Even among the most intrepid travelers, visiting all seven continents is a rare feat. Antarctica is simply too far off the beaten path, not to mention brutally frigid. But high-stakes poker pro Ben Tollerene had longed to visit the Great White South and was able to cross it off his bucket list.
Antarctica’s scenery astounded the Texas native, who had envisioned a flat-planed landscape, but was surprised to see many more unexpected features like mountains, valleys, and wildlife. He saw orcas, and thousands of penguins.
“You can only go a few months of the year where it’s not too cold – January or February during summer (in the southern hemisphere),” he says. “I had the opportunity to do a polar plunge, where you jump in the water off the boat. The water was just barely above freezing. It must have been like 35 or 36. It was just crazy cold, a real shock to the system.”
Ever since the shock, Tollerene has been the complete opposite of ice cold at the poker table. He’s been a dominating force on the high roller circuit, with numerous seven-figure scores and a string of finishes that even the very best would envy.
The 38-year-old recently spoke with Card Player about his life in the game and why he’s been firing on all cylinders for the better part of the last two years.
Burnout Leads To A Break
The closing days of a tournament series can be a bit of a decrescendo. The excitement ebbs as tables and chairs are removed and what was once a bustling scene is left with just a few players battling for a title. That was the experience for Tollerene at the European Poker Tour stop in Monte Carlo last May.
Tollerene was locked in competition at the final table of a €25,000 high roller event at about 4 a.m. The convention center had been closed, and the remaining players were relegated to a completely different room – seemingly out of sight, out of mind.
“We played on adrenaline and kind of rode that wave,” Tollerene recalled. “I think I ended up winning at 5:30 a.m. It was a great feeling.”
There have been a lot of great feelings over the last couple of years. Originally from Mansfield, Texas, Tollerene recently moved to Las Vegas after living in Vancouver for 13 years to play online. He has more than $32 million in live tournament winnings in a career dating back to 2008, but it’s been the last two years where he has done the most damage.
“I think a lot of the way that I’ve been feeling about it is just sort of in disbelief that I keep winning, because I know it’s not supposed to happen that often,” he admitted.
In 2022, Tollerene cashed in with a win in a £100,000 event at the British Poker Open for $1,016,400. He followed that up with some big finishes at the Triton Cyprus series, winning a $30,000 event for $807,927 and taking fourth in a $50,000 super high roller for $535,000. He then grabbed another runner-up in a $25,000 Aria high roller for $175,000.
Then, after his plunge in the arctic, he took a two-year break from the game. Although he was worried his skills had deteriorated during the layoff, he found that he could suddenly do no wrong at the table.
The Heater Begins
“I came back and everything was running so hot. Everything was going so well,” he said. “I didn’t feel like I was playing all that well. Actually, I felt like I was pretty rusty, but the results just kept coming in. I came back for Triton Montenegro in May of 2024 and I think that trip was okay, kind of unremarkable. But then at WSOP I got second on the $250,000 [for $3,537,135], and the results just got better from there.”
A few months after his career-best cash at the WSOP, he grabbed a pair of PokerGO Tour titles for a combined $1,006,000. In November, Tollerene came out on top in a $50,000 pot-limit Omaha event at Triton Monte Carlo for $1,070,000 and followed that up with a runner-up in a $100,000 PLO high roller at the WSOP Paradise in December for another $1,577,660. In the latter series, he also snagged a third place in the $50,000 PLO event for another $746,790.
“It was a little weird on me mentality, where it just felt so easy, and it was maybe skewing the reality of playing live tournaments a little bit.”
The hot streak continued into 2025, beginning with a string of six-figure scores at Triton events. In the March series in Jeju alone, he cashed seven times for a combined $1,856,500. After picking up another $244,100 at the PGT PLO Series in May, he quickly flew to Montenegro for another Triton series.
A Dream Series With Friends
After three cashes in the first dozen events for a modest $346,000, Tollerene would dominate the end of the series. Although he didn’t snag the title, he did take home most of the prize pool after striking a deal with his friend and former roommate Jason Koon heads-up for $3,437,344 in the $150,000 no-limit hold’em event. Just two days later, he was hoisting a trophy in the $10,000 PLO event, pocketing another $2,390,000.
“That was just surreal,” he said. “I was kind of floating around that place. Seth Davies is also a good friend of mine, and he got second in the main event, and then won a $50K [and also finished runner-up in another side event for a total of $6 million]. Then Jason won two tournaments that trip [for a combined $4 million]. So, the three of us were just looking at each other like, ‘This seems made up.’ On the last night we walked out to the beach, and we threw some stones in the water to commemorate that something like that would probably never happen again.”
How did they celebrate? There was no late-night booze fest or even a nice steak dinner. The nature of playing at that level doesn’t allow for cutting loose.
“There’s no time for anything like that,” he says. “At a Triton series, you play every day and you go to bed at like 1 or 2 a.m. Then you wake up and you start again at noon or 1. Those two guys are both pretty disciplined. They have families, so I don’t think they were looking for a reason to go out anyway.”
The summer featured more big scores, including $914,634 for taking third place in the WSOP $50,000 no-limit hold’em high roller. He would also final table the $250,000 event, banking $581,411 for an eighth-place showing. In September, he headed back to Jeju for another Triton series, cashing five times for a total of $992,000, before finishing out his year with three more final tables in Vegas for $358,500.
