It was there that he won a WSOP Circuit ring and was crowned 2021 Player of the Year. Then in 2022, the 32-year-old added his first WSOP bracelet.Highlights from this interview include Mega Bomber Man with mom, midnight baseball, World Series of Gaming and Napster, the mushroom diet, working as an underage bouncer, going to weekend jail, snitches get pizza, the hotel home game, building a bankroll, trying to beat Skyler, winning Player of the Year, having a spew tournament, the flop overcorrection, Hellmuth vs. Negreanu, from Bill to Brock, the sad ending for wrestlers, a barf 15-20 years in the making, abandoning Jeff Madsen to win a bracelet, Power Ranger hand kissing, avoiding spiders, Rat Fink Magoo, dodging highway traffic, and advocating for bomb pot tournaments.

Adam Pliska has been with the World Poker Tour since the start, and along with the company recently celebrated 20 years in the game. The WPT President and CEO acted as the tour's general counsel for several years before making the switch to the executive side. Under his leadership, the WPT has since grown to a truly global scale and recently hosted a record-breaking $29 million prize pool WPT World Championship at Wynn Las Vegas.Before Pliska took the helm at WPT, however, he worked in TV production. The USC film school graduate even helped to launch programs such as Baywatch, Win Ben Stein's Money, and a reboot of Lassie. He ultimately decided to go back to law school, however, graduating from UC Berkeley. He was all set to take a job with the Senate Judiciary Committee on intellectual property law when his good friend Steve Lipscomb called him with an offer for a brand-new poker TV show that had yet to secure distribution. Pliska decided to gamble, and the rest is history.  Highlights from this interview include faking press credentials for Hollywood access, being focused on TV production, Leonardo DiCaprio and the collie, following a girl to law school, battling the cold of Washington D.C., gambling on a poker start-up, becoming poker Disney, how the tour makes money, putting the world in World Poker Tour, pivoting during a pandemic, how to lease a horse, taking a frozen cake to the face from Steve Aoki, learning the cello, hating the 4 a.m. paper route, betting against Antonio Esfandiari's charisma, looking like Obama, a Maleficent job offer, in labor at the final table, and death-defying sailboat races with Richard Branson. 

Miikka Anttonen has been gambling since he was just 10 years old. He was originally drawn to sports betting and slot machines, but after moving from his native Finland to Australia, Anttonen discovered poker. Despite a few false starts, he stuck with the game, and eventually built a bankroll and turned pro.  During his nearly decade in poker, Anttonen won millions, including a title at his native Helsinki Freezeout main event in 2011. Although he was mainly an online specialist, his time on the live tournament circuit saw him travel to 70 different countries.  A few years ago, however, Anttonen took on a prop bet that saw him forced to end his poker career. In the years since, he has focused on his love of writing, and took a job in poker media working with Pokerisivut on the Last Call documentary series, now available on YouTube.Highlights from this interview include being an 11-year-old sports bettor, a teenaged slot machine addiction, buying all the candy, dropping out and moving to Australia, from the cheese factory to picking mangos, the rainforest home game, losing all of his prawn money in minutes, sleeping on benches, Spice-Gossip Girl love, three days trapped in a New Zealand hostel, spinning it up from zero and six-figure swings, why live poker is the tax of online poker, a costly swap, playing with Vince Vaughn, lucky underwear, waking up in jail, and the bet that ended his poker career.

Jeff Platt found poker during the Moneymaker boom, but it was more than a decade before he could work it into his career. The Dallas, Texas native graduated from the University of Southern California with a degree in broadcast journalism, and scored his first gig working the sports desk at a Jackson, Mississippi news station.  He then took a job with ESPN covering his hometown Dallas Mavericks of the NBA, and followed that up with a gig reporting on the San Antonio Spurs. He decided to take a shot in 2018, moving to Las Vegas for a chance at combining his two loves. It wasn't long before he got his chance on PokerGO with shows like Friday Night Poker and The Big Blind, while working events like the WSOP, SHRB, U.S. Poker Open, and Poker Masters. Platt is now the co-host of No Gamble, No Future, alongside Brent Hanks, which airs every Tuesday on PokerGO, with past episodes available on demand.As a player, Platt has also found success. He made consecutive deep runs in the WSOP main event, and last year finished fourth in the Double Stack event for $160,000. He added another $100,000 just last month when he took down a tournament at the Venetian.Highlights from this interview include having above-average pipes, performing at nursing homes, hold'em in Texas, the Mississippi sports market, rubbing elbows with Dirk Nowitzki, sweating questions with Coach Popovich, being the jack-of-all-trades for a poker channel, the aloofness of Ivey, watching the best play every day, finding the winner's circle, sucking out for $25k on Poker After Dark, having to pay the 10th grade bookie, how Daniel Negreanu moves the needle, crushing on American Idol constestants, white Kumar, and being a semi-finalist in the Mr. West pageant.

Brad Ruben is a rising star in the poker world who has exploded for four World Series of Poker bracelets in the last few years. As a result, the 36-year-old Florida native 'leads the decade' with the most bracelets won so far since 2020.The mixed-games specialist got his first title in August of 2020 during the online series held during the pandemic, taking down the $1,500 pot-limit Omaha event for $220,160. His second bracelet also came in PLO, this time during the 2021 online series. Later that year, as the live series moved to October, Ruben added a win in the $1,500 razz event, even though it was one of the first times he had ever played the game. Then last summer, Ruben was the last man standing in the $1,500 dealer's choice event, joining a club of just 66 players with four or more WSOP bracelets.  Ruben donated a portion of the winnings from his last title to the Shields and Stripes organization, a charity that helps first responders who are suffering from PTSD and other mental health issues. It's a cause that is near and dear to Ruben, having had to overcome a very tragic and traumatic experience of his own.  Highlights from this interview include running good in Oklahoma, Miami to manatees, Walmart scavenger hunts, how poker paid for studying in Spain, France, and Italy, crushing South Florida PLO games, knowing when to apply pressure, avoiding razz tilt, getting the Phil Hellmuth speech, hypnotherapy, why his ex has one of his bracelets, how poker can battle PTSD, the dangers of trading crypto, being a violin concert master at age 10, developing a Whopper addiction, sounding like Antonio Esfandiari, lucky underwear, and appraising his Pokémon collection.

