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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 From06:12 — Oregon Roots + Hustling Baseball Cards11:27 — Talking His Way Into University15:29 — Mensa, Card Counting + Getting Paid to Solve Puzzles17:05 — Being Cheap Without Being Miserable20:47 — Bookmaking, Credit + Keeping Customers in Action26:46 — Getting Paid When Gamblers Owe You Money30:01 — Card Counting Bans + A Career in Finance33:50 — Becoming the House + The Royal Flush Catch41:46 — Playing Poker at Work + Teaching the Boss46:02 — Ultimate Bet, 100% Rakeback + The Missing Refund49:08 — Getting Crushed in PLO + Wanting a Cut of the Rake53:12 — Negotiating the 40% Rake Deal59:27 — Live at the Bike + Hosts Losing in Their Own Games1:05:34 — Early Poker Streams + The Money Behind the Table1:10:58 — Bart, Ownership + Building Live at the Bike1:13:24 — Ryan Feldman, Doug Polk + The Buyout1:19:51 — Moving to Commerce + Protecting the Game1:26:09 — Bigger Stakes, Bomb Pots + Losing the Regulars1:32:08 — “I'm Too Rich for This” + Walking Away1:33:09 — The WPT Call-In Show1:34:51 — The 100-Player Main Event Bet1:39:52 — Golf Hustles + What Happened to Gambling? T1 Links What is Table 1?Find out here 👇https://table1.vegas Follow us: X — https://x.com/table1vegasIG — https://instagram.com/table1vegas #Limon #Poker #Table1Podcast

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 Session07:37 — London Roots + England's Junior Chess Team20:23 — Rugby, ADHD + The Wrong University Campus27:12 — Dropping Out + Finding a Different Path30:56 — The First Poker Win35:54 — Early Wins + The Reality Check40:09 — Getting Obsessed with Solvers49:19 — Going Pro + His Parents' Support53:55 — Heads-Up, a $150K Score + Moving Up59:59 — Guerrilla Poker + Learning to Exploit1:04:24 — Reported as a Bot + Taking Over the Lobbies1:08:11 — The Doug Polk Challenge1:15:20 — The Cash Game Championships1:19:11 — A $600K Win + A Last-Minute Near Miss1:23:10 — Why Tournaments Drive Him Crazy1:26:53 — 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/table1vegasIG - https://instagram.com/table1vegas

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 Intro0:34 Meet The Poker Boss1:32 Growing Up in Massachusetts13:34 Computers, Basketball & the Move to Florida18:33 Catching the Poker Bug23:26 Casino Boats & the Dog-Track Audition28:37 Taking the Show on the Road: The WPT33:19 A Car Comes Through the Casino Lobby38:40 Devilfish’s “$10,000” Surprise41:32 $1,000, Two Suitcases & a Midnight Departure47:41 First Table at Bellagio: Bobby’s Room50:24 From Dealer to the Rules Guy57:50 The Call From Bobby Baldwin59:53 Reserved Games & the Backlash1:09:07 What Alan Keating Figured Out1:13:23 Behind the PokerGO Deal1:17:37 Kevin Hart Hijacks a Phone Call1:20:50 Poker at Ben & J.Lo’s House1:27:32 Hidden Cameras & Changing the Deal1:33:27 Bellagio’s Slide-Pitch Plan1:38:08 Shufflers, Home Games & Game Integrity1:42:36 Where to Find The Poker Boss PLAY WITH US IN VEGAS Come for the poker. Leave with a story.table1.vegas SUPPORT THE SHOW Safe Travels Bag — use code TABLE1 at checkout. Justin’s How to Crush Live Cash Games course Phenom Poker — use code TABLE1. SEAN’S LINKS@ThePokerBoss on X TABLE 1 LINKSTable 1 on XTable 1 on Instagram #Table1Podcast #Poker #DoyleBrunson

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/MikeHoltzPokerIG: 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/table1vegasIG — https://instagram.com/table1vegas

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 Notes00:00 — Intro + Darren Rabinowitz02:46 — Seattle Roots & Family08:34 — Finding Online Poker14:18 — College, Banking & Leaving Arizona21:43 — First Vegas Summer & Early Bankroll31:13 — Poker Friends & Aussie Millions39:19 — Backing Deals & Life on the Circuit44:36 — The Online Grind & COVID54:37 — Golf & Returning to Live Poker59:23 — Two Tournaments, Two Casinos1:07:49 — The WSOP Summer & The Last $5K1:13:23 — Final-Table Pressure1:17:10 — Heads-Up Against Phil Hellmuth1:19:35 — Winning the Bracelet & What’s Next Darren’s LinksX: https://x.com/DarrenRabbiIG: 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/table1vegasIG — https://instagram.com/table1vegas

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 nowWe 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 Schwartz01:38 — Miami, Baseball & Growing Up Competitive06:30 — Madden, Monopoly & Early Gambling08:08 — Baseball Ends + Poker Begins09:17 — Security Guard Shift Hustle10:27 — Credit Cards, PartyPoker & The Early Grind11:32 — The $580K PokerStars Score17:13 — Firing $1K With Almost Nothing Left19:12 — Final Table Chaos + Heads-Up Comeback22:08 — $394K At Borgata + Cash Through TSA24:00 — First Vegas Shot + Getting Fired27:37 — Turning Poker Into A Career32:10 — Cash Games, PLO & The Tour34:48 — Raising Money For The $1M One Drop37:19 — Aces In The Biggest Spot42:19 — The Second One Drop Dream43:20 — Nines, Queens & The $6M Swing46:48 — Bustout → Dice Table48:48 — Kids, Balance & Life After Full-Time Poker52:46 — Investing, RAF & What Comes Next55:42 — Mindset, Philanthropy & Real Bad Beats58:45 — Prop Bets, PCA & Antonio Stories1:00:51 — The Aria Craps Roll1:15:00 — Future Plans + Family1:18:08 — 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/table1vegasIG - https://instagram.com/table1vegas

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 nowThis 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

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 lifeWe also get into: why Garrett says he was already “1.9 feet out the poker door”how public games became private-game warfarewhy poker fame can be dangerouswhat therapy changed for himwhy money did not solve what he thought it wouldwhat the poker world gets wrong about himand 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

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 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 vlogWe also get into: why private games matterwhy the best pros stay privatewhat stream poker did to high-stakes cashhow ego can wreck a bankrollwhy tournament poker feels like heartbreakwhy cash-game players struggle with short stacksand 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/table1vegasIG - https://instagram.com/table1vegas ```

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

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 oneThis 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 Table07:28 — New Jersey, Hockey, And Smash 6411:11 — First Card Nights, Moneymaker, And One Bad Semester18:46 — The $50 Nit Cycle And Falling For MTTs22:07 — The Camera He Couldn't Afford23:58 — Teaching Special Ed And Racing Home To Play27:04 — Mark Herm, AIM, And Mom Thinking It Was The Mob33:33 — First Trip To Vegas, First WSOP Cash38:30 — Black Friday, Starcraft, And Moving To Canada41:37 — $99,99845:24 — A Baby, A House, And New Jersey Going Online

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

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

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

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