Poker Stories

Scott Clements has a unique poker origin story, having been so infatuated with the game that he overpaid for his buy-in into the World Poker Tour Canadian Poker Open event. Despite the bad bankroll management decision, he managed to lead the tournament wire-to-wire and emerge with a win. That tournament gave him an automatic entry fee into the WPT North American Poker Championship, which he also won, this time banking $1.45 million. In addition to his two WPT titles, Clements also has two World Series of Poker bracelets. He earned the first in the 2006 $3,000 Omaha eight-or-better event, and the second in the 2007 $1,000 pot-limit Omaha event. The Washington-native has come incredibly close to more bracelets in the years since, with numerous final tables and six runner-up finishes. In total, the 37-year-old poker pro has nearly $7.8 million in lifetime live tournament earnings, along with another $4 million or so won online. Highlights from this interview includes a strict gym regimen, buying a house while still in school, cards games with family, expensive nights of 4-5-6, hosting the home game without knowing the rules, running up his first online deposit, getting knocked out by Maria Ho in his debut, a disputed World Poker Tour win, buying into a sold out tournament, ignoring the money on a seven-figure score, an early knack for Omaha, where he keeps his bracelets, dealing with close calls at the WSOP, the 100 McNugget challenge, how he backed into a piece of Martin Jacobson's main event win, where he got his work ethic from, flipping drug houses for profit, and the many ways he has earned stitches.

13 Maj 201956min

Layne Flack is a six-time World Series of Poker bracelet winner, which puts him in a tie for no. 9 all time with poker legends such as Daniel Negreanu, TJ Cloutier, Jay Heimowitz, Jeff Lisandro, and Ted Forrest. He also has numerous World Poker Tour final table appearances, and a title in the WPT Invitational. The 49-year-old poker pro has slightly more than $5 million in career live tournament earnings. Flack got his start both playing in, and running poker games near his childhood homes in Montana and South Dakota. After a nudge from 1996 WSOP main event winner Huck Seed, he made his way to Las Vegas and immediately found his way into the winner's circle. He earned the nickname "Back-to-Back Flack" after taking down consecutive events at the Legends of Poker series in 1999, and then further cemented that moniker by doing it again at the WSOP in both 2002 and 2003. Highlights from this interview include a passion for singing competitions, the stabbin' cabin, crushing games in Deadwood, why he didn't last long as a dealer, how to properly hit and run, playing Men the Master for the Orient Express, no sleep between bracelets, the unfortunate influence of Mike Matusow, putting his underwear on the table, how Ted Forrest lost one of his bracelets, the politics of the Poker Hall of Fame, $250k pots in Larry Flynt's game, getting a piece of Doyle Brunson, two weeks at McDonalds, stand up strip club games, and that one time he almost went undercover for the Chicago mafia to play in Michael Jordan's home game before being outed by David Letterman.

29 Apr 20191h 12min

Matt Waxman learned the game in high school, but really got his career going in 2009 when he final tabled a $5,000 no-limit hold'em event at the World Series of Poker. The Parkland, Florida native won a WSOP Circuit ring the next year in Atlantic City, and followed that up with his biggest score to date, taking down the World Poker Tour Grand Prix de Paris for just over $720,000. Waxman nearly won the Festa al Lago Classic the next year, and in 2013, he won his first WSOP bracelet, banking $305,000 for topping a $1,000 no-limit hold'em event. Waxman had a deep run in the 2014 WSOP main event, and just last year, he picked up his second WPT title, pocketing $463,000 at the WPT Tournament of Champions. In total, the 34-year-old has more than $4.1 million in live tournament earnings to go along with millions more won online. Highlights from this interview include being a resident of the world, flipping noodles for profit, being on the middle school basketball team with Alex Jacob, poker on the boat, playing among the ashtrays, the benefit of ignorance, being British at the tables, catching cheats, going broke, blinding out of an FTOPS win, having parents unimpressed by six-figure scores, a WPT championship in France, being a millionaire and feeling empty, a seven-hour heads-up match with Eric Baldwin, bad news from home a world away, pushing time shares, hearing 'water' in his ear, and dealing with stabbed TVs and the police.

15 Apr 20191h 30min

Steve Sung trudged through college, always knowing in the back of his mind that he wanted to play poker for a living. Having always been a gambler, Sung immediately jumped on the tournament circuit when he turned 21 and quickly found success, making several World Poker Tour final tables and racking up large cashes around the world. In 2009, Sung won his first World Series of Poker bracelet, taking down a $1,000 no-limit hold'em event for $771,106. He followed that up with a second WSOP title in 2013, earning $1,205,324 for topping a stacked field in the $25,000 buy-in six-max no-limit hold'em championship. Most recently, Sung finished third in the WPT Gardens Poker Championship, adding another $259,880 to his poker resume. In total, the 33-year-old has just shy of $6 million in career live tournament earnings, but those numbers pale in comparison to the amounts he won and lost during high-stakes cash game sessions, and even his time gambling in the casino pit. Highlights from this interview include growing up in Seoul, visualizing the United States, being thirsty for some wata, how a pay-per-view fail led to poker, dominating pusoy, why Phil Hellmuth quit him in Chinese poker, how Ryan Young won in Vegas before turning 21, paying for good grades, getting his feet wet with a $25k buy-in, battling it out at $2k-$4k online, losing seven-figures in a day, an unhealthy love for blackjack, blacking out with $1.2 million in a middle school pencil case, being numb to losses, the concept of Korean Han, weed paranoia while winning a bracelet, jumping in $300-$600 badugi without knowing the rules, going to space, beating Galfond for bracelet no. 2, a decade-old compliment from Shannon Shorr, winning $300k after closing the window, mastering the flute, and why he settled on Steve as his name.

