Table 1 Podcast

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 Notes00:29 — 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 NextOwen's Links:X:https://x.com/OwenMessereTwitch:https://twitch.tv/pr0diiigyGuerrilla Poker:https://guerrilla-poker.com/T1 LinksWhat is Table 1?Find out here 👇https://table1.vegasFollow 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 NOTES0:00 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 BossPLAY WITH US IN VEGASCome for the poker. Leave with a story.table1.vegasSUPPORT THE SHOWSafe Travels Bag — use code TABLE1 at checkout.Justin’s How to Crush Live Cash Games coursePhenom Poker — use code TABLE1.SEAN’S LINKS@ThePokerBoss on XTABLE 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 LinksX: https://x.com/MikeHoltzPokerIG: https://instagram.com/MikeHoltzPokerT1 LinksPlay with us at Phenom Poker:https://play.phenompoker.com/register?r=Table1Play with us at Table 1:https://table1.vegasJustin’s Poker Coaching Series:Learn to Crush Live Poker — https://pokercoaching.com/table1Follow 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. 18And 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 NextDarren’s LinksX: https://x.com/DarrenRabbiIG: https://instagram.com/DarrenRabbiT1 LinksPlay with us at Phenom Poker (200% deposit bonus!):https://play.phenompoker.com/register?r=Table1Play with us at Table 1:https://table1.vegasJustin’s Poker Coaching Series:Learn to Crush Live Poker — https://pokercoaching.com/table1Follow T1:X — https://x.com/table1vegasIG — https://instagram.com/table1vegas

What is Table 1 Vegas? Learn more here:https://table1.vegasNoah 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 Notes00:00 — 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 + OutroNoah’s LinksX:https://x.com/noahjschwartzIG:https://www.instagram.com/noahschwartzT1 LinksPhenom Poker:https://play.phenompoker.com/register?r=Table1Play with us in Vegas:https://table1.vegasJustin's Poker Coaching series:Learn to Crush Live Poker - https://pokercoaching.com/table1Follow us:X - https://x.com/table1vegasIG - https://instagram.com/table1vegas