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NuevoHis Dad Gave Him One Summer to Make Poker Pay | Paul Gunness9 de noviembre de 2026 · 1 h 14 min

Episodios: 153
Se publica: cada semana
Último episodio: 9 Nov 2026

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What is The Table 1 Podcast... A podcast where we talk poker, gambling, and all manner of life experiences on and off the felt. Sometimes we have famous guests on who do it with us. Join us for a laugh or three!

Episodios 153

His Dad Gave Him One Summer to Make Poker Pay | Paul Gunness
9 de noviembre de 20261 h 14 min
Come play with us in Las Vegas at Table 1!https://table1.vegas/pod—Paul Gunness once held $650,000 in two bags of cash.Later, he was texting friends for $500 to eat.He’d already learned how fast a bankroll can …
Notas del episodio
Come play with us in Las Vegas at Table 1!
https://table1.vegas/pod
—
Paul Gunness once held $650,000 in two bags of cash.
Later, he was texting friends for $500 to eat.
He’d already learned how fast a bankroll can disappear. A $600 tournament at the Venetian turned into a $70,000 win. Paul quit his job, jumped into $10/$20 cash at the Wynn, and was broke three months later.
Back to work. Back to trying to scrape together a bankroll.
Then his dad offered him a deal: quit the job and play one full summer of WSOP tournaments on his money. If Paul didn’t finish in profit, he’d go to law school.
For the first three weeks, he couldn’t cash a tournament.
Then came the $1,500 Millionaire Maker.
More than 10,000 entries. Third place. About $665,000.
Alex Foxen was feeding him advice on breaks. Paul was celebrating with his rail. And he shared a moment with his dad that he says he’ll tell his kids about someday.
The bankroll was back. Keeping it was another story.
High-stakes cash exposed the holes in his game. Eventually, Paul logged 18 straight losing months. He went broke, stepped away, and leaned on friends when he couldn’t cover the basics.
Nick Howard kept backing him and wouldn’t let him quit.
In this episode of The Table 1 Podcast, Paul “Win It All Paul” Gunness joins Art Parmann and Justin Young to talk through the full ride:
♠️ Chasing a golf career, earning a college scholarship and finally escaping the pressure to make every shot matter
♥️ His dad’s old Vegas stories, selling shoes out of a car at the racetrack, and the mom Paul calls a saint
♦️ Alex Foxen’s final-table advice—and why the Millionaire Maker’s unusual payouts changed the ace-three decision
♣️ Jumping from tournaments into high-stakes cash, calling too many rivers and finding close friends at Table 1
We also get into:
- The college girlfriend who asked him to choose her or poker
- Golf with Justin Young and Sean Winter, and getting lunch invites from Jungleman
- The PG Boys rap days and Paul’s plans to put his poker life on camera
A game in Vegas with a visiting Louisiana crew helped him rebuild. Now he’s pouring himself into Risk It All TV, with a plan to show the swings, the friendships and the days his friends with normal jobs can barely believe.
Eventually, he wants other creators to have a place on the channel, too.
This is a story about needing help long after everyone saw you win.
👇 Drop a comment:
After 18 losing months, what would make you keep playing—and what would make you walk away?
—
Show Notes
00:00 — Intro + Paul’s Golf Years
09:59 — A Gambler’s Son + Old Vegas
15:42 — His Dad’s Comeback + His Mom’s Strength
23:17 — College Poker + Early Scores
29:45 — Moving to Vegas + Working a Day Job
33:38 — Justin Young + Finding the Right People
41:42 — $70K Gone + the Law School Deal
44:00 — The Millionaire Maker Run + Alex Foxen’s Advice
49:40 — Two Bags of Cash + the Final-Hand Debate
53:49 — Taking a Shot at High-Stakes Cash
57:26 — Nick Howard + 18 Losing Months
1:04:16 — Rebuilding the Bankroll
1:06:41 — Win It All Paul + Risk It All TV
—
Paul Gunness’s Links:
Instagram:
https://instagram.com/winitallpaul
—
T1 Links
Play with us in Vegas:
https://table1.vegas/pod
Card Player Magazine:
https://table1.vegas/cardplayer
Follow us:
X - https://x.com/table1vegas
IG - https://instagram.com/table1vegas
How a $100 Beer Pong Game Became a $40,000 Debt | Alex Livingston's Insane Poker Journey
2 de noviembre de 20261 h 24 min
Alex Livingston takes full credit for “Old Man Coffee.”The newspaper. The cup of coffee. The guy waiting all morning for a hand.Alex’s own gambling habits were a little less restrained.A $100 beer-pong game …
Notas del episodio
Alex Livingston takes full credit for “Old Man Coffee.”
The newspaper. The cup of coffee. The guy waiting all morning for a hand.
Alex’s own gambling habits were a little less restrained.
A $100 beer-pong game turned into a $40,000 debt. His entire poker bankroll was about $17,000. He negotiated it down to $20,000 and paid it off over time.
Still an expensive evening with some plastic cups.
Alex joins Art Parmann and Justin Young to take us from a Canadian chess kid to the WSOP Main Event final table—with a few detours.
A New York trading firm offered him a job with three conditions: finish college, get better grades, and quit poker.
He did none of them.
Then he slept through his flight home from Amsterdam, stayed for three months, and never went back to finish his degree.
By the 2019 Main Event, he’d already made one deep run, rebuilt his bankroll more than once, and climbed out of $125,000 in staking makeup. With 35 players left, he had nine big blinds.
He finished third for $4 million.
One friend had a free 1% piece as a wedding gift. That turned into $40,000.
A considerably better use of forty grand.
We get into the queens fold he’d still make today and the blackjack tables between him and the parking garage. There’s also a $400K upswing, a house purchase, a $600K downswing, and a house sale.
Now there’s PokerGO commentary, teaching mixed games, an upcoming wedding, and trying to play “small” on the golf course with Daniel Negreanu.
Definitions vary.
👇 What poker player type needs its own nickname? Give us your best one in the comments.
SHOW NOTES
00:00 Meet Alex Livingston and “Old Man Coffee”
04:28 Growing Up in Nova Scotia
09:09 Chess, Competition, and a Provincial Grudge
13:48 Almost Expelled for Playing Poker
16:31 Tufts, Online Poker, and Bootleg Lacoste
22:24 Dropping Out and Learning to Win
26:50 A Day-Trading Job with Three Conditions
30:02 Missing a Flight and Staying in Amsterdam
34:23 The $40,000 Beer Pong Debt
39:42 Giving Poker Winnings Back at Blackjack
43:01 Cash Games, Online Poker, and Black Friday
47:28 Finishing 13th in the 2013 Main Event
53:04 Backing and $125,000 in Makeup
58:57 Nine Big Blinds and 35 Players Left
1:01:00 The Queens Fold He’d Make Again
1:04:28 Dario’s All-In Tell and a $4 Million Finish
1:06:23 The $40,000 Wedding Gift
1:09:20 Life After the Main Event and the Pandemic
1:11:50 A House, a $600K Downswing, and Another Big Score
1:14:39 PokerGO Commentary and Missing the Action
1:18:47 Teaching Mixed Games
1:20:25 Getting Married and What Comes Next
1:21:43 Golf Bets with Daniel Negreanu
ALEX’S LINKS
X: https://x.com/rumnchess
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rumnchess/
Alex’s mixed-games course:
https://pokercoaching.com/rumnchess/
Mixed Minds with Alex Livingston and Chris Vitch:
https://www.mixedmindspoker.com
TABLE 1 LINKS
Play with us in Vegas:
https://table1.vegas
Enter the Mako bag giveaway:
Tell us why you need one. The funnier the better.
https://table1.vegas/mako
Phenom Poker — use code TABLE1:
https://play.phenompoker.com/register?r=Table1
Justin’s live cash game course:
https://pokercoaching.com/table1
Mako travel bags — code TABLE1 gets you 10% off:
https://safetravelsbag.com
Follow Table 1:
X: https://x.com/table1vegas
Instagram: https://instagram.com/table1vegas
#AlexLivingston #Poker #Table1Podcast
This Billionaire Lost Over $50 Million to Poker's Best | Jen Harman Tells All!
26 de octubre de 20262 h 6 min
Jen Harman woke up from a kidney transplant. Her husband told her Andy Beal was back in town.“Are we in?”Ten days earlier, she’d been playing the billionaire while in kidney failure. She says she won and lost …
Notas del episodio
Jen Harman woke up from a kidney transplant. Her husband told her Andy Beal was back in town.
“Are we in?”
Ten days earlier, she’d been playing the billionaire while in kidney failure. She says she won and lost $6 million in 20 minutes. Now she was recovering in a hospital bed—with a piece of the next game.
Jen joins Art Parmann and Justin Young to take us inside the Corporation: the group of poker legends who pooled their money to play Andy Beal. The stakes kept climbing. The bankroll ran out. Doyle Brunson made a phone call, and $2 million showed up at Bellagio.
And somehow, that’s only part of her story.
Before the biggest games in Vegas, there was a fake ID in Reno, cocktail waitressing, and acting classes in LA. Then she left poker for love, bought a coal truck, and ended up so broke she couldn’t replace a windshield.
Going back to poker worked out considerably better.
We get into beating Sam Grizzle twice, her long friendship with Daniel Negreanu, and winning a WSOP bracelet the first time she played no-limit 2–7. There’s also the Chip Reese prank that sent her flying home from Italy, the rise and collapse of Full Tilt, and what changed when she became a mom.
Now she’s writing a memoir—and figuring out how much of a life spent keeping a strong front she’s ready to put on the page.
👇 Jen needs a title for her book. What would you call it? Put your best suggestion in the comments.
SHOW NOTES
00:00 “Are We In?”
00:28 Meet Jen Harman
01:32 Growing Up Competitive in Reno
15:41 Losing Her Mom and Facing Kidney Failure
23:23 A Fake ID and Poker as an Escape
33:26 Moving to LA, Acting Classes, and the Bicycle Club
42:10 Beating Sam Grizzle Twice
48:23 Love, a Coal Truck, and Starting Over in Vegas
57:20 Meeting Daniel Negreanu
1:05:00 Tournament Lessons and Her First WSOP Bracelet
1:15:10 Andy Beal and the Corporation
1:20:24 “We’re Broke”—Doyle Makes a Phone Call
1:29:34 A Kidney Transplant and a Piece of the Game
1:34:38 Chip Reese’s Prank and a $130,000 Win
1:36:02 Full Tilt: The Boom and the Collapse
1:43:32 Family, Her Twin Boys, and Life Away From the Table
1:48:40 The Poker Hall of Fame
1:52:00 Homeschooling During COVID
1:56:33 Tournament Comebacks and What She Plays Now
2:00:29 Writing the Memoir
JEN’S LINKS
X: https://x.com/RealJenHarman
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/realjenharman
TABLE 1 LINKS
Play with us in Vegas:
https://table1.vegas
Phenom Poker:
https://play.phenompoker.com/register?r=Table1
Justin’s live cash game course:
https://pokercoaching.com/table1
Mako travel bags:
https://safetravelsbag.com
Follow Table 1:
X: https://x.com/table1vegas
Instagram: https://instagram.com/table1vegas
#JenHarman #Poker #Table1Podcast
He Made Millions In Poker...Then He Walked Away. Limon Poker Tells All!
19 de octubre de 20261 h 45 min
Limon's boss caught him playing online poker at work.He told him to choose: the job or the cards.Then Limon showed him how much he'd been winning.The boss changed his mind. Now Limon could play in his office—as …
Notas del episodio
Limon's boss caught him playing online poker at work.
He told him to choose: the job or the cards.
Then Limon showed him how much he'd been winning.
The boss changed his mind. Now Limon could play in his office—as long as he taught him how.
Unfortunately, the boss turned out to be a world-class tilt monkey. The keyboards didn't stand a chance.
