A Poker Life – Randal FlowersFlowers Opens Up About His Early Start in Poker, His Record-Setting WPT Wins, And The Daily Grind |
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When 18-year-old Randal Flowers started skipping class his senior year to hurry home and play the $100 rebuy on PokerStars, he realized that his priorities were changing. Like most high school seniors, Flowers was starting to think about his future. The difference was that his career was already taking off.
Midway through his senior year he dropped out and devoted himself to the game that had consumed him. It wasn’t a popular choice with his parents, but it’s fair to say his risky decision has worked out.
Now 22 years old, Flowers has $2.6 million in career tournament winnings. And with his World Poker Tour Festa Al Lago main event win in October, he became the youngest player to ever win two WPT championships.
Poker Beginnings
Randal ‘RandALLin’ Flowers was born August 9, 1988 and lived the first 20 years of his life in Greenville, North Carolina. Like many of today’s young poker stars, he first got into the game when he saw it on TV during his sophomore year of high school.
“There was a fad where a lot of friends go together to play $5 games, or less. I started playing around town, then everyone else quit playing so I couldn’t play as much live.”
So, he started playing online. The summer following his junior year he had a feeling he was going to be spending a lot more time playing online poker than being the ideal student. He was right.
“I would’ve graduated in 2006, but I bullshitted halfway through my senior year. I even went to community college to finish up some English and math to get my high school diploma, but I ended up skipping that, too. I guess I was never much for school.”
But he was a solid student of the game. When Randal’s dad told him that he couldn’t live in their house if he quit school, Randal shrugged and got an apartment with some friends. That’s when the real grinding began.
“I guess I made a bad decision when I was younger and didn’t finish high school because I was fully engulfed in poker. But I got good enough where I could make a decent living playing poker. At the time, I was blinded by early success.”
He says the last few years have gone by in a blur of travel and poker. When he turned 18 he started making trips overseas to play in whatever poker tournaments seemed appealing.
“I really wanted to play live. I was the one crazy American taking 2 or 3 connections to play one EPT where it was really cold. But I was really eager.”
He hit the EPT, Aussie Millions, PCA, trying to play as many tournaments as possible.
“I guess the factors that determined where I’d go were A) going somewhere I could comfortably get to, and B) going somewhere that’s also fun so even if I lose I have a good place to hang out with friends. I like to combine my vacation with my business.”
Rewriting the WPT Record Books
One of those destinations was Barcelona. It was there that he made history by becoming the youngest ever WPT champion when he won the 2009 WPT Spanish Championship, good for $388,453. He was still a couple months away from turning 21.
He repeated that performance this past October when, at 22-years-old, he took down the WPT Festa Al Lago main event for $831,500, also making him the youngest player to win two WPT titles.
To earn it he had to beat a final table featuring Andrew Frankenberger, Noah Schwartz, Jason Koon, Skip Wilson and Michael Benvenuti.
The prize was the largest of his career, yet he remembers using the big payout as a weapon at the final table.
“I just remember playing as aggressive and reckless as I could, because I knew everyone else was a little more tentative than normal because they were playing for so much money. I had a desensitized value to money where I didn’t really care about it.”
When he won, his friends swarmed him. To Flowers, sharing the win with the people around him was the best part.
“It means a lot to me, for sure. Mainly because I have a lot of friends who don’t know too much about poker and they always ask me, ’When are we going to see you on TV?’ Winning a tournament twice as big as my previous WPT win, and being on TV makes it a lot more glamorous.”
“We were up for about all night and some of the next day celebrating.”
But none were more proud than Mom and Dad, because by now they understand.
“They were always supportive of me even when they weren’t happy with my decisions, which I can’t say I blame them. They’re really happy for me and proud of me and they understand that poker isn’t easy. They know how hard I work and how much goes into it. It’s nice to have a family there to support you.”
Back to the Grind
Business has returned to normal for Flowers since October. He moved to Ft. Worth, Texas in December 2009, where he and roommate Mario Silvestri, aka Pwnasaurus, hone their skills.
“I lived in Greenville for 20 years and wanted to go somewhere far away. Texas with a friend sounded like a good idea. It’s nice. The year I’ve spent with him has definitely helped my game. We can always talk about hands and bounce ideas off each other.”
The benefits show. Today you can find Flowers grinding away online or making his way to big buy-in events around the globe.
Working the career he chose, wherever he pleases.
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