Table 1 Podcast

Ben Heath was supposed to do something sensible.Finance.Teaching.Something with math.Something that made his parents feel normal.Instead, he played $3.50 sit-n-gos.A lot of them.Ben grew up in Brighton, England, playing chess, strategy games, and tiny family card games for one-cent coins. Then he went to Warwick, studied math, and started making a little money online during university.Not millions.Not nosebleeds.Just enough to avoid getting a job.Then one of his tutors casually mentioned that a few former students had gone into professional poker.That was all it took.Ben finished his degree, skipped the finance track, and gave himself two years to make poker work.From there, things got weird fast.He met Charlie Carrel through a university Skype group, went to Amsterdam with people he’d never met, moved to London, grinded Zoom cash, played live cash on weekends, went broke, ran it back, and started taking shots that were probably not approved by any financial advisor.At one point, he had around $100K to his name…then put a huge chunk of it into a €50K in Barcelona.It went badly.Then it went very, very well.Aussie Millions runner-up.A Wynn score he somehow left in the cage.A backpack full of cash walking back to the Rio.A SCOOP swap with Charlie that changed the year.A WSOP $50K bracelet.Triton.Super high rollers.$250Ks.$500Ks.And a runner-up finish for around $8 million.In this episode of The Table 1 Podcast, Ben joins Art Parmann and Justin Young to talk about the full ride:♠️ Growing up in Brighton and studying math♥️ Playing $3.50 180-mans for university spending money♦️ Why he skipped finance and chose poker♣️ Meeting Charlie Carrel and moving to London♠️ Going broke, rebuilding, and aggressive bankroll shots♥️ The Barcelona €50K shot that nearly wrecked him♦️ The Aussie Millions run that changed everything♣️ Winning the WSOP $50K bracelet♠️ The Sam Soverel time bank drama♥️ How he moved into the super high roller world♦️ Playing $500K buy-ins♣️ Coaching high-stakes players♠️ Why he barely plays the WSOP Main Event anymore♥️ Why Phenom Poker got his attentionWe also get into:- chess- Brighton hippies- volunteering in Fiji- getting stuck in Madrid during COVID- Triton invite politics- why some $50Ks are not like other $50Ks- backing, swapping, and selling action- and what it feels like to play a half-million-dollar buy-in.This one is a poker story about shot-taking, timing, discipline, and somehow staying calm while playing tournaments most humans would need a spreadsheet just to emotionally process.👇 Drop a comment:Would you ever fire half your net worth in one tournament?------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Ben’s Links:https://phenompoker.com/?r=BenHeathX - https://x.com/BenHeath48------------------------------------------------------------------------------------T1 LinksPlay with us in Vegas:https://table1.vegasCard Player Magazine:https://table1.vegas/cardplayerFollow us:X - https://x.com/table1vegas IG - https://instagram.com/table1vegas

