Uncovering The Fame: Discovering the Influencers Who Like To Play Poker

Many people like to play poker in their spare time when they visit the casino for leisure, but playing poker goes beyond fun these days. Now, several major poker competitions involve various games and tournaments where professional poker players come to play. 

In the 2000s there was a rise of professional poker players joining professional teams because of the creation of sponsorships for online poker sites. Players would be sponsored by the poker sites and play exclusively for their team, creating a fan culture around specific poker teams and poker celebrities. 

That and the rise of online poker have enabled some poker tournaments to be streamed or watched through streaming apps and poker-based streaming sites. For specific poker sites, this has created an exclusivity around accessing online poker which has driven its popularity.

Celebrities playing poker in charity games also created the same popularity and some glamour around the game. 

Certain celebs love poker, as seen in the media, Ben Affleck Toney Maguire, and Jennifer Tilley are among them. The 2017 movie Molly’s Game brought this to life, using characters similar to celebrities to show the experience of these high-stakes poker games. This movie alone added some curiosity about the world of poker and the games the celebs were playing in. 

Even Jennifer Tilley, who was first an actress and then a poker star has made poker popular to play. In one event, a No-Limit Hold’Em tournament she won a hefty prize fund.

Texas Hold’Em is a popular game because of its strategy and the psychology needed to play. Texas Hold’Em rules where bets are conducted in strict rounds make it challenging and exciting, especially in the high-stakes tournaments in which celebrities take part.

But it is not just celebrities who play poker. We know who those people are! In the last few years several social media influencers have followed in the celebrity footsteps and joined some celebrity and influencer-specific poker tournaments, but who are they?

1. Tana Mongeau 

Tana Mongeau is a social media influencer who has begun her poker career recently and has spoken about her participation in celebrity poker. Her claim to fame was in 2015 and 2016 thanks to her crazy storytime videos. Almost ten years on she has 5 million subscribers on her main YouTube channel and millions of followers across her pages.

Nowadays she is best known for her Cancelled podcast with her best friend Brooke Scofield. The podcast consists of the two girls sitting and talking about the gossip and the latest things happening in their lives. In one episode, Tana spoke about her participation in celebrity tournaments, speaking about a time when she got revenge on her ex-friend and TikToker Bryce Hall where she beat him in a tournament by coming in third place. She said on her podcast: “Out of 75 people, I beat professional people, it was really cool.” 

2. Bryce Hall

After speaking about Tana, we have to talk about Bryce Hall. Bryce became famous on TikTok. He was part of the social media group The Hype House alongside Charli D’Amelio, Lil Huddy and Avani. Bryce was in a public relationship with fellow Hype House member Addison Rae, who has become a singer and released her viral single ‘Diet Pepsi’ this year.

Bryce’s TikTok content has evolved since leaving the Hype House. The TikToker is known for his content marketing skills, and clickbait and has become known for his poker skills.

Bryce Hall also played in the same poker tournament as Tana Mongeau and he has had some winning success. In one sit-and-go tournament, he won against fellow celebrities and YouTubers. He was almost beaten by podcaster Hila Klein, who co-runs the very popular H3 podcast with her husband, Ethan.

3. Zack TTG 

Zack TTG is relatively new to the world of poker. He did take part in a worldwide poker competition alongside other influencers. Zack was recruited as part of a campaign to get normal people into poker. Zack is no stranger to high-stakes events since his YouTube content is focused on sports and virtual sports tournaments.

Primarily he focuses on NBA tournaments and he documents them on his YouTube. 

4.  Lex Veldhuis

Lex Veldhuis is probably one of the only influencers who hasn’t become a poker star, he is already skilled in the game! Veldhuis has over 300,000 followers on Twitch and 100,000 YouTube subscribers because of his poker streams and gaming.

He has been a professional poker player for over 20 years and boasts a lot of money earned from live poker winnings. Before poker, Lex used to play StarCraft but now his Twitch is dedicated to his one true love: live poker.

5. Ashley Frank/ ‘Pokerface Ash’

Ashley Frank is a small-time vlogger and poker player who goes by the name ‘Pokerface Ash’. 

Ashley is known to document her poker games, she is often seen playing in all-in tournaments. Ashley does her tournaments differently because she gives voiceover commentary on her decisions in the game, explaining each one with precision.

Along with her narration, she shows her gameplay in video vlog-style footage, helping viewers to understand her movements as she explains them.

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