Mike Watson has been one of the more consistent tournament performers over his 15-year poker career, having racked up more than $12.5 million on the circuit. The St. Johns, Newfoundland native broke out in 2008, winning the WPT Bellagio Cup main event for nearly $1.7 million. In addition to numerous final tables on the high roller circuit, he also took down the 2016 EPT PokerStars Caribbean Adventure, giving him two parts of poker's elusive Triple Crown.  Watson does have two wins at the World Series of Poker. The first came in a 2011 WSOP Europe side event, and the second was a year later at the WSOP Europe when he banked $1.3 million in the high roller event. Unfortunately, neither of those WSOP events awarded bracelets.In the last couple of years, 'SirWatts' has rededicated himself to online poker, bringing his career totals to $10 million. As a result, he is now Canada's top-ranked online player according to PocketFives, and reached a peak of no. 3 in the world earlier this year.  Highlights from this interview include when wedding season collides with poker season, having professors for parents, being a 'math nerd,' the Waterloo-poker connection, life-changing money at Bellagio, re-evaluating his game, winning two WSOP events and getting no bracelets, a big score in the Bahamas, a high-stakes online run, six-figure cash game pots, winning with Sam Greenwood, working as an umpire, fooling Dan Heimiller as Martin Jacobson, and enjoying sushi pizza for breakfast.

Poker Stories

Poker Stories: Mike Watson

Mark Herm is a longtime professional poker player from Philadelphia who found the game in high school and has spent the last 15 years piling up results. Known as 'Dipthrong,' he has racked up more than $5 million online and was among the highest ranked players in the world for a time. Most recently, Herm became the first player to ever win a bracelet in the inaugural WSOP Online series in Pennsylvania.  Herm has also done well in live tournaments despite a limited schedule with nearly $2 million banked. He won two DeepStack Extravaganza events at Venetian and has four WSOP final tables on his resume. Herm also final tabled a $25,000 buy-in high roller at Aria and the EPT Prague main event. Although many players have warned against staking others, Herm has been quite successful with backing and at one point had a stable of 60 players.Highlights from this episode include winning a 'dusty' bracelet, being a 'social mutant,' discovering poker in school, proving mom wrong, being a bankroll nit, finding sobriety, saying no to solvers, dealing with close calls, how to win money staking players, backing everybody, what is fair mark up, all the uses of 'chirp,' high-stakes crypto plays, washing dishes at a seafood restaurant, traveling in style, poker's elite, and paying for food convenience.

Poker Stories: Mark Herm

Fedor Holz is just 28 years old but has already put together one of the most impressive tournament résumés in poker history. The German phenom seemingly came out of nowhere in 2015 to tear up the high roller circuit, but he had already reached the highest levels online before making the transition to live play, and in fact was at one point ranked no. 1 in the world.In 2014, he banked $1.3 million in the World Championship of Online Poker (WCOOP) main event, and that was just the first of many seven-figure scores. He won the Five Diamond World Poker Classic high roller the next year, and followed it up with victories at WPT National Philippines, EPT Barcelona, and the World Series of Poker.His first bracelet win was particularly massive, taking down the $111,111 buy-in One Drop high roller for nearly $5 million. Two years later he finished runner-up to Justin Bonomo in the Big One For One Drop for another $6 million. He also finished second in the Triton Super High Roller Series, and the Super High Roller Bowl. Although he has taken a few extended breaks from the game in recent years, last year he returned to the online arena and did quite well, earning another $1.1 million and his second bracelet in the WSOP Online $25,000 buy-in heads-up event. Holz has racked up more than $34 million on the tournament circuit, which is good for no. 8 on poker's All-Time Money List. He's also added another $11 million online. Off the felt, Holz is also the founder and CEO of Pokercode, a training site and community dedicated to making players the best they can be. You can see Holz and his most promising students on the second season of Grindhouse. The series, available on Pokercode's YouTube page, follows the group's progress as they share strategies and a house in the Austrian Alps. Highlights from this interview include ice baths, gambling with dad's DMV money, early bankroll struggles, a rapid rise up the ranks, not thinking about the money, maximizing his EV, avoiding $25,000 nightclub bills, winning and losing seven-figure pots, getting 'slowrolled' in the Super High Roller Bowl, the $150,000 hotel room match, the four-hour job, playing exploitatively, and what's left on his travel bucket list.

