Poker Legend with $76 Million in Cashes Reveals How Much of That is Actually Profit
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How much money does a top tournament high roller with eight-figure cashes actually make?
That's a question Stephen Chidwick, widely considered among the best of the best in the high-stakes scene, answered during a Reddit AMA on Monday. The British poker legend and Octopi Poker ambassador gave random poker fans a glimpse into the life of a grinder who routinely plays in five and six-figure buy-in tournaments.
How Much Does Stephen Chidwick Make?
Daniel Negreanu, in a tweet last year, called high roller tournament earnings a "mirage," implying the big scores don't actually prove a player is making money. Chidwick, one of the most consistent tournament players in the world for years, has turned a profit. But he admitted the winnings aren't nearly as big as many might have expected.
A Redditor asked Chidwick how much of his $76 million in The Hendon Mob cashes is profit. The future Poker Hall of Famer, answering questions from the Octopi Poker Reddit account, estimated somewhere in the $5-$10 million range, although he admits he doesn't know the exact number.
Tournament pros have a number of expenses that don't factor into The Hendon Mob results. That includes travel costs, total buy-ins, swapping action with other players, taxes, and money owed to backers. Chidwick, and other high rollers, rarely play 100% on their own dime and often swap action, which means a percentage of the cash is paid to someone else, and it's often a significant amount.
Many players with eight-figure career earnings, as Negreanu pointed out, are either losing or break-even players once all expenses are taken into consideration. If Chidwick, perhaps the best in the world, has only technically made around 10% of his cashes, most others who've put in similar volume have likely won even less.
Chidwick has won two World Series of Poker (WSOP) bracelets, 16 live PGT events, and three Titon Poker titles. He ranks second all-time in live tournament cashes, trailing only Bryn Kenney, who became the first player to hit $80 million in cashes last month.
Poker Star Has More to Say
Chidwick answered many other questions asked by dozens of poker fans, one being, "As someone who’s played before and after widespread solver adoption, what important skill has become undervalued in modern MTTs—and how should serious players train it today?"
"Good question. Probably the skill of putting people on ranges and thinking through the hand from first principles/incorporating intuition into your strategy. It’s easy to look up the ‘answers’ in a sim and not go deeper into how people are actually playing/adjust for the myriad factors the sim doesn’t take into account. I like to challenge myself to put people on specific hands when I’m watching them in pots I’m not involved in and seeing how often I get it right or am completely surprised by what they show down," Chidwick answered.
One Redditor asked the pro what the his pregame rituals are, which he explained he likes to "prioritize sleep" and to "get exercise before I play." He also said he'll go through his notes prior to a Day 2 session to "formulate a general plan" to face his opponents. Another Redditor asked him to name the poker tours he prefers to play. Chidwick said that Triton Poker events are a "great experience" and PokerGO events at Aria are "very comfortable and very fun." But he didn't speak highly of playing at the WSOP.
Chidwick is attempting to catch Kenney this year atop The Hendon Mob leaderboard. He has been closing in on the lead the past few years and only trails the New Yorker by around $4 million.
