Rising Stars
Over the past year, I’ve had the pleasure of working with the LivePokerUpdates team, bringing stats, stories, and snapshots straight from the poker floor. The aim has always been simple: to inform and, hopefully, entertain those in the thick of the action, while keeping everyone watching from afar fully up to speed.
Although I’ve played cards all my life, I’d describe myself more as a social poker player than a serious one. Still, the world of poker has always fascinated me. Step onto a buzzing tournament floor for even a few seconds and you can feel it: the tension, the excitement and anticipation. Add to that the constant stream of stories, jokes, and outrageous one-liners flying across the table, and it’s hard not to be drawn in.
That atmosphere is exactly what we want to explore in Rising Stars, the unique and wonderful world of live poker.
Of course, we’ll be focusing on players: those climbing through the ranks, established names in the game, and the occasional wildcard who comes out of nowhere to run over the field and lift the trophy. But just as importantly, we want to highlight the people behind the chips. The stories, backgrounds, and personalities that make up the poker community.
One of our goals is also to make live poker feel less intimidating. Before I joined LivePokerUpdates, I’d never played in a live event myself. I thought I knew what to expect, friends had filled me in, but nothing really prepares you for that first sit-down. I was too busy worrying about what to fold, when to bet, how much to bet, and if I was making a fool of myself. Thankfully, now that I look back, I was lucky to have chosen an Irish Poker Tour event as my first outing.
What surprised me most wasn’t the cards. It was the people.
Players from all over the country, and indeed the world, chatting and laughing like it was a family reunion. Genuine interest in who you are and where you’re from. Conversations that were sincere, insightful, and, excuse my French, fucking hilarious. Given that you could be sitting beside the same faces for hours, it makes sense. Poker, especially live poker, is as much social as it is strategic.
I busted after a few hours. A lack of experience and confidence saw to that. But I was completely hooked. Not primarily on playing, but on observing. On listening. On getting to know the characters that fill the room.
Enthusiasm has always been infectious to me. I love stepping into a world I don’t fully understand and learning directly from those immersed in it. Rising Stars is our way of sharing that learning experience, bringing you closer to the stories that make live poker what it is.
Good luck,
Adam
Follow @LivePokerUpdates here on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter
Joel Baxter
We had been covering another guarantee smashing yet seasonally festive event held by non-other than Ireland’s Number 1 Live Poker Experience – The Irish Poker Tour.
The setting was the Green Isle Hotel in Dublin, the LPU who has been working in partnership with the IPT to bring a new, exciting and fun element to the coverage of live poker, had begun discussing different ways in which to do so. Being handed the task I began my search.
As there was an influx of players from the North, and being from their myself, where better place to start. By chance Joel Baxter had bagged up the top stack (802,000) in the Main Event Day 1B at the €150k for €200 Dublin Winter Festival.
I grabbed him for a quick chat away from the hustlers and busters and spent a bit of time getting to know a bit more about the man behind the golden glasses.
Born and bred in North Belfast, the youngest of his siblings, he picked up the guitar at the age of 7 eventually playing in both rock and trad bands. In his younger years he also boxed for some time representing Antrim at Junior level. Currently he is studying Economics at Ulster University.
Only starting to play poker in 2022 he went along to a local game at the Cliftonville Social Club at Solitude run by Tony Holland. Where he played in a friendly £5 game, the atmosphere and competitive nature had him hooked. Although only playing small stakes at first, he still remembers playing in his first £40 tournament and thinking he was mad for staking so much.
Talking about his biggest achievements in poker, he mentioned on his first journey to the Green Isle he managed to come 3rd in the Main Event. Although looking back he does attribute this to a bit of luck being on his side. In this event he was actually staked by his friend for 25% of the buy-in, meaning his friend was very happy to get 25% of Joel’s 3rd place prize money.
Even though he cashed for more money in the Green Isle, winning his 1st live tournament at Rinty’s Antrim Sports Club recently, meant a lot more. He had tried and failed many times to secure his first live win and was very happy to get one in the bag.
