Like a lot of poker players, Kevin Nee discovered the game after the Moneymaker boom. He was just a teenager at the time, but he would gather with his friends for casual cash games or sit-n-go’s.
Poker was fun, but it wasn’t serious. The Lincoln, Nebraska native instead was focused on hooping. Kevin would spend his days playing the game and his nights watching his father Danny Nee become the winningest coach in University of Nebraska basketball history.
Nee would go on to play one year of Division 1 ball at Hofstra before transferring to Columbia University and then dropping out. He then moved to New York City, taking jobs in the hospitality sector while becoming a partner in several nightclubs and restaurants. Nee also worked as a model while simultaneously pursuing acting roles.
One day, Nee found himself seated in an underground, high-stakes cash game. He sat down with just $3,000, but after five hours, he cashed out for $87,000. Eventually, he decided to try his hand at tournaments.
There was a relatively deep run in the WSOP main event, but Nee made headlines in late November when he took down the World Poker Tour Rock ‘N’ Roll Poker Open in south Florida for $605,100.
Card Player caught up with Nee to break down a couple of key hands he played en route to the title.
Craig Tapscott: Looking over your results, it seems as though you’ve just started your journey in tournament poker over the last couple of years.
Kevin Nee: I started playing tournaments in 2023. I had been doing well in my local cash games, so I decided to see how well I could do in the World Series of Poker that summer.
My first time there, I only played a few events and had a run to 94th out of 6,000 in a $800 bracelet event. After that run, I was hooked.
CT: What do you love most about MTTs?
KN: The competition of tournaments and the prestige of winning them. I believe MTTs are the purest form of poker. You can’t reload all the time like a cash game. There are consequences for busting out. It’s as even a playing field as you can get in a monetary game.
CT: What do you think you still need to work on the most?
KN: I feel my most significant issues are emotional and mental. I have yet to feel out of my league or outplayed. Almost every time [something goes wrong], it’s me shooting myself in the foot.
I did some internal work and realized that confrontations in poker are just like those in life; they trigger a fight-or-flight response. I have always been a fighter in my life, and it carried over to poker, which can be helpful, but also catastrophic.
Often in poker and in life, surrendering (or folding) is the most optimal play. I need to keep working on my mindset and understand that you can’t win the tourney in the early or middle stages. Poker is a never-ending journey. I’m excited to continue to be a student of the game.
Event: WPT Rock ‘N’ Roll Poker Open
Buy-In: $3,500
Entrants: 1,224
Prize Pool: $3,916,800
First-Place Prize: $605,100
Hand No. 1
Stacks: Kevin Nee – 9,000,000 (72 BB) Chad Eveslage – 12,500,000 (100 BB) Rob Wazwaz – 3,300,000 (26 BB)
Blinds: 75,000-125,000 with a 125,000 big blind ante
Players remaining: 10
CT: Set this hand up for us, which featured two-time WPT champ and four-time WSOP bracelet winner Chad Eveslage.
KN: I looked down at queens in the big blind, which is an amazing spot to be in, because at this point, I haven’t had many real premium hands in a while.
Eveslage raised to 250,000 in the cutoff with A♥Q♦.
KN: He’s obviously a very talented player, as well as the only person who covers me. So, I’m going to be cautious anytime he’s in the hand.
Wazwaz called in the small blind with K♦J♣.
KN: Now I had to decide whether to three-bet or call. For most of the tournament and usually with this hand, it’s an automatic three-bet for me. However, I was out of position, and Chad covered me. I decided just to call and evaluate the flop.
Nee called from the big blind holding Q♠Q♥.
FLOP: Q♣10♣6♠
CT: Great flop for you.
KN: Huge flop! I’m ecstatic flopping the nuts. However, the board is very dynamic, with flush and straight draws present.
Wazwaz checked, and Nee checked. Eveslage bet 275,000.
CT: Did you have any read on Wazwaz from past experience?
KN: He had been playing smart and was on the tighter side.
Wazwaz called, and Nee raised to 1,000,000.
KN: Reflecting on it now, I wish my bet sizing had been larger. Perhaps I could have made it closer to a full-pot size bet of 1,500,000.
Eveslage called, and Wazwaz called.
TURN: 8♦
CT: What was going through your mind at this point in the hand after both players called?
