World's top poker player

Since his second place in the Big One For One Drop 2014 tournament, he is the biggest live tournament poker winner of all time, having accumulated over $32,600,000 in prize money. He was named the WSOP Player of the Year in 2004 and again in 2013, making him the first and only player in WSOP history to win more than once. He was also the 2004-05 WPT Player of the Year. He is the first player to make the final table at each of the three WSOP bracelet-awarding locations. He is also the first to win a bracelet at each location in Las Vegas, Europe, and Asia-Pacific. In 2014, he was inducted into the Poker Hall of Fame.

“I have a newfound confidence in trusting myself. I owe it to the training I received at ChoiceCenter. In the early part of the year I was doing my Leadership portion of ChoiceCenter, a course on Emotional Intelligence and I set three specific goals for that three-month period. One of those goals was poker related, getting back in the top 15 of the GPI and quickly after completing the course I jumped to #1 and held that spot for about 19 weeks!

During leadership, you do what’s called a “PSP” which stands for “Personal Strategic Plan.” You set out a three-month goal, and then write out a weekly plan on how to accomplish it. My poker PSP included poker study. I watched a lot of videos on www.pokerstars.tv, about 2-4 hours weekly. On top of that, I scheduled poker discussion sessions with friends I respect. Lastly, I watched some training videos on poker. You never get to a point in this game where you stop learning. I wasn’t really playing poker, but I was definitely doing the work.

For me, the leadership part of the course was by far the most valuable. The first weekend is called Discovery. That weekend is basically about discovering what holds you back from being as successful as you can be. The next weekend is called Breakthrough, and it’s about essentially “Breaking through” those walls and learning tools to help you accomplish goals that you will set in leadership.

In leadership, you work on your personal goals and are held accountable by coaches and a team dedicated to helping you achieve those goals. You also learn the value of making a difference in the world via a legacy project. My team raised $280,000 in a week for St. Jude’s children’s hospital, one of the top rated charities in the country.

During the three month leadership period our team lost 361lbs of fat, gained 51lbs of muscle, paid off $345k of debt, created $945k in new annual income, and four people quit smoking.

My experience at ChoiceCenter was awesome and the results I’ve been able to create in my life as a result have been a fulfillment of things I could only dream of. Not just talking about the Player of the Year Awards in poker either. I’m physically the strongest I’ve ever been, easily in the best shape of my life. My relationships with friends and family are stronger and deeper than they ever have been. I have a clear vision for my life and the world. I get that I can make a difference for people, and I also see it as a life worth living. Making a difference. We all can in our own way.”