Poker Stories: Fedor Holz

Joe Stapleton got his start in the poker world at Card Player, working the WSOP while on hiatus from his job at Mad TV. The Albany, New York native then moved on to other projects, including writing and podcasting, and commentating work for a number of poker broadcasts and TV shows.  Over the years, Stapleton has become a jack-of-all-trades voice for PokerStars, hosting shows such as The Big Game and Shark Cage, reporting from online tournament series like the SCOOP and WCOOP, and working alongside James Hartigan for EPT Live broadcasts and the Poker In The Ears podcast. The 38-year-old was a sideline reporter for the WSOP for ESPN and PokerGO, and was also the host for Poker Night In America and Poker Night Live.In recent years, Stapleton has been touring as a stand up comedian, and even opened for fellow poker player and funnyman Norm Macdonald. He was also hired by legendary screenwriter Paul Schrader as a gambling and poker consultant for the upcoming movie The Card Counter. The film stars Oscar Isaac, Willem Dafoe, and Tiffany Haddish, and opens Sept. 10.  Highlights from this interview include styling it out, 'mistakes are my brand,' Smallbany and world expansion, Scott sacks up to L.A., stumbling into a Full Tilt meeting, tagging along for an internship, blowing off Jordan Peele, a strong nudge from Bobby Lee, debuting at the Comedy Store, scoring in London, mini golf with Norm Macdonald, accidentally criticizing Paul Schrader, spotting bing bong dealers, $2-$4 limit with Oscar Isaac in Biloxi, Jon Hamm - the dual threat, an awkward congratulations with Mike Watson, quitting the post office, Hollywood home games, the spray tan prop bet, and winning the lottery for a Dodge Challenger.

Poker Stories: Joe Stapleton

Lex Veldhuis was a gamer from an early age, and found poker shortly after the boom thanks to his friends in the StarCraft community. He quickly shot up the ranks, and it wasn't long before he was traveling the world, playing in some of the biggest buy-in tournaments and cash games available. He was even more prolific online, where he achieved SuperNova Elite status three years in a row. His play caught the attention of PokerStars, which signed him to a sponsorship deal as a brand ambassador. In addition to final tabling the $40,000 buy-in 40th Anniversary event at the World Series of Poker, Veldhuis also won the Dutch Poker Open in his home country of the Netherlands, and has appeared on poker TV shows such as The Big Game and Poker After Dark. In 2016, he began streaming his online play on Twitch, and it wasn't long before he had one of the most popular poker channels on the platform. In fact, last year he set the record for most viewers of a single broadcast.Highlights from this interview include dad wakeup times, sneaking in Nintendo time, 'leveling up' to higher stakes, sweating Patrik Antonius, the emotional investment of the game, getting some good TV time, becoming Dutch national champion, getting the call for High Stakes Poker, calling down Daniel Negreanu with king high, a series of escalating prop bets with Bertrand 'ElkY' Grospellier, kicking a friend in the head for €100,000, reinventing his career on Twitch, winning a $330,000 pot against Doyle Brunson, his football twin, and why the 'degen fund' is just a marketing expense.

Poker Stories: Lex Veldhuis

Kristy Arnett Moreno and Andrew Moreno met in college and simultaneously fell in love with each other and the game of poker. Together they made the move from Fort Wayne, Indiana to Las Vegas with the dream of making it in the poker world.  Kristy landed a job in poker media, and almost immediately made an impact, interviewing some of the best players in the world both on camera and in print for Card Player and PokerNews. After starting his career focusing on cash games, Andrew has since transitioned to tournaments. He's had numerous close calls in the past, including a final table in the Monster Stack at the World Series of Poker, and a 28th-place finish in the $10,000 buy-in WSOP main event. However, he recently broke through with a victory in the inaugural Wynn Millions main event for a massive $1.46 million score.Highlights from this interview include poker first dates, winning a wife in a tournament, the Vegas ultimatum, two days on a greyhound bus, shady business partners and a broken nose, going broke, working in poker media, learning from close calls, Ricky Bobby, running deep in the WSOP main event, earning a seven-figure score, losing $5k to Mike Matusow, a quick disaster on Poker Night In America, Taco Bell and corn de-tasseling nightmares, baby run good, check-raising veterans at the Navy Club, Maverick, and flinging Tom Dwan off a jet ski.