The Tournament Director's Association (TDA) was formed in 2001 by Matt Savage, Linda Johnson, Jan Fisher, and Dave Lamb with the goal of standardizing poker tournament rules. Before the TDA, each venue would have their own 'house rules,' creating problems and confusion for new or traveling players, while suppressing the growth of the game.  In the two decades since, almost every licensed cardroom in the world has jumped on board, adopting TDA policies and procedures for their own events. Today, the TDA has more than 4,000 members in 65 different countries.  Every two years, poker room managers, tournament directors, and event organizers from all over the globe gather in Las Vegas for the TDA summit. It is there that rule and procedure changes are proposed, voted on, and ultimately made.  World Poker Tour Executive Tour Director Matt Savage is not only a co-founder of the TDA, but also sits on its Board of Directors. Card Player recently caught up with him for a special episode of the Poker Stories podcast to talk about the most recent summit and the latest rule changes to look out for.  Highlights from this episode include subjects such as the big blind ante, player abuse, the order of mixed games, stalling, tournament guarantees, and the use of real-time assistance, better known as RTA. 

Dan Zack was perhaps the youngest player to get bit by the poker bug when Chris Moneymaker won the 2003 World Series of Poker main event. The Princeton, New Jersey native was just 10 years old at the time, but he was hooked, even going on to read the Harrington on Hold'em strategy series by age 13. The gaming standout had the skills to build up big bankrolls online, but lacked the discipline to hold onto it.  After having to rebuild a few times, Zack finally plugged his leaks and it wasn't long before he established himself as a threat in any game he entered. He won his first WSOP bracelet in 2019, taking down the $2,500 Mixed Triple Draw event. The next year, he bubbled the final table of the $10,000 online main event.  This summer, the 29-year-old was the runaway winner of the WSOP Player of the Year race, having racked up 16 cashes, four final tables and just over $1.45 million in earnings. He also managed to nab his second and third career bracelets, winning both the $10,000 Omaha eight-or-better championship and the $10,000 stud eight-or-better championship.  Highlights from this interview include winning the jar of pennies at the family reunion game, reading Harrington on Hold'em at age 13, losing $20,000 on a church retreat, why children shouldn't learn poker, quitting poker and finding it again in Germany, turning $1,000 into $100,000 in one summer, a crucial PLO pot in the Bahamas, eight 62-hour poker sessions, setting his sights on the series, battling a barker, getting staked for a high roller by a stranger, live stream stakes, losing a $200,000 pot to Garrett Adelstein, getting owned at $2k-$4k by Ray D, betting big on the election, Dustin Diamond, and never having a real job.

Eugene Katchalov is a World Series of Poker winner and World Poker Tour champion with more than $9.2 million in career live tournament earnings. The Ukrainian-born and New York-raised pro won the 2007 Doyle Brunson Five Diamond World Poker Classic for a massive $2.5 million and also the 2011 $1,500 stud event at the WSOP for his bracelet.  The 41-year-old has come close to earning the Triple Crown title on a few occasions, most notably taking third at EPT Barcelona and also finishing runner-up at EPT Deauville. He does have three EPT side events wins, including a $1.5 million payday in the $100,000 Super High Roller at the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure. He's also played in some of the biggest cash games in the world, including the infamous Molly's Game.  Katchalov has spent the last few years focusing on Qlash, his esports company with fellow poker pro Luca Pagano, and moved back to Kiev with his wife. In February of this year, however, he was forced to flee his home following Russia's invasion of Ukraine.Highlights from this interview include leaving the Soviet Union, having a professional gambler for a dad, the symbolic freedom of Coca Cola, speaking Russlish, NYU business school, day trading, watching Antonio Esfandiari get felted, running well at Bellagio, buying a place for his grandparents, a $400k pot with a record label exec, beating Daniel Negreanu for a sponsorship, Korea trips with ElkY, misreading his hand in a high roller, Robin Williams and Angelina Jolie, and onion phobias.

Jennifer Shahade grew up in Philadelphia. Her father Mike was a master chess player and her mother Sally a professor at Drexel University, but at night the two would count cards at the blackjack tables in Atlantic City. Jennifer and her older brother Greg each took up chess as well, and both excelled at the master level, competing against the best all over the world.  The NYU graduate was the first woman to ever win the U.S. Junior Open, and was also a two-time U.S. Women's Chess Champion. She is the director of the women's program at the U.S. Chess Federation and is also a board member of the Women's Chess Hall of Fame.  But Shahade is also a top-notch poker player, and has been competing as a mindsports ambassador for PokerStars since 2014. She has numerous scores on her tournament resume, most notably taking down the $10,000 high roller open-face Chinese pineapple event in Prague.  Most recently, she authored Chess Queens: The True Story Of A Chess Champion And The Greatest Female Players Of All Time. She is also the host of The Grid podcast, which analyzes key hands played by professional poker players.  Highlights from this interview include the body goes to the potty, card-counting parents, a sibling rivalry, competing in Brazil, Spain, Iceland, Russia, and India, luck in poker, sweating a $50,000 chess match with Tom Dwan, a big win in Prague, working as a bridge caddie, using Ms. Pac-Man to flirt, a seven-hour game, hula chess, gambling in yoga class, Lake Bell, omelet salad, a fortunate couch landing, waking up in a fire in Belize, going to NYU during 9/11, and crushing on Vanilla Ice.

