March 04, 2023

Italy's Craziest Poker Player? | "Jungleman" Dan Cates and Mustapha Kanit

44 minutes

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For Mustapha Kanit, the encounter with poker was made during adolescence. From as early as ten years old, the Italian-Moroccan was already passionate about another major 21st century card game - Magic: The Gathering: After an invite to a poker game from his friends where Mustapha beat them hands down, he was hooked. Mustapha packed his bags and tested Europe's poker destinations at a very young age, winning his first successes in Malta, Barcelona, Madrid and Cannes; better still, the one who had been a rather shy teen discovered his true nature at the table, one of a jovial competitor, curious of others, not lacking in the right words, a catalyst for lots of laughter. His victory in Nova Gorica's Italian Poker Tour tournament in March 2011 made him known to players in his own country, before the European pros discovered his talent six months later, in the Partouche Poker Tour final. But it must not be believed that Mustapha ascended to the heights without any pitfalls. After losing everything at 21, undiscouraged, Mustapha held his head high and continued the work of learning. It was also at this point that he was be transformed into a real specialist in multi-table tournaments. Mustapha's work was soon to bear fruit: his creativity developed at the tables, and the results made his bankroll swell again. Then came 2015, the most successful year of his young career (until now!), the one that was to see him plant his flag on the summits of professional poker. Over the course of 12 magical months, Mustapha was to win two of the biggest online poker tournaments, the SCOOP and the FTOPS, for a total of $1.5 million, and then triumph at Monte Carlo in one of the most difficult tournaments of the year, the Super High Roller, at €50,000, and win the Barcelona EPT High Roller three months later. One year later, in April 2016, Mustapha repeated his success with Monte Carlo's Super High Roller, with an entry price doubled to €100,000, adding another €1.462 million to an already very profitable track record. By the time of becoming the first Italian pro on team Winamax, Mustapha Kanit was already firmly established in the very closed circle of high rollers. Nine years after his debut, the jovial Mustapha leads his country's players in the Hall of Fame, having surpassed the $9 million profit threshold in his live career in 2017, to which more than $4.5 million won online must be added. He belongs to a rare species: that of players very difficult to beat, but, when arriving at the table, still welcomed with pleasure.

Here's what you can expect on this week's show:

0:00 Introduction

00:47 Magic: The Gathering - Because He Had To

5:15 A Tough Road To A Poker Dream

11:54 The Origin of Lasagnammm

12:33 The Importance of the Grind and Poker Vs. Higher Education

17:15 Who Can Succeed At Poker?

19:13 The Fun and Crazy Guy Reputation

25:03 Talking Poker Hands

33:36 Money Mistakes and Investment Talk

39:14 Mustapha Gets Very Excited For the Lightning Round

▬ Winning the Game of Life ▬▬▬▬▬▬