Poker Stories: Andrew and Kristy Moreno

Martin Jacobson found poker as a teenager, but his initial aspirations were focused on becoming a chef. After serving a year in the Royal Swedish Navy feeding the crew of a battleship, the Stockholm-native continued his culinary career while playing poker on the side. After turning a satellite win into a third-place finish at the 2008 EPT Budapest main event for $247,668, Jacobson was off and running.  Jacobson continued to tear up the European circuit, finishing second at WPT Venice for $319,518, second at EPT Vilamoura for $378,706, fourth at EPT Berlin for $327,337, and second at EPT Deauville for another $762,185. He even started finding consistent success in high roller events, final tabling the $111,111 buy-in One Drop High Roller twice.  Although he was frustrated with the close calls, it all came together in 2014 when he took down the WSOP main event for the championship bracelet and the $10 million first-place prize. His $17 million in career tournament earnings is enough to make the top 40 on the all-time money list, and he has three times his nearest competitor on Sweden's rankings.  Highlights from this interview include attending a culinary high school, choosing a 'practical' career, a long year in the Royal Swedish Navy, inspiring Kitchen Nightmares, getting kicked out of internet cafes, on deck battleship sessions, lasting just three hands in the main event, frustrating close calls, three-months of prep work pays off, why he hasn't watched his WSOP win, the motivation to play following a $10 million score, Stockholm to London, why he hasn't opened a restaurant, losing $70,000 in a Slovakia hotel lobby, James Bond vibes, ear plugs and eye masks, and losing heads-up to a Ratatouille villain.

Poker Stories: Martin Jacobson

Bernard Lee first learned the game from his father, and then later started playing more seriously while at Harvard University, but the Julliard-trained pianist spent years working as a marketing manager before he decided to make poker his focus and profession.  In 2005, Lee made his first trip to the World Series of Poker, and was featured in ESPN's coverage of the main event for his 13th-place finish, worth $400,000. In the years since, Lee has added another $2 million in cashes, including two WSOP Circuit rings, and three WSOP final tables in no-limit 2-7 lowball.The 51-year-old is also a poker author, having written for Card Player, the Boston Herald, Metrowest Daily News, and ESPN, where he was a host of the show The Inside Deal. His radio show and podcast, the Bernard Lee Poker Show, recently celebrated its 14th anniversary, and his latest book, Poker Satellite Success: Turn Affordable Buy-Ins Into Shots At Winning Millions, is now available on Amazon as well as D&B Publishing.Highlights from this episode include tickling the ivories, his time at Harvard, unexpected surgery skills, early trips to Foxwoods, the 22-year home game, the influence of Russell Rosenblum, an obsession with getting to the WSOP, partying for a $400,000 score, wearing many hats in poker media, working at ESPN alongside Usain Bolt, interviewing Doyle Brunson and Jack Binion, losing a four-hour heads-up match for a bracelet, writing a poker book, Eminem's Lose Yourself, clean money, and dealing with empty nest syndrome.

Poker Stories: Bernard Lee

Patrik Antonius started playing online poker in 1999, and was almost immediately competing at the highest-stakes available. The Finnish pro then broke out on the tournament circuit in 2005, winning an EPT main event and finishing second in the WPT Five Diamond World Poker Classic for $1.04 million. Although he has always preferred cash games to tournaments, the former tennis standout and model has still managed to rack up $12 million in live tournament earnings during his career, including the $3.1 million he banked for finishing runner-up at the 2018 Super High Roller Bowl China.  Antonius is perhaps best known for his success in nosebleed-stakes cash games, and holds a number of records. In 2009, he won the biggest recorded pot in online poker history, scooping $1.376 million in a hand of pot-limit Omaha against Viktor 'Isildur1' Blom. In fact, Antonius was involved in four of the top 10 hands ever, and also has the record on the TV shows Poker After Dark and High Stakes Poker. At the end of 2020, the 40-year-old was nominated for the Poker Hall of Fame.In an effort to help grow the game that gave him so much, Antonius has co-founded FLOP (First Land of Poker), an app that connects the poker community all over the world and allows them to find games and other players. The all-in-one platform features chat, learning tools, and even a session tracker. Download the app for free today on either the Android Google Play store or Apple iOS.  Highlights from this interview include growing up in Finland, moving from tennis to poker, winning a tournament on his first trip to the casino, building a bankroll with relentless aggression, magazine sales to modeling, military or jail, playing in the biggest games, record-breaking pots, cash games over tournaments, what makes someone worthy of the Poker Hall of Fame, being an ambassador for the game, six-figure sports bets, high-stakes golf with Phil Ivey, being 'the Brad Pitt of Poker,' and steak cravings.

