Table 1 Podcast

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Matt Savage almost changed poker history.

Seriously.

One ruling…
one sentence…
and the most famous hand of the poker boom might’ve played out completely differently.

But that’s only a tiny piece of Matt’s story.

Because before poker had standardized tournament rules…
before the TDA…
before modern tournament poker became the machine it is today…

everything was chaos.

Different casinos had different rules.
Players argued nonstop.
Structures were all over the place.
And during the poker boom?

Absolute insanity.

So Matt Savage helped fix it.

In this episode of The Table 1 Podcast, Matt joins Art Parmann and Justin Young for a deep dive into the hidden side of poker that most players never think about:

• ♠️ The early WPT days and poker’s Wild West era
• ♥️ Building the Tournament Directors Association (TDA)
• ♦️ Running the WSOP during the Moneymaker boom
• ♣️ The hand that almost changed poker history forever
• ♠️ Why Matt thinks some modern tournament structures are broken
• ♥️ The future of poker with AI, solvers, phones, and cheating concerns
• ♦️ Why recreational players matter more than pros realize
• ♣️ The chaos of old-school WSOP poker rooms

We also get into:

• poker room disasters
• missing money scandals
• livestream headaches
• bizarre rulings
• why everybody hates the floor… until they need the floor

…and why tournament poker today looks completely different because of people like Matt.

This one is poker history, poker philosophy, and behind-the-scenes Vegas chaos all wrapped into one episode.

👇 Comment below:
What’s the most controversial poker ruling YOU’ve ever seen?

Watch on YouTube:
PASTE_YOUTUBE_LINK_HERE

Show Notes

00:00 Early Bowling Life
07:02 Lucky You
09:57 Almost Ruining The Poker Boom & Matt’s Poker Origin Story
21:50 Early Days at WPT & The TDA
34:50 The Boom!
40:25 WSOP!
49:29 Technology in Poker & Unique Formats
1:08:23 2026 & Beyond

Matt’s Links

X - https://x.com/SavagePoker
TDA - https://pokertda.com/

T1 Links

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This week we're joined by Allen "The Chainsaw" Kessler. Most poker stories have some common thread. For Allen, that thread is curiosity.

Whether that be the mechanics of a card game or a video poker machine, or even your basic slot machine, Allen's played — and beaten — them all.

Show Notes:

00:00 Introduction to woodworking
4:15 Who is Allen Kessler?
10:04 Weekend Warrior Mode
15:39 Selling Phone Numbers?!
31:44 Vegas Baby!
40:00 Chain(saw)ing Some Poker Tourneys Together
45:38 The Chainsaw Mixed Series of Poker
51:32 The WSOP + Fantasy Poker
1:07:38 Binking a slot for $1,000,000+
1:18:05 Which Bracelet is Allen Gonna Win?

Allen's Links:

YouTube:
https://www.youtube.com/@UCVwTQG94x6mgJAgaIANr5TQ

X:
https://x.com/AllenKessler

Instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/chainsawpoker/

Mike Matusow was one of the best players in the world.

And he knew it.

But before the bracelets… before the TV cameras… before the meltdowns…

He was just a kid in Las Vegas:

• Getting picked on
• Selling candy at school
• Building a race car to find his place

Then he discovered gambling.

And it hit fast.

Video poker turned into addiction.
Addiction turned into poker.
Poker turned into dominance.

Within months, he goes from never playing poker… to sitting with legends like Johnny Moss.

To being told by the reigning World Champion:

“You’re one of the only ones who knows what’s going on.”

That’s how fast it happened.

But the story everyone thinks they know? That’s only part of it.

Because behind the wins… there’s a different story:

• Drugs
• Jail
• Millions lost
• Mental battles
• Starting over again and again

And somehow… still competing at the highest level.

In this episode of The Table 1 Podcast, Mike “The Mouth” Matusow joins Art Parmann and Justin Young to break down one of the most intense careers in poker:

• ♠️ Getting bullied growing up and finding confidence through cars
• ♥️ Becoming addicted to gambling before poker
• ♦️ Learning poker and becoming elite almost instantly
• ♣️ Playing with legends in the 90s poker scene
• ♠️ The Scotty Nguyen backing story and calling his shot
• ♥️ The 2005 WSOP Main Event run — and how it slipped away
• ♦️ Russ Hamilton stealing millions from him
• ♣️ Jail, depression, and rebuilding his life
• ♠️ Why modern poker is broken and what players get wrong
• ♥️ The mindset required to win at the highest level

This one is raw, unfiltered, and a look at poker from someone who lived through every era of it.

