Table 1 Podcast

Sean McCormack started dealing poker at a dog track. Somehow, he ended up dancing with J.Lo at her house.
We may have picked the wrong side of the table.
This week, “The Poker Boss” joins Art and Justin for the story of a guy who wanted to play poker for a living—and found a different way to make it in Vegas.
He leaves Florida with about $1,000 and two suitcases. His first table dealing at Bellagio? Bobby’s Room. $4,000/$8,000. Doyle Brunson. Chip Reese. Pretty much everybody whose picture is on the wall.
No pressure, kid.
Doyle has to put a hand on his arm and tell him to slow down. Years later, Bobby Baldwin is asking him to run ARIA’s poker room.
We get into how that happened, why the reserved-game arguments got so ugly, and what Alan Keating understood about people that a lot of poker pros missed. There’s also a Devilfish story involving a suspicious “$10,000” cash bundle, a car coming through the casino lobby, and Kevin Hart taking over a call to Sean’s wife.
And before we let him go, we get into hidden cameras, game integrity, and why Sean says the way dealers pitch cards needs to change.
Turns out, the guy dealing the cards sometimes leaves with the best stories.
Tell us in the comments: What’s the most ridiculous place poker has taken you?
Like the episode? Follow Table 1 on Spotify. We’ve got more people with questionable career plans and excellent stories coming your way.
SHOW NOTES
0:00 Intro
0:34 Meet The Poker Boss
1:32 Growing Up in Massachusetts
13:34 Computers, Basketball & the Move to Florida
18:33 Catching the Poker Bug
23:26 Casino Boats & the Dog-Track Audition
28:37 Taking the Show on the Road: The WPT
33:19 A Car Comes Through the Casino Lobby
38:40 Devilfish’s “$10,000” Surprise
41:32 $1,000, Two Suitcases & a Midnight Departure
47:41 First Table at Bellagio: Bobby’s Room
50:24 From Dealer to the Rules Guy
57:50 The Call From Bobby Baldwin
59:53 Reserved Games & the Backlash
1:09:07 What Alan Keating Figured Out
1:13:23 Behind the PokerGO Deal
1:17:37 Kevin Hart Hijacks a Phone Call
1:20:50 Poker at Ben & J.Lo’s House
1:27:32 Hidden Cameras & Changing the Deal
1:33:27 Bellagio’s Slide-Pitch Plan
1:38:08 Shufflers, Home Games & Game Integrity
1:42:36 Where to Find The Poker Boss
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Mike Holtz thought “Napster” was just a guy in his World of Warcraft group.
It was the guy who created Napster.
They’d been playing together for years. Mike had no idea.
At 17, he was traveling to gaming tournaments with him—with his mom’s permission. Poker was something they played between dungeon raids.
Then the gaming circuit lost its funding.
What followed wasn’t exactly a straight line to the WSOP.
Selling weed. Thirty days in jail. A hotel front-desk job. Then an invitation to a $300 home game with the wealthiest business owners in town.
His boss warned him: these guys were sharks.
Mike won about $1,100.
They invited him back.
He says he won every Tuesday for a year. The poker money was beating the paycheck, and his biggest worry was that they’d stop inviting him.
Vegas proved a little less cooperative.
There were cash-game struggles, a marriage breakdown, and a return to World of Warcraft during COVID. One of his Twitch regulars turned out to be David Williams. Somehow, gaming kept bringing him back to poker.
By 2021, he was chasing WSOP.com Player of the Year.
The guy who used to sleep beside his computer to grind Warcraft rankings had found another leaderboard.
In this episode of The Table 1 Podcast, two-time WSOP bracelet winner and PokerNews Podcast co-host Mike Holtz joins Art Parmann and Justin Young for the stories behind the results:
♠️ The family secret that led to a private investigator—and a brother living 30 minutes away
♥️ Thirty days in jail, where he already knew half the people inside
♦️ Talking the final table into an $11,650-per-person chop with seven big blinds… then busting two hands later
♣️ The fake tournament-package story he told his boss to get to Vegas
♠️ Turning the online tournament grind into two WSOP.com Player of the Year titles
♥️ Why he says his online bracelet was harder to win than his live one
♦️ A WSOP rail chant he had to shut down before heads-up
♣️ Joining PokerNews, interviewing Maurice Hawkins, and the bracelet-ceremony “apology”
About that apology.
