Poker Stories Podcast With Ari Engel

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: 34
First Live Tournament Cash: 2006
From: Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Live Tournament Earnings: $4.8 Million
Best Score: 1st Place – 2016 Aussie Millions Main Event ($1,120,000)

The Highlights

On his work ethic these days as a grinder living on the road…

“I still am a workaholic, but it’s a little bit different. I play the most live poker tournaments… probably compared to anyone, but that’s because I don’t live anywhere. I’m always traveling and going to a new place and playing poker tournaments, but if I bust early it’s a different grind from online poker when 90 percent of my waking hours were [spent] working.”

On variance, and how careful bankroll management has kept him in the game…

“In 2006 I was online, [the] number one [ranked poker player in the world]. If you look through the top 100 list, there’s JohnnyBax (Cliff Josephy), and maybe two other people still in poker. Almost no one stays for a long time. It’s normal to have really big downswings, and I’ve gone through them, and you can’t help but question yourself. There’s no guarantee that just because I was profitable today that I will be profitable tomorrow.”

On spending most of his days in casinos…

“I’ve always said that I don’t think poker belongs in a casino. We’re not playing against the casino, so why can’t it be hosted anywhere? All we need is a trustworthy host. Why does the poker room actually have to be in the Bellagio or wherever?”

On winning the Aussie Millions main event…

“I’ve been playing the bigger buy-in tournaments for a few years and gotten a lot of 14ths and stuff like that. You kind of start questioning whether you are able to hit any huge scores. So to win one of the biggest tournaments in poker was amazing. I had a huge rail of family and friends there.”

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.