Ben Rolle, known to most of the poker world as Bencb, is one of the greatest online tournament players in the game today. The 33-year-old German was a standout junior soccer player, but turned to online poker after college and grinded his way to the highest stakes available. He has won many millions during his career, most notably chopping the World Championship of Online Poker $100,000 Super High Roller with Fedor Holz for $1.2 million.  Originally an anonymous player, it wasn't until the summer of 2019 that he revealed his identity. Eager to share his knowledge with others, Rolle started Raise Your Edge poker training, and also streams his play on Twitch. Then last year, he was named as an ambassador for Team PokerStars. When he's not playing or teaching, he works with his champion Esports club Acend.  Highlights from this interview include scoring six goals in one game, injuries and ego, going broke three times early on, how a vacation in Sicily changed his game, why you don't want a big score early, grinding up to $5,000 sit-n-go's, showing others how to win, dealing with online cheaters and anonymity, fan culture and poker rankings, accepting the upside of stress, sucking out in a $100k tournament, German techno music, Matthew McConaughey, breathwork, and the literal coin flip for his life.

Brek Schutten is a family man with five children that spends his days working as a nurse in the intensive care unit. But that hasn't stopped the Michigan native from dominating the live tournament circuit for more than a year now.  The 34-year-old topped a record-field of 2,482 entries in the 2021 WPT Seminole Hard Rock Poker Open to win a life-changing $1,261,095, and in the months since has parlayed that score into even more cash. After making two final tables at the Poker Masters last September for a combined $162,900, Schutten took down the $15,000 high roller at the Wynn in March for $219,300.  This summer he packed up the family for a trip to Las Vegas, where he opened with a win in the MGM Grand Mystery Bounty event for a total of $71,000. Then at the World Series of Poker, Schutten jumped into the big high rollers, taking fifth in the $25,000 event for $323,730 and second in the $50,000 event for $820,808. He now has $3.4 million in live tournament earnings. Highlights from this interview include finding poker through a radio ad, why he got into nursing, being cool under pressure, 15 big blinds and a dream, celebrating in Florida with Mickey Mouse, gambling on himself, battling Jake Schindler for the poker community, House vs. Grey's Anatomy, bagging groceries with big bro, a backyard batting cage, being kicked out of the band, Padme Amidala and brown sugar rice, and getting mistaken for David Peters.

Brad Owen discovered poker while in high school, learning the game by studying poker software his dad brought home from work. He continued to play throughout college and even as he earned his masters degree in accounting, but a nine-to-five job was never in the cards for the Santa Rosa, California native.Owen ultimately gave up his day job as a CPA to move to Las Vegas and try his hand at professional poker. He spent years grinding away anonymously at the cash game tables, but wanted a way he could share his journey with his friends and family back home. Taking a cue from his good friend Andrew Neeme, Owen started his own YouTube channel, vlogging his poker sessions for all to see.A little over five years later, Owen has become one of the most popular vloggers on YouTube. The 34-year-old has racked up more than 600,000 subscribers, which puts him alongside Daniel Negreanu as the most watched poker channels online today. In 2019, he won Poker Personality of the Year at the Global Poker Awards, and this year, he added the Best Vlogger award to his mantel.When he's not filming his play, Owen stays busy with Meet-Up Games (MUGs) that take place all over the country, including his very own  poker room. Owen recently became a minority owner of The Lodge Card Club House near Austin, Texas along with Doug Polk and the aforementioned Neeme. Owen is also the newest brand ambassador for the World Poker Tour and will be appearing at various events throughout the season.Highlights from this interview include flipping rundown card rooms with dad, learning poker from a CD-ROM, main event nightmares, almost deleting his first video, inventing nicknames for hands, how the vlog affects play, buying a poker room, being poker's Jim Halpert, rocking out as 'Central Idea,' being an inactive CPA, having sleep envy, avoiding sharks in open water, telling dad jokes, and the karma of cleaning up the casino parking lot.

Kane Kalas grew up near Philadelphia where his father and baseball hall of famer Harry Kalas worked as the play by play commentator for the Phillies for nearly 40 years. He could have joined the family business like his brother Todd, who broadcasts for the Houston Astros, but while he was in college he got bit by the poker bug.  Kalas was particularly aggressive building his bankroll online, and only took a few months before he was playing at Rail Heaven on Full Tilt for stakes as high as $500-$1,000 no-limit. The baritone opera singer ventured into the live arena after Black Friday and found success on the tournament trail, including a runner-up finish at the WPT Borgata Poker Open for more than $500,000. Then in 2018, Kalas won the biggest cash game pot in televised poker history, banking $2.18 million in a hand against Jason Koon at the Triton Montenegro series.  Over the years the hedge fund manager has also done broadcasting work for a number of poker shows and tours including the WSOP, Triton, WPT Deepstacks, HPT, Hard Rock Poker Open, Poker Night In America, Hustler Casino Live, Live at the Bike, and PokerGO. Although he doesn't work in baseball, the 32-year-old still lends his voice to the Phillies every season on opening day to sing the Star Spangled Banner.  Highlights from this interview include performing for stadiums, an operatic voice, his movie role, battling Tom Dwan and Phil Ivey, a strategically chosen online name, winning a record-breaking pot, poker broadcasting, launching a hedge fund, comparing poker greats, saying no to dancing in Footloose, High Hopes, losing a $60,000 tennis prop bet, the noticeable absence of Nate Dogg, Rick Rolling, and challenging everyone to Final Fantasy Tactics.

Phil Galfond has made his mark on pretty much every part of the poker world. Not only is the Maryland native considered one of the best to ever play the game, but he's also been recognized as a prolific poker coach, and even operated his own online poker site, Run It Once.The 37-year-old recently sold that site to Rush Street Interactive, which is planning to enter the regulated US online poker market. His training site, which shares the same name, features elite poker coaches and recently unveiled Galfond's comprehensive pot-limit Omaha strategy course.  The high-stakes pro is regarded as one of the best PLO players in the world today, and has been solidifying that reputation with his ongoing Galfond Challenge, taking on all comers while laying odds. He is currently 4-0, including a €900,000 comeback win. Although he mostly focuses on cash games, he has found success in tournaments, winning three bracelets at the World Series of Poker.Highlights from this interview include scoring four touchdowns with a broken arm, Phil Hellmuth's alma mater, the guy who got him into poker, an eye-opening losing summer, winning notoriety with a bracelet, a desire to teach others, coming out of 'retirement,' doubting himself during the challenge, the problem with focusing on solvers, what it takes to start an online poker site, selling his company, avoiding soap operas, shooting his shot over Twitter, a $700,000 five-card draw pot, answering the phone at Domino's, and how many slices of pizza he can eat in ten minutes.

