Online Poker Legend Explains How He Dealt with $800K Downswing
Rayan "Beriuzy" Chamas, one of the top online poker grinders ever, returned out of nowhere to the poker content streets with an update two years in the making following an $800,000 downswing.
The Lebanese crusher left his YouTube audience with a temporary goodbye in November 2023. He ended the video explaining to his followers that he resigned from his role as a GGPoker ambassador and would be taking a step away from creating poker content, including Twitch streaming, to focus on other things, mostly exploring the world.
Beriuzy didn't give any sort of timeline for his return to content. But he finally ended his hiatus last week in a big way.
Where Has Online Poker Star Been?
Chamas began the hour-long return video by rehashing the largest downswing of his 17-year poker career — $800,000 within a year. He referred to the bad run as "dark times," and said his team spent 150 hours over the past two years putting together his most recent YouTube video.
"I paid a lot to make this happen and I really have nothing to gain. I just hope it helps someone out there. I did this because I'm really passionate about giving back to the poker community because it has benefited me so much in my life by playing this game," Chamas said of his recent video.
Chamas went on to tell his poker story, which began with playing online poker while he worked at Subway. He then addressed the downswing, admitting he was struggling to "see the light" at the end of the tunnel.
"Mentally completely destroyed, because it seems that everything is going to go against me no matter what it is," Beriuzy admits.
The downswing wasn't just affecting his poker game. It was carrying over to other facets of his life. He began to focus on the solution to his problem, which involved traveling with his wife to get away from poker and see the world.
Beriuzy returned to the felt in November 2023 amid a high seven-figure downswing. But he would instead play some live poker in Florida. More specifically, the $3,500 buy-in World Poker Tour (WPT) Seminole Rock N' Roll Poker Open. The resident of Canada found great success in the U.S. by reaching the final table in the 1,447-player tournament.
Chamas would agree to a heads-up chop with the eventual champ Istvan Briski, and take home $600,000. He had sold 50% of his action to frends. But the $300,000 profit eliminated nearly 40% of the downswing.
He'd go on to reach another WPT final table in May 2024 at Playground in Montreal, where he lives. The run ended in fourth place out of 882 players for $113,770, lowering his deficit at the time to around $300,000.
Beriuzy, by early 2025, had won it all back. The lengthy journey across the world did wonders for his mental health. He offers some advice to those who are on a downswing or struggling to succeed as a poker player.
"I would really advise trying to focus on everything else in your life outside of poker when you have the time for it," Chamas advises. "If you don't have the time for it, you make the time for it."
You can watch the full video below and find out more about Beriuzy's journey out of a downswing.
