I sat down with Cary Katz, the man who quietly built the modern stage of poker. He’s the founder of PokerGO, the one who brought us the Super High Roller Bowl, Poker Masters, US Poker Open, and yes, even the Big Blind Ante. What fascinates me isn’t just his $40M+ in tournament winnings, but his mindset: the shift from frustration to gratitude, from creating a prison with losses to celebrating them. Cary opens up about business risks, how passion projects cost more than you expect, and why he thinks integrity is the only real strategy in life.

We also got into health, longevity, and some personal truths: how it took him 55 years to quit sugar, why lifting weights is a cheat code against the “four horsemen,” and how he views the next 30 years of his life as a freeroll. From billion-dollar loans to billions of minutes of poker watched, Cary’s story isn’t just about poker, it’s about building, adapting, and finding perspective through the swings. He also finally lays out who he thinks are poker's true icons... You're not going to want to miss this stunning conversation!

CHAPTERS

00:00 Cary Katz on being a “copycat” in poker & business

00:37 Dan introduces Cary Katz’s impact on poker

01:02 Building PokerGO, Super High Roller Bowl & majors

02:05 Why Cary prefers tournaments over cash games

02:34 Staking, friendships, and instincts in high rollers

04:14 Copying great ideas to grow poker brands

06:03 Making poker a true spectator sport

07:07 Challenges with live broadcasting & delays

07:33 Transition from Poker Central → PokerGO

08:48 Expanding PokerGO globally (Brazil, Japan, Spanish markets)

09:41 Cary’s mindset shift: embracing losses & positivity

12:16 Winning his first bracelet with a new mindset

13:30 Dan & Cary on gratitude, history, and perspective

19:00 Health & lifestyle: fasting, quitting sugar, longevity

22:17 Fitness, weightlifting, yoga, and cryotherapy

27:01 Fitness vs. business focus – finding balance

27:25 Cary’s sales background and path to building College Loan Corp

29:04 Scaling from $20M to $3B in student loans

33:26 Starting PokerGO as a passion project

34:53 The cost of poker productions & why paywalls exist

40:17 Online poker challenges vs. live poker instincts

43:22 Why Cary supports poker: passion & competition

45:16 The invention of the Big Blind Ante

48:18 Difficulties of the media business & PokerGO growth

50:59 Life balance, gratitude, and slowing down time

55:00 Business lessons: revenue, hiring, and integrity

58:51 Poker players transitioning into business

01:03:40 Cary’s goals: family, longevity, and staying present

01:04:09 What’s next for Cary Katz and PokerGO

01:04:45 Titles, bracelets, and long-term poker goals

01:05:22 Embracing swings & “the wave” in poker and life

01:06:12 Closing banter: Negreanu’s influence & poker icons

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Who are your top 5 poker icons? Drop em below...

You're about to meet a poker player who might have the strangest pre-game routine I've ever heard of. Global Kenny (@globalkennypoker on Instagram) has some absolutely wild theories about nutrition, energy, and cognitive performance that honestly sound crazy until you see his results. This guy went from complete unknown to playing some of the biggest pots on the West Coast, and his approach to preparation is... let's just say it involves some unconventional choices that most poker pros would never consider. I was skeptical going into this conversation, but his logic actually started making sense by the end.

What really caught my attention wasn't just Kenny's rapid rise through the stakes, but how he's navigating the modern poker landscape where everyone's trying to be both a player and a content creator. He's got some strong opinions about the "nit epidemic" in poker and has actually built a movement around it, but more importantly, he's figured out something that most poker influencers haven't: how to actually keep improving at poker while building a brand. We get into some fascinating territory about game selection, the West Coast scene, and why he thinks the path to higher stakes is more accessible than people realize. Plus, he drops some insights about international poker that might surprise you.

CHAPTERS

00:00:00 - Introduction and Global Kenny's poker background

00:03:20 - The anti-knit campaign and converting poker players

00:07:00 - Fasting and caffeine preparation routines

00:12:00 - Meditation vs morning routine philosophy

00:18:00 - Sleep tracking and optimization strategies

00:22:00 - Daily poker schedule and session structure

00:27:00 - Moving up stakes and bankroll building journey

00:32:00 - Building a social media brand in poker

00:38:00 - Biggest pots won and lost; the 50k hands

00:43:00 - Biggest bluffs and table presence discussion

00:47:00 - Future tournament and streaming plans

00:52:00 - Education background and investment interests

00:56:00 - Content creation challenges and balancing poker

01:00:25 - Closing thoughts and social media shoutouts

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What's your Monster Energy drink of choice?

Xuan Liu just detonated one of poker’s longest-standing glass ceilings—busting a 200-event streak with the first female title in Triton history, taking down the $25 000 WPT Global Slam in Montenegro (155 entries, $860 000 up top). I had to know how she did it, so we sat down to trade war stories: her Yukon bankroll challenge that started with two grand total (flights included), the cliquey staking webs that freeze most women out of 25 Ks, and why she thinks “marketing yourself” is the truest edge in high-rollers.

From double-board bomb-pots in the Arctic to four-bet battles on Poker Night in America, we unpack the mind-game, the money game, and the human game... plus a few leaks we’re still plugging.

If you’re chasing freedom through cards... or just wondering how a calm Canadian-Chinese grinder became the “Queen of Triton”, hit play, drop a comment, and let’s keep pushing the ceiling higher!

CHAPTERS

00:00 – Introduction & Xuan’s breakthrough Triton win

01:45 – Are there other female high-roller champs?

03:30 – Where Xuan ranks among the game’s top women

05:35 – The real barriers keeping women out of high-stakes poker

08:55 – Selling action online as a launchpad to live events

11:45 – Why community (and clean staking deals) matter

14:30 – Cash-game cred vs. tournament glory

18:50 – Stream games, thumbnails & the “female click-factor”

22:00 – The $2k cross-Canada bankroll challenge

28:15 – Yukon bomb-pots and soft PLO edges

33:40 – Wild travel poker tales from Newfoundland to Nunavut

38:45 – Couch-surfing, poverty roots & those early $5k shots

40:45 – Cutting costs: practical tips for the tour-grind lifestyle

43:50 – Re-igniting passion, building brand & fresh content goals

46:30 – WSOP plans, mixed-game temptations and China tour

50:15 – Dating on pause: focus, independence & life balance

52:45 – Growing the women’s game: golf analogy & untapped markets

55:40 – Final reflections, bracelet dreams & sign-off

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Who should I have next on the podcast?