Come Play With Us
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Follow Mike
Twitter: https://x.com/themouthmatusow
Instagram: https://instagram.com/mikematusow

Table 1 Podcast

The Table 1 Podcast is poker’s living room.

We bring you the stories behind the biggest personalities in poker — the wins, the losses, and everything that happens away from the felt.

Subscribe for new episodes every week.

John Borenstein wasn’t supposed to make it in poker.

He got kicked out of three high schools.
Finished with a GED.
And spent his teenage years running around New Jersey doing things that definitely weren’t part of any career plan.

Then one night… he ended up in a stolen van.

And that’s not even the craziest part.

Before he ever played a real tournament, he satellited into a $22 online event…

Overslept…

Woke up late…

And won it for $27,000.

In his parents’ basement.

From there?

He didn’t go pro the normal way.

He opened an underground poker club.

At 18.

We’re talking:

• Armed robberies
• Methhead regulars
• Partners stealing rent money
• Getting held at gunpoint

…and somehow…

that turned into a six-figure tournament career.

In this episode of The Table 1 Podcast, John joins Art Parmann and Justin Young to tell one of the wildest poker stories you’ll hear.

• Getting expelled from multiple high schools
• The stolen van story that got him kicked out
• Winning $27K as a teenager by accident
• Running underground poker games at 18
• Getting robbed at gunpoint in a home game
• Losing everything… then winning it back in 24 hours
• The Colossus run with 22,000 players
• Why he hates modern poker

This one is chaos, comedy, and somehow still a success story.

Show Notes

00:00 — Getting kicked out of school
Three high schools → GED with honors

3:44 — First poker games + early suspensions
Running games in empty classrooms

5:07 — The stolen van story
Car theft → crash → expulsion

12:52 — First big online score ($27K)
Satellite → overslept → wins anyway

16:46 — Starting an underground poker club
Turning winnings into a business at 18

22:29 — Armed robbery at the game
Held at gunpoint in a home game

27:29 — Quits poker → Amazon job
Trying to go “normal”

29:47 — Wins $40K → quits job immediately
Back to poker full-time

36:01 — PCA trip + early tournament success
First big live scores

42:24 — WSOP Colossus final table run
22,000-player field → first major result

47:30 — Why he hates modern poker
Solver era vs old-school instincts

52:59 — The Tinder story begins
Peggy Sue enters the chat…

1:09:17 — $50K blackjack punt → comeback
Loses everything… wins it back next day

Come Play With Us
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https://play.phenompoker.com/register?r=Table1

Follow John
Instagram: https://instagram.com/itsmejonb

Table 1 Podcast

The Table 1 Podcast is poker’s living room.

We bring you the stories behind the biggest personalities in poker — the wins, the losses, and everything that happens away from the felt.

Subscribe for new episodes every week.

Justin Saliba had $30,000.

Sitting on the couch.
Watching TV with his dad.

By the end of the day…

$0.

Not one hand.
Not one bad beat.

Just kept firing… until it was all gone.

“I had over 30K… and I hit zero.”

That moment could’ve been the end.

Instead… it was the start.

In this episode of The Table 1 Podcast, Justin Saliba joins Art Parmann and Justin Young to break down one of the most volatile, honest, and fascinating paths in poker.

From growing up in Ohio playing neighborhood games…
to chasing a professional soccer career…
to moving to Vegas with six months to “make millions”…

…and eventually becoming a $10M+ tournament crusher.

Along the way, we get into:

• Losing his entire bankroll early in his career
• Why he HATED his first Vegas grind
• The coaching deal that saved his poker career
• Being accused of cheating — and how he responded
• Recording his entire session… then winning a bracelet
• Going on a heater that changed everything
• The mindset shift that took him to the highest stakes

This one is raw, honest, and a perfect look at what it actually takes to survive (and win) in high-stakes poker.

Show Notes
(AI generated from the transcript. Please excuse any AI slop.)