We asked if he had any tips or advice for those starting out and wanting to progress in poker. In the last 6-7 months he has begun studying the game a lot more and has noticed his game improving. Although he himself jumped straight into a live event. “For someone starting out, online is the key, start with micro-stakes and if you are able to see these tournaments through to the end, it will put your best foot forward when playing live”.
Another element that has helped his game is being part of the Red Line Collective, which is a group of Irish players that trade advice and insights into the game. WPT Global’s Tomo Murphy is also part of the collective, something like this helps not only to better your game, but the social aspect with all the lads, helps on those days it doesn’t go so well at the tables.
After a late night on Friday, Joel is resting up on Saturday, ready to make a charge for the Main Event trophy on Sunday.
We wish him all the best of luck and we will be keeping a keen eye on his progress.
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Doyles Poker Club, Limerick
Last year while Storm Éowyn battered and beat both Ireland and Scotland. I ventured off to experience first hand, live tournament poker. Landing at the Charleville Park Hotel, Co Cork, for the Munster Poker Festival run by the Irish Poker Tour (Jan 24th – 26th, 2025).
When you play your first live poker event it’s normal to feel nervous. That feeling dissipated pretty quickly for me. I was lucky to be seated in between David “Panda” Fitzpatrick and Eoghan “Simsy” Sims, both regulars at the Doyles Poker Club. Instantly they made me feel at ease, and kept me right as I obviously looked out of my depth. Which I was.
A few hands in Pat Fitz, another Doyles player joined the fray and I was treated to a little glimpse of what Poker is like at the Limerick Club. If the jovial, jokes and jests were anything to go by, even if the cards didn’t go my way I would at least be leaving with a smile on my face. Jamie Flynn the founder of Doyles also arrived with players asking about his recent trip to Vegas, regailing those at the table in the lyrically Limerick way that has to be experienced to be appreciated.
With rising stars I want to not only get to know the players making moves in the game but the places where they hone their skills and develop their craft.
Throughout my first year with livepokerupdates I started to see Doyles players showing up at events throughout the circuit and having great runs in a majority of them. With it producing players that are constantly making the final table in major events. What better place to start than with them.
Let’s take a closer look at Limerick’s Little Gem.
Opened in May 2024 by Limerick Poker player Jamie Flynn, who at this stage had been playing Poker for around 15 years, amassing well over €1 Million in tournament earnings.
He was Irish Poker Tour Killarney Main Event Winner (2023), and has had countless cashes in tournaments all over the world. Ranked Ireland’s No.1 player on the Global Poker Index in 2024, he is also a content creator. With his own podcast and YouTube videos in which he draws on experience from the circuit in long form conversational style interviews with people from the worlds of football, poker and more.
Doyles now has over 500 members; they run a monthly tournament with a buy-in of €200 and a €10k Guarantee that regularly gets 60+ players, helping to cultivate and create a poker culture in the Treaty city. With mini-festivals throughout the year and satellites for both the Irish Poker Open (Major Irish Festival spanning over a multitude of days) and the Irish Poker Tour (Ireland’s No.1 live poker experience) on a regular basis.
€20 All in or Fold games are popular at the club where 10 players compete in a winner takes all tournament, perfect for someone wanting to jump in for a quick game and a cheeky can or two.
One of their events, The Sunday Escalator has been hailed as one of the best weekly games in Ireland, with a €30 buy-in and re-buy’s the guarantee starts at €2000, every week it is met Doyles throw another €200 on to the guarantee. This week it stands at €4400, the biggest so far.
Tommy O’Rourke, another Doyles faithful came in second place in the Main Event at the Irish Poker Tour’s showstopper event held at the Gleneagle Hotel, The Killarney Poker Festival. He walked away with €63,500, adding yet another story to the pages of the club’s lineage. Dan Lewis, another Doyles patriot, won the Castletroy Main Event just a week or so ago.
