Poker Stories: Kahle Burns

Kahle Burns has been playing poker professionally for more than a decade, grinding his way from play chips online to some of the biggest cash games spread in both Las Vegas and Macau. The Geelong, Australia native started focusing more on live tournaments in 2016, however, and the result has been a quick rise to the top of the high roller ranks.

The 31-year-old has $10.8 million in live tournament earnings, which is good for no. 2 on Australia's all-time money list, just behind WSOP main event winner Joe Hachem. Burns has two WSOP bracelets of his own, including the €25,000 high roller at the 2019 WSOP Europe series. Burns started 2020 off strong, winning the AUD$100,000 Aussie Millions high roller for $1.2 million, and finishing runner-up in the AUD$250,000 Super High Roller Bowl Australia for another another $828,000.

Highlights from this interview include following the job, $10 high school games, racking up play chips, turning his game around after a downswing, climbing the cash game ranks, grinding for months in Macau, getting his pulse felt during a hand, why you show up early for high rollers, the poker faces of Stephen Chidwick and Adrian Mateos, passing up the WSOP for high-stakes cash, where he keeps his bracelets, winning a $1.6 million pot, playing $2,000-$4,000 heads-up for Sydney, Frankie Muniz, the Scrabble analogy, getting to the top of Australia's money list, show me your chips, the death of poker's middle class, and not complaining about runner-up finishes.