"Miami" John Cernuto is a true ironman of the live poker tournament circuit. The longtime grinder holds the record and a sizable lead for the most cashes ever with 540 and counting. To put that into perspective, 16-time bracelet winner Phil Hellmuth has just shy of 350.  Cernuto, who has three WSOP bracelets of his own, is now 78 years old but is still out on the tournament trail recording cashes. Just last week he made two final tables in Las Vegas, before hitting the road to California and Texas to find some more action.  With more than 60 posted wins under his belt and hundreds of final tables, perhaps no one else was more suited to writing a book about the subject of deal making in tournaments. Cernuto recently teamed up with Card Player columnist Dr. Alan Schoonmaker and Jan Siroky for Make Better Poker Tournament Deals, available now on Amazon.Highlights from this interview include getting his nickname at the Stardust, the call of the racetrack, check-raising his mother, tracking planes in the '70s, being a stress junkie, getting fired by President Reagan, winning two live tournaments at the same time, money over bracelets, getting one of the first online poker sponsorships, playing $500-$1,000 with a Prince of Arabia, repossessing Larry Csonka's car, being a professional accordion player, poker endurance, the lucky lemon bowl, the scorpion house, and the guy he thinks will breaks his cash record.

Scotty Nguyen has the ultimate poker success story. After escaping almost certain death in the Vietnam War and surviving almost a month stranded at sea, the teenager eventually found himself in the United States looking for a piece of the American dream. Always a hustler, it wasn't long before Nguyen discovered poker, first paying bills as a dealer, and then trying his luck on "the other side of the table."An incredible two-week trip to Lake Tahoe saw his bankroll grow from $200 to nearly half a million, and by the end of the month, he had fleeced Las Vegas to get to the seven-figure mark. The fast-living 'Prince of Poker' didn't hold on to the money, however, at least not at first. After a last-second satellite win, he managed to squeak into the 1998 WSOP main event, and ultimately took it down for $1 million. Along the way, he achieved poker immortality by uttering the now famous line, "If you call it's gonna be all over, baby!"The Poker Hall of Famer has five WSOP bracelets in total, including the 2008 $50,000 Poker Players Championship which he won for nearly $2 million, and a World Poker Tour title. With $12.7 million in total live tournament earnings, Nguyen is Vietnam's all-time money list leader.Highlights from this episode include fleeing Vietnam, being stranded at sea, hustling in Taiwan, escaping Illinois, stealing his high school diploma, the boss who chose his name, from busboy to poker dealer, winning a million in less than month, Stu Ungar's motivation, appearing on Conan O'Brien, Bobby's Room beats, an 80-hour session, and whether or not pregnant women are lucky.Nguyen is set to release a brand-new poker training course soon, which you can learn more about by following him on Twitter @TheScottyNguyen or Instagram @ScottyNguyenBaby.

Chris Brewer discovered poker while competing at the 2012 Olympic Trials, getting hooked after playing in a $5 home game. The San Diego native's first love was running, which led him to the 32-time national champion University of Oregon Ducks track and field team. He built his bankroll while in college, and graduated ready to take on the world as a professional player.With some aggressive shot taking and a desire to play the biggest game in the room, it wasn't long until Brewer found himself playing against some of the best players in the world. In fact, during the pandemic he played stakes as high as $1,000-$2,000 no-limit! When the live tournament circuit resumed, Brewer turned his attention to high rollers. He made 22 final tables in 2021, winning two titles and more than $3 million en route to a ninth-place finish in the Card Player Player of the Year race.Highlights from this interview include the drawer full of championship rings, chasing the four-minute mile, Nike fashion police, competing at the Olympic trials, being 'faster' than Usain Bolt, a near-death experience, graduating from the $1-$2 games, paying a guy to go all-in, emptying the box, heads-up matches with Andy Stacks, winning a $560k pot against Michael Addamo, getting crushed by money bubbles, tilting Daniel Negreanu, cashing in on the election, and being a ghost pepper.

Dan Cates discovered poker in high school, and wasted no time immersing himself in the game online. By the time he dropped out of college, the man known as 'jungleman12' had already risen to the highest stakes and won millions against some of the top players in the world. According to HighStakesDB.com, Cates is one of the biggest high-stakes online cash game earners of all time.As it turns out, the Maryland native has also been a big winner on the live tournament circuit. In 2014, he finished runner-up in the €100,000 EPT Grand Final high roller for $1.7 million, and in 2019 he pocketed a combined $2.65 million in the Triton Super High Roller series. Last fall, the 32-year-old broke through at the World Series of Poker, picking up his first bracelet and $954,020 in the prestigious $50,000 buy-in Poker Players Championship. He now has nearly $10 million in live tournament earnings.Highlights from this interview include climbing Mount Kilimanjaro, high school scrap paper games, building a bankroll at McDonald's, quitting his college Game Theory course, getting trash talked by his grandma, rebuilding after a massive loss, calling his shot in the Poker Players Championship, bracelet or necklace?, final table cosplay, his ongoing "feud" with Phil Galfond, Jesus and Moses' old stomping grounds, Safariman12, karma and morality, shrugging off a HKD$200 million pot, fitness prop bets with ElkY, the 72-hour session, and where he ranks himself among his peers.

