Jason Somerville Recaps An Important YearSomerville Finds Support In Both Gay Community And Poker World |
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Over his four-year career, Jason Somerville has been one of the most consistent players on tour, racking up over $2.5 million in live tournament earnings, as well as another $1.5 in online cashes.
After several close calls, Somerville had an amazing 2011 campaign, winning his first WSOP bracelet. His 2012 experience was even better, and although his poker results were solid, the 25-year-old’s success had more to do with his time off the felt than on it.
“It was kind of a different year for me,” said Somerville. “I really didn’t get to play or travel much the first six months out of the year because I spent some time focusing on my personal life and finding happiness.”
The Long Island, New York native is, of course, referring to a February blog post where he came out to the rest of the poker community. Although he initially had some reservations about the reactions he would get from his peers about his homosexuality, Somerville was pleased to discover that he was welcomed with open arms.
“The poker world was overwhelmingly supportive,” Somerville revealed. “I haven’t really had to deal with any negative comments whatsoever. I was initially worried that it would be this awkward situation, but I’ve been treated just the same, if not better, since I made the decision to tell everyone.”
When asked why he believes his peers were so accepting, Somerville pointed out that poker is a game that is open to everyone.
“I think it says a lot about the diversity of the poker community. People from all different backgrounds are drawn to this game and I think that has an effect when it comes to being accepted at the table. In the poker world, I’m not defined by my personal life, I’m just another poker player. Unfortunately, the same can’t be said for some of the other sports out there.”
Since posting his inspirational blog, Somerville has been featured in Out Magazine and Queerty, two publications that cover the gay-oriented lifestyle and news. However, Somerville was quick to point out that he came out for his own benefit, not to become an example for other gay poker players.
“I feel like I represent the gay community in the poker world and the poker world in the gay community, but let’s not make me out to be some sort of icon,” said Somerville. “That was honestly never my intent. I recognize that I was the first notable male to come out, but I did that for my own personal happiness and for my relationship with my boyfriend, not to be some symbol or to deliver any sort of message. The fact that others may have benefited or were perhaps inspired by my actions is just an awesome side effect.”
Despite the recent developments in his personal life, Somerville did manage to have a stellar year on the felt, even though he didn’t put in a lot of volume. In February, just weeks after coming out, he managed to make the televised final table of the WPT L.A. Poker Classic main event, finishing sixth for $201,910. In July, he chopped up a $25,000 satellite into the Big One For One Drop and was awarded $400,000 for his third-place finish. Then he went deep in the WSOP main event, finishing in 69th place for $106,056.
Rather than continue playing on the tournament circuit, Somerville then turned his attention to coaching Russell Thomas, a member of the 2012 November Nine. The two spent three months training and simulating for the main event final table, where Thomas finished fourth, earning over $2.85 million.
During his training sessions, Somerville brought in a camera crew to create a series of videos titled The Final Table, documenting his progress with Thomas. Somerville wanted to average around 5,000 views per video, but instead was blown away when they received 15,000.
“The end result was a great series of videos and I can honestly say that it was one of the best experiences of my life,” said Somerville. “I count those six, six-minute videos as one of my proudest accomplishments. Putting them together and working with the production and editing side of it really got my interested in doing more, so I plan on working with some more poker players in the new year, most notably Dan O’Brien and Jason Mercier.”
Watch the first episode of The Final Table below.
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