Abe “Limon” joins Art Parmann and Justin Young for the story of a kid from Oregon who hustled baseball cards at Monopoly, discovered card counting through Mensa, and eventually decided he wanted a cut of the poker business—not just the pots.
He was making the calls. Filling the seats. Buying the drinks. Getting PLO games off the ground.
The casino was collecting the rake.
So he asked for half. They offered 40%. He says he would've happily taken 20%.
That deal leads us into the business behind the games: hosting, casino politics, ownership at Live at the Bike, and why getting pushed out didn't mean the checks stopped coming.
And after all of it, Limon says he made millions, kept the money, and walked away when the job stopped being fun.
His explanation: “I'm too rich for this.”
In this episode:
♠️ Becoming the house: Limon explains the table-stakes catch with an example of a $50,000 royal flush and a banker with only $10,000 in front of him.
♥️ The 40% rake deal—and what happened when the casino owner noticed how much the PLO host was getting paid.
♦️ Limon's side of the Live at the Bike split: Ryan Feldman, Doug Polk, a change in the business model, and getting paid for another year before the buyout.
♣️ The Main Event bet that lets you pick 100 top players—and why Limon says he's never lost it.
We also get into:
- Talking his way into university without submitting an application first.
- A 100% rakeback account at Ultimate Bet, being cheated, and the refund he says never came.
- Why he blames bigger stakes and nonstop bomb pots for driving his regulars away.
- His WPT call-in show, where the people he talks about can call to argue back.
- Why he misses the old gambling scene—and thinks modern poker feels like a cubicle job.
👇 Drop a comment:
Has poker gotten better—or have we just gotten better at making it boring?
Follow the show for more stories from the people who've lived it. Preferably before Limon gets us banned.
Show Notes
00:27 — Meet Limon + “Country Club Ready”
02:50 — Where the Name Limon Came From
06:12 — Oregon Roots + Hustling Baseball Cards
11:27 — Talking His Way Into University
15:29 — Mensa, Card Counting + Getting Paid to Solve Puzzles
17:05 — Being Cheap Without Being Miserable
20:47 — Bookmaking, Credit + Keeping Customers in Action
26:46 — Getting Paid When Gamblers Owe You Money
30:01 — Card Counting Bans + A Career in Finance
33:50 — Becoming the House + The Royal Flush Catch
41:46 — Playing Poker at Work + Teaching the Boss
46:02 — Ultimate Bet, 100% Rakeback + The Missing Refund
49:08 — Getting Crushed in PLO + Wanting a Cut of the Rake
53:12 — Negotiating the 40% Rake Deal
59:27 — Live at the Bike + Hosts Losing in Their Own Games
1:05:34 — Early Poker Streams + The Money Behind the Table
1:10:58 — Bart, Ownership + Building Live at the Bike
1:13:24 — Ryan Feldman, Doug Polk + The Buyout
1:19:51 — Moving to Commerce + Protecting the Game
1:26:09 — Bigger Stakes, Bomb Pots + Losing the Regulars
1:32:08 — “I'm Too Rich for This” + Walking Away
1:33:09 — The WPT Call-In Show
1:34:51 — The 100-Player Main Event Bet
1:39:52 — Golf Hustles + What Happened to Gambling?
T1 Links
What is Table 1?
Find out here 👇
https://table1.vegas
Follow us:
X — https://x.com/table1vegas
IG — https://instagram.com/table1vegas
#Limon #Poker #Table1Podcast
He Got So Good at Poker They Thought He Was a Bot | Prodigy Tells All!
12 de octubre de 20261 h 29 min
Owen Messere quit university twice.His parents were happier the second time.The first time, he was studying maths at a campus he hadn't realized he'd signed up for. He discovered the mistake while booking his …
Notas del episodio
Owen Messere quit university twice.
His parents were happier the second time.
The first time, he was studying maths at a campus he hadn't realized he'd signed up for. He discovered the mistake while booking his train.
Seven and a half hours from London. Surprise.
An acid trip, a long conversation with a mate, and a decision: he was going home.
He tried again. Philosophy at Warwick. Better friends. A degree he actually enjoyed.
Then he won a £10 poker tournament.
Soon, Owen was spending around 70 hours a week playing and studying. Christmas revision became hours poring over poker simulations. His parents had never seen him work that hard at anything.
Leaving university again suddenly made more sense to them than staying.
This was the same kid who learned chess at three, played for England's junior team by eleven, and retired at fourteen. Now he'd found a game he couldn't leave alone.
He filled notebooks with bluffs. Rented a server to run simulations. Spent months chasing answers to hands that didn't make sense.
Then he studied heads-up so hard that, when he started taking on the regulars, some reported him for using real-time assistance.
His explanation: he'd studied. He thought it was fun.
In this episode of The Table 1 Podcast, Owen “Pr0digy” Messere joins Art Parmann and Justin Young to talk through the full ride:
♠️ BTC Demon wins about $1.3 million off him at $1,000/$2,000 heads-up — while Owen scrambles to sell action.
♥️ A roughly $150K tournament win funds bigger cash-game shots. More than half his bankroll disappears before he gets help.
♦️ The Doug Polk challenge: nearly $200K up on day one, almost all of it gone on day two, and a nine-high call he thought was a flush.
♣️ Around $600K in profit at the Cash Game World Championships — followed by another championship run that comes down to a river decision with minutes left.
We also get into:
- Turning chess into a drinking game without trusting your teammate.
- Why studying solvers made poker stranger and more interesting.
- Learning that high-stakes regulars aren't all unbeatable.
- Why Owen thinks the winning hand should always be shown.
- A $50K Rolex and some very concerned players in Barcelona.
- Going from student to partner at Guerrilla Poker, and why getting better can mean getting less action.
It's a story about finding the work you want to do even when nobody's making you do it.
👇 Drop a comment:
Would you have backed Owen's decision to quit university for poker — or told him to finish the degree?
Show Notes
00:29 — Intro + The $1.3M BTC Demon Session
07:37 — London Roots + England's Junior Chess Team
20:23 — Rugby, ADHD + The Wrong University Campus
27:12 — Dropping Out + Finding a Different Path
30:56 — The First Poker Win
35:54 — Early Wins + The Reality Check
40:09 — Getting Obsessed with Solvers
49:19 — Going Pro + His Parents' Support
53:55 — Heads-Up, a $150K Score + Moving Up
59:59 — Guerrilla Poker + Learning to Exploit
1:04:24 — Reported as a Bot + Taking Over the Lobbies
1:08:11 — The Doug Polk Challenge
1:15:20 — The Cash Game Championships
1:19:11 — A $600K Win + A Last-Minute Near Miss
1:23:10 — Why Tournaments Drive Him Crazy
1:26:53 — Coaching, Streaming + What's Next
Owen's Links:
X:
https://x.com/OwenMessere
Twitch:
https://twitch.tv/pr0diiigy
Guerrilla Poker:
https://guerrilla-poker.com/
T1 Links
What is Table 1?
Find out here 👇
https://table1.vegas
Follow us:
X - https://x.com/table1vegas
IG - https://instagram.com/table1vegas
Poker Took Him From a Dog Track to J.Lo’s House & Getting FaceTime Calls From Kevin Hart!
5 de octubre de 20261 h 45 min
Sean McCormack started dealing poker at a dog track. Somehow, he ended up dancing with J.Lo at her house.We may have picked the wrong side of the table.This week, “The Poker Boss” joins Art and Justin for the …
Notas del episodio
Sean McCormack started dealing poker at a dog track. Somehow, he ended up dancing with J.Lo at her house.
We may have picked the wrong side of the table.
This week, “The Poker Boss” joins Art and Justin for the story of a guy who wanted to play poker for a living—and found a different way to make it in Vegas.
He leaves Florida with about $1,000 and two suitcases. His first table dealing at Bellagio? Bobby’s Room. $4,000/$8,000. Doyle Brunson. Chip Reese. Pretty much everybody whose picture is on the wall.
No pressure, kid.
Doyle has to put a hand on his arm and tell him to slow down. Years later, Bobby Baldwin is asking him to run ARIA’s poker room.
We get into how that happened, why the reserved-game arguments got so ugly, and what Alan Keating understood about people that a lot of poker pros missed. There’s also a Devilfish story involving a suspicious “$10,000” cash bundle, a car coming through the casino lobby, and Kevin Hart taking over a call to Sean’s wife.
And before we let him go, we get into hidden cameras, game integrity, and why Sean says the way dealers pitch cards needs to change.
Turns out, the guy dealing the cards sometimes leaves with the best stories.
Tell us in the comments: What’s the most ridiculous place poker has taken you?
Like the episode? Follow Table 1 on Spotify. We’ve got more people with questionable career plans and excellent stories coming your way.
SHOW NOTES
0:00 Intro
0:34 Meet The Poker Boss
1:32 Growing Up in Massachusetts
13:34 Computers, Basketball & the Move to Florida
18:33 Catching the Poker Bug
23:26 Casino Boats & the Dog-Track Audition
28:37 Taking the Show on the Road: The WPT
33:19 A Car Comes Through the Casino Lobby
38:40 Devilfish’s “$10,000” Surprise
41:32 $1,000, Two Suitcases & a Midnight Departure
47:41 First Table at Bellagio: Bobby’s Room
50:24 From Dealer to the Rules Guy
57:50 The Call From Bobby Baldwin
59:53 Reserved Games & the Backlash
1:09:07 What Alan Keating Figured Out
1:13:23 Behind the PokerGO Deal
1:17:37 Kevin Hart Hijacks a Phone Call
1:20:50 Poker at Ben & J.Lo’s House
1:27:32 Hidden Cameras & Changing the Deal
1:33:27 Bellagio’s Slide-Pitch Plan
1:38:08 Shufflers, Home Games & Game Integrity
1:42:36 Where to Find The Poker Boss
PLAY WITH US IN VEGAS
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SEAN’S LINKS
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TABLE 1 LINKS
Table 1 on X
Table 1 on Instagram
#Table1Podcast #Poker #DoyleBrunson
From 30 Days Behind Bars To Poker MONSTER | Mike Holtz Tells ALL
28 de septiembre de 20261 h 20 min
Mike Holtz thought “Napster” was just a guy in his World of Warcraft group.It was the guy who created Napster.They’d been playing together for years. Mike had no idea.At 17, he was traveling to gaming …
Notas del episodio
Mike Holtz thought “Napster” was just a guy in his World of Warcraft group.
It was the guy who created Napster.
They’d been playing together for years. Mike had no idea.
At 17, he was traveling to gaming tournaments with him—with his mom’s permission. Poker was something they played between dungeon raids.
Then the gaming circuit lost its funding.
What followed wasn’t exactly a straight line to the WSOP.
Selling weed. Thirty days in jail. A hotel front-desk job. Then an invitation to a $300 home game with the wealthiest business owners in town.
His boss warned him: these guys were sharks.
Mike won about $1,100.
They invited him back.
He says he won every Tuesday for a year. The poker money was beating the paycheck, and his biggest worry was that they’d stop inviting him.
Vegas proved a little less cooperative.
There were cash-game struggles, a marriage breakdown, and a return to World of Warcraft during COVID. One of his Twitch regulars turned out to be David Williams. Somehow, gaming kept bringing him back to poker.
By 2021, he was chasing WSOP.com Player of the Year.
The guy who used to sleep beside his computer to grind Warcraft rankings had found another leaderboard.
In this episode of The Table 1 Podcast, two-time WSOP bracelet winner and PokerNews Podcast co-host Mike Holtz joins Art Parmann and Justin Young for the stories behind the results:
- ♠️ The family secret that led to a private investigator—and a brother living 30 minutes away
- ♥️ Thirty days in jail, where he already knew half the people inside
- ♦️ Talking the final table into an $11,650-per-person chop with seven big blinds… then busting two hands later
- ♣️ The fake tournament-package story he told his boss to get to Vegas
- ♠️ Turning the online tournament grind into two WSOP.com Player of the Year titles
- ♥️ Why he says his online bracelet was harder to win than his live one
- ♦️ A WSOP rail chant he had to shut down before heads-up
- ♣️ Joining PokerNews, interviewing Maurice Hawkins, and the bracelet-ceremony “apology”
About that apology.
