How High-Stakes Poker Pros Balance Work And Family Life

The Pros: Shannon Shorr, Chance Kornuth, and Noah Schwartz

Craig Tapscott: How has having a baby recently affected your poker life regarding your time away from home, playing online while at home, where you choose to live, and the relationship with your wife and her support for your lifestyle as a player?

Shannon Shorr: My wife Joy and I brought our daughter Nora into the world in November 2021 and the experience has been one of the coolest things to ever happen to me. I definitely spent a ton of time at home in the early months of her birth watching her develop. There’s also been some concentrated periods like this past March and this summer’s WSOP where I’ve been away from home for many hours.

Joy is a complete boss of a mom and does a tremendous job handling the sometimes-long hours watching Nora solo. We live in Las Vegas full-time, and I plan to limit my travel time in the coming years. It does help that there’s tons of action that comes through Vegas.

Joy and I have been together for eight years, so she is now very accustomed to what it’s like to be partnered with a professional poker player. We are constantly looking for ways to optimize our operation. It’s been a cool experience adding another piece to the puzzle in the form of our beautiful daughter. Joy is a blast to work with, and a big shout out to Joy’s mom Terri as well for providing us much help during those heavy work periods.

It’s super important to me to be active in fatherhood even during busy concentrated work times, so a typical day for me during WSOP was to wake up in the late morning and immediately spend an hour or so crawling around in living room with Nora. I registered late to a lot of events to allow myself some extra time with my child.

Chance Kornuth: I’ve learned that for my baby, time equals love, so I try to be home as much as I can. This means being more selective with traveling for live tournaments and finding opportunities to skip playing Sundays and spend time with Ryan and [my wife] Emily. Compared to my playing habits prior to having Ryan, this is a big lifestyle change.

I also wouldn’t be nearly as successful without Emily’s support and flexibility. She’s actually responsible for getting me to play the WPT Choctaw main event (which I won).

Additionally, I find that having a family has provided me with a purpose for grinding hard. I believe humans rarely make drastic behavioral changes in their life. Knowing they’re counting on me to succeed has allowed me to create new goals and in turn has elevated my play so I can reach a new level.

Noah Schwartz: First and foremost, becoming a father has provided me with a feeling of joy and fulfillment I wish I had experienced sooner in life.

Regarding how it has impacted my poker career, I would say it’s happened on a few levels. Prior to becoming a father, I could be extremely spontaneous when choosing to travel the poker circuit and being somewhere on the drop of a dime. Now, to say it’s a bit different is quite an understatement.

Luckily for me my fiancé is beyond supportive of my career choice, which enables me to plan properly and still play, albeit much less. I strive to stay balanced in my life, and fortunately, I don’t need to play as much anymore. I can be a much more hands-on dad and present in my son’s day-to-day life, which means everything to me.

Craig Tapscott: Each of you seem very happy and overjoyed with the beautiful addition to your family. How has this inner happiness transferred over to your game? What has changed in your poker lifestyle in regard to the mental and physical stress from playing the game?

Shannon Shorr: My inner happiness has been enhanced since Nora’s arrival. The moment she was delivered and locked eyes on me propelled me into another universe. While I’ve always worked reasonably hard on everything I’ve done, including poker, having Nora has focused me even more. I really want to do my best each time I show up for a session so I can provide the best possible life for her.

Having a kid definitely increased the intentionality at which I operate in all aspects of life. Knowing that Joy is at home busting it and watching over Nora makes me want to give it my all when I’m at the table.

I also am less and less anxious since her arrival which has led to clearer thinking. It’s allowed for me to better execute on difficult decisions. I find that having a kid has made me realize that most stuff that I used to worry about just doesn’t really matter. I waste no time looking for validation, have a more confident sense of self, and my path in life is a bit more illuminated now. It’s a totally different chapter from the hedonism that was my twenties, but I’m absolutely thrilled and grateful for it.

Chance Kornuth: I have to say that having Ryan makes taking bad beats a lot easier. Earlier in my career I often struggled with tilt. Other players know that the tournament life can be brutal. But nowadays, even after the toughest sessions (such as the Galfond challenge), my perspective is quickly centered when I get to kiss Ryan on the forehead or rock her to sleep. It reminds me how insignificant taking a bad beat is and provides me with a ton of motivation to get up the next day and put forth my best effort.

Noah Schwartz: One thing I try to emphasize in life is internal happiness and I have always strived to see the light at the end of the tunnel. Ever since the birth of my son 11 months ago it provided my life with so much more meaning. Before when I would have a bad day, it would carry over in poker, but now when I get unlucky in poker or play bad, I go home or face time with my son and every worry in the world instantly vanishes.

When I am playing now, unlike before, I feel like no matter what happens that my life is so full of joy and purpose and that’s regardless the outcome at the poker table. I get to go home to my loving family and that’s the biggest blessing in life. My objective has always been to win at the game of life. ♠

Shannon Shorr has been a long time successful professional on the poker circuit. In 2006 he won the Bellagio Cup II event for $960,690 and in recent years, he’s been more active in high roller events, winning tournaments at the Poker Masters and U.S. Poker Open. The Alabama native most recently took fourth in the $50,000 event at the WSOP, banking $436,412. He now has $10.7 million in career earnings. Find him on Twitter @ShannonShorr.

Chance Kornuth has been on a major heater over the last two years. In 2021, he scored wins at the Venetian and Wynn, while also winning his third career WSOP bracelet. This year started with two wins at the Stairway To Millions, and his first WPT title at Choctaw. Most recently he finished runner-up in the $100,000 event at the WSOP, earning $721,144. The Colorado native has more than $12 million in live earnings. His Twitter handle is @ChancesCards.

Noah Schwartz is a very successful cash and tournament professional, with four World Poker Tour final tables, including a win at the bestbet Jacksonville Fall Poker Scramble for $402,970. He also made two final tables on the WPT Alpha 8 tour, winning the Florida stop for $585,000. He picked up his WSOP bracelet in 2013 in a pot-limit Omaha mixed max event. The Miami, Florida native has more than $6.1 million in live earnings, along with millions more won online and in side games. He can be found @noahjschwartz.