Ryan Leng's first love was hockey, competing at the highest junior levels before catching the poker bug at his Illinois high school. He continued to play and deal cards while in college at Arizona State, eventually turning pro. He was a SuperNova Elite player online, splitting his time between Costa Rica, Mexico, and Canada before switching his focus to live play.  He broke out in 2017 with a runner-up finish in a WSOP $1,500 no-limit hold'em event for $237,776, along with a deep run in the $10,000 main event for another $176,399. The next year, Leng won his first bracelet in the $1,500 Bounty event, banking $272,504. He picked up his second bracelet in the 2021 online series in July.Then this fall, Leng nabbed his third bracelet in the $1,500 Eight-Game Mix, taking home $137,969. A week later he would finish runner-up in the $1,500 Monster Stack for another $377,220, and he later pocketed a career-best $589,628 for taking second in the $50,000 Poker Players Championship to Dan 'Jungleman' Cates. As a result, he finished seventh in the WSOP Player of the Year standings. In total, the 35-year-old has racked up nearly $3.3 million in career tournament earnings.  Highlights from this interview include seeing the country with his hockey team, battling Sidney Crosby and Phil Kessel, playing 'in between the sheets,' gambling with Petco gift cards, the ASU heads-up challenge, stud hi-lo with Doyle Brunson's partner's kid, Costa Rica to Mexico to Canada, main event heartbreak, GTO vs. exploitative play, Christopher Frank's motivating photo, being a 'bracelet hunter,' a birthday bracelet, overcoming 'the worst fold in poker history,' speed Rubik's Cube, singing the Beatles in Japan, and his goal of becoming a recreational whale.

Brian Hastings is only 33 years old but he has already been playing poker at the highest stakes for half of his life and has put together one of the best resumes in the game. The Pennsylvania native discovered poker from his high school math teacher, and by the end of his senior year, he had already amassed a bankroll of more than $250,000.  Hastings then enrolled at Cornell University, simultaneously earning his degree in economics while also helping to run a poker training site and continue his rise up the cash game ranks online. In December of 2009, he famously took on Viktor 'Isildur1' Blom in a record-breaking heads-up pot-limit Omaha match that saw him win $4.18 million.Black Friday forced him into the live arena for the first time, and he responded with his first bracelet win in the 2012 $10,000 Heads-Up Championship. He added two more titles in 2015, taking down the $1,500 Ten-Game Mix and the $10,000 Stud Championship. He was back in the winner's circle in 2018 for the $3,000 H.O.R.S.E. and just this fall, he earned his fifth career bracelet in the $10,000 Stud Hi-Lo Championship.  Hastings is one of just 29 players to have ever won five or more bracelets at the World Series of Poker. He also has a World Poker Tour final table finish under his belt, and he won a WSOP Circuit ring in 2019. The RunItOnce instructor now has more than $4.4 million in live tournament earnings.  Highlights from this interview include an inspirational teacher, big winner on campus, the Ivy League, how banking $4 million can spoil Disney World, sending his parents to Italy, earning his first bracelet, tackling mixed games, lucky baby socks, a $500,000 pot against Patrik Antonius, un-retiring, slinging pizza and waving signs, a Rounders limo to the casino, playing with Paul Pierce, and Ukrainian Christmas. 

Josh Arieh is best known for his deep run in the 2004 World Series of Poker main event, where he was featured on ESPN's broadcast en route to a third-place finish worth $2.5 million. But Arieh was not a product of the poker boom, having already won his first bracelet back in 1999.  The Atlanta, Georgia resident continued to travel the circuit for more than a decade, racking up numerous notable finishes. Along the way, he finished third in the World Poker Tour Borgata Poker Open, runner-up in the WPT Five Diamond World Poker Classic at Bellagio, and won his second WSOP bracelet.Arieh was an unlikely candidate to win the 2021 WSOP Player of the Year race given his casual playing schedule. In fact, he mostly retired from full-time play about a decade ago. But after winning his third bracelet in the $1,500 pot-limit Omaha event, he found himself squarely in the hunt.  The 47-year-old then went on to win his fourth bracelet in the $10,000 pot-limit Omaha eight-or-better event. Arieh cashed 12 times overall, with seven top-10 finishes, for a total of $1.17 million. As a result, he narrowly beat out both Phil Hellmuth and Daniel Negreanu for WSOP POY honors. He now has lifetime career earnings of $9.3 million.Although he still has a limited playing schedule, Arieh has stayed involved in the poker world with PocketFives, helping to launch the online poker site's brand-new staking platform.  Highlights from this interview include eighth-grade hustles, J-Crew jacket heartbreak, pool hall games, getting busted by the cops, Disney telemarketing, going broke after a bracelet, buying a car from Hank Aaron, reasonable markup, caddying for John Smoltz while looking like Angel Cabrera, winning six-figures from NBA player Antoine Walker, and a miserable day with Michael Jordan.

Garrett Adelstein is a high-stakes professional poker player best known for being a regular on live-streamed cash games. The Tucson, Arizona native and University of Arizona graduate has made a name for himself with superb play on shows such as Poker After Dark, Live At The Bike, and Hustler Casino Live.  The 35-year-old was seemingly born to be in front of a camera, having also been cast on the CBS reality show Survivor. Adelstein competed on the 28th season of the gameshow in the Philippines for Survivor: Cagayan back in 2013.  Highlights from this interview include birthday mysteries, being the valedictorian of his high school, party school life, the big brother program, getting casted at a bar for Survivor, body building on two cups of rice, running it three times with Rick Salomon, getting busted by Johnny Chan on ESPN, playing with armed guards in Chula Vista, a 72-hour session, taking elder abuse at work, a long flight home from a Houston Rockets playoff game, Marty Funkhouser, and sitting on the throne of a commoner. 