Everyone wanted to talk about the laptop.
Jonathan Tamayo wanted to talk about mahjong.
Because before the 2024 WSOP Main Event title, the $10,000,000 score, and the most debated rail in poker, Tamayo was a kid in Houston playing games with his grandparents, getting bankroll money from his grandpa, trying to figure out PartyPoker, and learning the hard way like everyone else.
He had the early online poker growing pains, the college poker games, the PartyPoker bad beat jackpot, the Sunday Million score, the first WSOP summer, the 2009 Main Event heartbreak, Black Friday, daily fantasy, backing, a cash game stable, and years of being very good without quite becoming that guy.
Then 2024 happened.
And somehow the guy who had already been deep in the Main Event before found himself back in the exact spot every poker player dreams about.
Only this time, he won the whole thing.
In this episode of The Table 1 Podcast, Jonathan Tamayo joins Art Parmann and Justin Young to tell the full story.
Topics include:
♠️ Growing up in Houston with NASA parents and mahjong games
♥️ Grandpa casually funding the early gambling years
♦️ PartyPoker, online mistakes, and the bad beat jackpot
♣️ His first WSOP summer and $1,500 runner-up finish
♠️ The wildest $1/$3 game at the Rio
♥️ The 2009 Main Event run and Billy Kopp hand
♦️ Black Friday and falling behind the European solver wave
♣️ Daily fantasy swings, including a $900K football sweat
♠️ The 2015 Main Event and Joe McKeehen rail
♥️ Building a cash game stable
♦️ The 2024 Main Event run
♣️ LaptopGate, final table prep, and what actually happened
♠️ The heads-up live tell that helped swing the match
♥️ Winning the Main Event and what changes after $10M
We also get into why the Main Event still matters, the truth about final table preparation, what people misunderstood about the rail, how poker strategy has changed, why the player pool is aging, and what poker’s future problem might really be.
This one is part origin story, part Main Event breakdown, and part answer to the controversy everyone had an opinion on.
What’s your honest take on final table rails using laptops?
Timestamps
00:00 — Intro + 2024 Main Event Champ
01:43 — Houston Roots, Mahjong & NASA Parents
05:22 — Humble High School + Lazy-Good Student Life
07:56 — Cornell, Hotel School & Golf
11:02 — First Poker Games in High School
15:18 — Grandpa Bankrolls the Gambling
18:02 — PartyPoker, Western Union & Online Growing Pains
19:15 — The PartyPoker Bad Beat Jackpot
21:39 — Sunday Million Score + Bad 2008 Job Market
23:19 — First WSOP Summer + $1,500 Runner-Up Finish
25:00 — The Wildest $1/$3 Game at the Rio
34:08 — Turning Stone, Brian Hastings & Cornell Private Games
36:21 — 2009 Main Event Run Begins
38:16 — Day 3 Heater + Jenga Chip Explosion
42:44 — Billy Kopp Hand + 21st Place Finish
45:20 — Backing, Supernova Elite & Old-School 10Ks
50:30 — Black Friday + Falling Behind the Europeans
52:23 — Daily Fantasy Grind + DraftKings Hockey Championship
58:23 — The $900K Fantasy Football Sweat
59:13 — 2015 Main Event Run + Joe McKeehen’s Year
1:02:23 — McKeehen Final Table Rail + Early “Laptop” System
1:04:54 — Cash Game Stable + Long-Term Backing Setup
1:06:58 — 2024 Main Event Begins
1:09:47 — Day 2 Heater + First All-In Risk
1:10:21 — “The Hand” That Changed Everything
1:12:09 — Day 5–8 Main Event Grind
1:13:29 — Final 18 + Dom Starts Coaching From the Rail
1:16:35 — From 15 of 18 to the Final Table
1:18:06 — 10 Left + The Queens Fold
1:23:25 — LaptopGate + Final Table Prep
1:29:02 — Heads-Up Live Tell Breakthrough
1:33:00 — Winning the Main Event
1:35:37 — What’s Next + Staying in His Lane
1:37:53 — What He Did With the Money
1:38:30 — Poker’s Future Problem
Jonathan’s Links
X: https://x.com/driverseati
Instagram: https://instagram.com/driverseati
Table 1 Links
Play with us in Vegas: https://table1.vegas

Kenny Hallaert has lived almost every version of a poker life.Player.Tournament director.Casino marketer.Festival builder.PokerStars live events advisor.WSOP November Niner.Before the $1.4M score…before the Main Event final table…before he was helping shape live poker festivals around the world…Kenny was an electrician in Belgium who found poker through an online banner in 2004.Then a soccer injury forced him indoors.So he played.A lot.Limit Hold’em. Full ring. Online tournaments. Freerolls. Tiny bankroll discipline. The whole old-school grind.But Kenny’s story doesn’t stop at becoming a player.He helped build live poker in Belgium.Worked around weird legal restrictions.Launched tournament festivals.Ran floors.Designed structures.Learned the game from both sides of the table.Then he went on one of the most ridiculous WSOP stretches ever:Deep in the first Colossus.Deep in the Main Event.Then the next year…November Nine.In this episode of The Table 1 Podcast, Kenny joins Art Parmann and Justin Young to talk about the full ride:♠️ Growing up in Belgium♥️ Finding online poker in 2004♦️ Going from electrician to casino marketer♣️ Building live poker festivals in Belgium♠️ Knocking out Daniel Negreanu at EPT Monaco♥️ His first WSOP trip♦️ The first Colossus final table♣️ The 2016 November Nine run♠️ Preparing with Fedor Holz’s team♥️ Why tournament structures are broken♦️ PokerStars, AI, smart glasses, solvers, and the future of live pokerThis one is part poker origin story, part WSOP time capsule, and part masterclass on how live tournaments actually get built.👇 Drop a comment:What’s the best poker tournament structure you’ve ever played?------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Show Notes00:00 — Intro + Belgium Roots 04:33 — Discovering Online Poker 08:00 — From Electrician to Casino Marketer 14:25 — Soccer Injury → Poker Boom 20:06 — Early Poker Breakthroughs 25:01 — Building Live Poker in Belgium 37:21 — EPT Monaco Heartbreak 42:07 — First WSOP Trip 45:17 — WSOP Colossus + Main Event Runs 50:13 — The November Nine Run 54:53 — Balancing Player Life & Poker Business 59:53 — Main Event Strategy & Table Dynamics 1:01:40 — Tournament Structures Are Broken 1:17:07 — PokerStars, Future Formats & Game Integrity 1:23:22 — Where to Follow Him ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Kenny’s Links:X / IG - @SpaceyFCB------------------------------------------------------------------------------------T1 LinksWhat is Table 1? https://table1.vegasFollow us:X - https://x.com/table1vegas IG - https://instagram.com/table1vegas