Poker Stories: Patrik Antonius

Ali Imsirovic is just 26 years old, but has already established himself as a dominant force on the high roller circuit. The Bosnia-born, Washington-raised poker pro broke out in 2018 when he captured the purple jacket at the Poker Masters, and in the time since has gone on to rack up numerous final tables and wins totaling almost $11 million in cashes.  Last August, Imsirovic broke the record for the largest no-limit hold'em cash game pot in online poker history, winning a hand against Tan Xuan worth $974,631. He has also been one of the more active players since live tournaments resumed, cashing in eight of the 14 high rollers held at Aria so far in 2021, and winning four. As a result, he is now one of the front-runners for the Card Player Player of the Year title.Highlights from this interview include fleeing the war in Bosnia, how a basketball injury led to poker, skipping grades and going to college at 16, using his guitar money for a tournament buy-in, trading in a date for a win at the casino, getting robbed, ice cream inspiration from Bryn Kenney, getting humbled in his first round of high rollers, winning the purple jacket at the Poker Masters, six-figure bubbles, being able to pull the trigger, bad beat for the bracelet, winning a million dollar pot, never having a job, and Eminem's Stan.

Poker Stories: Ali Imsirovic

Lee Markholt has been a professional poker player for the last three decades, competing in some of the biggest cash games around while racking up $4.4 million in live tournament earnings along the way. The Washington native had aspirations to continue the family business of bull riding, but a long string of injuries ultimately derailed his career. Fortunately for Markholt, he found his father's poker books and was a quick study.  Markholt cut his teeth in Washington limit games before switching his focus to pot-limit hold'em in the years before the poker boom. In 2005 he won the PPT main event at Bellagio, taking home $220,000 which bankrolled him for high-stakes cash games. He ultimately found himself playing in games as big as $200-$400 no-limit, while continuing travel the tournament circuit. In 2008, he won a WPT title at the World Poker Challenge in Reno for $493,815, and for many years held the record for most cashes on the World Poker Tour. In 2013, he narrowly missed out on a World Series of Poker bracelet, finishing runner-up in the $5,000 six-max no-limit hold'em event for $374,960.Highlights from this episode include his first summer off in 30 years, farm life, the luck and variance of bull riding, broken ribs and punctured lungs, chasing an adrenaline rush, borrowing his dad's poker books, Daniel Negreanu's styrofoam cup habit, getting backed by Erik Seidel and John Juanda, the unlikely win that kickstarted his career, winning a WPT title, the hole in his resume, waiting a whole day to play $200-$400 in Bobby's Room, losing a $570k pot to Rick Salomon, a timely swap with Ben Lamb, chicken slaughter, the 24-hour swimming pool prop bet, Haralabos battles, duck head antennas, and the missing social aspect of poker.

Poker Stories: Lee Markholt

Benny Glaser didn't earn his first cash at the World Series of Poker until 2015, but the Southampton, England pro has been able to accomplish a lot in his limited time on the felt. The 31-year-old part-time musician has won three WSOP bracelets during his short career, which is enough to make him the UK's most decorated player at the annual summer series.Glaser's first title came in 2015 in the $1,500 2-7 Triple Draw event, where he earned $136,215. A year later, he went back to back in Omaha eight-or-better events, taking down the $1,500 buy-in for $244,103, and the $10,000 Championship buy-in for $407,194. In the years since, he's also made final tables at the €25,000 WSOP Europe Mixed Games Championship and the $50,000 WSOP Poker Players Championship, and finished runner-up in the $10,000 Stud eight-or-better Championship. The mixed-games specialist has also been very successful online, winning five SCOOP (Spring Championship of Online Poker) and three WCOOP (World Championship of Online Poker) titles on PokerStars.Highlights from this interview include his first love of music, embarrassing band names, being introduced to poker by his father, the gradual process of turning pro, bricking his first summer in Las Vegas, why he excels at Omaha eight-or-better, being England's top winner at WSOP, close calls, trying to find mixed-game action, $1,000-$2,000 in Bobby's Room, his short-lived career as a paper boy, how poker ruined speed dating, and learning new poker variations like badugaha.