Mike got onstage and said he wanted to apologize to Maurice Hawkins.
“For absolutely nothing.”
Then dropped the mic.
We also get into the two-monitor kitchen-table setup, taking naps with 12 players left, and the coaching videos he keeps winning too much—and procrastinating too hard—to finish.
Probably not the preparation routine you’ll find in a poker textbook.
👇 Drop a comment:
What’s the strangest thing that led you to poker?
Mike’s Links
X: https://x.com/MikeHoltzPoker
IG: https://instagram.com/MikeHoltzPoker
T1 Links
Play with us at Phenom Poker:
https://play.phenompoker.com/register?r=Table1
Play with us at Table 1:
https://table1.vegas
Justin’s Poker Coaching Series:
Learn to Crush Live Poker — https://pokercoaching.com/table1
Follow T1:
X — https://x.com/table1vegas
IG — https://instagram.com/table1vegas
Phil Hellmuth Wanted Bracelet #18. Darren Rabinowitz Said No.
21 de septiembre de 20261 h 24 min
Phil Hellmuth wanted bracelet No. 18.Darren Rabinowitz wanted him to call it off on the turn.He was dying to say, “If you call, it’s all over, baby.” Instead, he kept his mouth shut and let Phil make the …
Notas del episodio
Phil Hellmuth wanted bracelet No. 18.
Darren Rabinowitz wanted him to call it off on the turn.
He was dying to say, “If you call, it’s all over, baby.” Instead, he kept his mouth shut and let Phil make the decision.
Darren got the bracelet.
Not bad for a guy whose plan was to spend one month in Vegas, then move back in with his parents and find a job.
That was in 2012.
His girlfriend had dumped him. She lived in the apartment next door. She already had a new boyfriend. And his job at Bank of America wasn’t giving him much reason to stick around.
So he quit, found a free room in a UNLV fraternity house, and started grinding single-table satellites.
The move back to Seattle never happened.
Eventually, he upgraded to a $600-a-month apartment with scorpions and cockroaches. Found friends who were better at poker. Got backed. Made the Aussie Millions final table. Spent years figuring out how to keep doing this for a living.
Then came the summer he knocked Daniel Negreanu out of the Main Event and beat Hellmuth heads-up for his second WSOP bracelet.
In this episode of The Table 1 Podcast, Darren joins Art Parmann and Justin Young to talk through the whole ride:
♠️ Three teenage grinders, two computer chairs, and a race to avoid the milk crate
♥️ Flunking freshman year, fraternity poker, and leaving the bank job
♦️ How a Lock Poker satellite introduced him to the backer who changed his career
♣️ The Aussie Millions final table where he was too intimidated to ask for a chop
♠️ Backing deals, makeup, and what better poker friends actually teach you
♥️ The WSOP.com grind, “Avocado Toast,” and his very active block button
♦️ Winning at Planet Hollywood while his empty seat cashed at Wynn
♣️ Saving Justin from blinding out of a tournament he forgot to show up for
♠️ The cameras, the rail, and the heads-up battle to deny Hellmuth No. 18
And after what he calls the coolest moment of his poker life?
He showed up for a $1,600 tournament the next day.
“I play poker. Like, that’s what I do.”
👇 Drop a comment:
Who would you most want to beat heads-up for a WSOP bracelet?
Show Notes
00:00 — Intro + Darren Rabinowitz
02:46 — Seattle Roots & Family
08:34 — Finding Online Poker
14:18 — College, Banking & Leaving Arizona
21:43 — First Vegas Summer & Early Bankroll
31:13 — Poker Friends & Aussie Millions
39:19 — Backing Deals & Life on the Circuit
44:36 — The Online Grind & COVID
54:37 — Golf & Returning to Live Poker
59:23 — Two Tournaments, Two Casinos
1:07:49 — The WSOP Summer & The Last $5K
1:13:23 — Final-Table Pressure
1:17:10 — Heads-Up Against Phil Hellmuth
1:19:35 — Winning the Bracelet & What’s Next
Darren’s Links
X: https://x.com/DarrenRabbi
IG: https://instagram.com/DarrenRabbi
T1 Links
Play with us at Phenom Poker (200% deposit bonus!):
https://play.phenompoker.com/register?r=Table1
Play with us at Table 1:
https://table1.vegas
Justin’s Poker Coaching Series:
Learn to Crush Live Poker — https://pokercoaching.com/table1
Follow T1:
X — https://x.com/table1vegas
IG — https://instagram.com/table1vegas
One Sunday Tournament Made Wall Street Look Stupid. Noah Schwartz Tells All!
14 de septiembre de 20261 h 20 min
What is Table 1 Vegas? Learn more here:https://table1.vegasNoah Schwartz had a $125K Wall Street job offer waiting.Then one Sunday changed the math.He wired $1,000 through Western Union, sat down in a …
Notas del episodio
What is Table 1 Vegas? Learn more here:
https://table1.vegas
Noah Schwartz had a $125K Wall Street job offer waiting.
Then one Sunday changed the math.
He wired $1,000 through Western Union, sat down in a PokerStars $1K, and about 12 hours later had $580,000.
So yeah.
Morgan Stanley got told to kick rocks.
But Noah’s story starts way before the score.
Miami Beach.
Baseball.
A lefty arm that was supposed to be his future.
His dad getting sick.
An elbow injury.
An air mattress on a childhood friend’s floor.
A security guard job where another guard would clock him in while Noah hid in the back room and played online poker.
Then poker opened every door.
And also kicked him through a few walls.
In this episode of The Table 1 Podcast, Noah Schwartz joins Art Parmann and Justin Young to talk through the full ride:
- ♠️ Growing up in Miami and thinking baseball was the plan
- ♥️ Losing his dad young and having to grow up fast
- ♦️ Tearing up his elbow and finding poker at the exact wrong/right time
- ♣️ Playing Madden and Monopoly for real money
- ♠️ Paying a security guard to clock him in while he played online
- ♥️ Wiring $1K to PokerStars with only a few grand to his name
- ♦️ Turning that into $580K in one night
- ♣️ Saying no to Wall Street after the biggest score of his life
- ♠️ Winning $394K at Borgata and taking it home in cash
- ♥️ Getting stopped by TSA with a bag full of money
- ♦️ Flying Spirit with $400K stuffed in the overhead bin
- ♣️ Buying a Range Rover in cash
- ♠️ Playing the $1M Big One for One Drop
- ♥️ The aces hand that still hurts
- ♦️ The second One Drop run that sent him straight to the dice table
- ♣️ High-stakes craps, Antonio stories, prop bets, and poker-life chaos
- ♠️ Why money alone never fixed what he thought it would
- ♥️ Fatherhood, investing, philanthropy, and what matters now
We also get into:
- the early online poker boom
- PartyPoker and PokerStars nostalgia
- why poker players need early run-good
- bankroll management before anyone knew what bankroll management was
- WPT life when the fields were single-entry and massive
- One Drop pressure
- the difference between poker bad beats and real-life bad beats
- Real American Freestyle
- and why Noah would rather build memories with his kids than chase every tournament on the calendar.
This one is a poker story.
But it’s also a life story.
A baseball dream ended.
A poker career appeared.
A Wall Street path vanished.
And somehow, a kid sleeping on a friend’s floor ended up playing million-dollar buy-ins.
👇 Drop a comment:
What would you do if you turned $2K into $580K in one night?
Show Notes
00:00 — Intro + Noah Schwartz
01:38 — Miami, Baseball & Growing Up Competitive
06:30 — Madden, Monopoly & Early Gambling
08:08 — Baseball Ends + Poker Begins
09:17 — Security Guard Shift Hustle
10:27 — Credit Cards, PartyPoker & The Early Grind
11:32 — The $580K PokerStars Score
17:13 — Firing $1K With Almost Nothing Left
19:12 — Final Table Chaos + Heads-Up Comeback
22:08 — $394K At Borgata + Cash Through TSA
24:00 — First Vegas Shot + Getting Fired
27:37 — Turning Poker Into A Career
32:10 — Cash Games, PLO & The Tour
34:48 — Raising Money For The $1M One Drop
37:19 — Aces In The Biggest Spot
42:19 — The Second One Drop Dream
43:20 — Nines, Queens & The $6M Swing
46:48 — Bustout → Dice Table
48:48 — Kids, Balance & Life After Full-Time Poker
52:46 — Investing, RAF & What Comes Next
55:42 — Mindset, Philanthropy & Real Bad Beats
58:45 — Prop Bets, PCA & Antonio Stories
1:00:51 — The Aria Craps Roll
1:15:00 — Future Plans + Family
1:18:08 — Noah’s Links + Outro
Noah’s Links
X:
https://x.com/noahjschwartz
IG:
https://www.instagram.com/noahschwartz
T1 Links
Phenom Poker:
https://play.phenompoker.com/register?r=Table1
Play with us in Vegas:
https://table1.vegas
Justin's Poker Coaching series:
Learn to Crush Live Poker - https://pokercoaching.com/table1
Follow us:
X - https://x.com/table1vegas
IG - https://instagram.com/table1vegas
She Was Spain’s #1 Poker Player…Then PokerStars Dropped Her. Ana Marquez Shares Her Story
5 de septiembre de 20261 h 27 min
Ana Marquez once sold a fake Chanel purse for $400.Why?Because she needed a bankroll.Back in business.25NL, here she comes.That is a pretty perfect Ana Marquez origin story.Ana grew up in Málaga, Spain, came to …
Notas del episodio
Ana Marquez once sold a fake Chanel purse for $400.
Why?
Because she needed a bankroll.
Back in business.
25NL, here she comes.
That is a pretty perfect Ana Marquez origin story.
Ana grew up in Málaga, Spain, came to America for school, studied history and economics at American University, and somehow ended up writing her thesis on poker.
Not playing poker.
Writing about poker.
Then she found the underground Maryland games.
Then Borgata.
Then online poker.
Then the Maryland crew.
Then PCA.
Then Black Friday.
Then PokerStars.
Then 888.
Then ACR.
Then Triton.
And somewhere in the middle of all that, her dad found a stash of cash and thought something terrible was going on.
Ana had to explain bankroll management.
In this episode of The Table 1 Podcast, Ana joins Art Parmann and Justin Young to tell the full story:
- ♠️ Growing up in Spain and being too competitive for family game night
- ♥️ Learning five-card draw from her mom with chickpeas
- ♦️ Almost getting caught tagging graffiti while her dad took pictures
- ♣️ Moving to Washington D.C. for school
- ♠️ Studying World War I, World War II, diplomacy, and military strategy
- ♥️ Discovering poker through friends in college
- ♦️ Sitting behind a friend for 13 hours at Borgata
- ♣️ Playing underground Maryland games with the crew that would become poker legends
- ♠️ Writing her thesis on how tournament poker changed society’s view of the game
- ♥️ Her dad finding her poker cash and assuming the worst
- ♦️ Selling a fake Chanel purse to reload for 25NL
- ♣️ Her first huge live run at PCA
- ♠️ Winning big online right before Black Friday
- ♥️ Somehow dodging disaster because her dad told her to get the money off the computer
- ♦️ Becoming a PokerStars Team Pro
- ♣️ Getting dropped even while ranked #1 in Spain
- ♠️ Winning the Hollywood Poker Open
- ♥️ Why she likes being completely alone during deep tournament runs
- ♦️ Taking a health break at the worst possible time
- ♣️ Falling behind during the solver boom
- ♠️ Rebuilding during quarantine
- ♥️ Returning to cash games
- ♦️ Private games in Dubai
- ♣️ ACR, Triton, Jeju “poker jail,” and what she is chasing now
This is one of those poker stories that does not feel planned.
