Poker Stories: Randy Ohel

Randy Ohel spends most of his working time grinding high-stakes cash games at Bellagio in Las Vegas, but the 34-year-old mixed-games specialist from Coral Springs, Florida does concentrate on tournaments during the annual World Series of Poker. In the last seven years, Ohel has done quite well at the summer series. In 2012, he won a bracelet, taking down the $2,500 triple draw event. In 2014, he finished runner-up in the $10,000 H.O.R.S.E. championship. In 2016, he took third in the $3,000 pot-limit Omaha six-max event, and second in the $10,000 stud eight-or-better championship. Last year, he finished second once again, this time in the $10,000 triple draw championship.

When you add those scores to the occasional no-limit hold'em cash, Ohel has accumulated more than $2.1 million in live tournament earnings. He has appeared on numerous poker live streams to offer commentary, and most recently, Ohel has started sharing his mixed-games expertise in a semi-regular column for Card Player.

Players interested in poker lessons can contact Ohel directly on Twitter @RandyOhel. Check out his first three articles on 2-7 no-limit lowball, triple draw, and stud eight-or-better on CardPlayer.com.

Highlights from this interview include growing up happily indoors, why his grandmother takes credit for his poker career, being unqualified for McDonald's, a highschool tournament series, going broke and getting a job, grinding his way back, some realism from his grandfather, a sad and lonely dinner break, winning a marathon heads-up battle for a WSOP bracelet, all of the painful close calls since, a bad beat against George Danzer and Justin Bonomo, the politics of a 12-game mix, being a jack of all trades and master of none, playing with Doyle, being a dad in poker, a 24-hour session, a $5,000 prop bet, a secret need to sing, and the future of driving ranges.