Kathy Chang’s Heater Burns Bright Heading Into The WSOP

The late ‘Miami’ John Cernuto would be proud of his apprentice Kathy Chang for her amazing year on the felt, and she would be just as quick to give the tournament ironman much of the credit.

Chang has cashed in eight tournaments in 2025, finishing in the top 10 of all eight and winning four. She won three events in February, taking home trophies for a $400 H.O.R.S.E event at Wynn, a $500 NLH tag team ladies event at The Venetian, and a $150 Limit T.O.R.S.E event at The Orleans. She took a short breather, then won the $200 Limit Omaha eight-or-better event at the LIPS Women in Poker Spring Festival in April.

As a mixed game enthusiast, Chang looks forward to the opportunity to add a coveted WSOP bracelet to the WSOP Circuit ring she won at the Commerce last year in a $600 H.O.R.S.E event. Like her mentor, Chang is a cash machine, with more than 200 on her poker résumé to go along with over 30 live wins.

Card Player caught up with Chang a few weeks before the start of the summer series.

Craig Tapscott: When did you first discover poker and dip your toes into tournaments?

Kathy Chang: I kind of fell into no-limit hold’em by accident. The first time I saw it was when I watched ESPN in 2008. I was fascinated right away because I love all games, card games, board games, everything.

I knew nothing about poker other than pocket aces, which was a good hand. I started playing a little bit. We had a local league in my area, and then I went to the Bicycle Casino in Los Angeles.

I played a tournament, and I still knew nothing. A friend said, “If you just fold, you’ll be in the money.” My first cash was for $255, and I was thrilled. I then decided I was going to play poker. I liked the feeling of cashing. (laughs)

CT: How was the switch to mixed games?

KC: I learned that with fixed limit, you can’t bust the first hand, right? You can at least play for a couple of hours, even if you’re the worst player ever. You also need a little bit more of your own brain power. Now, with all the solvers and everything, I don’t even understand no-limit anymore.

I feel a lot more comfortable playing fixed limit versus the pot-limit and the no-limit, although I play all of them. (laughs) It really is a whole new language.

Everybody speaks English, but if you can be bilingual it helps in everything you do. Your mind works differently. The same goes for poker. You become a more well-rounded player by learning many different games.

CT: Please share a little about the late ‘Miami’ John Cernuto and what he meant to you.

KC: I was fortunate enough to meet John years ago, and he coached me and became my friend and mentor. I miss him dearly. I’m just getting teared up thinking about it right now.

He was so phenomenal, mainly because he believed in me. I needed a mentor because I had started playing poker on my own. I didn’t know anybody in poker. I pretty much just practiced and tried to meet people.

I started playing H.O.R.S.E. years ago, and then I picked up deuce-to-seven triple draw. Now that’s my favorite game. But back then, there wasn’t a lot of online content. We only had a few books and not much on mixed games. I had to learn as I went along.

CT: How did John contribute the most to your game?

KC: John was instrumental in getting me to the next level. I was doing okay up until then, but he just really helped me [clean up mistakes]. Especially in my Omaha eight-or-better study, where it’s a split-pot game, and the goal is to scoop.

He was always pushing me to have quality starting hands. I could hear him always saying, ‘throw it away, throw it away, throw it away.’ You want starting hands that are most favorable in getting that scoop potential. You don’t want to chase the low, but that’s the best feeling when you have the low locked and free rolling to the high.

Sometimes, I’d want to get a little bit creative and play something that wasn’t on his ‘A list’ of starting hands. He would remind me it might look fun right now, but in the long run, you want to play solid hands. That will be the most advantageous to win.

He would also remind me about ‘position, position, position.’ He couldn’t drill that in my head enough. Position is so important in every game. You get so much more information when you have position.

I came from a no-limit hold’em background. When short-stacked and in the small blind, you could just go all in and hope for the best in tournaments. (laughs) But John taught me that in Omaha eight-or-better, since there are no antes, you could fold your small blind and wait for a better spot. You could still build it up and come back.

CT: What did you appreciate about John the most?

KC: There’s so much. He was so humble. And no matter what game he played, he was focused and played solid.

He was very old school. He hardly used a computer. He handwrote all his notes. I had to type out everything so I could read it.

But what he gave me most was a way to believe in myself, develop confidence, and not get discouraged. I will never be so good that I don’t need a coach. I always want to learn. I always want to get better.

No one’s going to replace John. But I think if I can find one or two people who could help me in specific games, then maybe they can help me get to an even higher level.

CT: You attend many mixed-game festivals, the most recent at the South Point Casino. What do you love about them?

KC: Yes. That whole week, we had the Ladies Spring Festival. I happened to win the Omaha eight-or-better event at that one. There’s so much positive energy at the festivals. I have all my friends around. We have goofy hats and a pajama day.

I play poker because it’s fun. I don’t want it to be a job. Even if you don’t win, at least you had a good time.

And even if I’m not winning, I’m always learning. Now that I’m getting into the bigger games and higher stakes, I’m watching the better players. I’m always learning something.

I always listened to what John was teaching me, but I had to add my personal touch. Each game, each table is different. You have to see who’s at your table and what they are doing. Fortunately for me, one skill that I have is reading people.

CT: I can tell you love live poker.

KC: I love live poker so much more than when I play online. I’m very observant. I watch the people. They’ll always tell you what you need to know if you pay attention. Listen to what they’re saying, see what they’re doing, and you will get a lot of information.

You’re sitting there hour after hour in tournaments. There’s so much to take in. It’s fun. If you watch closely, you can see players’ patterns and get a feel for what’s happening. Even though the cards say you’re supposed to do one thing, the people say you’re supposed to do another. That’s a huge factor in how I’ve done so well.

CT: I read that you’re working with the Christina Gollins mentorship program. How is that going?

KC: I’m still looking for a mentor for myself, but I signed up to mentor others. I am proud of them for having this program because I think it’s great. We can all help each other and grow the game, especially for more women.

CT: You’re very passionate about introducing more women to poker. What advice would you give newer players getting into the game?

KC: There are so many great women’s groups out there. I am a member of Pocket Queens, which is a group that is fantastic for women. There is the LIPS Tour for women. I’ve joined all the groups, male, female, everything because I feel like the community is important to me.

CT: What barriers do you think women come up against when first starting to play the games?

KC: It’s being out of your comfort zone. It’s starting something new. I created the Mixed Game League at Pocket Queens. It’s free. We play a different variant every month. It’s a fun and non-threatening environment. I’m trying to give women an opportunity to learn in a fun way.

My best advice for women is to just jump in and get involved.

Find Chang on Twitter/X @changrd.

• Photos by World Poker Tour, World Series of Poker, LIPS, Wynn, Commerce Casino, Kathy Chang