Mike got onstage and said he wanted to apologize to Maurice Hawkins.
“For absolutely nothing.”
Then dropped the mic.
We also get into the two-monitor kitchen-table setup, taking naps with 12 players left, and the coaching videos he keeps winning too much—and procrastinating too hard—to finish.
Probably not the preparation routine you’ll find in a poker textbook.
👇 Drop a comment:
What’s the strangest thing that led you to poker?
Mike’s Links
X: https://x.com/MikeHoltzPoker
IG: https://instagram.com/MikeHoltzPoker
T1 Links
Play with us at Phenom Poker:
https://play.phenompoker.com/register?r=Table1
Play with us at Table 1:
https://table1.vegas
Justin’s Poker Coaching Series:
Learn to Crush Live Poker — https://pokercoaching.com/table1
Follow T1:
X — https://x.com/table1vegas
IG — https://instagram.com/table1vegas

Phil Hellmuth wanted bracelet No. 18.
Darren Rabinowitz wanted him to call it off on the turn.
He was dying to say, “If you call, it’s all over, baby.” Instead, he kept his mouth shut and let Phil make the decision.
Darren got the bracelet.
Not bad for a guy whose plan was to spend one month in Vegas, then move back in with his parents and find a job.
That was in 2012.
His girlfriend had dumped him. She lived in the apartment next door. She already had a new boyfriend. And his job at Bank of America wasn’t giving him much reason to stick around.
So he quit, found a free room in a UNLV fraternity house, and started grinding single-table satellites.
The move back to Seattle never happened.
Eventually, he upgraded to a $600-a-month apartment with scorpions and cockroaches. Found friends who were better at poker. Got backed. Made the Aussie Millions final table. Spent years figuring out how to keep doing this for a living.
Then came the summer he knocked Daniel Negreanu out of the Main Event and beat Hellmuth heads-up for his second WSOP bracelet.
In this episode of The Table 1 Podcast, Darren joins Art Parmann and Justin Young to talk through the whole ride:
♠️ Three teenage grinders, two computer chairs, and a race to avoid the milk crate
♥️ Flunking freshman year, fraternity poker, and leaving the bank job
♦️ How a Lock Poker satellite introduced him to the backer who changed his career
♣️ The Aussie Millions final table where he was too intimidated to ask for a chop
♠️ Backing deals, makeup, and what better poker friends actually teach you
♥️ The WSOP.com grind, “Avocado Toast,” and his very active block button
♦️ Winning at Planet Hollywood while his empty seat cashed at Wynn
♣️ Saving Justin from blinding out of a tournament he forgot to show up for
♠️ The cameras, the rail, and the heads-up battle to deny Hellmuth No. 18
And after what he calls the coolest moment of his poker life?
He showed up for a $1,600 tournament the next day.
“I play poker. Like, that’s what I do.”
👇 Drop a comment:
Who would you most want to beat heads-up for a WSOP bracelet?
Show Notes
00:00 — Intro + Darren Rabinowitz
02:46 — Seattle Roots & Family
08:34 — Finding Online Poker
14:18 — College, Banking & Leaving Arizona
21:43 — First Vegas Summer & Early Bankroll
31:13 — Poker Friends & Aussie Millions
39:19 — Backing Deals & Life on the Circuit
44:36 — The Online Grind & COVID
54:37 — Golf & Returning to Live Poker
59:23 — Two Tournaments, Two Casinos
1:07:49 — The WSOP Summer & The Last $5K
1:13:23 — Final-Table Pressure
1:17:10 — Heads-Up Against Phil Hellmuth
1:19:35 — Winning the Bracelet & What’s Next
Darren’s Links
X: https://x.com/DarrenRabbi
IG: https://instagram.com/DarrenRabbi
T1 Links
Play with us at Phenom Poker (200% deposit bonus!):
https://play.phenompoker.com/register?r=Table1
Play with us at Table 1:
https://table1.vegas
Justin’s Poker Coaching Series:
Learn to Crush Live Poker — https://pokercoaching.com/table1
Follow T1:
X — https://x.com/table1vegas
IG — https://instagram.com/table1vegas

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Noah Schwartz had a $125K Wall Street job offer waiting.