Poker Stories: Benny Glaser

Lon McEachern is a longtime sports commentator that is best known for being the "voice of poker," having worked as part of the broadcast team for ESPN's annual coverage of the World Series of Poker. Prior to that, he covered numerous other sports such as bowling, cycling, mixed-martial arts, skiing, fishing, billiards, and even Scrabble. McEachern won a Golden Mic Award during his time in radio, and was nominated for an Emmy for his play-by-play work on the X-Games. In addition to ESPN, he has also done work for the Outdoor Life Network, NBC, and Fox Sports.  McEachern first covered the main event in 2002 alongside Gabe Kaplan, and the next year formed his iconic partnership with Norman Chad as Chris Moneymaker won the tournament and helped spark the poker boom. Remarkably, he almost didn't take the gig. At the time, he had mostly moved on from the sports broadcasting world and had taken a day job as a mortgage banker. The duo's work over the last two decades has become such a fixture of televised poker that McEachern and Chad were jointly nominated for the Poker Hall of Fame in 2020, ultimately finishing with 20 votes from the panel of living members.  Highlights from this episode include getting into the family business, playing baseball with a Hall of Famer, losing his dream gig to Michelle Tafoya, scaring Tim McCarver at the 1989 MLB World Series, earthquake souvenirs, finding his niche at ESPN, having to get a day job, trading in Gabe Kaplan for Norman Chad, getting snubbed by Roy Disney, the series that shall not be named, introducing the porch and the kitchen, interviewing Vin Scully, Wayne Gretzky, and Muhammad Ali, fortunate boat trouble, Alan Alda, secret socks and underwear, golf bets with Gavin Smith, ignoring expiration dates, and his time covering the X-Games, the Tour de France, and every sport in between.

Poker Stories: Lon McEachern

Ronnie Bardah is fresh off of a career-best score of $566,135 after he chopped the $3,500 buy-in World Poker Tour Lucky Hearts Poker Open in late January. The 38-year-old poker pro from Brockton, Massachusetts now has nearly $2 million in career live tournament earnings. The limit hold'em standout won his World Series of Poker bracelet in the 2012 $2,500 six-handed limit hold'em event, earning $182,088. The next year, he finished third in the $5,000 limit hold'em event. Bardah also currently holds the record for the most consecutive WSOP main event cashes, with five. His deepest run was in 2010, when he finished 24th for $317,161.In 2019, Bardah competed on the 39th season of the CBS show Survivor: Island of the Idols. He was the fourth poker player to be cast on the American game show, joining Jean-Robert Bellande, Garrett Adelstein, and Anna Khait. Additionally, Ilari Sahamies competed on the Finnish version of the show, while Jackie Glazier was on the Australian broadcast.Highlights from this interview include a history lesson, the arcade kids, growing up at Foxwoods Casino, a different kind of dealing, why poker was his way out, private vs. public games, the streak, running deep in the WSOP main event, the war of limit hold'em, what he keeps in his box at Bellagio, splurging on Mickey Mantle, what went wrong on Survivor, getting bluffed by Miss Finland, running bad on a swap, backwards poker in Egypt, David Blaine to David Copperfield, beatboxing, and singing Boyz II Men.

Poker Stories: Ronnie Bardah

Norman Chad has been a familiar sight on World Series of Poker broadcasts since 2003, half of the iconic commentary duo along with Lon McEachern that helped to spark the poker boom with ESPN's main event coverage. "This is beyond fairy tale, it's inconceivable," Chad exclaimed as Chris Moneymaker secured the title.In the years since, Chad has become a fan favorite, adding in catch phrases such as 'whamboozled' or 'squadoosh' while cracking jokes about his past failed marriages. His contributions to growing the game were recognized in 2020, when he and McEachern were jointly nominated for the Poker Hall of Fame.Outside of poker, Chad has worked as a sportswriter for The Washington Post and Sports Illustrated, and appeared on ESPN's Pardon The Interruption and as the host of Reel Classics. He also wrote the book Hold On, Honey, I'll Take You To The Hospital At Halftime (Confessions Of A TV Sports Junkie), and was credited on episodes for the TV shows Arliss and Coach.Highlights from this interview include being more of a watcher, the university of poker, stand up comedy and a premeditated egg, winning awards with Ed Asner, why he quit betting sports in 1984, how poker paid for someone else's law school, sleeping with angels, the secret Lon, a short-lived blackjack card counting team, stalking George McGovern, Sam Simon's home game, getting angled by Norm Macdonald, Wallace Shawn and Paul Giamatti, the Hellmuth of bowling, and the final table setting of his third wedding.

Poker Stories: Norman Chad

Card Player, The Poker Authority, is an industry-leading publication and web portal specializing in poker media, strategy and tournament coverage. Poker Stories is a long-form audio series that features casual interviews with some of the game’s best players and personalities. Each episode highlights a well-known member of the poker world and dives deep into their favorite tales both on and off the felt.

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Poker Stories

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