0:38 — Intro + motivation to chase events
Flying across the world when the “feeling” is there

6:12 — Growing up in Ohio + poker origin story
Learning poker from his older brother during the Moneymaker boom

10:03 — College life + soccer career path
Chasing pro soccer before poker becomes real

23:27 — Post-college limbo → poker focus
Living at home, trying to figure life out

25:20 — $30K → $0 bankroll collapse
The swing that changed everything

27:26 — Calling Jonathan Little
Internship → coaching → rebuilding from zero

32:28 — Moving to Vegas (with 6-month plan)
“I’ll make millions and come back”

37:47 — The Vegas reality check
Grinding Bellagio cash… and hating it

48:03 — COVID poker boom
Online games explode + first big tournament score

50:40 — Mexico grind with Rampage / high-stakes push
Trying to break into tournament world

57:45 — First major live FT + brutal lesson
Brock Wilson story on the bubble

1:07:14 — Cheating accusations
High-stakes pros questioning him

1:07:46 — Recording everything → winning bracelet
The ultimate “prove it” moment

1:13:15 — Heater + high-stakes breakthrough
Winning trip after trip

1:21:24 — Triton final table + validation
Proving he belongs at the highest level

1:27:15 — Life now + future goals
Balancing motivation, poker, and life

Justin's Links
PokerCoaching.com
X - @justin_saliba

Table 1 Links
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Matt Stout learned to count with five-card draw.

Not math class.
Not flash cards.
Poker.

His older sister taught him the game when he was four years old — which feels either wholesome or deeply irresponsible depending on how you look at it.

Either way, it stuck.

By high school he was selling weed, playing hockey, and doing just enough in school to stay on the team. By college he’d found poker, gotten busted with a quarter pound, quit hockey, and fallen headfirst into the game.

Then everything sped up.

A paperwork mistake knocked him out of school.
He took what he had left to Atlantic City.
Ran it from about $4K to $50K in a matter of months.
Got staked by Sheets & Backs.
And suddenly the kid from Bayonne was battling high-stakes tournaments against some of the biggest names in poker.

That alone would’ve been enough story for one episode.

But Matt’s story gets weirder.

Because somewhere along the way, the poker pro became one of the most important charity poker operators in the country.

What started as a $10 college fundraiser became the Charity Series of Poker — raising millions for nonprofits and working with organizations like St. Jude and the Vegas Golden Knights.

And yes… we also get into how he met Katie Morgan. Because of course we do.

In this episode of The Table 1 Podcast, Matt joins Art Parmann and Justin Young to talk about:

• Learning poker as a kid
• Getting busted and finding poker at the right time
• Turning $4K into $50K
• Getting staked by Sheets & Backs
• Building the Charity Series of Poker
• Meeting Katie Morgan

This one is funny, chaotic, and a reminder that poker careers rarely go where you think they will.

Sometimes the dream job doesn’t exist yet.
You just build it yourself.

Play with us in Vegas:
table1.vegas

Play online with the Table 1 community:
Phenom Poker

Learn more about CSOP:
charityseriesofpoker.org

Show Notes

3:47 — Learns poker at age 4
13:58 — College bust leads to poker
27:24 — $4K to $50K heater
52:30 — Charity Series of Poker begins
58:27 — The Negreanu text that changed things
1:13:05 — Meeting Katie Morgan

Art: @artparmann |

Your Perfect Poker Assistant: AskCharlotte.ai/poker

Justin: @justinyoung07

Nikki Limo had millions of views...and was still waitressing.

That’s the reality of early YouTube.

In this episode, Nikki Limo breaks down what it actually looked like to “make it” online before creators got paid — and how she navigated the weird gap between fame and money.

From sketch comedy dominance to poker, commentary, and building a second career from scratch...this is a story about reinvention in public.

But the real insight?
Most people wait for permission.
She just kept answering the call.

What you’ll learn:

• What early YouTube fame actually paid (spoiler: nothing)
• The “famous but broke” phase nobody talks about
• How creators survived the Adpocalypse shift
• Why she pivoted into poker + commentary
• Building a brand across multiple careers

Show Notes

00:00 — Childhood + early life setup
Growing up “pretty alone” + young parents → origin story baseline

34:19 — The “famous but broke” paradox
Millions of views...still waitressing
Recognized by fans while serving tables

35:12 — TotallySketch era (peak exposure, no money)
YouTube fame ≠ income (early creator economy reality)

36:50 — The Adpocalypse shift (industry flip moment)
Audience goes from “sellout” → “get your bag”

1:23:02 — Poker crossover + Aceholes origin
From comedy → poker content + variety show concept

1:24:26 — Commentary career begins
WSOP → WPT → Bally’s Big Bet Poker lead commentator

1:33:42 — Philosophy: “answer the call”
Most people get the call...few act on it

1:34:05 — Where to follow Nikki

YouTube: @nikki
IG: https://instagram.com/NikkiLimo
X: https://x.com/NikkiLimo

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Joe McKeehen didn’t set out to become a poker player.

He was just a normal kid from Philly.

Played baseball.
Played basketball.
Wasn’t particularly great at either.

Then poker showed up.

Not with a big deposit.

Not with a secret bankroll.

He built it from nothing.

Freerolls.
Forums.
Random people staking him online.

No grand master plan.

Just clicking buttons and trying to win money.

At one point, he was over six figures in makeup playing tournaments with a backer.

Still young. Still learning. Still in college.

Then things started to turn.

He won a major score his senior year of college — about $175,000.

Enough to pay off loans. Enough to believe this might actually work.

Then came the summer that changed everything.

He had basically bricked the WSOP.

No momentum.
No heater.
Just another grind.

Then the Main Event started.

Joe says he doesn’t remember much from Day 1 — except leaving to go to the bathroom.

By Day 3, he had all the chips.

The cards came.
People got scared.
Everything just worked.

Then came the moment everyone remembers.

Daniel Negreanu. Cameras everywhere. The whole poker world rooting for the story.

They got it in.

It was a flip.

And Joe won.

From there, he ran over the final tables and won the WSOP Main Event.

But the story didn’t end there.

After the win, people started gunning for him. Pots got bigger. Expectations got louder.

And tournament poker kept doing what tournament poker does:

You can lose for months.

Then the sun shines on you again.

In this episode of The Table 1 Podcast, Joe joins Art Parmann and Justin Young to talk about:

♠️ Starting from freerolls and getting staked online
♠️ Being six figures in makeup early in his career
♠️ Winning $175K while still in college
♠️ The WSOP Main Event run — and what he actually remembers
♠️ Busting Daniel Negreanu with the whole world watching
♠️ Why tournament poker is mostly about surviving variance
♠️ Life after winning the Main Event
♠️ Why he still approaches poker the same way today

If you want to hear what it really feels like to win the biggest tournament in poker — and how random, brutal, and absurd the path can be — this episode is a must-listen.

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Table 1 Podcast

The Table 1 Podcast is poker’s living room.

We bring you the stories behind the biggest personalities in poker — the wins, the losses, and everything that happens away from the felt.

Subscribe for new episodes every week.

Play Poker With the Table 1 Community

New players on Phenom Poker can get a 200% deposit bonus up to $2,000.

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Taylor Caby didn’t set out to change poker.

He set out to get a job.

Finance degree.
University of Illinois.
Do well in school → get hired → make money.

That was the plan.

Poker was just something on the side.

A few home games.
$20 buy-ins.
Messing around with friends.

Then online poker showed up.

And the first problem?

He couldn’t even deposit.

He asked his dad to use the credit card.
Dad said yes.
Mom said no.

So for six months… he played freerolls.

Grinding for pennies.

Eventually he figured it out and loaded about $30–$35 online.

That was the bankroll.

Six months later?

He wins a tournament for $3,000.

By the end of the year:

He’s made $50,000 playing online poker.

In college.

And within another year…

He’s playing some of the biggest games on the internet.

Then something bigger happened.

He realized something nobody else had figured out yet:

People weren’t losing because they were unlucky.

They were losing because they didn’t understand the game.

So he started recording how he played.

Not as a business.

Just something to put on a resume.

That became CardRunners.

The first real poker training site.

And almost overnight…

Players got better.
Games got tougher.
And suddenly…

People started saying he was ruining poker.

From there:

♠️ Built one of the most influential poker businesses ever
♥️ Played high-stakes online against the best in the world
♦️ Partnered with Full Tilt during the poker boom
♣️ Watched it all collapse on Black Friday

And here’s the part most people miss:

He saw it coming.

The whole thing, in his words, “felt like a mirage.”

Then he did something most poker players never do.

He walked away.

Built a DFS company.
Lost money.
Went back to gambling.
Then built another business…

Establish The Run.

Same idea as CardRunners.

Different game.