1 Apr 20191h 6min

David Baker is one of the most recent players to add his name to the World Poker Tour Champions Cup, having just taken down the L.A. Poker Classic main event for $1,015,000. The 46-year-old originally started as a salesman after graduating from Auburn University, and ultimately gave up a six-figure job to pursue his poker dream when his regular home game became too lucrative to ignore. Although Baker spends most of his playing time in high-stakes mixed games at the Commerce Casino, he does has a stellar track record at the World Series of Poker, having averaged nearly two final tables each summer for the last decade. In 2010, he finished 17th in the WSOP main event for $396,967, and he won a bracelet in 2012, earning $271,312 in the $2,500 eight-game mixed event. In 2015, Baker finished third in the $50,000 Poker Players Championship for another $514,926. In total, the Arizona resident has banked more than $5.5 million in live tournament earnings. Highlights from this interview include tearing himself away from a good cash game, the muscle memory of poker, being almost senior eligible, War Eagle, going to the racetrack as a kid, learning blackjack with his parents, drowning in credit reports, being the live one in Ray Henson's game, quitting a six-figure salary for poker, flying to Commerce Casino every other week, the bad beat he took to Carlos Mortensen, why he doesn't wear green at the poker table, his deep run in the WSOP main event, dealing with a lot of third-place finishes, forcing Cord Garcia to win the Colossus, how to become elite, staring at opponents to see the pain in their eyes, maintaining a good rep, and calling his shot as a WPT champion.

18 Mars 20191h 17min

Jeff Shulman worked in land acquisition in Seattle before his father Barry recruited him to join the family business in Las Vegas. Together, they grew Card Player Magazine into the industry-leading media company it is today. As a player, Shulman was just a rookie when he broke out on the poker tournament scene, making the final table of the 2000 World Series of Poker main event. The "whippersnapper," as described by his opponents, was actually the chip leader at one point before a bad beat to Chris Ferguson sent him to the rail in seventh place. Nine years later, Shulman got his chance at the main event title once again, making the final table alongside poker legend Phil Ivey. This time, he managed to make it to five-handed play before yet another bad beat ended his run, with his chips going to eventual winner Joe Cada. Now 44, Shulman spends most of his live poker hours grinding high limit hold'em cash games at Bellagio, with his summers dedicated to the WSOP schedule. In total, he has just under $3.5 million in career live tournament earnings. Highlights from this interview include being a summer camp lifer, how Michael changed the grades, Barry the ass kicker, the Chip and Doyle of spades, making money while you sleep, building a bankroll at the Orleans, dealing with bad beats to Ferguson and Cada, a love for limit hold'em, Hollywood home games in Costa Rica, running into Ben Affleck at the Oscars, getting owned by Gus Hansen, trash talking ElkY, hiring Phil Hellmuth as a coach, getting winning advice from Orel Hershiser, trash bracelets, running into Michael Jordan's Bulls, and sucking out on Chau Giang in Bobby's Room.

4 Mars 20191h 14min

After a brief stint as a professional bowler, Jack McClelland spent the rest of his career working in poker. He started out at the bottom cleaning ash trays and running chips before moving up the ladder to dealer, shift supervisor, and eventually tournament director. McClelland spent more than 30 years as one of the most respected figures in the industry, running tournaments all over the world. The Ohio-native was in charge of the World Series of Poker for most of the 80's and 90's, and made Bellagio one of the flagship casinos of the World Poker Tour from 2002 until he retired in late 2013. McClelland was inducted to the Poker Hall of Fame in 2014 alongside Daniel Negreanu. Highlights from this interview include starving on the PBA Tour, from Russia not with love, learning cards from Grandma, moving to Vegas for the weather, the big games at the Sahara, breaking in at the WSOP, dealing with Johnny Moss, Stu Ungar, and the mob, the trouble with Sam Grizzle, heads-up penalties with Men The Master, Mrs. McClelland the bracelet winner, the lake in the middle of The Strip, his poker Mount Rushmore, a summer job at the copper factory, and the $300-$600 stud pot with Sarge Ferris that ended his playing career.

18 Feb 20191h 9min

Matt Savage got his start in the poker industry as a chip runner at Garden City Casino, and worked his way up the ranks to dealer at Bay 101, and eventually, tournament director. The San Jose-native saw a need in poker for a standardized set of rules, and with the help of Linda Johnson, Jan Fisher, and Dave Lamb, formed the Tournament Directors Association. Savage was named tournament director for the World Series of Poker when he was just 34 years old, and served in that position during the onset of the poker boom from 2002 to 2004. In the years since, Savage has continued to work tournaments at his home casino of Bay 101 and also at Commerce Casino in Los Angeles, which is currently hosting the L.A. Poker Classic. He's also seen his role with the World Poker Tour increase since he was named Executive Tour Director. Savage was heavily featured in the 2007 poker movie Lucky You, and also has a WSOP final-table score of his own, finishing fifth in the 2009 $1,500 stud eight-or-better event. He was the inaugural member of the Poker Room Manager's Hall of Fame, and has been nominated for the Poker Hall of Fame the last few years. Highlights from this interview include trying to get unplugged, why you don't need a 16 lb. ball anymore, a disdain for homework, working since 14, going from chip runner to floorman, auditioning at Bay 101, being forced out of the box, the baby faced TD at the WSOP, being proactive with Men Nguyen and John Bonetti, Hellmuth steals the spotlight, how he almost screwed up the infamous Moneymaker/Farha bluff, running out of chips in the main event, proposing to his wife at the final table, how $400,000 went 'missing' from the prize pool, why he's the real star of Lucky You, a testy scene with Robert Duval, John Juanda's grudge, Dick Corpuz: king of the soul read, and why poker needs a museum.

4 Feb 20191h 38min