Poker Stories Podcast With Joe Cada

Poker Stories is a new, 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.

Click here to download or subscribe to the Poker Stories podcast on iTunes.

Age: 29
Turned Pro: 2007
Lives: Shelby Carter Township, Michigan
Live Tournament Earnings: $10.5 Million
Best Score: 1st Place – 2009 WSOP $10,000 Main Event ($8,546,435)

The Highlights

On the fact that he was already a big winner before he could even legally play in the WSOP…

“I was playing online at an early age. I was always a few years ahead in math programs at school. I was a giant nerd. I had my awkward phase with braces. The quieter I was in school, the less I was picked on and bullied. I would come home and play poker. When I was 16 it really took off. I went from $2-$4 to $5-$10. Next thing you know, I’m 17, 18 and I’m playing $10-$20 on the regular. When I was 19, I was probably up around… maybe $750,000 from $50 online. I bought a house.”

On how he built up his bankroll online…

“I was doing really well on UltimateBet. I didn’t even know I got cheated out of a lot of that money. I got like, $60,000 back after the [superuser] scandal. I woke up one day, went to my UB account, and I had an extra $60,000 in there. (So you were winning so big, you got cheated out of $60,000 and didn’t even notice?) Here’s the thing, I could only put $600 on UB with my debit card. It wasn’t a big deal, I’ll just try to run this up real quick. The first day, I was playing $.50-$1 at four tables and I ran each table up over $1,000. Three and a half months later, I turned my $600 into over $400,000, and I was playing anyone and everyone heads-up.”

On how he earned his seven-figure online poker sponsorship…

“Down to the final 27, you start getting offered sponsorship [deals]. I wanted to sign with Stars because they were the biggest, they were the best, they were the most reliable, and had the best reputation. Stars wasn’t willing to offer anything… When it came to the final table, there were rules set in place where each poker site could only have three sponsorships. PokerStars already had two guys, and they were aiming for Darvin Moon. Every site seemed like they were offering a similar deal. Most sites offered, if you won first, you got $1 million, with the one-year contract. Darvin Moon ended up turning down [the offer], he didn’t want to be sponsored, and that’s how I backdoored into PokerStars.”

On the tough year he endured after winning the main event…

“It was a big adjustment period for me, because I went from never being told when to wake up, when to do certain things, and I was just getting pulled in so many directions. So many people asking for money. It was a big headache, and then you add in not winning on top of the expectations. People were always calling me lucky. If I didn’t win the main event, I would still have a good poker pedigree and people would [respect my game.] But after I won the main event, everyone just thought I was bad and lucky. Which was rightfully so if you only watched the main event coverage, but it was tough.”

Click here to download or subscribe to the Poker Stories podcast on iTunes. Catch up on previous episodes and subscribe to have new episodes automatically appear in your podcast app so you can listen on the go.