It feels like someone kept following the next weird door.
A thesis became a bankroll.
A fake purse became a reload.
A hidden cash stash became a family meeting.
And somehow, all of it became a poker career.
👇 Drop a comment:
What is the strangest thing you’ve ever sold to get back in action?
Show Notes
00:00 — Intro + Ana Marquez
01:37 — Growing Up In Spain
05:20 — Good Grades, Bad Student
06:04 — Graffiti, Family & Moving To America
12:13 — American University + The Poker Thesis
13:28 — Discovering Poker
16:30 — Borgata + Underground Maryland Games
19:41 — Dad Finds The Cash
21:22 — The Fake Chanel Bankroll Reload
22:29 — Early Online Poker Grind
30:27 — PCA Breakthrough Run
34:03 — Black Friday Changes Everything
37:25 — PokerStars Team Pro Era
39:35 — Getting Dropped While Ranked #1 In Spain
43:44 — Hollywood Poker Open + Live Tournament Life
49:03 — Why She Plays Best Alone
55:31 — Health Breaks, Solvers & Falling Behind
1:01:37 — Quarantine Rebuild
1:06:39 — Back To Cash Games
1:12:04 — ACR, Dubai & Private Games
1:19:41 — Triton, Jeju & What’s Next
Ana’s Links
Website:
https://anamarquezpoker.com
Instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/anamarquezpoker
T1 Links
Play with us in Vegas:
https://table1.vegas
Card Player Magazine:
https://table1.vegas/cardplayer
Follow us:
X - https://x.com/table1vegas
IG - https://instagram.com/table1vegas
He Went From Poker’s Golden Boy To Public Enemy #1 Overnight. Garrett Adelstein Tells ALL!
29 de agosto de 20261 h 28 min
Garrett Adelstein doesn’t have hobbies.He has obsessions.Poker.Money.Chess.Fitness.Survivor.Writing.Whatever it is, Garrett doesn’t dabble.He disappears into it.That obsession made him one of the most feared …
Notas del episodio
Garrett Adelstein doesn’t have hobbies.
He has obsessions.
Poker.
Money.
Chess.
Fitness.
Survivor.
Writing.
Whatever it is, Garrett doesn’t dabble.
He disappears into it.
That obsession made him one of the most feared cash-game players in the world.
It also nearly broke him.
Everyone knows Jack-Four.
Everyone has an opinion.
But this episode is not just about one hand.
It’s about the kind of person who could grind his way from Tucson home games to nosebleed LA cash, build a reputation as poker’s golden boy, become one of the most watched players in the livestream era, and then watch public perception flip almost overnight.
It’s about the cost of being all-in on everything.
In this episode of The Table 1 Podcast, Garrett joins Art Parmann and Justin Young to talk through the full ride:
- ♠️ Growing up in Tucson with money always on his mind
- ♥️ Being obsessed with achievement, school, chess, and winning
- ♦️ Staring at a law school personal statement at 2 a.m. and realizing he couldn’t do it
- ♣️ Finding poker and getting completely consumed by it
- ♠️ Running up a massive online bankroll, then losing almost everything
- ♥️ Rebuilding from zero with brutal self-imposed rules
- ♦️ Black Friday and the shift from online poker to live cash
- ♣️ Moving to LA and grinding the legendary Commerce games
- ♠️ The rise of Live at the Bike and stream poker fame
- ♥️ The Jack-Four hand, the tweet, the backlash, and what he wishes he handled differently
- ♦️ Why he has barely played poker since
- ♣️ Spending four years and 60 hours a week writing Beneath the Cards
- ♠️ The Bellagio degen story: drunk flips, Alan Keating, a $500K swing, and a trash bag full of cash
- ♥️ How EDC and electronic music became one of the most important things in his life
We also get into:
- why Garrett says he was already “1.9 feet out the poker door”
- how public games became private-game warfare
- why poker fame can be dangerous
- what therapy changed for him
- why money did not solve what he thought it would
- what the poker world gets wrong about him
- and why writing the book became the new obsession.
This one is not just a Jack-Four episode.
It’s a Garrett episode.
The hand is part of the story.
But obsession is the story.
👇 Drop a comment:
Can obsession make you great without eventually costing you something?
Show Notes
00:00 — Obsession: Poker, Survivor, School & The Book
06:55 — Childhood, Money & Tucson
09:24 — First Jobs, Umpiring & Restaurants
17:07 — School, Arizona & The “Respectable” Path
19:41 — Law School Personal Statement Meltdown
21:17 — Telling His Parents He Was Choosing Poker
25:04 — Chess, Games & Early Poker Obsession
28:00 — Online Poker + Two Plus Two
31:03 — Almost A Million… Then Going Broke
36:47 — Rock Bottom + The List That Rebuilt Him
40:19 — Black Friday Changes Everything
42:40 — Moving To LA & Commerce Cash Games
47:11 — Cutthroat Game Selection + Poker Politics
52:40 — Live At The Bike Begins
56:29 — Why People Loved Watching Garrett Play
1:00:38 — The Jack-Four Conversation
1:03:23 — From Loved To Public Enemy Overnight
1:03:56 — The Tweet He Wishes He Could Take Back
1:09:05 — Five-ish Poker Sessions In Four Years
1:11:43 — Writing, Coaching & Working Harder Than Ever
1:13:26 — Selling A Poker Memoir Outside Poker
1:16:21 — Bellagio Degen Story Begins
1:18:01 — Down Huge → Winning $600K In Flips
1:19:24 — The 2,000 Big Blind Pot
1:20:31 — EDC Changes Everything
1:23:13 — The $300K Trash Bag
1:25:00 — Garrett’s Links + Outro
Garrett’s Links
Website / Socials / Book:
https://garrettadelstein.com
Book — Beneath the Cards:
https://a.co/d/0bkquERr
Upswing Poker Course:
https://upswingpoker.com/garrett-adelstein-course-waitlist
T1 Links
Play with us!
https://table1.vegas
Follow us:
X - https://x.com/table1vegas
IG - https://instagram.com/table1vegas
He Was Famous For Cash Games. Now He’s Starting Over. Andy Stacks Tells All!
22 de agosto de 20261 h 19 min
Get Justin's Crush Live Poker 6-Pack Course On PokerCoaching.comAndy Stacks built his name in the biggest cash games in LA.Then he decided to become a tournament fish.Which sounds insane.Because before the …
Notas del episodio
Get Justin's Crush Live Poker 6-Pack Course On PokerCoaching.com
Andy Stacks built his name in the biggest cash games in LA.
Then he decided to become a tournament fish.
Which sounds insane.
Because before the vlogs…
before the GG deal…
before Live at the Bike turned him into one of the most recognizable cash-game players in poker…
Andy was just another kid who found poker at the perfect time.
Born in Taiwan.
Raised in the Bay Area.
Back to Taiwan as a teenager.
Then LA.
A friend showed him the Moneymaker boom on a giant old CRT TV, taught him the game, and Andy started playing $5 home games.
Then came the casinos.
One/two limit.
Then no-limit.
Then 5/10.
Then 10/20.
Way too fast.
He had jobs. He had a graphic design path. He had a normal life somewhere in there.
But poker got loud.
Eventually, he quit with a bankroll that probably should not have been enough, played no-cap 10/20 at Commerce with $10K on the table, and at one point was down to his last two bullets.
Then came the LA private games.
Spreadsheets of every game in town.
Wild west home games.
One game getting raided while he was up $10K.
The Bike.
The streams.
The ego.
The nosebleeds.
The money.
The pressure.
The weird poker fame that came from everyone being able to see your cards.
And now?
He’s starting over.
Not because he has to.
Because he wants to.
In this episode of The Table 1 Podcast, Andy Stacks joins Art Parmann and Justin Young to talk through the whole ride:
- ♠️ Growing up between Taiwan, the Bay Area, and LA
- ♥️ Finding poker during the Moneymaker boom
- ♦️ Sneaking into poker rooms before he was old enough
- ♣️ Majoring in art and working as a graphic designer
- ♠️ Jumping stakes way too fast
- ♥️ Quitting his job with a very questionable bankroll
- ♦️ Playing no-cap 10/20 with two bullets left
- ♣️ Grinding every LA casino and private game he could find
- ♠️ Getting raided mid-hand while up $10K
- ♥️ Battling the toughest Bellagio cash games during the WSOP
- ♦️ Becoming a Live at the Bike staple
- ♣️ Playing massive streamed cash games on his own dime
- ♠️ COVID timing, GG, Taiwan, and Game of Gold
- ♥️ Leaving high-stakes cash to start over in tournaments
- ♦️ Building the Andy Stacks Poker vlog
We also get into:
- why private games matter
- why the best pros stay private
- what stream poker did to high-stakes cash
- how ego can wreck a bankroll
- why tournament poker feels like heartbreak
- why cash-game players struggle with short stacks
- and why Andy is willing to look bad in public while learning something new.
This one is not just a cash-game story.
It’s about getting good at one thing…
then having the guts to be a beginner again.
👇 Drop a comment:
Would you rather be a cash-game crusher or chase tournament glory?

Andy’s Links
YouTube: Andy Stacks Poker
T1 Links
Phenom Poker:
https://play.phenompoker.com/register?r=Table1
Play with us in Vegas:
https://table1.vegas
Card Player Magazine:
https://table1.vegas/cardplayer
Follow us:
X - https://x.com/table1vegas
IG - https://instagram.com/table1vegas
```
Her Mom Was A Chemistry Professor…And A Bookie. Jennifer Shahade Shares Her Story!
16 de agosto de 20261 h 15 min
She was rated 1400 for years.In a family of champions.Her father, a chess champion. Her brother, 2200 and climbing. And Jennifer,stuck — while people talked behind her back about why the kid in the family …
Notas del episodio
She was rated 1400 for years.In a family of champions.Her father, a chess champion. Her brother, 2200 and climbing. And Jennifer,stuck — while people talked behind her back about why the kid in the family ofgeniuses couldn't play.Then, at 14, it clicked.1400 to 2200 inside two years. One of the youngest female masters in thecountry. Two US championships.And in the middle of that run, she won a beautiful game against a much strongerplayer — and found a note waiting on her board the next round."Jennifer, it is not nice to cheat with help from friends."She won that one anyway. She was on a roll.In this episode of The Table 1 Podcast, Jennifer Shahade joins Art Parmann andJustin Young for the whole ride:♠️ The mother who was the first female full professor of chemistry at Drexel —and ran a sports book on the side♥️ The overnight Greyhound she took alone at 16 to win a title, and the trophyshe left in the luggage compartment♦️ Why chess players go broke at poker, and what money means in a game thatdoesn't have any♣️ Blowing up her own career to name a grandmaster — and coming out the otherside as an ambassador for US ChessWe also get into:- Teaching her son chess, and the day he told her to stop letting him win- Winning a national championship and oversleeping the live TV interview- Push/shove ranges at the WSOP before anyone played that way ("they just hated me")- Chess boxing, and why the Team USA tryouts were three days ago in Vegas- Her NAPT third-place run, and why being friendly at the table makes youmonstrously strong- Writing Thinking Sideways — and catching herself feeling the exact cognitivebias she wrote aboutThis isn't a strategy episode.It's about what it costs to be the first one to say something — and what ittakes to keep playing after.👇 Drop a comment:Is calling someone out publicly ever the right first move, or always the last resort?--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Show Notes00:00 — Intro + How To Say Shahade 02:18 — Philly, Chess Family & Her Bookie Mom 05:37 — Growing Up Around Chess 09:08 — Greyhound Bus To A Junior Title 10:31 — Process, Pressure & Teaching Her Son 14:41 — Judit Polgar, Kasparov & Chess Drama 18:07 — Cheating Accusations In Chess 22:05 — NYU, New York Chess & National Titles 26:01 — Poker Enters The Picture 30:22 — Online vs. Live: Pattern Recognition vs. Thinking 33:44 — Chess Tells, Poker Tells & A Rivalry Story 35:19 — First WSOP Ladies Event 41:10 — Sunday Million, EPTs & The Poker Travel Bug 42:51 — Thinking Sideways + Recent Poker Heater 45:44 — Black Friday & The Shift To Live Poker 48:38 — PokerStars, Women’s Initiatives & Isle of Man 52:26 — Chess vs. Poker: Bluffing, Money & Tilt 55:26 — Ladies Events + Building Women’s Poker 1:00:00 — NAPT Final Table Run 1:03:06 — The Grid Podcast 1:05:21 — WSOP Summer Plans + Mixed Games 1:07:31 — Whistleblowing, Risk & Support From Poker 1:12:45 — Socials, Substack & Thinking Sideways --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Jennifer's Links:https://JenniferShahade.comhttps://x.com/JenShahadehttps://www.instagram.com/JenShahade--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Table 1 Links:https://table1.vegashttps://x.com/table1vegashttps://instagram.com/table1vegas
He Chased A Six-Figure Score For Years. Then He Missed It By $2.
