The 2023 WPT Choctaw Main Event was played from May 5-8 and had 612 $5,000 unique entries, distributing a total of $2.1 million in prizes. Jaffee was the last one standing, managing to weave his way through the field and gather all the chips, as well as the second biggest prize of his career: $400K. When asked what the victory meant to him he told us: “WPT is as prestigious a tour as there is in poker, so winning two main events on their tour is a special accomplishment.”

While Jaffee has 34 cashes and 6 final tables on the World Poker Tour, the recent win in Choctaw is his best memory from all his years playing on the tour: “Obviously winning makes it special to begin with, but I also had tons of friends there cheering me on as well as my parents. Having my parents there to see it firsthand and seeing them as happy as they were definitely made it extra special.”

With his first place finish, he also won a seat in the 2023 WPT World Championship and rose to third place in the WPT Player of the Year rankings. Bin Weng is currently leading the rankings and we asked Jared if he has aspirations of sitting atop the leaderboard: “I doubt I will be able to catch Bin because his lead is so huge. I may only play one or two more events this season and it would likely take another win at least. Anything is possible, but I consider it highly unlikely and it isn’t really something I’m thinking about.”

Jaffee’s first World Poker Tour win came almost a decade ago, back in November 2013 at the WPT bestbet Jacksonville Fall Poker Scramble, which had 358 entries pay the $3,500 buy-in. For his first place finish, he took home a prize of $252K and got his name affixed to the (now-called) Mike Sexton Cup. Below is a clip of Jaffee’s interview with the WPT’s Tony Dunst after his victory:

When asked what advice he would give someone who is going to play their first WPT Main Event, Jaffee replied “I would just tell them that the structures are very forgiving. You don’t need to panic if you lose a few pots early on and you should still be in a position where you won’t need to force the issue. Try not to think to far ahead and just focus on the next hand. Also, just enjoy it: they are fun events to play with a great staff!”

We wondered if Jaffee was among those who actively utilize poker training sites, but he said that “To be honest I’m not much of a studier. For me it’s more about getting in reps and playing as much as possible. I’ll also talk hands occasionally with people I think are more studied than myself hoping to grab some extra insight the easy way.”

Here’s a list of the six WPT final tables that Jared has made:

Date	Event	Buy-In	Entries	Result	Prize
January 2010	Southern Poker Championship	$10,000	208	4th	$135,079
August 2010	Legends of Poker	$5,000	462	5th	$86,000
November 2013	Jacksonville Fall Poker Scramble	$3,500	358		$252,749
January 2014	Borgata Winter Poker Open	$3,500	1,229	4th	$258,590
October 2019	WPTDeepStacks Pittsburgh	$1,100	386	6th	$14,615
May 2023	Choctaw	$3,800	612		$400,740

The World Poker Tour’s final tables are 6-handed, but Jaffee notably also placed 7th at the 2014 WPT Five Diamond World Poker Classic for $167K, 7th at the 2015 WPT Choctaw for $112K, 8th at the 2016 WPT Seminole Hard Rock Poker Finale for $88K and 8th at the 2021 WPT Venetian for $93K.

His First Cash, Poker’s Triple Crown and December’s Tournaments

Jaffee’s first recorded cash according to HendonMob is a tournament at the 2009 EPT Deuville . When asked what he remembered from that event, he replied “Yeah, I won a seat to the EPT Deauville on PokerStars somewhat accidentally. I thought it was a satellite to something else and next thing I knew I was headed to France. It was a nice trip and a fun experience but honestly at that point I didn’t really know what was going on. I was awful at poker and had no idea what the big time tournament scene was like. I was definitely sort of a deer in headlights, but at the same time it helped solidify that this was something I wanted to pursue and be a part of. So it was a springboard for me.”

With both a WSOP bracelet and WPT titles, Jaffee is just missing an EPT Main Event title to achieve poker’s “Triple Crown”. Is it something he would like to achieve in his career? “I’ve been missing just an EPT title for the Triple Crown now for quite a while, but my EPT experience has been very limited. It would definitely be a very cool accomplishment and I hope to play some EPT’s in the future, but I realize that I’m not likely to play a ton of them so it will be pretty difficult to make it happen. But if I pulled it off, I would definitely find it to be pretty special” he said.

In December the WPT World Championship returns to the Wynn. Jaffee shared his thoughts on the 2022 edition and whether he thinks that this year the tournaments will be even bigger: “I think pretty much everything the Wynn does is top shelf. Last year’s event was tremendous and as soon as it was over, I knew it was there to stay and I was looking forward to playing it again. As far as the field size, I assume it would be similar depending on the exact timing of the WSOP Paradise in the Bahamas. I think having the two series compete is truly unfortunate and undesirable. With that said, I can’t see a time where I won’t support the Wynn and promote their events. I think it’s important to be vocal when venues do things right because sadly that isn’t the norm.”

To finish, Jaffee shared what he enjoyed most about live tournaments: “I think my favorite part of live tournaments is that every time you sit down you get a different experience. Not all of them are good, but never knowing who you are going to be playing with and what you may see definitely makes for an entertaining environment. I’m not a big fan of routine and when it comes to poker tournaments you never know what’s gonna happen from one minute to the next. It’s definitely more my speed.”

*All images courtesy WorldPokerTour.com

Check out some more great interviews here on Cardplayer Lifestyle:

• Scott Eskenazi, 2023 WPT Rolling Thunder champion
• Alex Gray, WPT presenter
• David Costabile, actor and player
• Hili Shakked, former head of 888poker
• Andre Akkari, poker legend from Brazil
• Tom Wheaton and Alec Rome, producers of the documentary “Dreamers”
• Erin Lydon, Poker Power Managing Director
• Kyna England, Poker Power Instructor & 2021 MSPT Player of the Year

That latter bit has always been celebrated and admired in the poker world, but only recently has Galfond gone all-in with his talents to have created his first ever full-length course for Run It Once Training entitled This Is PLO.

For many serious poker players, just hearing that one of the game’s greatest-ever players and instructors created the new course was enough to have insta-registered. Others have chosen to wait on the sidelines a bit for some testimonials before deciding whether or not to take the plunge and purchase the course, the priciest one in the company’s history.

In this exclusive interview, we sat with Galfond himself to get a better understanding of the process that went into his creating This Is PLO and gain insight as to what guided his preparation and content production. We’ll also hear his true thoughts with regard to whom he feels would benefit most from the course and why it’s a worthwhile investment for players who want to improve their Pot Limit Omaha game.

While you’ve run one of poker’s best training sites for years and have created tons of videos and training content as an instructor, you’ve never created a full-length course of your own up until This is PLO. What drove you to want to do that in the first place?

I had the idea a long time ago! When I began my challenges, I immediately had the goal of creating a course out of the process. As the challenges played out, I realized that I didn’t have the time and capacity to create a course while I was playing them, so I put the idea on the back burner, never sure if I’d ever get around to it.

Prior to beginning to produce the videos, how did you decide how to structure the course’s content in the first place? Did you make any tweaks to your original structure along the way?

What stood out to me in the way that I learned and improved was how segmented the different board textures were. When I studied my delay c-bet strategy on paired boards, it had absolutely nothing to do with my delay c-bet strategy on unpaired flush boards, for example. So, I wanted a way to address every significant part of the game tree with that separation between board textures.

I wouldn’t say that I changed the plan once I started, but I did keep adding more and more videos than I expected to because I realized that there was more and more to cover.

For the most part, each of the course’s videos is approximately 20-30 minutes in length. How did you decide on that particular timeframe? About how long did it take to produce each video?

I aimed for 30 minutes a video, but because I separated things into so many different specific scenarios, occasionally the strategy for one of the spots was quite simple, especially once I simplified it from the solver outputs (which is a theme of my course), so I stopped short when I felt I’d be wasting students’ time reiterating the same points.

Some videos essentially took me just the recording time to create, while others took as many as 12 hours to plan and record.

How long did it take from initial conception and deciding you wanted to create this course until you released it in January? Did you sort of have a daily/weekly routine re: how much you worked on it, or was it more of a side project?

It took about four months. I decided to finally create the course because we (Run It Once Poker) were so occupied with the process of selling the company that I was unable to play any poker in between my obligations relating to that.

