Poker Stories

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 ca

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

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 champion

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.Hi

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

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, grind

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 find

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, h

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 Deeps

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 brok

"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, bei

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

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 Olymp

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

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,

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

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 s

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 thron

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. After winning two online _WSOP Circuit_ titles this year, Lewis returned to live poker and chopped the _Wynn Poker Classic_ in July for $1.235 million. The Southampton, England native now has nearly $8 million in career tournament earnings.  Highlight

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 int