PODCAST: Poker Stories With Dan Smith

Oct 28, 2020

Dan Smith has one of the greatest tournament poker resumes of all time, with $37 million in cashes during his time on the felt. Although he is only 31 years old, Smith has been playing cards for half of his life, having discovered the game as a child chess prodigy. The New Jersey native was already winning big online as a teenager, and by his junior year of high school he had a bankroll that would make many professionals jealous.

Although he had a bit of a slow start to his live tournament career, Smith began to rack up huge scores as he climbed his way to the top of the high roller circuit. He now has 22 tournament titles, along with nine cashes of seven-figures. Smith even cashed in two $1 million buy-in events, finishing third in both the 2018 Big One For One Drop and the 2019 Triton Super High Roller London. He also has a World Poker Tour title, winning the Five Diamond World Poker Classic in 2013. He currently sits in fifth place on poker’s all-time money list behind just Bryn Kenney, Justin Bonomo, Daniel Negreanu, and Erik Seidel.

In 2014, Smith founded The Double Up Drive, an organization that matches public contributions dollar for dollar to more effectively help various charities. In the years since, he has brought on more members of the poker and daily fantasy sports community and helped to raise more than $16 million. You can learn more about the cause at DoubleUpDrive.com.

Highlights from this interview include Survivor lockdown, the Vegas pickle ball scene, tying a chess grandmaster, why Mike McDonald might not be invited to future BBQs, his horse betting bankroll at 7 years old, starting off his career in a downswing, the fruitless pursuit of poker accolades, writing your own eulogy, psychedelic adventures in the desert, starting his own charity, why he quit daily fantasy sports, giving gifts to NFL kickers, being the best without a bracelet, climbing the money list, drinking his collectibles, splitting a mortgage with Stephen Chidwick, losing a $250,000 pot, lucky shirts and Doyle Brunson’s cowboy hat.

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