In the Munster Poker Festival at the Charleville Park Hotel held over the St. Brigid’s day weekend, there were three Doyle affiliated players who made it through to the final table in the Main Event.
Gareth Cash in fifth and Tom Samuels in third. With Killian Farrell who finished in second although primarily a player out of the Eglinton Casino, Galway. He would classify Doyles as his second home.
The standout spectacle and centrepiece of the club is Jimmy’s Room. Named after the legend, Jimmy Hennessy, known to those that had the pleasure of meeting him as “an absolute gentleman”. I was told that anyone who played Poker in and around the Limerick area over the last twenty years would have known this enigmatic poker enthusiast.
He recently cashed out at the ripe old age of 93 in December. The room is dedicated and designed in his honour and functions as a luxury cash game room. Boasting a bespoke branded table with ergonomic, sleek and comfy chairs, that are perfect for long sessions in the thick of it.
Photos of Jimmy adorn the walls, making sure that even though he is gone, he will never be forgotten.
With five tables in the main room and Jimmy’s private suite it accommodates players comfortably while maintaining a club-like feel.
Their aim is to provide Limerick with a friendly environment where people can get good value and fair, competitive poker.
At the recent Munster Poker Festival, run by the IPT, I luckily got the chance to catch up with Gareth Cash who finished fifth in the Main Event. Gareth grew up just down the street from me, in Belfast. A few years younger than myself little did I know the poker player he would one day become.
At times he was in top spot in the Main Event and was taking an aggressive yet methodical approach to securing it, and it was fun to watch. Gareth is the Manager of the Doyles Poker Club, and has had quite the journey in the poker world and outside it.
But that is a story for another day…
Good Luck
Adam
Follow @LivePokerUpdates here on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter
Texas Hold’em
As we build on this Rising Stars section, firstly we must strengthen the foundations. By taking a look at Texas Hold’em. Finding out where it began and the people that helped to make it the global sensation that it is today.
Personally, I remember when first learning how to play cards for money in the 90’s it was games like straight poker, railroad, five or seven card blinds and dealers’ choice being played. At the turn of the Millenium, with everyone now having access to more channels than ITV and the BBC, people started to see the WSOP. Chips, folding tables and “cards from Vegas” were everywhere, and since then its popularity has only risen.
Beginnings
Dating Texas Hold’em, as initially it was played by those specifically wanting to be hidden when doing so, is tough. Officially the Texas House Concurrent Resolution in 2007 recognised Robstown, Texas as its birthplace sometime in the 1900’s.
Known initially as “holdem” or in some circles “hold me darling”, in the 1930’s T. “Blondie” Forbes is accredited with formalising the modern rules of the game, posthumously he was inducted into the Poker Hall of Fame as the sole inductee for his contribution to the modern game.
In the early days, like many a card game it was played by ranchers, hustlers and blue collared workers, in the backs of pool halls, saloons, riverboats and roadhouses. From then to now it has become the most popular card game in the world. In 1963 Felton “Corky” McCorquodale introduced the game to The California Club Casino in Las Vegas and brought it to the big stage.
In 1972 the World Series of Poker (WSOP), which is the largest and most prestigious series of poker events in the world adopted Texas Hold’em as the format in which players would compete. As the popularity increased so did the tournament winnings.
2000’s Boom
Like many things at the turn of the century, Hold’em developed and changed. With advancements in technology introducing the hole-card cam enabling viewers to see players cards.
As well as the boom in online play, highlighted and publicised by Chris Moneymaker who won the WSOP in 2003, inspiring millions to take up poker, with his rags to riches story. Qualifying from a $39 ticket online and walking away with $2,500,000 and a place in poker history.
With companies like PartyPoker and PokerStars creating the platforms to advance the game, online became a training ground for the future live tournament players. Turning what was once a niche gambling game into a globally competitive spectator sport.
Big Names in the Game
Throughout the years there have been those that have succeeded or influenced the game making it what it is today.