In total, Tollerene has cashed for $21 million in the last two years, making up more than two-thirds of his career $32.4 million in earnings.
Finding An Edge
Despite recognizing that he has been on the good side of variance during this streak, Tollerene put himself in position to run good with hard work away from the tables. Although he did considerable work on his game overall, he has really stood out in PLO events. In fact, three of his top five scores have come in the four-card game.
“PLO is getting more popular and more people are playing. The tournament scene is growing, and I feel like I have a huge experience edge on a lot of the field. I’ve played millions of hands of high-stakes PLO cash, so I’ve seen the spots and am a little bit more familiar with everything. Then in hold’em, it’s just been working pretty hard. I have a good set of friends that I can study with who helped keep me sharp.”
While some poker players may have goals of winning certain events or a specific number of titles, Tollerene is just focused on becoming a stronger live player.
“Playing live poker, there’s a lot of stimuli,” he explained. “There’s noise, bright lights, trying to not give away live tells, a lot of close proximity with other people. I always felt a little bit of frustration that I was a stronger player online when I didn’t have to deal with any of those things. Then live sometimes I would feel like I had a hard day because it was really warm at the feature table, the lights were really bright, and I couldn’t quite focus and execute the way that I wish that I could. That’s been a persistent goal for me, to keep improving at dealing with those conditions. I want to feel that I’m as strong of a live player as when I play online.”
Flopping Around The Globe
The Triton events have been a major part of Tollerene’s globetrotting schedule over the last few years. He likes to add a few EPT events to his itinerary each year as well to visit new destinations.
“I was in Vancouver, Canada, for 13 years prior to moving to Vegas,” he said. “So, I feel more like I’m from Canada more than I’m from Texas nowadays. I was already familiar with Vegas, so it hasn’t been too much of a change. I don’t love it, though. For now, it’s a good base and I’m exploring some other cities from here.”
The late-night/early-morning EPT win in Monte Carlo was especially rewarding, although the $485,742 he bagged for the victory barely cracks his career top 20. Instead, the trip stands out for his experience in Monaco. His regular routine included walking along the boardwalk each morning, visiting a rotation of favorite restaurants for breakfast, and enjoying the nice weather and scenery. There’s also plenty of opportunities to play one of his other favorite games – tennis. Clay courts are just a 10-minute walk from the hotel.
Beyond Monte Carlo and Antarctica, Tollerene also lists Montenegro as a great place to visit. The series is held at coastal resort, offering stunning views of the Adriatic Sea.
“The people are very nice and down to earth,” he says. “The weather’s good. It’s a beautiful place and that’s one of my favorite spots to play.”
The PokerGO Studio has also been a nice place to play for Tollerene, who has racked up several big wins and finishes in the venue. He loves the laid-back environment and camaraderie among the high rollers who frequent the tournaments.
“PokerGO is pretty heavy on regulars and pros and not a whole lot of more casual players,” he explained. “At the WSOP, you have so many casual players, so it changes the dynamic of everything. When I play in the studio, I’m just trying to play well, trying to play a little more according to theory. When I’m at the WSOP, it’s a lot of improvising and extra considerations. If I have a really soft table, then I need to adjust everything and be a lot more cautious. That doesn’t really happen at the studio. You’re just trying to play well and execute.”
College Millionaire
While this level of live tournament success is new, Tollerene is no stranger to crushing the nosebleeds. In fact, his winning days date back to high school, when he traded video games for poker.
“It seemed like the skills translated into poker from the games I had been playing. I just picked it up and basically never looked back,” he recalled. “I had good results, pretty much the whole way.”
Tollerene headed off to Texas Tech in Lubbock, reluctantly. He was so confident in his poker skills that he begged his parents to quit. They compromised. Tollerene would finish his degrees in business and finance, and then he could then give full-time poker a shot.
He continued playing online and in occasional live events while in school. By the end of his freshman year, he had a $30,000 bankroll. A year later, it was up to $120,000. He was sitting on more than $300,000 by the end of junior year and as he walked across the stage to receive his diploma in 2009, the poker-playing Red Raider had accrued over $1 million.
“I felt like I was the richest person,” he said. “Not that I had a hard time growing up or anything, but I never had any money like that. I just felt like I could do whatever I wanted. But I did become quite introverted and just spent a lot of time playing poker by myself. I think I kind of put aside a lot of the other parts of life to try to achieve what I wanted to achieve in poker.”
His two-year break in 2022 came after burning out and not feeling the love for the game he once had. Playing felt more like a chore rather than something he was doing for fun. That outlook has since changed and Tollerene is now enjoying the grind again.
“I’m still quite introverted, but I have also learned to get more enjoyment out of the people around me. And there’s a lot of interesting people playing poker. One of my friends [recommends] reminding yourself how lucky you are to be playing high-stakes poker for a living. A lot of extremely successful people are there, doing what we’re doing, but that’s what they’re choosing to do in their leisure time. They take a vacation to do what we get to do full time.”
“So, I try to remember that and see if maybe there’s something I could engage them. Not only to improve the atmosphere at the table, but also just take advantage of being with all these interesting people from different parts of the world that share a love for this game.”
- Photos by PokerGO, Triton Poker