Toby Lewis got a very early start in poker, picking up the game as a teenager and learning ups and downs of gambling from his father. He was just 20 years old when he broke out on the live tournament circuit, winning the EPT Vilamoura main event for nearly $600,000. He continued to travel the circuit for the next several years with numerous close calls, including final tables at the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure, the WPT Merit Classic, and the L.A. Poker Classic, twice!In 2018 he found the winner's circle once again, taking down the Aussie Millions main event for $1.15 million. He returned to Australia a year later and won another combined $1.2 million after finishing second in the AUD$25,000 high roller and then winning the AUD$50,000 high roller the next day. The Southampton, England native now has nearly $8 million in career tournament earnings.  Highlights from this interview include pub poker, learning what not to do from dad, self-deal rooms, becoming an EPT champion at 20 years old, taking shots in Australia, 'volume coming out of your nose,' staking and bankroll management adventures, negotiating deals for others, going viral for quads over quads, getting berated by Tony G, retooling his game in Colombia, losing a WPT title to a criminal, a seven-figure return to live poker, bagging grocery and delivering newspapers, a 36-hour session in London, and finding popularity with the misfits. 

Mike Watson has been one of the more consistent tournament performers over his 15-year poker career, having racked up more than $12.5 million on the circuit. The St. Johns, Newfoundland native broke out in 2008, winning the WPT Bellagio Cup main event for nearly $1.7 million. In addition to numerous final tables on the high roller circuit, he also took down the 2016 EPT PokerStars Caribbean Adventure, giving him two parts of poker's elusive Triple Crown.  Watson does have two wins at the World Series of Poker. The first came in a 2011 WSOP Europe side event, and the second was a year later at the WSOP Europe when he banked $1.3 million in the high roller event. Unfortunately, neither of those WSOP events awarded bracelets.In the last couple of years, 'SirWatts' has rededicated himself to online poker, bringing his career totals to $10 million. As a result, he is now Canada's top-ranked online player according to PocketFives, and reached a peak of no. 3 in the world earlier this year.  Highlights from this interview include when wedding season collides with poker season, having professors for parents, being a 'math nerd,' the Waterloo-poker connection, life-changing money at Bellagio, re-evaluating his game, winning two WSOP events and getting no bracelets, a big score in the Bahamas, a high-stakes online run, six-figure cash game pots, winning with Sam Greenwood, working as an umpire, fooling Dan Heimiller as Martin Jacobson, and enjoying sushi pizza for breakfast.

Mark Herm is a longtime professional poker player from Philadelphia who found the game in high school and has spent the last 15 years piling up results. Known as 'Dipthrong,' he has racked up more than $5 million online and was among the highest ranked players in the world for a time. Most recently, Herm became the first player to ever win a bracelet in the inaugural WSOP Online series in Pennsylvania.  Herm has also done well in live tournaments despite a limited schedule with nearly $2 million banked. He won two DeepStack Extravaganza events at Venetian and has four WSOP final tables on his resume. Herm also final tabled a $25,000 buy-in high roller at Aria and the EPT Prague main event. Although many players have warned against staking others, Herm has been quite successful with backing and at one point had a stable of 60 players.Highlights from this episode include winning a 'dusty' bracelet, being a 'social mutant,' discovering poker in school, proving mom wrong, being a bankroll nit, finding sobriety, saying no to solvers, dealing with close calls, how to win money staking players, backing everybody, what is fair mark up, all the uses of 'chirp,' high-stakes crypto plays, washing dishes at a seafood restaurant, traveling in style, poker's elite, and paying for food convenience.

Fedor Holz is just 28 years old but has already put together one of the most impressive tournament résumés in poker history. The German phenom seemingly came out of nowhere in 2015 to tear up the high roller circuit, but he had already reached the highest levels online before making the transition to live play, and in fact was at one point ranked no. 1 in the world.In 2014, he banked $1.3 million in the World Championship of Online Poker (WCOOP) main event, and that was just the first of many seven-figure scores. He won the Five Diamond World Poker Classic high roller the next year, and followed it up with victories at WPT National Philippines, EPT Barcelona, and the World Series of Poker.His first bracelet win was particularly massive, taking down the $111,111 buy-in One Drop high roller for nearly $5 million. Two years later he finished runner-up to Justin Bonomo in the Big One For One Drop for another $6 million. He also finished second in the Triton Super High Roller Series, and the Super High Roller Bowl. Although he has taken a few extended breaks from the game in recent years, last year he returned to the online arena and did quite well, earning another $1.1 million and his second bracelet in the WSOP Online $25,000 buy-in heads-up event. Holz has racked up more than $34 million on the tournament circuit, which is good for no. 8 on poker's All-Time Money List. He's also added another $11 million online. Off the felt, Holz is also the founder and CEO of Pokercode, a training site and community dedicated to making players the best they can be. You can see Holz and his most promising students on the second season of Grindhouse. The series, available on Pokercode's YouTube page, follows the group's progress as they share strategies and a house in the Austrian Alps. Highlights from this interview include ice baths, gambling with dad's DMV money, early bankroll struggles, a rapid rise up the ranks, not thinking about the money, maximizing his EV, avoiding $25,000 nightclub bills, winning and losing seven-figure pots, getting 'slowrolled' in the Super High Roller Bowl, the $150,000 hotel room match, the four-hour job, playing exploitatively, and what's left on his travel bucket list.

Joe Stapleton got his start in the poker world at Card Player, working the WSOP while on hiatus from his job at Mad TV. The Albany, New York native then moved on to other projects, including writing and podcasting, and commentating work for a number of poker broadcasts and TV shows.  Over the years, Stapleton has become a jack-of-all-trades voice for PokerStars, hosting shows such as The Big Game and Shark Cage, reporting from online tournament series like the SCOOP and WCOOP, and working alongside James Hartigan for EPT Live broadcasts and the Poker In The Ears podcast. The 38-year-old was a sideline reporter for the WSOP for ESPN and PokerGO, and was also the host for Poker Night In America and Poker Night Live.In recent years, Stapleton has been touring as a stand up comedian, and even opened for fellow poker player and funnyman Norm Macdonald. He was also hired by legendary screenwriter Paul Schrader as a gambling and poker consultant for the upcoming movie The Card Counter. The film stars Oscar Isaac, Willem Dafoe, and Tiffany Haddish, and opens Sept. 10.  Highlights from this interview include styling it out, 'mistakes are my brand,' Smallbany and world expansion, Scott sacks up to L.A., stumbling into a Full Tilt meeting, tagging along for an internship, blowing off Jordan Peele, a strong nudge from Bobby Lee, debuting at the Comedy Store, scoring in London, mini golf with Norm Macdonald, accidentally criticizing Paul Schrader, spotting bing bong dealers, $2-$4 limit with Oscar Isaac in Biloxi, Jon Hamm - the dual threat, an awkward congratulations with Mike Watson, quitting the post office, Hollywood home games, the spray tan prop bet, and winning the lottery for a Dodge Challenger.

Lex Veldhuis was a gamer from an early age, and found poker shortly after the boom thanks to his friends in the StarCraft community. He quickly shot up the ranks, and it wasn't long before he was traveling the world, playing in some of the biggest buy-in tournaments and cash games available. He was even more prolific online, where he achieved SuperNova Elite status three years in a row. His play caught the attention of PokerStars, which signed him to a sponsorship deal as a brand ambassador. In addition to final tabling the $40,000 buy-in 40th Anniversary event at the World Series of Poker, Veldhuis also won the Dutch Poker Open in his home country of the Netherlands, and has appeared on poker TV shows such as The Big Game and Poker After Dark. In 2016, he began streaming his online play on Twitch, and it wasn't long before he had one of the most popular poker channels on the platform. In fact, last year he set the record for most viewers of a single broadcast.Highlights from this interview include dad wakeup times, sneaking in Nintendo time, 'leveling up' to higher stakes, sweating Patrik Antonius, the emotional investment of the game, getting some good TV time, becoming Dutch national champion, getting the call for High Stakes Poker, calling down Daniel Negreanu with king high, a series of escalating prop bets with Bertrand 'ElkY' Grospellier, kicking a friend in the head for €100,000, reinventing his career on Twitch, winning a $330,000 pot against Doyle Brunson, his football twin, and why the 'degen fund' is just a marketing expense.

Kristy Arnett Moreno and Andrew Moreno met in college and simultaneously fell in love with each other and the game of poker. Together they made the move from Fort Wayne, Indiana to Las Vegas with the dream of making it in the poker world.  Kristy landed a job in poker media, and almost immediately made an impact, interviewing some of the best players in the world both on camera and in print for Card Player and PokerNews. After starting his career focusing on cash games, Andrew has since transitioned to tournaments. He's had numerous close calls in the past, including a final table in the Monster Stack at the World Series of Poker, and a 28th-place finish in the $10,000 buy-in WSOP main event. However, he recently broke through with a victory in the inaugural Wynn Millions main event for a massive $1.46 million score.Highlights from this interview include poker first dates, winning a wife in a tournament, the Vegas ultimatum, two days on a greyhound bus, shady business partners and a broken nose, going broke, working in poker media, learning from close calls, Ricky Bobby, running deep in the WSOP main event, earning a seven-figure score, losing $5k to Mike Matusow, a quick disaster on Poker Night In America, Taco Bell and corn de-tasseling nightmares, baby run good, check-raising veterans at the Navy Club, Maverick, and flinging Tom Dwan off a jet ski.

Martin Jacobson found poker as a teenager, but his initial aspirations were focused on becoming a chef. After serving a year in the Royal Swedish Navy feeding the crew of a battleship, the Stockholm-native continued his culinary career while playing poker on the side. After turning a satellite win into a third-place finish at the 2008 EPT Budapest main event for $247,668, Jacobson was off and running.  Jacobson continued to tear up the European circuit, finishing second at WPT Venice for $319,518, second at EPT Vilamoura for $378,706, fourth at EPT Berlin for $327,337, and second at EPT Deauville for another $762,185. He even started finding consistent success in high roller events, final tabling the $111,111 buy-in One Drop High Roller twice.  Although he was frustrated with the close calls, it all came together in 2014 when he took down the WSOP main event for the championship bracelet and the $10 million first-place prize. His $17 million in career tournament earnings is enough to make the top 40 on the all-time money list, and he has three times his nearest competitor on Sweden's rankings.  Highlights from this interview include attending a culinary high school, choosing a 'practical' career, a long year in the Royal Swedish Navy, inspiring Kitchen Nightmares, getting kicked out of internet cafes, on deck battleship sessions, lasting just three hands in the main event, frustrating close calls, three-months of prep work pays off, why he hasn't watched his WSOP win, the motivation to play following a $10 million score, Stockholm to London, why he hasn't opened a restaurant, losing $70,000 in a Slovakia hotel lobby, James Bond vibes, ear plugs and eye masks, and losing heads-up to a Ratatouille villain.

Bernard Lee first learned the game from his father, and then later started playing more seriously while at Harvard University, but the Julliard-trained pianist spent years working as a marketing manager before he decided to make poker his focus and profession.  In 2005, Lee made his first trip to the World Series of Poker, and was featured in ESPN's coverage of the main event for his 13th-place finish, worth $400,000. In the years since, Lee has added another $2 million in cashes, including two WSOP Circuit rings, and three WSOP final tables in no-limit 2-7 lowball.The 51-year-old is also a poker author, having written for Card Player, the Boston Herald, Metrowest Daily News, and ESPN, where he was a host of the show The Inside Deal. His radio show and podcast, the Bernard Lee Poker Show, recently celebrated its 14th anniversary, and his latest book, Poker Satellite Success: Turn Affordable Buy-Ins Into Shots At Winning Millions, is now available on Amazon as well as D&B Publishing.Highlights from this episode include tickling the ivories, his time at Harvard, unexpected surgery skills, early trips to Foxwoods, the 22-year home game, the influence of Russell Rosenblum, an obsession with getting to the WSOP, partying for a $400,000 score, wearing many hats in poker media, working at ESPN alongside Usain Bolt, interviewing Doyle Brunson and Jack Binion, losing a four-hour heads-up match for a bracelet, writing a poker book, Eminem's Lose Yourself, clean money, and dealing with empty nest syndrome.