Doyle Brunson is the perfect place to start. Known as the “Texas Dolly” and once a promising basketball talent whose career ended abruptly. He switched to cards and entered the world of poker at a time when it was known as dangerous. Doyle stood 6’4” with his cowboy hat and fearlessly aggressive style of play. Introducing tactics every modern poker player would later implement. Winning the WSOP twice (1976–77) both times with 10-2, playing his opponent and not the cards. In total winning the WSOP bracelet 10 times spanning a career over 4 decades winning his first in 1976 and last in 2005, he is the personification of a poker player.
Bryn Kenney would be the modern maverick in the poker world, instead of dark, dank saloons he earnt and learnt his stripes online using a methodical and analytical approach to the game. Still focusing on an aggressive, pressure heavy game he is completely unafraid of variance (comfortable with big swings). Where early poker savants relied somewhat on instinct and feel; Bryn relies on his relentless approach to winning. He has a great grasp of ranges and an ability to implement successful strategies in the biggest events across the world. (Bryn as of 2026 has won the most money from live tournaments, $65+ Million)
Stu Ungar was poker’s wild genius, a true poker savant. Stu saw cards like patterns and probabilities like colours. To those sitting at the table it was almost as if he knew what the cards were, before they were even dealt. Three-time WSOP Main Event champ, gin rummy legend, fearless and almost unbeatable when focused. Stu also lived as dangerously as he played some people have a vice, Stu had em all. Cocaine, Women, Excessive Betting and an ability to keep going without sleep. His 1997 Main Event win, after years of decline, was a final flash of pure, untamed talent.
Steve O’Dwyer is Ireland’s leading all time live earner, calm, precise, and almost unnervingly consistent in high-roller tournaments. Unlike the legends who relied on instinct or raw aggression, Steve blends extreme technical skill and patience with a timed approach to massive stakes. He came up through online poker but has been consistently performing in tournaments with the biggest prize pools on the planet, for years.
Canadian Daniel Negreanu has charisma and calculation rolled into one, the poker player that grew up alongside the modern surge in poker. Known as “Kid Poker”, he rose from Toronto streets to dominate tournaments worldwide, winning 6 WSOP bracelets and 2 WPT titles, with millions in live earnings and countless high-stakes final tables. What sets him apart isn’t just his skill, it’s his ability to read people, making his approach to the game psychological. He’s aggressive when it matters, friendly at the table, and entertaining to watch.
Ain’t no holding back, Texas
In 2023 there was record breaking attendance for the WSOP, it has remained above the previous record since then and after the setbacks from COVID-19 it looks set to continue to rise. From simple beginnings were once IOU’s, livestock, land and farming equipment were staked. It has now become a highly lucrative and socially enjoyable international spectacle.
It has been featured in popular culture on numerous occasions, TV Shows like, Friends, How I Met Your Mother and Seinfeld have all featured Hold’em. Films like Rounders, James Bond and Molly’s Game with video games like Fallout: New Vegas all featuring it. In 2024, Beyonce had a No.1 hit with the song “Texas Hold’em” yet again showing its relevance in today’s society.
Nowadays with the accessibility and ease of travel people are able to fulfil bucket list dreams by playing in the likes of Las Vegas, Macau, Barcelona and Monte Carlo. Enjoying the sights, tastes and sounds of the local cultures while challenging themselves in illustrious, competitive settings, playing a game that doesn’t change.
Like the diversification of many things that would have been seen as more a manly activity, it has taken time. Any person deserves a seat at the table has been the creed. With that in mind there has been a change in the demographic and feel of live poker events. Over the years women have made their way through to the upper echelons of professional poker.
Leo Margets made the 2025 WSOP Main Event final table in Las Vegas. Being the first woman in 30 years to do so, it’s only a matter of time before one secures the Big One.
It is safe to say that its rise isn’t set to subside anytime soon
Good Luck
Adam
Follow @LivePokerUpdates here on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter
