Some of the world’s most successful poker players had different careers before entering the world of poker. Antonio Esfandiari, for example, was a professional magician prior to becoming a poker pro. Chris Moneymaker was working as an accountant when he took part in the 2003 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event, which he ultimately won. Now, a collegiate runner is following in their footsteps.
Chris Brewer Winning Big in the High-Stakes Arena
Chris Brewer currently occupies the 3^rd spot in the PokerGO Tour leaderboard. Since January, he has amassed over $1 million in winnings across several festivals sponsored by PokerGO, including the Aria High Roller Series, the WPT Seminole Hard Rock Poker Showdown, and the DeepStack Championship Poker Series.
It’s been a successful year so far for Brewer. At the end of January, he won a $10,000 No-Limit Hold’em event during the Aria High Roller Series for $113,400. He followed it up with multiple final table finishes, including a 3rd-place finish in the $50K NLH Super High Roller Event at the WPT Seminole Hard Rock Poker Showdown back in April, which gave him her largest career score to date of $295,365.
In May, Brewer scored another victory in a $10,300 High Roller event at the WPT Online Series for $249,791. That’s a huge feat to achieve for a former collegiate runner who only started competing in major poker tournaments six years ago.
Brewer’s Transition to Poker
Brewer, a native of Vista, California, was a collegiate runner at the University of Oregon who competed in various indoor and outdoor track and field college competitions for several years. Perhaps his extensive training as an athlete helped him shape the person that he is today – a young and accomplished poker pro.
Brewer acknowledges that his running background somehow contributed to his current success as a poker player. Being an athlete requires a lot of discipline. As a runner, he needed to wake up early in the morning and run 15 miles as part of his training. He needed to monitor his diet and get enough sleep every day. He needed to practice and do all the hard work all-year round.
That routine prepared his mind and body for all the pressure he might encounter in the future. When Brewer transitioned to poker, it felt like a heavy burden was lifted off his shoulders. According to him, everything became more relaxed. Brewer said running races exposed him to a lot of stress which triggered his anxiety, but in poker things are a lot different. He never had anxiety playing the game.
Brewer’s first foray into the world of poker was at a $5 buy-in home game. In a span of just eight years, the 27-year-old managed to quickly move up the stakes, and now he’s competing in major high-roller tournaments. When asked about his motivation in reaching his current status, Brewer said he simply wanted to feel good about his play.
While he could have chosen to set huge goals for himself, poker’s unpredictable nature means you can’t always get what you want. He admits that everything still boils down to luck. Brewer said his main focus for now is to take advantage of any opportunity that comes his way and try to see if something great happens from that.
Brewer To Take Shot At WSOP Bracelet
Brewer has been crushing the live felts for months now, but he is also doing great in his online poker pursuits. In 2020, he scored some cash at the World Series of Poker (WSOP) Online at GGPoker, among them was a 5th place finish in the $10K Heads Up NLH Championship.
The 2021 WSOP Online Bracelet Series is just around the corner, and Brewer intends to take part once again, with his eyes set on events with a buy-in of $5,000 or more. A WSOP bracelet is one of the most coveted items a poker player wants to get their hands on and Brewer would love to add one to his resume.