7 de agosto de 20261 h 22 min
Ninety-nine thousand, nine hundred and ninety-eight dollars.That's what the conversion said.Michael Gagliano had never had a six-figure score.Every friend he had did.He'd been playing for years — good enough …
Notas del episodio
Ninety-nine thousand, nine hundred and ninety-eight dollars.
That's what the conversion said.
Michael Gagliano had never had a six-figure score.
Every friend he had did.
He'd been playing for years — good enough that everyone knew the name, never quite good enough to break through.
Then he gets fifth in a WPT in Prague.
Aces into queens.
Paid out in euros.
He's standing in the payout line. Plugs the number into XE.com.
$99,998.
Two dollars.
That's the story of most of his career.
Always close.
Never the guy.
He was a hockey goalie who quit one day because video games were more interesting. He wanted to be a sound engineer until his mom talked him out of it. He lasted one semester at UMass, played pool ten hours a day, read Bringing Down the House, and practiced counting cards alone in his room.
Except he wasn't 21 yet.
And you can't count cards online.
So he found poker instead.
Then he was a nit.
A real one.
He'd put $50 online, run it to $300, and withdraw it.
Over and over.
Never building anything.
He became a special ed teacher. Worked 7 to 3:15, raced home, and late-regged whatever was starting at 3:30.
He had $1,200 to his name and spent $800 of it on a camera he couldn't afford.
His now-wife told him it was the worst decision he'd ever made.
The next day he had his biggest score ever.
In this episode of The Table 1 Podcast, Michael “Gags” Gagliano joins Art Parmann and Justin Young — recorded in the strange dead air a few days before the WSOP Main Event final table:
- ♠️ The AIM message from Mark Herm that changed everything: “empty your accounts, I'll send you money next week”
- ♥️ Why his mom was convinced getting backed meant the mob was going to break his kneecaps
- ♦️ The bracelet he won completely by accident — he'd busted, he hates turbos, and his arm slipped on the space bar
- ♣️ Losing $1,500 a day live in Vegas and printing money online every night because every good player was out at the clubs
- ♠️ The Parx story: an hour drive, 45 minutes at the table, kings into quad jacks, and he has never gone back
- ♥️ Day 4 of the Main — 14 big blinds, stuck in a parking garage, certain it was over. Day 5 — he bagged 5.3 million and didn't lose a single pot.
We also get into:
- Whether online bracelets “count” — and why beating 2,500 people should mean something
- The classiest thing an opponent has ever said to him, the night he won his first bracelet
- Two weeks of waiting for a final table, and why the November Nine was torture
- Black Friday, six months of Starcraft, and moving to Canada in six weeks to keep playing
- The month his daughter was born and New Jersey regulated online poker
- Being one of the first poker streamers on Twitch — and getting banned for it
- Solvers, PIO, and the coach who told him they were the future when he thought they were stupid
- A calendar app that turned the hardest table of the tournament into the most fun one
This isn't a strategy episode.
It's about being good for twenty years before anybody calls you great.
👇 Drop a comment:
Do online bracelets count the same? He beat 2,500 people in a mystery bounty. Someone else beat 140 in a 10K. Who earned it more?
Show Notes
00:00 — Do Online Bracelets Count?
01:51 — Two Weeks Of Waiting Before The Final Table
07:28 — New Jersey, Hockey, And Smash 64
11:11 — First Card Nights, Moneymaker, And One Bad Semester
18:46 — The $50 Nit Cycle And Falling For MTTs
22:07 — The Camera He Couldn't Afford
23:58 — Teaching Special Ed And Racing Home To Play
27:04 — Mark Herm, AIM, And Mom Thinking It Was The Mob
33:33 — First Trip To Vegas, First WSOP Cash
38:30 — Black Friday, Starcraft, And Moving To Canada
41:37 — $99,998
45:24 — A Baby, A House, And New Jersey Going Online
Poker Was Never The Plan...But He Needed A Way Out
2 de agosto de 20261 h 12 min
Poker was never the plan.Marc Goone wanted to rap.That was the dream.Music.Studios.Videos.A real shot at making it.Poker was just the thing on the side.Until life got louder.Selling weed.Getting robbed at …
Notas del episodio
Poker was never the plan.Marc Goone wanted to rap.That was the dream.Music.Studios.Videos.A real shot at making it.Poker was just the thing on the side.Until life got louder.Selling weed.Getting robbed at gunpoint.Trying to figure out who he was.Moving to LA with $7,500.Taking poker seriously because, at some point, the “backup plan” starts looking a lot more real than the dream.Then everything changed.Marc went from music to poker…from low stakes to private games…from trying to make it as a player to building one of the most interesting poker education brands in the game.In this episode of The Table 1 Podcast, Marc joins Art Parmann and Justin Young to talk through the whole ride:♠️ Growing up in St. Louis ♥️ Chasing music before poker ♦️ Getting robbed at gunpoint ♣️ Moving to LA with $7,500 ♠️ Learning how private games really work ♥️ Why most people should NOT quit their job to play poker ♦️ The ceiling of private games ♣️ Building a staking stable ♠️ Why live poker is still deeply human ♥️ Why charts and solvers only get you so far ♦️ Building Hungry Horse into a real poker training business We also get into:- why the best pros stay private- why live poker is not “solved”- why private games might have saved poker- what most low-stakes players get wrong- how to actually get better at live cash- and why poker advice is usually way too clean for a game this messy.This one is not just a strategy episode.It’s a story about reinvention.The dream didn’t work out the way Marc thought it would.So he found another way out.And somehow, that way out became poker.👇 Drop a comment:Do you think private games are good or bad for poker?------------------------------------------------------------------------------------00:00 — Intro + Hungry Horse Poker03:33 — Grandpa, Utopia & First Poker10:27 — Moving to LA for Music11:39 — Robbed at Gunpoint13:24 — Moving to LA With $7.5K14:40 — “Don’t Quit Your Job”23:17 — Hitting the Private Game Ceiling25:54 — Staking Players & Building a Stable30:47 — Pivoting Into Hungry Horse47:20 — Why Private Games Matter1:05:41 — Live Poker Mistakes Pros Make1:09:41 — The Future of Hungry HorseMarc’s Links:Hungry Horse Poker:https://hungryhorsepoker.comX- https://x.com/marcgoone------------------------------------------------------------------------------------T1 LinksPlay with us:https://table1.vegasCard Player Magazine:https://table1.vegas/cardplayerFollow us:X - https://x.com/table1vegas IG - https://instagram.com/table1vegas
He Lost Half His Net Worth…Then Became A Super High Roller! Ben Heath Tells All!
26 de julio de 20261 h 24 min
Ben Heath was supposed to do something sensible.Finance.Teaching.Something with math.Something that made his parents feel normal.Instead, he played $3.50 sit-n-gos.A lot of them.Ben grew up in Brighton …
Notas del episodio
Ben Heath was supposed to do something sensible.Finance.Teaching.Something with math.Something that made his parents feel normal.Instead, he played $3.50 sit-n-gos.A lot of them.Ben grew up in Brighton, England, playing chess, strategy games, and tiny family card games for one-cent coins. Then he went to Warwick, studied math, and started making a little money online during university.Not millions.Not nosebleeds.Just enough to avoid getting a job.Then one of his tutors casually mentioned that a few former students had gone into professional poker.That was all it took.Ben finished his degree, skipped the finance track, and gave himself two years to make poker work.From there, things got weird fast.He met Charlie Carrel through a university Skype group, went to Amsterdam with people he’d never met, moved to London, grinded Zoom cash, played live cash on weekends, went broke, ran it back, and started taking shots that were probably not approved by any financial advisor.At one point, he had around $100K to his name…then put a huge chunk of it into a €50K in Barcelona.It went badly.Then it went very, very well.Aussie Millions runner-up.A Wynn score he somehow left in the cage.A backpack full of cash walking back to the Rio.A SCOOP swap with Charlie that changed the year.A WSOP $50K bracelet.Triton.Super high rollers.$250Ks.$500Ks.And a runner-up finish for around $8 million.In this episode of The Table 1 Podcast, Ben joins Art Parmann and Justin Young to talk about the full ride:♠️ Growing up in Brighton and studying math♥️ Playing $3.50 180-mans for university spending money♦️ Why he skipped finance and chose poker♣️ Meeting Charlie Carrel and moving to London♠️ Going broke, rebuilding, and aggressive bankroll shots♥️ The Barcelona €50K shot that nearly wrecked him♦️ The Aussie Millions run that changed everything♣️ Winning the WSOP $50K bracelet♠️ The Sam Soverel time bank drama♥️ How he moved into the super high roller world♦️ Playing $500K buy-ins♣️ Coaching high-stakes players♠️ Why he barely plays the WSOP Main Event anymore♥️ Why Phenom Poker got his attentionWe also get into:- chess- Brighton hippies- volunteering in Fiji- getting stuck in Madrid during COVID- Triton invite politics- why some $50Ks are not like other $50Ks- backing, swapping, and selling action- and what it feels like to play a half-million-dollar buy-in.This one is a poker story about shot-taking, timing, discipline, and somehow staying calm while playing tournaments most humans would need a spreadsheet just to emotionally process.👇 Drop a comment:Would you ever fire half your net worth in one tournament?------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Ben’s Links:https://phenompoker.com/?r=BenHeathX - https://x.com/BenHeath48------------------------------------------------------------------------------------T1 LinksPlay with us in Vegas:https://table1.vegasCard Player Magazine:https://table1.vegas/cardplayerFollow us:X - https://x.com/table1vegas IG - https://instagram.com/table1vegas
Is Poker Dying? Jonathan Tamayo Talks Poker, DFS, Winning $10,000,000 In The MAIN EVENT
19 de julio de 20261 h 43 min
Everyone wanted to talk about the laptop.Jonathan Tamayo wanted to talk about mahjong.Because before the 2024 WSOP Main Event title, the $10,000,000 score, and the most debated rail in poker, Tamayo was a kid …
Notas del episodio
Everyone wanted to talk about the laptop.
Jonathan Tamayo wanted to talk about mahjong.
Because before the 2024 WSOP Main Event title, the $10,000,000 score, and the most debated rail in poker, Tamayo was a kid in Houston playing games with his grandparents, getting bankroll money from his grandpa, trying to figure out PartyPoker, and learning the hard way like everyone else.
He had the early online poker growing pains, the college poker games, the PartyPoker bad beat jackpot, the Sunday Million score, the first WSOP summer, the 2009 Main Event heartbreak, Black Friday, daily fantasy, backing, a cash game stable, and years of being very good without quite becoming that guy.
Then 2024 happened.
And somehow the guy who had already been deep in the Main Event before found himself back in the exact spot every poker player dreams about.
Only this time, he won the whole thing.
In this episode of The Table 1 Podcast, Jonathan Tamayo joins Art Parmann and Justin Young to tell the full story.
Topics include:
♠️ Growing up in Houston with NASA parents and mahjong games
♥️ Grandpa casually funding the early gambling years
♦️ PartyPoker, online mistakes, and the bad beat jackpot
♣️ His first WSOP summer and $1,500 runner-up finish
♠️ The wildest $1/$3 game at the Rio
♥️ The 2009 Main Event run and Billy Kopp hand
♦️ Black Friday and falling behind the European solver wave
♣️ Daily fantasy swings, including a $900K football sweat
♠️ The 2015 Main Event and Joe McKeehen rail
♥️ Building a cash game stable
♦️ The 2024 Main Event run
♣️ LaptopGate, final table prep, and what actually happened
♠️ The heads-up live tell that helped swing the match
♥️ Winning the Main Event and what changes after $10M
We also get into why the Main Event still matters, the truth about final table preparation, what people misunderstood about the rail, how poker strategy has changed, why the player pool is aging, and what poker’s future problem might really be.
This one is part origin story, part Main Event breakdown, and part answer to the controversy everyone had an opinion on.
What’s your honest take on final table rails using laptops?
Timestamps
00:00 — Intro + 2024 Main Event Champ
01:43 — Houston Roots, Mahjong & NASA Parents
05:22 — Humble High School + Lazy-Good Student Life
07:56 — Cornell, Hotel School & Golf
11:02 — First Poker Games in High School
15:18 — Grandpa Bankrolls the Gambling
18:02 — PartyPoker, Western Union & Online Growing Pains
19:15 — The PartyPoker Bad Beat Jackpot
21:39 — Sunday Million Score + Bad 2008 Job Market
23:19 — First WSOP Summer + $1,500 Runner-Up Finish
25:00 — The Wildest $1/$3 Game at the Rio
34:08 — Turning Stone, Brian Hastings & Cornell Private Games
36:21 — 2009 Main Event Run Begins
38:16 — Day 3 Heater + Jenga Chip Explosion
42:44 — Billy Kopp Hand + 21st Place Finish
45:20 — Backing, Supernova Elite & Old-School 10Ks
50:30 — Black Friday + Falling Behind the Europeans
52:23 — Daily Fantasy Grind + DraftKings Hockey Championship
58:23 — The $900K Fantasy Football Sweat
59:13 — 2015 Main Event Run + Joe McKeehen’s Year
1:02:23 — McKeehen Final Table Rail + Early “Laptop” System
1:04:54 — Cash Game Stable + Long-Term Backing Setup
1:06:58 — 2024 Main Event Begins
1:09:47 — Day 2 Heater + First All-In Risk
1:10:21 — “The Hand” That Changed Everything
1:12:09 — Day 5–8 Main Event Grind
1:13:29 — Final 18 + Dom Starts Coaching From the Rail
1:16:35 — From 15 of 18 to the Final Table
1:18:06 — 10 Left + The Queens Fold
1:23:25 — LaptopGate + Final Table Prep
1:29:02 — Heads-Up Live Tell Breakthrough
1:33:00 — Winning the Main Event
1:35:37 — What’s Next + Staying in His Lane
1:37:53 — What He Did With the Money
1:38:30 — Poker’s Future Problem
Jonathan’s Links
X: https://x.com/driverseati
Instagram: https://instagram.com/driverseati
Table 1 Links
Play with us in Vegas: https://table1.vegas
He's A Main Event BEAST. 2 Final Tables & Deep Runs Galore! Kenny Hallaert Shares His Story.
12 de julio de 20261 h 24 min
Kenny Hallaert has lived almost every version of a poker life.Player.Tournament director.Casino marketer.Festival builder.PokerStars live events advisor.WSOP November Niner.Before the $1.4M score…before the …
Notas del episodio
Kenny Hallaert has lived almost every version of a poker life.Player.Tournament director.Casino marketer.Festival builder.PokerStars live events advisor.WSOP November Niner.Before the $1.4M score…before the Main Event final table…before he was helping shape live poker festivals around the world…Kenny was an electrician in Belgium who found poker through an online banner in 2004.Then a soccer injury forced him indoors.So he played.A lot.Limit Hold’em. Full ring. Online tournaments. Freerolls. Tiny bankroll discipline. The whole old-school grind.But Kenny’s story doesn’t stop at becoming a player.He helped build live poker in Belgium.Worked around weird legal restrictions.Launched tournament festivals.Ran floors.Designed structures.Learned the game from both sides of the table.Then he went on one of the most ridiculous WSOP stretches ever:Deep in the first Colossus.Deep in the Main Event.Then the next year…November Nine.In this episode of The Table 1 Podcast, Kenny joins Art Parmann and Justin Young to talk about the full ride:♠️ Growing up in Belgium♥️ Finding online poker in 2004♦️ Going from electrician to casino marketer♣️ Building live poker festivals in Belgium♠️ Knocking out Daniel Negreanu at EPT Monaco♥️ His first WSOP trip♦️ The first Colossus final table♣️ The 2016 November Nine run♠️ Preparing with Fedor Holz’s team♥️ Why tournament structures are broken♦️ PokerStars, AI, smart glasses, solvers, and the future of live pokerThis one is part poker origin story, part WSOP time capsule, and part masterclass on how live tournaments actually get built.👇 Drop a comment:What’s the best poker tournament structure you’ve ever played?------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Show Notes00:00 — Intro + Belgium Roots 04:33 — Discovering Online Poker 08:00 — From Electrician to Casino Marketer 14:25 — Soccer Injury → Poker Boom 20:06 — Early Poker Breakthroughs 25:01 — Building Live Poker in Belgium 37:21 — EPT Monaco Heartbreak 42:07 — First WSOP Trip 45:17 — WSOP Colossus + Main Event Runs 50:13 — The November Nine Run 54:53 — Balancing Player Life & Poker Business 59:53 — Main Event Strategy & Table Dynamics 1:01:40 — Tournament Structures Are Broken 1:17:07 — PokerStars, Future Formats & Game Integrity 1:23:22 — Where to Follow Him ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Kenny’s Links:X / IG - @SpaceyFCB------------------------------------------------------------------------------------T1 LinksWhat is Table 1? https://table1.vegasFollow us:X - https://x.com/table1vegas IG - https://instagram.com/table1vegas
She Had No Business Going Pro…And Did It Anyway.
6 de julio de 20261 h 34 min
Esther “E-Tay” Taylor did not take the normal road to poker.She was born in South Korea, found as a baby, adopted into a strict Christian family in Portland, and raised with two older brothers who made sure she …
Notas del episodio
Esther “E-Tay” Taylor did not take the normal road to poker.She was born in South Korea, found as a baby, adopted into a strict Christian family in Portland, and raised with two older brothers who made sure she was tough enough for whatever came next.Game nights.Sports.Church five days a week.A real job at Wells Fargo.A future in private banking.Then poker showed up.At first, they weren’t even playing with chips.They were playing with dried beans and macaroni.A few years later?E-Tay quit her good job, moved to Vegas with almost no money, learned mixed games online for $26 at a time, took five years off to become a mom, came back to final table a WPT, and eventually became one of the most respected mixed-game players in poker.In this episode of The Table 1 Podcast, E-Tay joins Art Parmann and Justin Young to talk about the whole ride:♠️ Being adopted from South Korea and growing up in Portland♥️ Her strict Christian upbringing and her dad’s support♦️ Quitting Wells Fargo to chase poker♣️ Learning mixed games the cheap way online♠️ Taking five years away from poker for motherhood♥️ Coming back with a WPT final table at Borgata♦️ Jumping into the $25K PLO and finishing 3rd♣️ Her $50K Poker Players Championship run♠️ Why mixed games are so hard to learn now♥️ Representing women in poker the right way♦️ Launching Her Edge Academy to help more women get into mixed gamesWe also get into golf, motherhood, old-school online poker, PLO confidence, why she never studied from charts, and why poker needs more humans instead of robots.This one is funny, honest, and a really good look at what it takes to build a poker career without following anybody else’s playbook.👇 Drop a comment:What poker game should every Hold’em player learn next?Show Notes00:00 — Intro + why “E-Tay”01:48 — Born in South Korea / adoption story07:16 — Strict Christian home + her dad’s support09:59 — Game nights, brothers, and competitiveness17:28 — Wells Fargo and the “real job” path19:02 — First poker games with beans and macaroni23:10 — Quitting her job and moving to Vegas24:34 — Learning mixed games online32:48 — Taking five years off for motherhood35:03 — Returning with a WPT final table41:58 — Parks Casino ambassador chapter47:04 — Finding PLO and mixed games49:20 — Jumping into the $25K PLO56:20 — How her mindset changed over time1:11:00 — Women in poker and ladies events1:17:12 — Recent heater + full WSOP schedule1:19:34 — Deciding to play the $50K PPC1:22:26 — The $50K PPC run1:31:58 — E-Tay Poker + Her Edge AcademyE-Tay’s Links:Website: https://etaypoker.comHer Edge Academy: https://heredgeacademy.comInstagram: https://instagram.com/__etay__Follow us:X - https://x.com/table1vegasIG - https://instagram.com/table1vegas
What Happens When You Grow Up As A Jehova Witness And Turn Into A Gambler? TJ Reid Shares His Story!
27 de junio de 20261 h 28 min
TJ Reid Joins Art Parmann (https://x.com/ArtParmann) and Justin Young (https://x.com/Justinyoung07) on this week's episode of the Table 1 Podcast! We peel back the curtain on this incredible journey from vows …
Notas del episodio
TJ Reid Joins Art Parmann (https://x.com/ArtParmann) and Justin Young (https://x.com/Justinyoung07) on this week's episode of the Table 1 Podcast! We peel back the curtain on this incredible journey from vows of poverty as a Jehova's Witness to pokerORG reporter, to Final Tabling one of the biggest tournaments of the year in the Bahamas at WSOP with $10,000,000 for the winner.Show Notes00:00 Growing Up in Missouri, Religion, and Family Games09:03 Discovering Poker While Living a Double Life12:42 Excommunication, Starting Over, and Leaving the Church25:29 From Service Industry to Live Cash Poker31:45 Marriage, Idaho, COVID, and the First Vegas Trip36:07 Winning His First Major Tournament Score40:59 PokerNews, PokerOrg, and Building a Career in Poker Media47:09 Thunder Valley, Table One, and Playing Bigger52:48 The 2025 NAPT Main Event and Slot Machine Chaos56:04 Chasing EPT, PokerStars Incentives, and Bigger Buy-Ins1:06:38 The 25K Super Main Run1:14:24 Finishing 4th for $3.1 Million1:17:23 Becoming WSOP Circuit Manager and Growing the Game1:21:33 25K Fantasy Draft Strategy1:27:27 TJ’s Daily Vlogs and OutroFollow TJ on youtube @tjreidpoker https://x.com/tjreidpokerhttps://www.instagram.com/tjreid1/Follow Table 1: https://table1.vegas
He Lived With Michael Phelps, Got Paid $500k+ To Get A Tattoo. Jeff Gross on Crushing Poker & Life!
21 de junio de 20261 h 33 min
Jeff Gross on the pod!
He Parties Like A Tourist…And Plays Poker Like A Killer.
13 de junio de 20261 h 8 min
Francis Anderson quit running the day his little brother beat him.Poker was different.That one stuck.Francis grew up in Poughkeepsie, New York, in a competitive family. Road races on the weekends. Soccer …
Notas del episodio
Francis Anderson quit running the day his little brother beat him.
Poker was different.
That one stuck.
Francis grew up in Poughkeepsie, New York, in a competitive family. Road races on the weekends. Soccer. School. A normal path.
Then college happened.
University of Albany. Accounting major. Study room poker games. $5 and $10 buy-ins.
And then Jamie Gold won the 2006 WSOP Main Event.
For a lot of people, Moneymaker was the moment.
For Francis?
It was Jamie Gold talking people into doing the wrong thing for $12 million.
From there, poker got serious fast.
He started playing online, driving to Turning Stone, grinding $150 nightlies with a tiny bankroll, and building a network through PocketFives and AOL Instant Messenger.
Then he satellited into the Sunday Brawl, got 7th for around $10K, and told his mom he was dropping out of college.
As one does.
In this episode of The Table 1 Podcast, Francis joins Art Parmann and Justin Young to talk through the full ride:
- ♠️ Finding poker during the Jamie Gold WSOP era
- ♥️ Dropping out after a Sunday Brawl score
- ♦️ Black Friday and the Costa Rica online poker migration
- ♣️ Grinding with David Peters and seeing elite work ethic up close
- ♠️ Moving to Vegas with a tiny bankroll
- ♥️ Getting crushed, going nearly broke, and rebuilding
- ♦️ Wearing a cowboy hat and mask to disguise himself in the Monster Stack
- ♣️ Turning a $5K bankroll into a massive WSOP score
- ♠️ Winning the $800 Independence Day event for $500K
- ♥️ Becoming Main Event chip leader the next day
- ♦️ Back-to-back WPT final tables
- ♣️ Why he still shows up early for $800s and $1Ks
This one is a real grinder story.
Not overnight success.
Not one heater.
A decade-plus of moving countries, rebuilding bankrolls, firing bullets, getting better, and showing up again the next day.
Sometimes in a cowboy hat.
👇 Drop a comment:
What was YOUR poker boom moment — Moneymaker, Jamie Gold, High Stakes Poker, or something else?
Show Notes:
00:00 The Legend of the 14 Espresso Martinis
03:19 Why Francis Can Never Go by “Frank”
05:40 Intense Sibling Rivalry
06:16 Retiring From Running After His Little Brother Beat Him
09:11 University at Albany & Accounting
09:41 Jamie Gold Sparks the Poker Obsession
12:48 Turning Stone Trips for 18+ Poker
13:30 Early Screen Names: The Lab Rat vs. The Lag Rat
14:34 Dropping Out After a $10K Sunday Brawl Score
15:38 PocketFives, AIM & Chris Hunichen
16:21 First 6-Figure Online Score
18:45 Black Friday, Vegas & Costa Rica
20:14 Learning David Peters’ Insane Work Ethic
27:23 Moving to Vegas for Live Poker
29:42 WSOP Marathon Breakthrough
35:40 Going Nearly Broke in 2022
36:38 Cowboy Hat / Face Mask Disguise
39:15 $450K Monster Stack Score
42:49 $800 Independence Day Bracelet Run
44:49 Winning $500K
45:51 Main Event Chip Leader 24 Hours Later
49:20 Coaching With Justin Saliba
51:42 Buying His Mom a Car
55:06 Still Grinding $800s and $1Ks
58:06 Back-to-Back WPT Final Tables
1:00:50 Deepest Main Event Run
1:01:49 Big Field Tournament Strategy
1:04:52 First Trip to Asia for APT
1:07:10 Francis Anderson Poker on Instagram
Francis’ Links:
Instagram - https://instagram.com/francisandersonpoker
T1 Links:
What is Table 1? Find out here:
https://table1.vegas
Follow us:
X - https://x.com/table1vegas
IG - https://instagram.com/table1vegas
Linda MotherF*cking Johnson in the House. Buying Cardplayer for the Cruises, WSOP Glory, Co-Founding the TDA, Owning a Piece of Party Poker...and SO MUCH MORE.
6 de junio de 20261 h 28 min
Come Play Poker with us online & Get a 150% Deposit Bonus up to $3K!Sign up here: https://play.phenompoker.com/register?r=Table1OR...Come play with us in Las Vegas at Table 1! (https://table1.vegas)---00:00 …
Notas del episodio
Come Play Poker with us online & Get a 150% Deposit Bonus up to $3K!Sign up here: https://play.phenompoker.com/register?r=Table1OR...Come play with us in Las Vegas at Table 1! (https://table1.vegas)---00:00 Cold Open: Fixing Vera Richmond's WSOP Omission00:45 Welcome to Table One & Guest Linda Johnson02:10 Childhood, Military Upbringing & Moving Every 3 Years03:12 Turning 21: Shifting from Blackjack to Poker04:08 Sponsor Break: Phenom Poker04:45 Postal Service Career & Card Games with Coworkers05:33 Early Days of Stud & Razz at Caesars Palace05:49 The 1980 WSOP Ladies Event & Quitting Her Job07:32 Cutting Her Teeth in Gardena's Smoky 1975 Card Rooms09:14 Linda's Dad Missing Her Final Table for a Shoe Shine10:13 Moving to Vegas with a $5,000 Bankroll10:33 Grind Routine: Condo Living & Playing Until the Sun Comes Up11:23 Strict Money Management & Climbing the Limit Stakes12:18 Breaking Into the Male-Dominated "Man Caves" of Poker13:58 Sisterhood of Early Female Players & Mentors15:12 Tournament Poker in the 1980s: Lapel Timers & 3-Spot Payouts18:31 WPT Boot Camp Bankroll Advice: Cash Games vs. Tournaments19:35 The Rise of Texas Hold'em Popularity in the Mid-80s20:19 Table One Mid-Roll Promo21:03 Why Poker is Beatable Compared to Roulette & Craps22:28 Shifting Focus to the Business & Administrative Side of Poker23:43 Going Glossy: Buying Card Player Magazine in 199226:36 Table One Mid-Roll Promo27:15 Financing the Buyout & Turning a Profit on Card Player29:23 The Early Logistics of Managing Card Player Cruises31:36 Wild Cruise Stories: Bunk Beds, PTSD, & Mexican ATV Wrecks34:30 The Dangerous Financial Hit of the 2001 $1M Guarantee38:10 Becoming Global Ambassadors & Affiliates for Party Poker41:05 Turning Down a Foreign Move & The Historic 2005 Stock Buyout43:16 Founding "Poker Gives" & Feeding the Homeless in Las Vegas45:02 Private Jet Prop Games: Chinese Poker & Razz with Kenna James47:00 The 1997 Razz Bracelet Win & Confronting an Offensive Advertiser49:34 Emotional Walk to the Horseshoe Final Table & Fan Support
He Lost $10,000 Trying To Eat McDonald's. Mike Noori Shares His Poker Journey.
30 de mayo de 20261 h 24 min
Come Play Poker with us online & Get a 150% Deposit Bonus up to $3K!Sign up here: https://play.phenompoker.com/register...OR...Come play with us in Las Vegas at Table 1! (https://table1.vegas)---Mike Noori's …
Notas del episodio
Come Play Poker with us online & Get a 150% Deposit Bonus up to $3K!Sign up here: https://play.phenompoker.com/register...OR...Come play with us in Las Vegas at Table 1! (https://table1.vegas)---Mike Noori's poker career started with a crime.Well...sort of.At 16 years old he was sneaking into casinos, waiting for security guards to look the other way before sprinting into poker rooms.When that stopped working?He bought a fake ID.Not to be 21.To be 18.Because all he wanted to do was play poker.That obsession took him through:online poker's wild west,college dropout life,massive bankroll swings,mixed games,prop bets,a WSOP bracelet...and eventually...a 43-acre farm in North Carolina.Seriously.In this episode of The Table 1 Podcast, Mike joins Art Parmann and Justin Young for one of the funniest and most unexpected poker journeys we've heard yet.We talk:♠️ Sneaking into casinos as a teenager♥️ Turning a free $50 online poker signup into $12,000 (and losing all of it)♦️ Why he chose college based on nearby poker rooms♣️ Dusting a PCA package and nearly going broke♠️ Staking a friend in the Mega Millions that saved his bankroll♥️ Learning mixed games at Commerce and Hollywood Park♦️ Winning the WSOP Monster Stack bracelet♣️ The legendary McDonald's prop bet♠️ Walking 30+ miles to get out of a golf bet♥️ Training for a $35,000 basketball prop bet♦️ Leaving poker behind for cows, bees, and farm lifeWe also get into:
- fake IDs
- bad beat jackpots
- golf gambling
- mixed game glory days
- bracelet parties
- contractor scams
- beekeeping
- and why sometimes the best move is leaving the game entirely.
This one starts in a garage home game and somehow ends with seven cows and a greenhouse.Only in poker.👇 Drop a comment:What's the most ridiculous prop bet you've ever seen?Mike's Links:X - https://x.com/MikeNoori---T1 LinksPhenom Poker (Daily MTTs + deposit bonus):https://play.phenompoker.com/register...Play with us in Vegas:https://table1.vegasCard Player Magazine:https://table1.vegas/cardplayerFollow us:X - https://x.com/table1vegasIG - / table1vegas
The WSOP Is Paying Poker Vloggers Up To $40,000. The Man Behind The Program "D22-soso" Tells All 🤑
23 de mayo de 20261 h 3 min
Before Wayne Chiang was helping shape the future of poker content at the WSOP…he was one of the best StarCraft players in the world.Not “pretty good.”World Champion.Back when esports barely existed…before …
Notas del episodio
Before Wayne Chiang was helping shape the future of poker content at the WSOP…
he was one of the best StarCraft players in the world.
Not “pretty good.”
World Champion.
Back when esports barely existed…
before Twitch…
before streaming…
before anyone thought playing video games could become a career…
Wayne was already there.
Grinding real-time strategy games.
Writing battle reports by hand because replays didn’t exist yet.
Competing against future poker legends, esports pioneers, and internet entrepreneurs before any of them were famous.
Then poker happened.
And suddenly the same competitive obsession that made him elite at StarCraft…
translated perfectly into online poker during the boom.
In this episode of The Table 1 Podcast, Wayne “D22-soso” joins Art Parmann and Justin Young for one of the most fascinating crossover stories we’ve had yet:
- ♠️ Becoming a StarCraft World Champion in the earliest days of esports
- ♥️ The original “content creator” grind before streaming existed
- ♦️ The overlap between elite gamers and poker crushers
- ♣️ Going broke in poker and rebuilding from scratch
- ♠️ The insane early online poker ecosystem
- ♥️ Playing the biggest games online before bankroll management existed
- ♦️ Becoming part-owner of Live at the Bike
- ♣️ Helping shape the WSOP Vlogger Program today
- ♠️ Why poker needs creators more than ever
- ♥️ How AI, content, and media are changing poker forever
We also get into:
- esports history
- Commerce poker politics
- poker fame vs actual skill
- livestream tells
- what makes good poker content
- and why “your network is your net worth” becomes more true the longer you play poker.
This one feels like a time capsule of:
early esports,
early online poker,
and the weird internet era that created both.
👇 Drop a comment:
What old-school poker or esports moment made YOU realize the internet was changing everything?
Show Notes
00:00 Pro Gamer Origins
11:46 E-Sports Forever?!
16:05 Poker!
19:30 “Old school” online poker
30:46 Going Broke
39:00 Streaming Poker & Live at the Bike
46:36 2-Hand Hold’em
48:49 WSOP & Content!
56:45 The BOOK
Wayne's Links
X - https://x.com/D22_soso
2 Hand Hold'em - http://play2hh.herokuapp.com/
YouTube - https://youtube.com/@waynechiangpoker
WSOP Vlogger Program:
https://www.wsop.com/poker-vlogger-program/
T1 Links
Phenom Poker (Daily MTTs + deposit bonus):
https://play.phenompoker.com/register?r=Table1
Play with us in Vegas:
https://table1.vegas
First-time depositors can get up to 200% on $2,000 when you use our link.
Card Player Magazine (Table 1 stories):
https://table1.vegas/cardplayer
Follow us:
X - https://x.com/table1vegas
IG - https://instagram.com/table1vegas
Poker Was Chaos Until He Changed The Game.
17 de mayo de 20261 h 19 min
Come Play Poker with us online & Get a 150% Deposit Bonus up to $3K!Sign up hereOR... Come play with us in Las Vegas at Table 1!https://table1.vegasMatt Savage almost changed poker history.Seriously.One …
Notas del episodio
Come Play Poker with us online & Get a 150% Deposit Bonus up to $3K!