KN: Well, once both of them called, this turn became huge. I was not very excited that both of them called. I would have much preferred to isolate and be up against one player.
But the turn was very clean, where I was only losing to the 9-7 or the J-9 straight. So, it felt like I still had the best hand.
Wazwaz checked, and Nee bet 3,000,000.
CT: How did you decide on that bet sizing?
KN: I wanted a very big sizing, as the board kept getting uglier for straights, and the flush draw was already there. I wanted something close to pot. I wanted to make sure that if we were to continue, they were not getting a very good price.
Eveslage folded and Wazwaz folded. Nee won the pot of 3,800,000.
KN: I was comfortable just taking the pot down on the turn. I was then the chip leader with 10 left, and it started to feel like I had a real shot at a World Poker Tour title!
CT: Looking back, do you think you could have chosen a different bet sizing for value on the turn to get heads-up with one of them?
KN: Obviously, knowing their hands post-stream, it feels like I could have kept them in with something smaller. It was still a big pot, but I was content ending the hand. I would rather win more pots and deny equity than try to milk for value, especially at that stage in the tourney.
Hand No. 2
Stacks: Kevin Nee – 21,000,000 (52.5 BB) Joel Gola – 29,000,000 (72.5 BB)
Blinds: 200,000-400,000 with a 400,000 big blind ante
Players remaining: 3
Gola raised to 800,000 from the small blind with 10♣6♣. Nee called from the big blind with 9♦4♦.
KN: At this juncture, being three-handed and feeling like Joel had really opened up, I knew his range would be very wide.
CT: So, you would play practically any two cards in the big blind?
KN: Yes. I knew I was going to defend almost anything at that point. I felt very comfortable taking all of my opponents in position to the “streets.”
Obviously, my hand wasn’t that great, but with position and the discount from already being in the big blind, it was a no-brainer to defend.
CT: How were you approaching three-handed play overall?
KN: I still had to be super cautious. I was very concerned about maintaining a chip lead over Aram Zobian on my left, as I knew he is a very talented, capable player.
The last thing I wanted to do is punt off some chips and let him catch up, which is exactly what I did to myself the previous day.
FLOP: [/pcn]Qd9s4c[/pcn]
Gola bet 900,000.
KN: I wanted him to think I was pondering a call, but all I was thinking about was Vegas and the fuckin Mirage. Boom!
With bottom two, I knew that I was most likely ahead of almost anything Joel could have. I could sense that this was my chance to really take control of the game if he remained aggressive. So, I called in hopes that he would keep blasting.
Nee called.
TURN: 5♥
KN: The turn eliminated any flush possibilities, so it was a very good card for me. Again, this was short-handed play. I felt my hand was very strong and just wanted him to keep betting.
Gola bet 3,500,000.
Nee called.
KN: I wasn’t scared of too many river cards. In fact, the only river cards I did not want to see were a five or a queen.
RIVER: 5♠
Gola bet 9,000,000.
CT: That’s not good.
KN: Nope. It was the worst possible card in the entire deck. It counterfeited my two pair, leaving me with just a second pair. And I was facing a huge bet.
This was by far the biggest decision of my poker career. If I lost, I would be against the wall fighting for second. My initial thought was to let it go, as I would still be very deep.
If I won the hand, however, I felt the tournament would be mine with more than half of the chips in play.
I counted out my stack to see what I would have left. Then I started to dissect his hand, as my time banks ticked down.
The triple barrel was so aggressive, and he had to have any Q-x or any pocket pair above a 9. I thought to myself that his sizing was suspicious.
CT: Please explain.
KN: If he actually wanted a call, I felt he wouldn’t have bet so big.
Then I had a flashback to the day before when I was in a hand with Joel. I tried to bluff him preflop and on the flop. I gave up on the turn, and he bet 7,000,000 on the river. I folded. He had K-J for just king high in that particular hand.
This scenario was very similar. He got me once, but he wasn’t getting me twice.
Nee called, and Gola mucked. Nee won the pot of 28,800,000.
KN: He immediately said, ‘good call,’ and we took it down! I stood up, pumped. At that point, I definitely felt that the tourney was mine and I was in the driver’s seat!
Nee eliminated Zobian just six hands later, giving him a 2:1 lead over Gola entering heads-up play, which lasted just one hand.
- Photos by WPT