Esther “E-Tay” Taylor did not take the normal road to poker.She was born in South Korea, found as a baby, adopted into a strict Christian family in Portland, and raised with two older brothers who made sure she was tough enough for whatever came next.Game nights.Sports.Church five days a week.A real job at Wells Fargo.A future in private banking.Then poker showed up.At first, they weren’t even playing with chips.They were playing with dried beans and macaroni.A few years later?E-Tay quit her good job, moved to Vegas with almost no money, learned mixed games online for $26 at a time, took five years off to become a mom, came back to final table a WPT, and eventually became one of the most respected mixed-game players in poker.In this episode of The Table 1 Podcast, E-Tay joins Art Parmann and Justin Young to talk about the whole ride:♠️ Being adopted from South Korea and growing up in Portland♥️ Her strict Christian upbringing and her dad’s support♦️ Quitting Wells Fargo to chase poker♣️ Learning mixed games the cheap way online♠️ Taking five years away from poker for motherhood♥️ Coming back with a WPT final table at Borgata♦️ Jumping into the $25K PLO and finishing 3rd♣️ Her $50K Poker Players Championship run♠️ Why mixed games are so hard to learn now♥️ Representing women in poker the right way♦️ Launching Her Edge Academy to help more women get into mixed gamesWe also get into golf, motherhood, old-school online poker, PLO confidence, why she never studied from charts, and why poker needs more humans instead of robots.This one is funny, honest, and a really good look at what it takes to build a poker career without following anybody else’s playbook.👇 Drop a comment:What poker game should every Hold’em player learn next?Show Notes00:00 — Intro + why “E-Tay”01:48 — Born in South Korea / adoption story07:16 — Strict Christian home + her dad’s support09:59 — Game nights, brothers, and competitiveness17:28 — Wells Fargo and the “real job” path19:02 — First poker games with beans and macaroni23:10 — Quitting her job and moving to Vegas24:34 — Learning mixed games online32:48 — Taking five years off for motherhood35:03 — Returning with a WPT final table41:58 — Parks Casino ambassador chapter47:04 — Finding PLO and mixed games49:20 — Jumping into the $25K PLO56:20 — How her mindset changed over time1:11:00 — Women in poker and ladies events1:17:12 — Recent heater + full WSOP schedule1:19:34 — Deciding to play the $50K PPC1:22:26 — The $50K PPC run1:31:58 — E-Tay Poker + Her Edge AcademyE-Tay’s Links:Website: https://etaypoker.comHer Edge Academy: https://heredgeacademy.comInstagram: https://instagram.com/__etay__Follow us:X - https://x.com/table1vegasIG - https://instagram.com/table1vegas

TJ Reid Joins Art Parmann (https://x.com/ArtParmann) and Justin Young (https://x.com/Justinyoung07) on this week's episode of the Table 1 Podcast! We peel back the curtain on this incredible journey from vows of poverty as a Jehova's Witness to pokerORG reporter, to Final Tabling one of the biggest tournaments of the year in the Bahamas at WSOP with $10,000,000 for the winner.Show Notes00:00 Growing Up in Missouri, Religion, and Family Games09:03 Discovering Poker While Living a Double Life12:42 Excommunication, Starting Over, and Leaving the Church25:29 From Service Industry to Live Cash Poker31:45 Marriage, Idaho, COVID, and the First Vegas Trip36:07 Winning His First Major Tournament Score40:59 PokerNews, PokerOrg, and Building a Career in Poker Media47:09 Thunder Valley, Table One, and Playing Bigger52:48 The 2025 NAPT Main Event and Slot Machine Chaos56:04 Chasing EPT, PokerStars Incentives, and Bigger Buy-Ins1:06:38 The 25K Super Main Run1:14:24 Finishing 4th for $3.1 Million1:17:23 Becoming WSOP Circuit Manager and Growing the Game1:21:33 25K Fantasy Draft Strategy1:27:27 TJ’s Daily Vlogs and OutroFollow TJ on youtube  @tjreidpoker  https://x.com/tjreidpokerhttps://www.instagram.com/tjreid1/Follow Table 1: https://table1.vegas