Digital Social Hour
Why Chess Masters Dominate High Stakes Poker | Dan Smith DSH #1030
Sun, 29 Dec
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Ever wondered why Chess Masters excel at high stakes poker? 🎲 Dan Smith, one of poker's elite players and former chess master, reveals the fascinating connection between these two strategic games. From achieving a 2170 chess rating to becoming a top poker professional with multiple $1M tournament cashes, Dan shares incredible insights into competitive mindset, strategic thinking, and decision-making at the highest level. Join us for an exclusive conversation with Dan Smith as he discusses his journey from chess prodigy to poker champion, breaking down how chess mastery translates to poker success. Learn about the evolution of both games in the computer age, the psychology behind high-stakes decision-making, and what it takes to compete at the elite level in both chess and poker. Dan opens up about his experiences in $1,000,000 buy-in tournaments, shares thoughts on modern poker culture, and reveals why chess players often transition successfully to poker. Whether you're interested in chess, poker, or the psychology of competition, this conversation offers unique insights into the mind of a strategic genius. Featuring candid discussions about tournament preparation, mental fortitude, and the future of both games, this episode is packed with valuable insights for players and fans alike. Don't miss Dan's perspective on modern poker streaming, game theory, and his incredible charity work raising millions for good causes. 🏆 #tritonpoker #dansmithinterview #pokerlive #highstakespokerlivestream #livepoker CHAPTERS: 00:00 - Intro 00:30 - Poker Strategy and Tips 04:56 - Chess Tactics and Techniques 11:24 - Top Country for Poker Success 12:34 - Streaming Poker Events 16:08 - Martin Kabrhel Controversy 19:34 - Playing Against Opponents 19:57 - Computer Algorithms in Poker 22:37 - Winning Consistently in Poker 27:24 - Health and Biohacking Insights 30:31 - Best Dining Options in Vegas 32:15 - The Sphere Experience 33:38 - Transitioning from Poker 34:45 - Building Friendships at the Table 35:53 - Notable Poker Rivalries 38:00 - Personal Journey into Poker 40:56 - Upcoming Charity Initiatives 42:11 - OUTRO APPLY TO BE ON THE PODCAST: https://www.digitalsocialhour.com/application BUSINESS INQUIRIES/SPONSORS: [email protected] GUEST: Dan Smith https://www.instagram.com/kingdan23 LISTEN ON: Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/digital-social-hour/id1676846015 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5Jn7LXarRlI8Hc0GtTn759 Sean Kelly Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/seanmikekelly/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Chapter 1: Why do Chess Masters excel at Poker?
Now you could pretty regularly just like get the answer but it used to just be you're just guessing you know and like you think you have like a good strategy but maybe there's just like a counter strategy that you didn't consider you know wow yeah because your opponent probably knows the right strategy too so they'll kind of throw you off right yeah no doubt yeah because they know that you know
Chapter 2: What are the key strategies for high stakes Poker?
All right, guys. Poker professional Dan Smith here today. Thanks for coming on, man. Thanks for having me. It's going to be fun. Absolutely. Six on the all-time money list, climbing up. Is that the highest you've ever been?
I've gotten as high as either third or fourth. When Bryn Kenny won the big million-dollar tournament, I got third in that tournament. And if I had won, I would have made number one. Oh, wow. So you were right there. It was in the hunt, yeah. Damn. But also that tournament was like, it was so big that it like really just catapults you up, you know?
Chapter 3: How do Chess and Poker players differ in mindset?
Yeah. Yeah. I noticed cause I've looked at the list and pretty much 80% of the cash has seemed to be from like a few events. Yeah. It's like a big cash out, like a $10 million payout, right? Something like that. Yeah. Yeah. So I don't know if that's a good way of judging skill level.
Chapter 4: What role do computer algorithms play in Poker?
Oh, definitely not. Cause it just comes down to a few key tournaments.
Chapter 5: What is the significance of tournament buy-ins?
Yeah. If you have a few million-dollar tournaments over your career, sample size isn't going to be that relevant. Right. But it's something to talk about. What's a better gauge to test skill level, you think?
I mean, if you included buy-ins in there, like, okay, this person cashed for $55 million and they were in for $35 plus $20 million. Also, I think just the eye test of seeing somebody play, how are they handling situations? You talk to somebody about poker, in some cases, you could just tell right away they know what they're talking about.
Chapter 6: How does Poker culture evolve with streaming?
Wow, you could tell just from talking to them? A bit. Interesting. Or if you see someone play a hand, certain mistakes are obvious enough that it's pretty indicative that the person's not going to be a star. That makes sense. Yeah, it never shows the buy-ins. That's a good point because they could have bought in a few times. Yeah. They could have even lost money, and you wouldn't know. For sure.
Chapter 7: What insights can be gained from Poker rivalries?
Yeah, it happens. The buy-ins are big. I probably played like...
five ish million of buy-ins last year you know wow maybe more it's pretty wild yeah i saw on your twitter uh so last year you won 700k and i think as of last month you tweeted you're down 700k i don't know if it's um at the wsop at the wsop yeah um a lot of and like also a 250 000 entry fee like a 700k swing almost doesn't mean all that much you know like 250k tournament
Chapter 8: How has Dan Smith transitioned from Chess to Poker?
It's going to swing a lot. Yeah, I guess it's all relative. For someone like you playing high stakes, that $700K is not that much. Yeah, and also for the big tournaments, plenty of professionals take on investors or piece themselves out, that sort of thing. Got it. Is that something you do, or do you fund your entire bankroll yourself?
I take investors for the big tournaments. I think if you're like with tax implications as an American, you kind of have to. Otherwise, having a losing year like it would be such a big negative tax free roll. Right. Because you can only write off 6K, right?
You could write off losses against winnings. but only over the course of a year. So if you lose a million one year, you win a million the next year, you're breakeven, but you have the government 400.
Holy crap. I didn't know that. Yeah, it's rough. Wow. So there's probably a lot of poker players that get wrecked because of that. They don't know that when they're starting out. Yeah, sure. Is that something you had to learn along the way?
I mean, it was like a factor, but... Like, it also, like, in the early parts of my career, you're not playing for super high stakes back then, you know, and you're playing smaller. Like you just kind of learn along the way. Right. Were your stakes early on like was it gradual increase or were you kind of just one day you just decided to play really high stakes?
I started when I was like 13 years old. I got a $25 transfer onto this poker site and I started buying like $5 games, you know. So I started low and then built my way up from there. Okay. So humble beginnings. Wow.
13. That is an early start. I was a chess player when I was really young. Yeah, I want to talk about that because I'm a chess player. Not as good as you. I looked up your ELO. You hit 2,000, right? I got up to 2,170 and 2,200 as master. Wow. That's always been a goal. Still never quite got there.
Do you want to potentially revisit that in the future? I think so, yeah. They say with chess, it's tougher as yielder.
Yeah. Yeah. I mean, yeah, definitely that's been the case. Um, there are also, I think like the things about getting proper, like, like you, you also, if you would just work really hard at it, like, okay, you're a professional basketball player. Your skills are going down and you're like, there's this website.
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