Essentially, I worked six days a week, 10 hours a day, making videos whenever I wasn’t actively working on RIO Poker deal responsibilities.  There were a few days that I recorded over 10 videos!

What would you say were some of the biggest challenges you faced during the creation of your course content?

The sheer number of videos was the hardest part. That, and perfectionism. I would have never made a course if I didn’t force myself to get comfortable with just going for it, rather than waiting around and planning until it was perfect.

A big part of the reason we launched it in ‘early access’ was because it made me comfortable getting the course nearly finished, knowing that if I have some new ideas to round it out, I can continue to add to it.

Content creators often have an inner circle of people to bounce their raw work off, hoping to get constructive feedback in order to polish the final product. Undoubtedly, This Is PLO is your magnum opus. With that said, are there any shout-outs you’d like to give to some folks who helped you refine it along the way (and in what way did those individuals help)?

The entire RIO team was extremely helpful in facilitating my ambitious timeline of getting all of the videos edited, prettying up my PowerPoint presentations, etc. I actually didn’t bounce my work off of anyone from a strategy perspective. I had a very clear vision in my mind for how I wanted to teach what I’d learned.

This Is PLO’s landing page’s states that: “This course is for anyone who wants to improve their winrate at Pot Limit Omaha or who wants to think about the game at a higher level” and “You should purchase this course if you’re looking to improve your PLO game or if you’re interested in seeing how Phil Galfond, one of the best PLO players of all time, thinks about the game.” Realistically speaking, I wouldn’t expect a low-stakes PLO grinder to be shelling out $1,500 for any training course. So let’s ask sort of an inverse question: what “categories” of PLO players are not yet ready for a course like this?

I honestly think that players at every level above “I don’t know what a wrap is” can learn from this course, but the two major questions they need to ask themselves are:

• Is improving my game going to be worth this cost given my current level, my ambitions in poker, and my bankroll.
• If Heads Up PLO isn’t my focus, am I willing to learn key concepts in large part through examples of Heads Up PLO, and apply them to 6-max or 9-handed PLO, or will I find it unmotivating to see so many examples of a format I don’t play?

If you haven’t checked out This is PLO yet, here’s what you can expect from @PhilGalfond‘s course. pic.twitter.com/2BGfO7VexR

— Run It Once Training (@RunItOnce) March 4, 2022

One of your stated goals with this course is for it to act as kind of a shortcut for serious students, saving them hundreds of hours of solver study by training them to “think like a solver” in the first place. Similarly, you aim for players to “not have to rely on charts or solver outputs”. Is that to say that even players who’ve NEVER used charts or solvers to study would be able to make the most of this course, or is some basic familiarity with charts and solvers a prerequisite?

I don’t think any familiarity with charts or solvers is necessary, but realistically speaking, if someone has no familiarity at all with solvers whatsoever, they’re likely not at a stage in their poker journey where it makes sense to spend this much on a course.

Some of the course’s content includes you explaining how to use Run It Once’s Vision GTO Trainer. Please explain how this fits hand-in-hand with the methodology and approach to PLO that you’re advocating, rather than being in contrast to it.

I think that learning from solvers is integral to becoming an elite poker player, but I don’t think one needs to spend countless hours trying to memorize solver outputs. Instead, they need to turn solver outputs into heuristics that can be applied to whatever situation they might find themselves in. In this course, I walk them through doing just that, and I share my conclusions from my own solver study.

That said, I still believe that anyone looking to be great should study with solver tools, even after taking my course. I just believe that most people spend too much time and energy on it because they’re doing it the wrong way.

At $1,499, This Is PLO is by far the most expensive course that Run It Once Training has ever offered, and word on the street is that nonetheless sales have done really well since you launched it (congrats!). You’ve said that “when broken down by the number of hours, it’s very little per hour” and it’s quite clear that a serious student prepared to make an investment like this will undoubtedly recoup it swiftly at the tables. With all that said, $1,499 is still the “early access” price, featuring a $1,000 discount. Could you give our readers some sort of estimate as to when you expect the course to be offered at its full price of $2,499?

I’m working hard now with the goal of putting the finishing touches on the course before the World Series of Poker begins. That said, I decided to work with others to add some more 6-max focused content to the course, which could take some time and will be not fully within my control.

While This Is PLO is still available at the “early access” price, you’ve been gathering feedback and suggestions to decide what areas of the game tree to go even more in-depth on. What’s the nature of the feedback you’ve been getting thus far?

The feedback has been great, and I haven’t been asked for as many specific additions as I expected to be. The main thing I’ve been learning, not as much from those who’ve bought the course, but from those considering it, is that people want to see more 6-max focused content. So that’s my plan!

I’ll also be adding session reviews against multiple challengers and some 4-bet pot videos, which I haven’t yet covered in the course.

We’ve released the first video of @PhilGalfond‘s This is PLO on YouTube. Check it out to discover the structure of the course and how Phil will help you maximize your EV. https://t.co/PxcXpnAtAK

— Run It Once Training (@RunItOnce) January 28, 2022

You’re 4-for-4 in Galfond Challenges, and you’ve said that playing in those challenges was one of the key ingredients in you coming up with the material for This Is PLO. People used to ask Doyle Brunson back in the day if he was worried about giving away too many of his secrets in Super System. By the same token, is there any part of you that’s just a little bit concerned that some fellow online crusher is only too happy to pay for this course and use your own skills to their benefit in a future Galfond Challenge?

I was a little bit concerned about that, yes, but I have been struggling to find more challengers lately. Maybe this will make some people confident enough to step into the arena with me!

As far as paying for the course, I noticed that you currently offer three options: Skrill, PayPal, and credit card. In the future, will someone be able to purchase this – and other Run It Once Training materials – directly from an account balance in the eventually-relaunched Run It Once Poker client? Will any other payment options be added in the future?

At this time, we plan to stick with those payment methods, but we always welcome suggestions from users who can’t find an option that suits them!

Poker is constantly evolving, and players are constantly improving. Why do you feel that This Is PLO will “stand the test of time” and remain a top-tier poker training tool for years to come?

I think that the core concepts taught in This Is PLO won’t be invalidated by future advancements in the game. While study tools will continue to progress in the years to come, today’s solvers give the “real answers.”  The advancements in the future of solver tools will mostly be related to speed, ease of use, and ease of drawing conclusions.

So, while I’m not saying that I’ll never progress as a PLO player, I do believe that I had all of the info that I needed to teach concepts that will stand the test of time.

In your public video on the This is PLO landing page, you say that the course is “the culmination of nearly two decades playing and teaching.” Does that mean it’ll take another 20 years until we see the next course by Phil Galfond?

Haha! Honestly, maybe. This was hard work!

In all seriousness, the response to This Is PLO has been phenomenal. It seems like the poker world can never get enough Phil Galfond. In the event you DO someday decide to create another full-length course, what niche of poker do you think it would most likely cover?

The only other course that interests me right now would be a beginner course… teaching concepts that I believe all poker players need to know and that few are taught from the start. Let me finish this one and take a little break before considering it, though.

Of your 33 HendonMob live tournament results, 26 are from the WSOP, with your last non-WSOP result being almost a decade ago. Your last live WSOP result is from 2019. You’ve obviously got your hands full running the business, being an active father and husband, continuing to build out This Is PLO, etc, but with your fire to play poker newly lit once again, can we expect you to return to the WSOP this summer? If so, will you be playing a full schedule or just focusing on PLO events to try and claim bracelet #4?

Great question that I honestly don’t know the answer to! My passion right now is playing heads-up matches, so if I were to find one that excited me, I would probably even skip the WSOP entirely for it.  That said, I haven’t played WSOP (other than 2-3 small online events) since before the pandemic, so I miss that a little bit, too.

I go into every summer with a plan, and I leave every summer having done something different. We’ll see!

I’ll likely continue to skip non-Vegas-based events, just because I prefer being home with my family.

First up among them is Jesse Fullen. Having become a beloved fixture on the U.S. poker scene over the last few years, Jesse is currently the Head of Social Media at PokerNews. In this conversation, we’ll learn what Jesse used to do before diving head-first into the poker world, about his hobbies away from the felt, his passion for the game, and much more.

How did you first get into the poker industry and for how long have you been doing It?

After attending the first two run it up events in Reno back in 2014, I became friends with Jason Somerville. That friendship and others I made in the Run It Up community led to me pursuing a job in Vegas. We made the move in January 2015 but my job was a youth pastor (had been in that line for 12 years at the time). When the WSOP came that summer, I heard about Jason’s first RIU booth in the hallway and learned that our mutual friend would work it 7 days a week. I thought that was crazy and offered one of my two days off (Fridays) to work the booth so he could get stuff done.  I worked part-time in that booth 2015 and 2016.

In 2016 I also started working part-time with their RIU live events. In 2017 when RIU opened a Vegas office, I took an “Office Manager” role and jumped a few months later when I was offered the opportunity to step into a social media management position. I was with RIU until the pandemic struck in March 2020.

Somewhere along that ride, I befriended people at PokerNews and took a part-time position in 2019 and 2020. I started full-time with PokerNews late in 2020 and here we are headed into 2022….so I’ve been in the industry for nearly 8 years if you fudge the numbers somewhere.

What poker outlets have you been involved with and which has been your favorite (one-time or ongoing) gig over the years?

I’ve just been with Run It Up and PokerNews. Both of my roles have been so radically different and amazing.  At Run It Up, my goal was to cover the casual/recreational player in a $100-$500 tournament. Our goal was to help build a community and give the max bang for your poker budget. We had a welcome party, karaoke night, board game night, plus high quality photographer and live reporter on site. I loved working with Jason and bringing that experience to life. Working at PokerNews, I try to bring that same energy while working with Norman Chad, Chris Moneymaker, Phil Hellmuth and other amazing pros.

What is it that you love about poker that keeps you so interested in the game?

I love that people from all walks of life can meet at a poker table and be equal to a certain degree. Doctors, lawyers, high school dropouts, etc. For me poker is about the wins, but also about the stories you can hear or create.

As far as working in the industry, I want to make poker as fun as I can for the people I touch with my content or words. When I was a youth pastor, my goal was to create a fun safe place for kids. In poker, I try to do the same thing. Make a fun safe place where people can connect and grow.

“Does anybody have @MikeCaro‘s book of tells on them? What does it say in there if somebody blows a unicorn piñata butt at you after they bet? I think thats page 36.”

Watch our Chat Plays Poker episode with @goldsteinE @jessefullen and @VanessaKade here:https://t.co/62Qa3w9oJ5 pic.twitter.com/SyocrQF2uw

— Run It Up (@runitup) November 22, 2019

What sort of job(s) – if any – did you have before getting into poker?

As mentioned, I was a youth pastor for 12 years. I sold used cars for about a year. I was a barista/coffee shop manager for four years. Executive Assistant at a Petro Chemical Company.  I was a hand model/actor for a Halloween party company (I had to hide under a table and perform as “Thing” from The Addams Family) and yeah I drove a karaoke Uber (karaoke system and black lights) in Vegas for almost two years. (I’ve left out about 20 more odd jobs…)

Tell us a bit about your personal life; where you live, family, etc.

I live in Las Vegas, NV. Married to Becca for 14 years and we have 2 daughters. Lucy is 12 and Harper is 10.

Happy Thanksgiving from The Fullens! pic.twitter.com/lqpLY5JzYa

— Jesse Fullen (@jessefullen) November 26, 2021

How often do you play poker? Home games mostly or in poker rooms? Cash or tourneys? 

The answer to this question has changed many times over the years. Currently i just play on vacation, during the series, or at events I make it out to. I will hit up an occasional cash game or daily tournament when friends come to town but its definitely not the normal weekly few games I used to play.

Jesse at the 2021 WSOP Employees event (finished 42nd)

What’s the biggest misconception people have about people who work in poker media?

I feel like people expect me to know a lot more than I do. “Who is this?” How would I know?! Ohhh, I’m probably supposed to or you at least expect a professional person to know that. My best talent is having a great group of friends around me who I can ask. If I don’t know the answer, I can at least find it for you as fast as possible.

Do you do any other sort of work or have a side gig?

Does tutoring my daughter in math count?  It doesn’t pay well. I occasionally do some video editing gigs or drone photography things here and there. I’ve helped out with a charity tournament or two with bits and pieces.

What other hobbies do you have? Tell us about them.

Karaoke is more than a hobby to me. Karaoke is life. In a previous life, my passions were singing (choir for 8+ years) and theater. My adult life doesn’t give me a ton of time to access those so a quick karaoke performance of Toxic by Britney Spears gets that energy out.

Jesse, singing and dancing to Britney Spears’ Toxic during a Run It Up karaoke night

You’ve been exceptionally creative in your social media role with PokerNews. Sometimes that creativity knocks it out of the park and your innovation draws big numbers, while other times the analytics indicate that things fell flat. Do your emotions swing depending on the numbers, or do you feel like success ought to be measured in different ways?

I’ve learned the hard way that something I can put hours into can get 12 likes while something I spent maybe 10 seconds on can blow up and go viral. I always want to give me best to a creative piece I work on. I know it can fall flat and when it does, I step over its carcass and move on to the next one. You can’t get emotional about the misses.

I do get pretty excited when something takes off though.  I doubt my bosses will agree but I sometimes feel like success should be measured in the positive comments… the positive quote tweets… the shares, etc.  I love hearing someone talk about a piece of content I worked on days, weeks, months later.

During the series, someone asked me about why Chris Moneymaker still goes by Moneymaker when my April (1st) article revealed his real last name was “Smith.” It’s been seven months and someone is still thinking about the April Fools joke I pulled. That’s one that really filled my creative gas tank.

2003 WSOP champ Chris Moneymaker changed the course of poker history today with a shocking admission about a lie he’s told for nearly two decades — he’s not the man you think he is. Story here. https://t.co/4pS8HXGNwE

— PokerNews (@PokerNews) April 1, 2021

Beyond manning the social channels for PokerNews, you’ve dabbled in podcast co-hosting, Twitch streaming, video production, and more. It seems like you need a pretty diverse skillset to handle everything thrown your way (hats off to you!). What advice would you give to someone wanting to break into the poker business and have this type of role?

Do not pigeonhole yourself. You are never too old to learn something new and add a new tool to your toolbelt. If you are good at one thing, there will always be someone someday who might be better at that one thing. Do what you can to always keep learning and picking up new things to help you grow and become more valuable to your employer or your future one.

What’s something you still haven’t yet done/accomplished in poker that’s on your bucket list?

I have to say play in the Main Event. I will turn 40 this coming summer during one of the starting days and that has always been a goal of mine. I lost my dad several years ago, but we really reconnected after many rough years… at the poker table. My dad and I would play every week in a free bar league. We played in some underground games in Houston and we even traveled to Louisiana to play in some bigger buy-in ($200) weekend tournaments back in the day. Our goal was to make it to the WSOP and play together, etc. Sadly my dad died before we could make those trips happen. So, yeah, if I ever get the opportunity to jump in, I know I’ll have my dad with me.

Beyond that dream everyone in poker has, I want to help keep the history of the game alive. One thing I love about my co-worker, Chad Holloway, is his love of the history of poker and the history of the WSOP with Binion’s Horseshoe and everything. I hope to interview more legends of the game and help share their memories.

My #lfgpodcast interview with @ChadAHolloway just came out! Skip to 1 hour 3 min 30 secs and hear about my new pals @BrianReinert1 and @SeanAllison218. Listen to how i angled @RealKidPoker into gifting me a $250 rebuy and this selfie. @TheCSOP was fun.https://t.co/63RqapYDje pic.twitter.com/doRtTB5CYQ

— Jesse Fullen (@jessefullen) March 7, 2019

Alright, the stage is yours – go ahead and let loose about something you just HAVE to get off your chest.

Poker is a game. Next time you head out to a cash session or register a tournament, go into it with the mindset that this is a game and sometimes games can be fun. Talk to someone at the table if you can. Hear their story about how they got into poker. Play your game and try to win of course, but try to remember that poker can be fun and friendly, too. In addition to walking away with a trophy, try to walk away with a new friend or two as well. Then, bring them to the next Run It Up series and join me for karaoke night with 250 other slightly inebriated poker players.

One last thing… I would not be where I am today without certain people.  Thank you Jason Somerville, Chad Holloway, Yori Epskamp, Kristalina Houston, Chris Moneymaker, Norman Chad, Kevin Mathers, Mike Nelson, Pablo Ortiz, Andy Camou, Will Butcher and countless others. These amazing people have helped me grow, learn, and get to where I am.

Anyhow who has encountered Hayley at a RunGood Poker Series stop, elsewhere on the poker circuit, at the tables, or even just follows her on social media knows just how passionate she is about poker and how much she loves being a part of this industry.

Perhaps primarily known for her photography, there’s SO much more to Hayley’s work than her pictures and picture-taking encompasses. And there’s so much more to Hayley than just her work! All of that is exactly what we’re eager to learn more about.

I am so glad to be sharing this interview with you all, so that we can take a few minutes to properly recognize and appreciate not only Hayley’s work, but also to learn more about her, how her career in the poker industry got started, and what fuels her passion for poker.

Hayley Hochstetler

How did you first get into the poker industry and for how long have you been part of it? 

The way I got into the poker industry is just a bunch of being in the right place at the right time. I dropped out of college after one semester at Iowa State University in 2013, where I was studying journalism. I really wanted to be a sports photographer for an NFL or MLB team and while I was in college I worked for the newspaper staff covering Big 12 sporting events. I had some problems with my mental health and ended up moving back home to work as a cocktail waitress at Horseshoe Council Bluffs. I wasn’t too thrilled to be in this position, feeling like I took a huge downgrade from where I was previously in my career at the newspaper, but eventually started to enjoy the job a lot more and befriended some of the regulars, most of which played poker.

I started playing poker on the free WSOP app and then when I turned 21, finally started playing a little live cash. Right after I turned 21 is when I met the RunGood Poker Series crew, and I basically told Tana Karn (the President of RunGood) that I could take photography for the tour to the next level. He gave me a chance and I’ve been with the team ever since, though my job is pretty random and not just limited to photography now. So in short, I’ve been in the casino industry for almost eight years, and poker for almost five.

What poker outlets and companies have you been involved with and which has been your favorite (one-time or ongoing) gig over the years?

I’ve always been with RunGood, but I have done some freelance work for Heartland Poker Tour, WSOP circuit, and recently Above the Felt. I’m sure I missed a few there, but my favorite ongoing gig pre-pandemic was HPT stops because they went to different cities than RunGood did. I got to go to Chicago a lot, St. Louis, and Black Hawk, Colorado, and it was a nice change of scenery.

What is it that you love about poker that keeps you so interested in the game?

There are a lot of things that I love about poker but the biggest thing that I love stems from being a former competitive athlete. I was basically groomed to be a college softball player as a teenager but ultimately gave that up when I dropped out to move home, and poker has given me that competition and drive to get better that I craved so badly after losing softball. It’s also not something you can perfect, you always have to work to get better and I love that about the game.

What sort of job(s) – if any – did you have before getting into poker?

My very first job was at a movie theater. I cleaned theaters, sold tickets, popped popcorn. I worked at the Buckle, a clothing store, for a short time and hated it. In college I worked at Texas Roadhouse as a host as well as the Iowa State Daily newspaper as a photojournalist. After college I worked at Horseshoe Iowa for four-and-a-half years, which led me into my current job at RunGood.

Tell us a bit about your personal life; where you live, family, etc.

I grew up a military child. My dad was a Battalion Sergeant Major in the US Army and did 21 years of service. We moved around a lot which is maybe why I made better friends with sports than people.. My elementary school years we lived in Heidelberg, Germany, followed by Fayetteville, North Carolina through middle school years and ultimately ended up in Council Bluffs, Iowa from the time I was 12 until high school.

I would consider Council Bluffs to be my “real” hometown if you were to ask me where I was from, though. I have one younger brother, Tanner, who is 23. He is also in the industry as a poker dealer. I currently live in Tulsa, Oklahoma which is just a convenience thing pertaining to proximity to the RunGood stops and HQ.

How often do you play poker? Home games mostly or in poker rooms? Cash or tourneys?

Pre-pandemic I was playing live cash maybe two or three times a week, but if we were at a RunGood stop I might play five nights a week. During COVID lockdown I took up online poker and put in a couple thousand tournaments from March until July. I worked with a coach and had a decent amount of tournament success, but ultimately prefer to play live cash. My goal is to be able to play on a high stakes game on Poker After Dark!

Had a 9-1 deficit heads up but… new high score!!!!!!!!!!!! https://t.co/zpYQFAZns8 pic.twitter.com/mibCHW5Z50

— Hayley Hochstetler (@hayleyocho) October 12, 2020

What’s the biggest misconception people have about people who work in the poker industry, and poker photographers in particular?

This is a tough question. I think something that people don’t realize with poker photographers is that this is our job and we don’t work for free. The number of times I’ve seen people screenshot my work from PokerNews with the watermark cut halfway off, without a credit anywhere or paying for the image is kind of frustrating.

The industry as a whole though, I think is vastly unappreciated. Some people believe that live reporting is easy, but keeping up with action on multiple tables, typing up hand histories in a timely manner all while making it flow in an enjoyable way for the reader is a lot harder than people think. So, shoutout to my industry friends.

You are officially the Vice President of Media at RunGoodGear.com. Within that role it seems like you do LOTS of different types of work, jobs, and tasks well beyond just photography. Can you share a list of your responsibilities and what your day-to-day job is like?

Haha, well my job is pretty random these days. During tour season I will lay out marketing maps for all three social media channels with imagery and text. I will gather our ambassadors and figure out who can go to what stop and gather hotel booking info. I do clothing and promo orders for each of our stops. I make the schedule of tournaments and events for each stop. I fold, shelf, and organize incoming orders that are not related to the tour. I make sure invoices come in and go out. I’m basically the organization half of Tana’s brain and try to do whatever I can to make his life easier.

A day at the @RunGoodGear warehouse https://t.co/A5PNvLP5sH

— Hayley Hochstetler (@hayleyocho) May 14, 2021

What are your workdays like in the run up to and during live events?

The week before our events, I’ll do a marketing post each day. During actual stop weeks, I take photos of each event, make a stockpile of photos to be used for future marketing purposes. I live tweet our bigger events, and am in charge of all of the social media channels, which during the event itself can be a lot to handle. I generally have to set an alarm on my phone for every hour on the hour to remind myself to send out tweets and Facebook posts. Lastly, I upload Main Event photos to PokerNews. Usually, tour weeks are whirlwinds.

If your social media timelines are anything to go by, you devote a good amount of time to playing poker both live and online, but you also have SUCH a busy and involved job and workload! How exactly do you balance your work time and free time?

Ever since I entered the casino and gaming industry I’ve had the mentality of: the environment around me is meant to be people having fun. Casinos are supposed to be fun, which is why it’s the “entertainment” industry, so I never feel like I’m working when I’m surrounded by an industry that is built around entertainment. I don’t ever feel busy or overwhelmed, life is only as overwhelming as you allow it to be. I’ve built my work around something I love!

My “me” time usually comes between the hours of 11pm and 4am, and you’ll usually find me organizing something at my house because I can’t sit still for more than 10 minutes.

What other hobbies do you have? Tell us about them.

I’m really into cars. I’m 25 and have owned 8 cars in my lifetime. I love to longboard and rollerblade. I’m also into sports cards, which is something that developed over the past 6 months. I could probably name almost every single NFL and NBA rookie in the 2020 draft class along with the team they were drafted to. I also love to collect art. My house is a collection of candles and paintings.

How did you get the nickname “Ocho”?

So my softball number growing up was 8. My dad always called me “eight” or “number eight” to the point where if he called me by my actual name, I was probably in trouble. When I created my Instagram account in high school, for some reason I chose the name “hayleyocho,” and somewhere in between softball and poker I became “Ocho” and it just stuck. I’m more likely to respond to Ocho before my actual name these days.

What’s something you still haven’t yet done/accomplished in poker that’s on your bucket list?

Have a six figure score. Play on Poker After Dark. Buy my mom a BMW.

I want to be able to change the lives of those who shaped or changed mine growing up. I feel like there’s a few people that I owe the world to.

A large percentage of the folks involved in the poker community around the world, players, media members, and industry personalities alike, are products of the “Moneymaker boom”, male, and between the ages of 35-45. You, a woman in her 20s, certainly “break that mold”. What would you like to say to other women in your age bracket that they’re missing out on by not being involved in the poker world that you so enjoy being a part of?

It’s not as scary or as intimidating as it might seem on the surface. You do have to have somewhat of a thick skin but women have always been viewed as kind of inferior or an underdog regardless of what aspect. Whether it be sports, work, politics, strength, etc. Might as well embrace and use it to your advantage. My goal outside of just working in the poker industry is to be a positive influence and role model for women in the game. If I can make at least one woman feel more comfortable at the table, then I’ve done my job.

Alright, the stage is yours – go ahead and let loose about something you just HAVE to get off your chest.

Pineapple goes on pizza, peanut butter goes on hamburgers, ranch is only meant to be a salad dressing, and avocados are gross!

Haha, kidding. There’s been something that I haven’t been able to announce for over a year now because of COVID, but this year for the WSOP I’m actually stepping into the role as the head of the photography team for WSOP and PokerNews. I can’t wait for the live WSOP to be back and doing what I love so much once again.

How it started how it’s going pic.twitter.com/yCExul1d8U

— Hayley Hochstetler (@hayleyocho) October 7, 2020

Ethan, who livestreamed his legendary run with an audience to several thousand viewers, has only been playing poker for two years and is just 22 years old, making his achievement even more of a feel-good story than it already was.  I’ve even called it, as have others, a Moneymaker-esque story. Not in the sense that I think it will cause another poker boom but, in the sense that a relatively unknown live low-stakes player captured a title in the most prestigious poker tournament series on the planet.

Truth be told I subscribe to Ethan’s YouTube channel and have been following his poker journey for the better part of six months since seeing a thumbnail of his videos being recommended to me. In that time, I have become a big fan of his and actually watched the last three or so hours of his livestreamed bracelet win, thanks to being on the right side of the time-zone difference between the East Coast and the UK.

I wasn’t sure exactly why I became a big fan or invested in a poker player who primarily plays the lower stakes games, but after speaking with Ethan it became clear why.

For me, it’s his approach and love for the game. Without trying to infantilize Ethan, watching his run was like looking through the eyes of a baby, where everything is new and filled with wonder. You could see the excitement grow after each pot, the variation in emotion as he got closer to the final table, you could see in his eyes he was daring to dream. There was no ego, no foul-mouthed rants; it was just a young man at his computer trying his best and embodying everything that I love about poker. I’m not ashamed to say I punched the air in jubilation after seeing him win.

After his triumph, I just knew that I had to sit down with Ethan to help tell his story and thankfully, he obliged and indulged some of his time with me. So, after taking the poker world by storm and getting everyone chatting, let’s get to know Ethan ‘Rampage Poker’ Yau a little better.

Hi Ethan, thanks for taking the time out your day to speak with me, to jump into the deep-end for those unfamiliar with you, who exactly is Ethan Yau?

I’m just a 22-year-old who’s recently graduated college in Business Management; it really is just that.

How did the poker journey begin?

I started playing in the winter of 2018, I wanted to get better, so I started watching a lot of Brad Owen, Andrew Neeme, and Johnny Vibes. I saw those guys making videos and I thought I could do that. I have a bit of experience making videos and running a smaller YouTube channel, so I thought it was something I could do.

I started making more videos throughout college but ramped it up once I graduated.

How do you fare with the armchair poker players in the comments section?

I just took the comments for what they are, and boy did I get some criticism and feedback! Especially on my first video (see below) where I still didn’t fully understand the rules still and how things worked like the button. Thankfully I’ve come a long way since then.

You’re very honest in your videos. Is it fair to say the Ethan we see is the real Ethan?

Yeah, I try to be as transparent as possible and that’s what the channel is based on. I’m very open about my game and journey and being very transparent in losses as well. This helped me see where my skill level was. I just play $1/3 and I take a lot of losses.

What were your goals pre-poker?

Before poker, I suppose, became my job, I had no idea what I wanted to do. I had a stable sales position in a normal office job and then got hired by a start-up that revolved around baseball, which I’m passionate about.

Working with a start-up, I realized early-on I’m the kind of person who can’t do the 9-5 grind. I really like the instable lifestyle and that’s what pushed me to jump into the YouTube and poker game more seriously and go all out on the instability lifestyle.

I think it’d be fair to say betting on yourself has paid off then?

Yeah, absolutely. I’m still in shock, as you can imagine.

So, are you primarily a tournament player or cash game player?

Cash game player, I’ve never really played poker tournaments and had never even won one until now!

Everyone has their poker heroes, and most would perhaps look to Phil Ivey, Daniel Negreanu, and the like when they first start playing. Was that the same for you?

No not at all! Like I said, my influences were the likes of Brad Owen and Andrew Neeme so they were my main introductions to poker. I’ve never followed or been familiar with the old school players and the guys who’ve just crushed for years.

It’s funny; when I was streaming the tournament, people in the chat were writing comments on who was who at my tables. So, when I wasn’t in a hand I quickly Googled some names and saw live earning of $500k, $600k and $1.8 million … and I’m there with like $2k in earnings. My fans really helped, and it was cool to see who I was playing against.

Many have commented that your win is a Chris Moneymaker-eque story. Can you see the comparison?

Hahaha, I’ve seen the comparison but he’s in another league of his own and in his own god-tier. But yes, I have been told by some fans who said that my run has inspired them and that is amazing. This is really the dream for me; you dream about winning a bracelet and I never imagined this in a million years. I guess it’s true anyone can run hot for 10 hours and go runner-runner for two final table eliminations. It’s one of the reasons why I love poker. You don’t need to be the best player at the table to win.

On the stream when you win, you said “How am I going to tell my mom about this win?” What’s the story there?

Oh dear, haha! I told my mom I wasn’t going to travel to New Jersey to play because she wouldn’t have been happy with me if she found out I did travel with COVID going on. Luckily though, she’s not familiar with US poker laws, so I think I’ll be good.

Let’s just finish on some quickfire poker questions. Everyone’s got a favourite hand; what’s yours?

Well I suppose it has to be pocket fours now, as that’s the hand I won with and that’ll hold some sentimental value.

In as few words as possible, describe the euphoria you had when you won.

I couldn’t verbalise it. That scream of ‘Let’s Go!’ at the end summed it all up. Pure happiness, and so surreal.

Favourite stakes to play?

$1/3 is really fun; it’s my bread and butter. It’s more social and fun and not as reg heavy as the higher stakes.

Favourite hero call?

I make a lot of light hero calls in cash games. Most of the time they don’t work. I think it has to be calling with king high in an online tournament. It was a pretty wet board, but the line didn’t make sense and it’s no fun to fold, especially when the call button is so close to the fold button, too!

Where’s your go-to poker spot?

I mostly play at Boston Billiards Club, but I’m planning on expanding my horizons in LA, Florida, Texas and now with this score, internationally. That’s the dream.

And finally, Ethan, where can people find you online?

On YouTube I’m Rampage Poker, Instagram my handle is @rampaagepoker and Twitter’s also @rampagepoker.

Affectionately known as “Papi” in the poker community, Joey recently celebrated his 35th birthday. As he’s always someone who prefers to shine the spotlight on others, I felt that Joey’s milestone perhaps offered the opportunity for him to reflect on his years of work and open up a bit about what might lie ahead for the self-styled media man.

You Tweeted something very reflective at about 1:30am after your birthday ended. This “older version of you” seems like he’s going to be an interesting guy. What do you mean by “gotta stay focused”? On what? What makes you feel that you hadn’t “been focused” until now?

I feel like I have to stay focused on the life goals I’ve set for myself instead of letting myself get distracted with all the temptation the world has to offer. The entire world is out to grab your attention and they are very good at doing it if you aren’t focused on something that overwhelms your thought process.

I’ve been focused on seeing what life has to offer outside obsessing over work 24/7 during these past two years. I’ve always been hyper-obsessed with whatever my main goals were in life.

Great birthday – very peaceful.

Younger version of me needed to be out doing something rambunctious w/ a big group of people.

Older version of me is happy to spend time with the person I enjoy being around the most.

Gotta stay focused

— Joey Ingram #passion (@Joeingram1) June 25, 2020

In what way do you want 35-year-old Joey to be different from the “younger version of you”?

Ideally, the older version of me will be more mindful of building relationships and spending more time with those people. Living with integrity to myself and to others – taking care of my mind, my body and my finances. I want to be more selfless and less selfish.

When I was in my 20s I thought that the only way I could succeed in my life and in poker was to be very selfish with my focus in that my entire life was built around poker. Poker was all I thought about doing because I felt it was what would make me successful. In retrospect, I think I could have been smarter with my approach and achieved better results. I need to improve my organization and planning.

When we spoke privately I asked if this piece could be a written interview rather than recorded and transcribed conversation. You said “sure, we could do that; I’m trying to get better at writing.” Why? What makes you want to be a better writer?

I’ve always enjoyed writing my thoughts out because It feels like I’m having a conversation with myself and I’m able to unlock subconscious thoughts once I hit flow that I’m only able to hit with few very people during spoken conversations.

I discovered this when I wrote my book and would spend 4-5 consecutive hours writing. My head would hurt after I was finished because of all the mental energy I was using unlocking these thoughts I’m rarely able to explore. My attention goes all over the place 24/7.

Your contributions to the poker industry have been very impactful over the past few years. That’s given you quite a bit of clout and influence, on social media in particular. What sort of responsibility do you feel it carries to be a big influencer in our industry?

I’m trying to figure out what type of responsibility that carries now. I think you have the power to decide how much you want to care and what you want to care about in your world.

For instance, I had an image of what I thought a great poker ambassador was; namely someone who looked out for professional players who had no voice. I feel that a poker ambassador is by definition someone who cares about improving the world that they are a part of.

As you start to spread out focus and are able to generate income away from the tables I can understand why someone would stop caring as much about that professional player community they once considered themselves to be  part of.

Your investigative work on the Mike Postle scandal garnered an incredible amount of attention, even beyond the confines of the poker world. So many people in the poker world want to return to the days when our game got lots of mainstream attention. Your work achieved that, but for better or worse the attention was to a scandalous incident rather than something highlighting the beauty and more positive moments our game produces. What are your thoughts on that?

My thoughts are that this type of thought process is why many of the big issues related to security don’t get addressed. Everyone wants to focus on the positive side of the game and ignore the negatives until they become so noticeable that they can’t be ignored any longer.

I’m trying to better understand a smart way to go upon handling this. I can go on and on about the negatives taking place or the positives taking place or a mixture of both.

You were recognized with two Global Poker Awards –Journalist of the Year and Media Content of the Year: Video – for the aforementioned investigative work. By conventional standards of journalism, I think it could be said that your technique for carrying out that investigation was somewhat unorthodox.  In the same vein, your long-running Poker Life Podcast was (to the best of my knowledge) the first in our industry to incorporate a video element to it in the first place. Why do you think the video medium carries so much power compared to just the spoken or written word?

I think the video medium carries power because it gives you both audio and a visual instantly; that’s just what many people have come to prefer. I think podcasts and audio series are changing this habit for consumers all around the world. It’s a very interesting platform to have thought experiments about what type of formats you could create.

The investigation was very unorthodox – I had no context of what a “normal” investigation should entail. I thought i was losing my mind seeing what I was seeing on the video and wanted to have others watch it with me. I never expected that to turn into what it was, but the poker play itself was very entertaining to watch and I was determined to get to the bottom of whatever the hell was going on with it. I do think audio-only has infinite potential.

Joey Ingram wins Journalist of the Year & Content of the Year – Video Awards at #GlobalPokerAwards @Joeingram1 pic.twitter.com/qJlx2rTj7H

— Global Poker Index (@gpi) March 7, 2020

People who want to get better at poker spend a lot of time studying in the lab, often on poker training sites. By contrast, these days you seem to be spending a lot of time these days in the lab studying content and marketing strategies. What other industries are you looking at for content production ideas and inspiration, and why are you looking at those industries in particular?

I’ve been spending a lot of time in all types of research labs over the past two years. Content and marketing is one of those focuses but probably not very high on my list. I’ve been on a mission to find the “truths” about how the world operates as a system overall. I’m not sure why I find that so intriguing.

Understanding marketing is important to understanding how our world’s system operates. Finance, world history, American history, geopolitics, mass media, world governments – I spend a lot of time going deep down those rabbit holes. The system of content then becomes very easy to understand and you’re able to see the world through that content lens. One main objective of this is the ability to re-frame the world in various perspectives. I try to understand the world from different perspectives when I’m brainstorming an idea or thought.

Let’s take a poker site for example. How does the owner view their site? How do the different members of the team view the poker site? How do the professionals, the amateurs, the whales, the media, and so on view the site? Understanding the answers to these questions takes a lot of research and the ability to connect dots from that research.

More poker content is being produced these days than ever before, but this is true in pretty much every area of our lives. Content producers in poker aren’t just competing against one another for attention, but also against Netflix, YouTube, Twitch, social media, etc. In your opinion, what should poker content producers be doing to stand out and gain the upper hand in this battle for attention? Are there any specific techniques you would recommend?

I’ve never actively tried to get better at content prior to this year. I’ve always just done my podcast, made some random videos that I was interested in making, and didn’t worry about much else outside of that.

I’ve “improved” in the way I am able to express my emotions on camera. I’m a pretty high energy crazy guy so I have to tone that down pretty hard in real life. Doing videos allows my high energy to come out, and people seem to really enjoy that.

On numerous occasions you’ve publicly taken issue with the marketing efforts (or perceived lack thereof) of some of the biggest live and online poker operators. Many players complain about this, and any individual is of course entitled to his/her opinions. Often, however, some of the most important changes in organizational policy come from within rather than from public feedback. Would you be in favor of poker players making more of an effort to become employed by live and online poker operators and trying to change things from “inside the system”?

Yes – I am exploring this idea right now. I think I might be one of the best people in the industry right now at understanding digital content over various platforms and marketing in general on these platforms. I could have a stronger theoretical understanding of marketing as a system in place but I am gaining that very rapidly right now.

I believe that poker can be one of the biggest games on the internet as a whole. If I have to work together with the operators for this process, I am willing to do it because they could use some assistance. The operators will determine the success of our industry overall.

Is working within the industry “behind the scenes” something you yourself would ever consider if given the right opportunity, or do you always see yourself being independent in a similar role to what you’re doing now?

Yes I can 100% see myself working more behind the scenes in some capacity, and I’m trying to figure out what my approach will be for that moving forward. To execute the vision that i have for my content, for poker events, for creating magical moments that poker players can enjoy – I think I will have to partner with other brands at some level. There are many possibilities for who or what those could be. I am currently experimenting with that.

Enough financial compensation aside, what would it take for you to agree to be a brand ambassador for an online poker operator?

I don’t know if I would ever be a brand ambassador for one solo online poker operator because I like to report on what is happening in the industry overall. I want to support the companies and brands that I think are doing great for the poker world. There are a lot of very exciting things happening at every level of the poker business world. I’m exploring all those options, and truthfully this is the first time I’ve ever thought deeply about how to best approach this.

High profile women in the poker community always get asked the “women in poker” question: how do we bring more women into the game and make the game more appealing for women in the first place? Do you think that men have the right to express opinions on this issue, or should we exclusively be listening to and implementing women’s suggestions?

It would seem to me that the best way to get more women in poker is to promote and establish more female poker player ambassadors in general. I think someone like Kristen Bicknell is doing that right now and other women are beginning to establish themselves through the content world. I don’t see why anyone wouldn’t be able to express their opinions on the issue – I think people with the right knowledge and perspective can offer great ideas for anything.

In what ways would you like to see the poker industry grow over the next five years, and how – if at all – do you see yourself contributing to that growth?

I would like to see the poker industry grow so that it offers opportunities for people to become professionals at various levels of the game. Specifically, I want recreational players to be able to enjoy themselves and also be able to win. There needs to be a situation in which players who aspire to be professionals can still have the chance to do so.

I also want there to be a healthy high stakes ecosystem that offers some type of way for fans to see matches, and for poker content to be booming across all platforms. It would be great to have more mainstream attention on the game in America. I see myself contributing greatly to this growth for the positive.

Finally, if you had a magic wand and could instantly change one thing about the poker world right now, what would it be and why is that your top choice?

Great question! I would either want to improve security-related issues across all poker operators or have a better, more transparent structure on identifying and understanding who the best poker players are.

We at Cardplayer Lifestyle had the pleasure of interviewing Soula Tsoumbaras, founder of the news website PokerBuzz, a one-year old Australian poker media organization. As an up-and-coming poker personality, Soula brings passion, dedication, and an overall fearlessness to breaking into the industry.

Our ongoing Get to Know the Poker Media series profiles folks from all over the world who’ve dedicated their time towards promoting poker through their professional work and Soula fits that description to a T. Read on to hear more about PokerBuzz’s queen bee.

Why poker? What inspired you to dedicate your life to this game?

I started as a blackjack player, got into blackjack about 20 years ago. I just love cards and numbers to be honest with you. I was very good at maths. And I’m very social.

A friend of mine got me into poker. He said, “you’re very good at blackjack—why don’t you try your hand at poker? You’d be a very good player.” But I go, “yeah, but I’m loud!” He goes, “they wouldn’t even know your poker face—whether you had it or didn’t.”

I love everything about it—even the bad beats. You grow from those. They’ll frustrate you, let me tell ya, but I just love every aspect of the game.

My league brought me another level of respect for the game from what goes on behind organizing a tournament to the thinking behind the players. What the players would like and how. The business aspect. It all works together.

I live and breathe poker. I have four children and it’s all about poker!

What is the mission of pokerbuzz?

My mission is to be able to bring poker on all different perspective to people all over the world, especially catering to Australia. I’ve traveled a lot – I go to America 2-3 times per year – being a poker head myself and there’s nothing here in Australia that did it on the scale of America. Bringing the news and what’s going on, the ins and outs, all of the big games that are happening and the tournaments, who’s who, the up and coming players – bringing the knowledge to everybody.

Soula with Jesse Sylvia

What would you like the rest of the world to know about Australian poker?

We’re a force to be reckoned with! The Aussies are coming to steal some thunder.

I think we’ve got a lot of great talent here. Some of the younger ones – the young guns – I just want them to be recognized. America is the heart of poker, and Europe has the EPT, but I’d love for them to be recognized on that caliber or scale.

Australia is coming. It’s grown in heaps in the last 6-8 years.

Soula with Dzmitry Urbanovich

How do you think your perspective as a woman in a primarily male-dominated industry comes into play?

I love that question because about six years ago we started our own poker league – and one of the predominant Australian leagues said, “you won’t last six months.” Exactly the experience of being a woman in a man’s world.

“I’ll see you on the seventh month,” I said. “It’s all good.”

Being the only female in a world of leagues ran by all men was hard. Really hard. But I brought a different aspect to poker: customer service. It was all about the player, making sure that they really enjoyed their game. Having it be homey for them so they wanted to come.

Working in the media rather than the leagues has been totally different – they’ve welcomed me with open arms.

And I’m tough too. I can hang with the boys.

 What is your vision for the future?

I would pokerbuzz to broaden its horizons, and affiliate with the American and European poker industry. That would be like a dream come true.

Actually covering the WSOP and being part of the media would be the bee’s knees.

Soula with 2005 WSOP Main Event Champion Joe Hachem

We’ve also got a “reporter in the field”, our sound engineer Jeff, who’s visiting Las Vegas, reporting from “ground zero” of what the poker scene and the city in general are like in this time of limited reopening.

Robbie’s also got some home game recaps to share, and Ben Ludlow offers some hot takes on the WSOP giving out bracelets for online events.

Time Stamps

In an era when increasing numbers of people are taking interest in the corporate side of the online poker business, Anuj’s work has become nothing short of indispensable. His thorough research pays off in excellent articles that have chronicled the ups and downs of some of our industry’s most important companies.

But what do any of us know of Anuj beyond the bylines?

I am so glad to be sharing this interview with you all, so that we can take a few minutes to properly recognize and appreciate not only Anuj’s work, but also to learn more about him, how his career in the poker industry got started, and what fuels his passion for poker.

Anuj Arora

How did you first get into the game of poker?

I discovered poker during my school days back around 2009. At that time, there was this Zynga Poker craze going on and I’d often get game requests from my friends and cousins on Facebook. So I finally gave it a try and I absolutely fell in love with it.

Around that same period, I also stumbled across poker on TV when one of the sports channels here used to broadcast the World Series of Poker. I didn’t know back then how big the event was, but I was fascinated with all the coverage, the commentary and interviews, how much money one could win, and the fun and excitement.

That led me to venture into real money sites and eventually I made my first deposit. Since then I have been playing poker recreationally.

To the best of my knowledge, your entry into the poker industry was about two years ago and you’ve exclusively worked with Fuse media (Pokerfuse, F5poker, Poker Industry Pro). How did you first become employed by them?

Yes, that is correct. I joined Fuse Media in April 2018 as a freelancer, and later that year I began working there full-time.

Before joining them, I used to be quite active on 2+2 and Twitter, I’d often partake in forums, giving suggestions and feedback to operators – many of which were liked and implemented by them.

I am so pleased to see Anuj getting a broader voice. He is one of the best poker people on social media and forums, and I know a lot of PokerStars people agree.

Tagging @JPCOVACEVICH

— David Lyons (@kalooki) April 16, 2018

I also used to write about the upcoming new PokerStars’ games and features (thanks to my snooping skills, haha) well ahead of their deployment.

More new games to come @PokerStars This time it would be Showtime Hold’em and Spin & Goal. It looks like the Spin & Goal game/promo would be launched during the FIFA World Cup. And maybe, Showtime Hold’em would replace Split Hold’em? pic.twitter.com/S2HcC1Msxa

— Anuj Arora (@anuj2212) April 6, 2018

Also, around that time, PokerStars had obtained a license to operate in India and were very close to launching in the Indian market but with a segregated player pool (prior to the official launch, players in India had access to the dot-com player pool).

I was keenly following the PS.IN launch, plus I had a little background knowledge of the Indian online poker market.

On April 6, 2018, Nick Jones, our Managing Editor, reached out to me and asked me if I’d be interested in writing for Poker Industry PRO/pokerfuse, and here I am. J

What does your day-to-day work schedule look like?

Working from home allows me to have a very flexible schedule, but at the same time, I often end up mismanaging my time. This is something I really need to work on, as often I’ll be working until late at nights because I take a lot of frequent breaks during my work hours.

My typical working day starts a bit late – around 12 PM IST which is early morning in most of Europe. Usually, Mondays are busy days as it involves a lot of catching up from the weekend, and most of the press releases go out on this day.

Your degree is in Marketing from Calcutta University. What sort of career did you originally envision yourself having?

Honestly, I wasn’t very clear with what I was going to do after graduating. Sure, I did opt for marketing, but I always wanted to have a career in an industry that I was passionate about.

Poker was one of my passions, and I’m really glad to be working in this industry and very grateful to Nick Jones and pokerfuse team for getting me into this field.

What sort of job(s) – if any – did you have before getting into poker?

I did not have a job yet before getting into poker as I was still in my school and college days. Though there was a time where I was in a dilemma about whether I should pursue further studies or get a part-time job.

Working in the poker media is my first job and I’m very happy with it.

Tell us a bit about your personal life; where you live, family, etc.

I was born in Kolkata, India. I’m currently single, living with my parents, and the only child. I had an elder brother who passed away 14 years ago.

I have pretty much lived my whole life in Kolkata, a city with a population of 4.5 million. Think I may be one of the very few people from my city or even my country that actually works in the poker media industry.

How often do you play poker? Online only or perhaps in home games and the occasional visit to a live poker room? Cash or tourneys?

I don’t play as much as I used to play during my school and college days. I’d grind on for hours playing sit & gos and tournaments, but those days are long gone.

These days, I only play once in a while like when there is a big tournament series going on.

You may find it surprising, but I have never played poker in a proper live poker room or a casino. We don’t have too many casinos in the country. We do have a few live poker rooms in most cities in India, but I’m not sure about their legality, so I avoid them.

I prefer playing tournaments, and I am a big fan of mixed games. No-Limit 2-7 Single Draw is my favorite poker variant, but I also like playing other lowball variants such as Badugi, Razz, and 2-7 Triple Draw.

What’s the biggest misconception people have about people who work in poker media?

I think the biggest misconception, at least in my country where poker is still in infancy, is that people associate poker media with just live reporting.

The greater worldwide poker audience likely doesn’t know too much about poker in India, aside from perhaps some ambassadors like Muskan Sethi, Aditya Agarwal, and Nipun Java. Tell us a little bit about the country’s poker scene; both online and in the live realm.

India’s poker landscape especially the online market has grown rapidly over the past few years. A lot of people are starting to know about poker, which a few years back was unheard of.

If you take a look at India’s online poker cash game traffic (available on the Poker Industry PRO platform), it has quadrupled in the past 12 months or so.

Online poker traffic in India | courtesy: pokerindustrypro.com

However, India’s live poker scene hasn’t replicated that success because of restrictive gaming laws. Goa is among the few states in India that allow live gambling in casinos.

Around 2010-2012, live poker did show signs of growth with back to back record player turnouts. But all that changed following a crackdown by the tax authorities on live tournament organizers and the implementation of 30% TDS (Tax Deducted at Source) on poker tournament prize winnings, which made them less appealing and ultimately led to their downfall and the rise of Indian online poker rooms.

Some of these Indian poker rooms have even started doing TV campaigns. PokerStars, which has its own segregated room in India, signed up one of India’s biggest Cricketing star, MS Dhoni to promote poker in the country.

So yeah, I think online poker will continue to grow in India unless there is some interference from the politicians or state governments.

What other hobbies do you have? Tell us about them.

Besides poker, I like to spend my free time watching TV series, videos on YouTube mostly on the topics of science and technology, travel and vlogs, that kind of stuff.

I also love gaming, though I don’t get to play as much as I used to. I also like watching cricket like most Indians, haha.

These last few months during the COVID-19 pandemic have been incredibly unique. Can you tell us in what ways (if at all) your work has been different or more interesting for you since March as opposed to pre-pandemic?

So, we have always been working from our homes, so that aspect of our work did not change a bit.

Since we mostly cover news that relates to the online poker industry, this year (especially the last three months) has been one of the busiest periods.

Obviously, with the live poker industry getting affected and people staying at home, online poker got the most attention. Operators and live organizers started moving their live tours online, private home games surged, and global cash game traffic nearly doubled within a matter of weeks causing a mini-boom.

We did an estimation of all the tournament series that were paid out between March and May and per our calculations, over $800 million was paid out during that period. I don’t think there has been any year in the history of online poker that paid out that much in tournament prizes.

How More Than $800 Million Was Paid Out in Online Poker Tournament Series During the COVID-19 Lockdown https://t.co/5h21I8c2Mm #poker

— Poker Industry PRO (@pokerindpro) June 4, 2020

And it’s not over. July is the month that we don’t see much activity from online poker rooms, but with no WSOP taking place this summer, operators are keen on running online series as a replacement.

We just heard the big news about GGPoker running WSOP online bracelet events on its online poker platform, which will be the first of its kind for international players. Partypoker will also be running a big series with the WPT, and PokerStars have also got something up their sleeves for the months of July and August.

So yeah, over the last three months we’ve had plenty of interesting news to write about. It’s a period that otherwise would have been much less exciting had it been any other year.

What are some things you haven’t yet done/accomplished in poker that are on your bucket list?

Like I said earlier, I haven’t played poker in a casino or a poker room yet. So yeah, this is something I’d like to accomplish. But to be honest, I’m not really keen to play in a live poker room any time soon given the ongoing circumstances, haha.

 Alright, the stage is yours – go ahead and let loose about something you just HAVE to get off your chest.

I think I’d use this opportunity to highlight the importance of responsible gambling.

I think most operators do good job with creating awareness of responsible gambling, but I think it would be great if it was possible to create a system that would detect “tilt” play and enforce a cooldown by temporarily suspending them from playing poker or any other gambling activity on their site.

I have personally seen many players start playing destructive poker especially in cash games when they are running badly, repeatedly going all-in after receiving a bad beat, some even moving to the highest stakes and spending their entire bankroll to chase their losses.

I understand this could be hard to design or implement, but if done properly, I think it would do a lot of good for everybody.

The hosts also speak with longtime listener and Salt Lake City home game host Chad who describes hosting and attending his first live poker games in the coronavirus era. With no WSOP going on, neither of our co-hosts are in Las Vegas, but did manage to play in his first two live home poker games after a 2-month pandemic hiatus, and shares his experiences.

Finally, Ben Ludlow is back with a One Outer Top 10 list of the things he misses most about the opening week of the World Series of Poker that’ll have you laughing out loud at episode’s end.

Time Stamps

00:26	Synopsis
1:22	How Ya Runnin?
1:33	Robbie’s feeling jubilant because he finally got to play live home game poker again – twice! Plus, he was a winner in both games. More importantly, the camaraderie and good vibes are back, along with some hand sanitizer and face masks. All players just appreciative to be back playing together.
4:15	Discussing home game players in higher-risk groups: older people and those with weaker immune systems. Don’t pressure them to come back if they personally don’t feel comfortable, and don’t make them feel bad about choosing to continue staying home.
6:20	No more food at the table during the game; taking a proper break to eat, wash hands, and then returning to the poker.
8:40	A feeling of general catharsis for all participants just to be back playing in person again and not be limited to Zoom and online poker home games.
11:30	Recommendation to only go back to playing home games once you’re no longer worried virus-wise. You ideally don’t want anything to cast a cloud over the atmosphere; you just want to sit, enjoy yourself and play poker.
13:20	Bruce thinks he’s shaken hands with people for the last time. It’s elbow/fist bump or bust!
16:40	No home games yet for Bruce, but he’s meeting friends at restaurants for lunch once again.
17:20	Martin from Malta sends another email letting us know that home games are back on the island. He’s product a book on Pot Limit Sviten Special.
19:10	Longtime listener Chad joins the show from Salt Lake City.
20:08	Chad discusses the types of changes he’s made as home game host for the first live game back during the pandemic, including who is and isn’t welcome to participate. No food or communal shared drinks. Full 9-handed table using hand sanitizer bottle as the dealer button.
22:20	Participants in Chad’s game were just happy to get out of the house and play in a home poker game again. Even so, nobody wanted anyone to get sick, so it’s important to abstain from playing if feeling even slightly under 100% healthy. Bottom line, just happy to once again have the semblance of normalcy.
29:00	Chad’s got the “covid cobwebs” J
30:15	Poker Notes Live mobile app ad
31:01	Talk Poker to Me: Interview with James “Splitsuit”Sweeney
32:25	James shares how he first got into poker: “the typical online player thing that happened in the early 2000s.” He also played home games in college primarily in order to make friends and because he enjoyed playing games in general. Played online at PokerStars and Full Tilt, and then at Turning Stone Casino while a student at Syracuse University which allowed 18-year-olds.
34:05	James started taking on a couple students and really enjoyed the teaching aspects of it; things just sort of took off from there.
37:30	Though he studied Marketing, James always wanted to do something related to teaching. Poker naturally presented the opportunity to do that.
39:56	James shares his experiences playing home games in high school and college. The games were “really, REALLY good!” A good mix and rotation of people, very competitive and enjoyable. “Everyone cared, was trying hard, and there was a lot of gamble in the room.”
42:45	Black Friday was a pivotal time to make a decision about “am I going to stick around in poker or do something else?”
43:30	James shares the origin of his “Splitsuit” nickname.
44:54	James shares the origin of the name “Red Chip Poker” the training site that he co-founded along with Ed Miller, Doug Hull, and Christian Soto.
47:35	How Red Chip Poker distinguishes itself from other poker training sites and what makes it unique.
51:00	Red Chip Poker has just released CORE 2.0, a full-enhanced offering with twice as many lessons. A bargain at just $5 a week, and Top Pair Podcast listeners can sign up with code TOP and claim one week free!
51:54	James explains how the original CORE product was updated and what’s new in version 2.0. Specifically there’s a new cash game course from Ed Miller and MTT course from (Cardplayer Lifestyle contributor) Chris Wallace.
55:55	CORE is the most popular Red Chip Poker product because it’s relevant for 90% of all poker players. Advanced poker players thinking at higher levels can avail themselves of Red Chip Poker PRO membership. Also discussing which products are best for home game players.
1:02:00	You can also check out James’ Pre-flop and Math Workbook (special discount here).
1:02:30	Ben Ludlow’s One Outer: Top 10 things he misses most about the WSOP (Ed note: You’ll be laughing non-stop!)