In this episode of The Table 1 Podcast, Taylor joins Art Parmann and Justin Young to break down:

♠️ Turning $35 into $50K (and beyond)
♠️ The early days of online poker (and how soft it was)
♠️ Building CardRunners from a dorm room
♠️ Why players said he “ruined the game”
♠️ The truth about Black Friday
♠️ Starting (and losing money on) a DFS company
♠️ What he learned about business vs poker
♠️ How Establish The Run was built

If you want to understand how poker evolved from chaos… to strategy… and what it actually takes to build an edge twice… this episode is a must-listen.

Show Notes:

0:33 — Intro & early poker impact
2:00 — Childhood & early competitive mindset
5:30 — Discovering poker in high school
10:00 — College & finance path
15:00 — First online poker experience
17:00 — Grinding $5 sit-n-gos
22:00 — First big tournament win
23:00 — $50K in college
25:00 — Moving into high stakes
28:00 — Heads-up battles & rivalries
31:00 — Origin of CardRunners
34:00 — Building the business
38:00 — First big success (and shutdown scare)
40:00 — Scaling CardRunners
47:00 — Transition into business focus
50:00 — Attempting to sell to Full Tilt
53:00 — Black Friday impact
55:00 — Pivot to DFS (DraftDay)
59:00 — Why DFS failed
1:03:00 — Playing DFS professionally
1:05:00 — Starting Establish The Run
1:12:00 — Business today
1:20:00 — Closing thoughts

Connect with Taylor Caby

Twitter / X: https://x.com/TaylorCaby

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Brandon Wilson’s path to the top of poker is anything but normal.

Before becoming one of the most successful tournament players in the world with over $11 million in live earnings, Brandon’s journey included:

• A journalism degree from Northwestern
• An internship at Al Jazeera in Qatar
• A stint as a rapper in New Orleans
• Teaching yoga and meditation
• Grinding $10 online tournaments during COVID

…and somehow that path led him to the biggest stages in poker.

In this episode of The Table 1 Podcast, Brandon joins Art Parmann and Justin Young to talk about the mindset, preparation, and wild life journey that took him from broke artist to elite high-stakes crusher.

Along the way we cover:

♠ The moment he fell in love with poker during lockdown
♠ Why meditation didn’t stop him from tilting
♠ Getting called a “cancer” at his first live cash game
♠ The discipline behind studying every single hand he’s ever questioned
♠ The reality of playing $125K and $250K tournaments
♠ Why he doesn’t coach poker (and probably never will)
♠ The mindset required to compete at the very top of the game

Brandon also shares stories from Triton, the WSOP, high-stakes backing deals, and the grind required to reach the highest levels of poker.

If you want to understand what it takes to become one of the most prepared players in poker, this episode is a must-watch.

Show Notes:

1:22 — Paris trip & tournament grind
2:46 — Brandon’s first podcast appearance
4:12 — First live cash game & early poker mistakes
7:49 — Going back to the beginning (childhood)
11:13 — School, college & journalism
12:24 — Al Jazeera internship in Qatar
18:23 — Post-college identity crisis
19:28 — Acting school attempt
20:29 — Rap career in New Orleans
23:20 — Discovering yoga & meditation
25:22 — COVID lockdown & discovering poker
27:19 — Studying poker & meeting Dominik Nitsche
34:41 — Desire to reach the top of poker
40:28 — Getting backed & bankroll strategy
47:49 — First big poker score
59:22 — Triton $50K final table run
1:03:38 — Playing $125K tournaments
1:07:50 — Life on the high-stakes circuit
1:13:23 — WSOP goals & chasing a bracelet
1:16:13 — Why Brandon doesn’t coach
1:19:02 — Social media & closing thoughts

Connect with Brandon Wilson

Twitter / X: https://x.com/BrandonWPoker

Come Play Poker With Us

If you're in Las Vegas and want to play in our Table 1 private game at ARIA, you can request a seat here:

https://table1.vegas

Play Online With Us

Join us on Phenom Poker and get a deposit bonus:

• Up to 200% bonus on your first deposit (up to $2,000)
• Use our link to sign up
• Deposit using USDT

Link: https://play.phenompoker.com/register?r=Table1

Table 1 Podcast

The Table 1 Podcast is poker’s living room.

We bring you the stories behind the biggest personalities in poker — the wins, the losses, and everything that happens away from the felt.

Subscribe for new episodes every week.