Patrik Antonius started playing online poker in 1999, and was almost immediately competing at the highest-stakes available. The Finnish pro then broke out on the tournament circuit in 2005, winning an EPT main event and finishing second in the WPT Five Diamond World Poker Classic for $1.04 million. Although he has always preferred cash games to tournaments, the former tennis standout and model has still managed to rack up $12 million in live tournament earnings during his career, including the $3.1 million he banked for finishing runner-up at the 2018 Super High Roller Bowl China.  Antonius is perhaps best known for his success in nosebleed-stakes cash games, and holds a number of records. In 2009, he won the biggest recorded pot in online poker history, scooping $1.376 million in a hand of pot-limit Omaha against Viktor 'Isildur1' Blom. In fact, Antonius was involved in four of the top 10 hands ever, and also has the record on the TV shows Poker After Dark and High Stakes Poker. At the end of 2020, the 40-year-old was nominated for the Poker Hall of Fame.In an effort to help grow the game that gave him so much, Antonius has co-founded FLOP (First Land of Poker), an app that connects the poker community all over the world and allows them to find games and other players. The all-in-one platform features chat, learning tools, and even a session tracker. Download the app for free today on either the Android Google Play store or Apple iOS.  Highlights from this interview include growing up in Finland, moving from tennis to poker, winning a tournament on his first trip to the casino, building a bankroll with relentless aggression, magazine sales to modeling, military or jail, playing in the biggest games, record-breaking pots, cash games over tournaments, what makes someone worthy of the Poker Hall of Fame, being an ambassador for the game, six-figure sports bets, high-stakes golf with Phil Ivey, being 'the Brad Pitt of Poker,' and steak cravings.

Ali Imsirovic is just 26 years old, but has already established himself as a dominant force on the high roller circuit. The Bosnia-born, Washington-raised poker pro broke out in 2018 when he captured the purple jacket at the Poker Masters, and in the time since has gone on to rack up numerous final tables and wins totaling almost $11 million in cashes.  Last August, Imsirovic broke the record for the largest no-limit hold'em cash game pot in online poker history, winning a hand against Tan Xuan worth $974,631. He has also been one of the more active players since live tournaments resumed, cashing in eight of the 14 high rollers held at Aria so far in 2021, and winning four. As a result, he is now one of the front-runners for the Card Player Player of the Year title.Highlights from this interview include fleeing the war in Bosnia, how a basketball injury led to poker, skipping grades and going to college at 16, using his guitar money for a tournament buy-in, trading in a date for a win at the casino, getting robbed, ice cream inspiration from Bryn Kenney, getting humbled in his first round of high rollers, winning the purple jacket at the Poker Masters, six-figure bubbles, being able to pull the trigger, bad beat for the bracelet, winning a million dollar pot, never having a job, and Eminem's Stan.

Lee Markholt has been a professional poker player for the last three decades, competing in some of the biggest cash games around while racking up $4.4 million in live tournament earnings along the way. The Washington native had aspirations to continue the family business of bull riding, but a long string of injuries ultimately derailed his career. Fortunately for Markholt, he found his father's poker books and was a quick study.  Markholt cut his teeth in Washington limit games before switching his focus to pot-limit hold'em in the years before the poker boom. In 2005 he won the PPT main event at Bellagio, taking home $220,000 which bankrolled him for high-stakes cash games. He ultimately found himself playing in games as big as $200-$400 no-limit, while continuing travel the tournament circuit. In 2008, he won a WPT title at the World Poker Challenge in Reno for $493,815, and for many years held the record for most cashes on the World Poker Tour. In 2013, he narrowly missed out on a World Series of Poker bracelet, finishing runner-up in the $5,000 six-max no-limit hold'em event for $374,960.Highlights from this episode include his first summer off in 30 years, farm life, the luck and variance of bull riding, broken ribs and punctured lungs, chasing an adrenaline rush, borrowing his dad's poker books, Daniel Negreanu's styrofoam cup habit, getting backed by Erik Seidel and John Juanda, the unlikely win that kickstarted his career, winning a WPT title, the hole in his resume, waiting a whole day to play $200-$400 in Bobby's Room, losing a $570k pot to Rick Salomon, a timely swap with Ben Lamb, chicken slaughter, the 24-hour swimming pool prop bet, Haralabos battles, duck head antennas, and the missing social aspect of poker.

Benny Glaser didn't earn his first cash at the World Series of Poker until 2015, but the Southampton, England pro has been able to accomplish a lot in his limited time on the felt. The 31-year-old part-time musician has won three WSOP bracelets during his short career, which is enough to make him the UK's most decorated player at the annual summer series.Glaser's first title came in 2015 in the $1,500 2-7 Triple Draw event, where he earned $136,215. A year later, he went back to back in Omaha eight-or-better events, taking down the $1,500 buy-in for $244,103, and the $10,000 Championship buy-in for $407,194. In the years since, he's also made final tables at the €25,000 WSOP Europe Mixed Games Championship and the $50,000 WSOP Poker Players Championship, and finished runner-up in the $10,000 Stud eight-or-better Championship. The mixed-games specialist has also been very successful online, winning five SCOOP (Spring Championship of Online Poker) and three WCOOP (World Championship of Online Poker) titles on PokerStars.Highlights from this interview include his first love of music, embarrassing band names, being introduced to poker by his father, the gradual process of turning pro, bricking his first summer in Las Vegas, why he excels at Omaha eight-or-better, being England's top winner at WSOP, close calls, trying to find mixed-game action, $1,000-$2,000 in Bobby's Room, his short-lived career as a paper boy, how poker ruined speed dating, and learning new poker variations like badugaha.