Sign up here
OR... Come play with us in Las Vegas at Table 1!
https://table1.vegas
Matt Savage almost changed poker history.
Seriously.
One ruling…
one sentence…
and the most famous hand of the poker boom might’ve played out completely differently.
But that’s only a tiny piece of Matt’s story.
Because before poker had standardized tournament rules…
before the TDA…
before modern tournament poker became the machine it is today…
everything was chaos.
Different casinos had different rules.
Players argued nonstop.
Structures were all over the place.
And during the poker boom?
Absolute insanity.
So Matt Savage helped fix it.
In this episode of The Table 1 Podcast, Matt joins Art Parmann and Justin Young for a deep dive into the hidden side of poker that most players never think about:
- ♠️ The early WPT days and poker’s Wild West era
- ♥️ Building the Tournament Directors Association (TDA)
- ♦️ Running the WSOP during the Moneymaker boom
- ♣️ The hand that almost changed poker history forever
- ♠️ Why Matt thinks some modern tournament structures are broken
- ♥️ The future of poker with AI, solvers, phones, and cheating concerns
- ♦️ Why recreational players matter more than pros realize
- ♣️ The chaos of old-school WSOP poker rooms
We also get into:
- poker room disasters
- missing money scandals
- livestream headaches
- bizarre rulings
- why everybody hates the floor… until they need the floor
…and why tournament poker today looks completely different because of people like Matt.
This one is poker history, poker philosophy, and behind-the-scenes Vegas chaos all wrapped into one episode.
👇 Comment below:
What’s the most controversial poker ruling YOU’ve ever seen?
Watch on YouTube:
PASTE_YOUTUBE_LINK_HERE
Show Notes
00:00 Early Bowling Life
07:02 Lucky You
09:57 Almost Ruining The Poker Boom & Matt’s Poker Origin Story
21:50 Early Days at WPT & The TDA
34:50 The Boom!
40:25 WSOP!
49:29 Technology in Poker & Unique Formats
1:08:23 2026 & Beyond
Matt’s Links
X - https://x.com/SavagePoker
TDA - https://pokertda.com/
T1 Links
Phenom Poker (Daily MTTs + deposit bonus):
https://play.phenompoker.com/register?r=Table1
First-time depositors can get up to 150% up to $3,000 when you use our link.
Card Player Magazine (Table 1 stories):
https://table1.vegas/cardplayer
Follow us:
X - https://x.com/table1vegas
IG - https://instagram.com/table1vegas
He Spends 350 Days Per Year Inside of a Casino (And Wins). Allen Kessler Shares His Journey.
10 de mayo de 20261 h 25 min
Play with us on Phenom Poker! https://play.phenompoker.com/register?r=Table1 Play with us in Vegas on Table 1: https://table1.vegas This week we're joined by Allen "The Chainsaw" Kessler. Most poker stories …
Notas del episodio
Play with us on Phenom Poker!
https://play.phenompoker.com/register?r=Table1
Play with us in Vegas on Table 1:
https://table1.vegas
This week we're joined by Allen "The Chainsaw" Kessler. Most poker stories have some common thread. For Allen, that thread is curiosity.
Whether that be the mechanics of a card game or a video poker machine, or even your basic slot machine, Allen's played — and beaten — them all.
Show Notes:
00:00 Introduction to woodworking
4:15 Who is Allen Kessler?
10:04 Weekend Warrior Mode
15:39 Selling Phone Numbers?!
31:44 Vegas Baby!
40:00 Chain(saw)ing Some Poker Tourneys Together
45:38 The Chainsaw Mixed Series of Poker
51:32 The WSOP + Fantasy Poker
1:07:38 Binking a slot for $1,000,000+
1:18:05 Which Bracelet is Allen Gonna Win?
Allen's Links:
YouTube:
https://www.youtube.com/@UCVwTQG94x6mgJAgaIANr5TQ
X:
https://x.com/AllenKessler
Instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/chainsawpoker/
He Lost Millions…Then Fought His Way Back! Mike Matusow's Poker Journey Is A Wild One
2 de mayo de 20261 h 46 min
Mike Matusow was one of the best players in the world.And he knew it.But before the bracelets… before the TV cameras… before the meltdowns…He was just a kid in Las Vegas: Getting picked on Selling candy at …
Notas del episodio
Mike Matusow was one of the best players in the world.
And he knew it.
But before the bracelets… before the TV cameras… before the meltdowns…
He was just a kid in Las Vegas:
- Getting picked on
- Selling candy at school
- Building a race car to find his place
Then he discovered gambling.
And it hit fast.
Video poker turned into addiction.
Addiction turned into poker.
Poker turned into dominance.
Within months, he goes from never playing poker… to sitting with legends like Johnny Moss.
To being told by the reigning World Champion:
“You’re one of the only ones who knows what’s going on.”
That’s how fast it happened.
But the story everyone thinks they know? That’s only part of it.
Because behind the wins… there’s a different story:
- Drugs
- Jail
- Millions lost
- Mental battles
- Starting over again and again
And somehow… still competing at the highest level.
In this episode of The Table 1 Podcast, Mike “The Mouth” Matusow joins Art Parmann and Justin Young to break down one of the most intense careers in poker:
- ♠️ Getting bullied growing up and finding confidence through cars
- ♥️ Becoming addicted to gambling before poker
- ♦️ Learning poker and becoming elite almost instantly
- ♣️ Playing with legends in the 90s poker scene
- ♠️ The Scotty Nguyen backing story and calling his shot
- ♥️ The 2005 WSOP Main Event run — and how it slipped away
- ♦️ Russ Hamilton stealing millions from him
- ♣️ Jail, depression, and rebuilding his life
- ♠️ Why modern poker is broken and what players get wrong
- ♥️ The mindset required to win at the highest level
This one is raw, unfiltered, and a look at poker from someone who lived through every era of it.
Come Play With Us
https://table1.vegas
https://play.phenompoker.com/register?r=Table1
Follow Mike
Twitter: https://x.com/themouthmatusow
Instagram: https://instagram.com/mikematusow
Table 1 Podcast
The Table 1 Podcast is poker’s living room.
We bring you the stories behind the biggest personalities in poker — the wins, the losses, and everything that happens away from the felt.
Subscribe for new episodes every week.
He Lost Everything Gambling…But Poker Bailed Him Out.
25 de abril de 20261 h 13 min
John Borenstein wasn’t supposed to make it in poker.He got kicked out of three high schools.Finished with a GED.And spent his teenage years running around New Jersey doing things that definitely weren’t part of …
Notas del episodio
John Borenstein wasn’t supposed to make it in poker.
He got kicked out of three high schools.
Finished with a GED.
And spent his teenage years running around New Jersey doing things that definitely weren’t part of any career plan.
Then one night… he ended up in a stolen van.
And that’s not even the craziest part.
Before he ever played a real tournament, he satellited into a $22 online event…
Overslept…
Woke up late…
And won it for $27,000.
In his parents’ basement.
From there?
He didn’t go pro the normal way.
He opened an underground poker club.
At 18.
We’re talking:
- Armed robberies
- Methhead regulars
- Partners stealing rent money
- Getting held at gunpoint
…and somehow…
that turned into a six-figure tournament career.
In this episode of The Table 1 Podcast, John joins Art Parmann and Justin Young to tell one of the wildest poker stories you’ll hear.
- Getting expelled from multiple high schools
- The stolen van story that got him kicked out
- Winning $27K as a teenager by accident
- Running underground poker games at 18
- Getting robbed at gunpoint in a home game
- Losing everything… then winning it back in 24 hours
- The Colossus run with 22,000 players
- Why he hates modern poker
This one is chaos, comedy, and somehow still a success story.
Show Notes
00:00 — Getting kicked out of school
Three high schools → GED with honors
3:44 — First poker games + early suspensions
Running games in empty classrooms
5:07 — The stolen van story
Car theft → crash → expulsion
12:52 — First big online score ($27K)
Satellite → overslept → wins anyway
16:46 — Starting an underground poker club
Turning winnings into a business at 18
22:29 — Armed robbery at the game
Held at gunpoint in a home game
27:29 — Quits poker → Amazon job
Trying to go “normal”
29:47 — Wins $40K → quits job immediately
Back to poker full-time
36:01 — PCA trip + early tournament success
First big live scores
42:24 — WSOP Colossus final table run
22,000-player field → first major result
47:30 — Why he hates modern poker
Solver era vs old-school instincts
52:59 — The Tinder story begins
Peggy Sue enters the chat…
1:09:17 — $50K blackjack punt → comeback
Loses everything… wins it back next day
Come Play With Us
https://table1.vegas
https://play.phenompoker.com/register?r=Table1
Follow John
Instagram: https://instagram.com/itsmejonb
Table 1 Podcast
The Table 1 Podcast is poker’s living room.
We bring you the stories behind the biggest personalities in poker — the wins, the losses, and everything that happens away from the felt.
Subscribe for new episodes every week.
He Moved to Vegas to Win…and Hated It.
18 de abril de 20261 h 29 min
Justin Saliba had $30,000.Sitting on the couch.Watching TV with his dad.By the end of the day…$0.Not one hand.Not one bad beat.Just kept firing… until it was all gone.“I had over 30K… and I hit zero.”That …
Notas del episodio
Justin Saliba had $30,000.
Sitting on the couch.
Watching TV with his dad.
By the end of the day…
$0.
Not one hand.
Not one bad beat.
Just kept firing… until it was all gone.
“I had over 30K… and I hit zero.”
That moment could’ve been the end.
Instead… it was the start.
In this episode of The Table 1 Podcast, Justin Saliba joins Art Parmann and Justin Young to break down one of the most volatile, honest, and fascinating paths in poker.
From growing up in Ohio playing neighborhood games…
to chasing a professional soccer career…
to moving to Vegas with six months to “make millions”…
…and eventually becoming a $10M+ tournament crusher.
Along the way, we get into:
- Losing his entire bankroll early in his career
- Why he HATED his first Vegas grind
- The coaching deal that saved his poker career
- Being accused of cheating — and how he responded
- Recording his entire session… then winning a bracelet
- Going on a heater that changed everything
- The mindset shift that took him to the highest stakes
This one is raw, honest, and a perfect look at what it actually takes to survive (and win) in high-stakes poker.
Show Notes
(AI generated from the transcript. Please excuse any AI slop.)
0:38 — Intro + motivation to chase events
Flying across the world when the “feeling” is there
6:12 — Growing up in Ohio + poker origin story
Learning poker from his older brother during the Moneymaker boom
10:03 — College life + soccer career path
Chasing pro soccer before poker becomes real
23:27 — Post-college limbo → poker focus
Living at home, trying to figure life out
25:20 — $30K → $0 bankroll collapse
The swing that changed everything
27:26 — Calling Jonathan Little
Internship → coaching → rebuilding from zero
32:28 — Moving to Vegas (with 6-month plan)
“I’ll make millions and come back”
37:47 — The Vegas reality check
Grinding Bellagio cash… and hating it
48:03 — COVID poker boom
Online games explode + first big tournament score
50:40 — Mexico grind with Rampage / high-stakes push
Trying to break into tournament world
57:45 — First major live FT + brutal lesson
Brock Wilson story on the bubble
1:07:14 — Cheating accusations
High-stakes pros questioning him
1:07:46 — Recording everything → winning bracelet
The ultimate “prove it” moment
1:13:15 — Heater + high-stakes breakthrough
Winning trip after trip
1:21:24 — Triton final table + validation
Proving he belongs at the highest level
1:27:15 — Life now + future goals
Balancing motivation, poker, and life
Justin's Links
PokerCoaching.com
X - @justin_saliba
Table 1 Links
Come play at Table 1
Play with the T1 community online

Aquí están los 40 episodios más recientes de 153. Los anteriores están en el feed del podcast.

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