Then one Sunday changed the math.
He wired $1,000 through Western Union, sat down in a PokerStars $1K, and about 12 hours later had $580,000.
So yeah.
Morgan Stanley got told to kick rocks.
But Noah’s story starts way before the score.
Miami Beach.
Baseball.
A lefty arm that was supposed to be his future.
His dad getting sick.
An elbow injury.
An air mattress on a childhood friend’s floor.
A security guard job where another guard would clock him in while Noah hid in the back room and played online poker.
Then poker opened every door.
And also kicked him through a few walls.
In this episode of The Table 1 Podcast, Noah Schwartz joins Art Parmann and Justin Young to talk through the full ride:
♠️ Growing up in Miami and thinking baseball was the plan
♥️ Losing his dad young and having to grow up fast
♦️ Tearing up his elbow and finding poker at the exact wrong/right time
♣️ Playing Madden and Monopoly for real money
♠️ Paying a security guard to clock him in while he played online
♥️ Wiring $1K to PokerStars with only a few grand to his name
♦️ Turning that into $580K in one night
♣️ Saying no to Wall Street after the biggest score of his life
♠️ Winning $394K at Borgata and taking it home in cash
♥️ Getting stopped by TSA with a bag full of money
♦️ Flying Spirit with $400K stuffed in the overhead bin
♣️ Buying a Range Rover in cash
♠️ Playing the $1M Big One for One Drop
♥️ The aces hand that still hurts
♦️ The second One Drop run that sent him straight to the dice table
♣️ High-stakes craps, Antonio stories, prop bets, and poker-life chaos
♠️ Why money alone never fixed what he thought it would
♥️ Fatherhood, investing, philanthropy, and what matters now
We also get into:
the early online poker boom
PartyPoker and PokerStars nostalgia
why poker players need early run-good
bankroll management before anyone knew what bankroll management was
WPT life when the fields were single-entry and massive
One Drop pressure
the difference between poker bad beats and real-life bad beats
Real American Freestyle
and why Noah would rather build memories with his kids than chase every tournament on the calendar.
This one is a poker story.
But it’s also a life story.
A baseball dream ended.
A poker career appeared.
A Wall Street path vanished.
And somehow, a kid sleeping on a friend’s floor ended up playing million-dollar buy-ins.
👇 Drop a comment:
What would you do if you turned $2K into $580K in one night?
Show Notes
00:00 — Intro + Noah Schwartz
01:38 — Miami, Baseball & Growing Up Competitive
06:30 — Madden, Monopoly & Early Gambling
08:08 — Baseball Ends + Poker Begins
09:17 — Security Guard Shift Hustle
10:27 — Credit Cards, PartyPoker & The Early Grind
11:32 — The $580K PokerStars Score
17:13 — Firing $1K With Almost Nothing Left
19:12 — Final Table Chaos + Heads-Up Comeback
22:08 — $394K At Borgata + Cash Through TSA
24:00 — First Vegas Shot + Getting Fired
27:37 — Turning Poker Into A Career
32:10 — Cash Games, PLO & The Tour
34:48 — Raising Money For The $1M One Drop
37:19 — Aces In The Biggest Spot
42:19 — The Second One Drop Dream
43:20 — Nines, Queens & The $6M Swing
46:48 — Bustout → Dice Table
48:48 — Kids, Balance & Life After Full-Time Poker
52:46 — Investing, RAF & What Comes Next
55:42 — Mindset, Philanthropy & Real Bad Beats
58:45 — Prop Bets, PCA & Antonio Stories
1:00:51 — The Aria Craps Roll
1:15:00 — Future Plans + Family
1:18:08 — Noah’s Links + Outro
Noah’s Links
X:
https://x.com/noahjschwartz
IG:
https://www.instagram.com/noahschwartz
T1 Links
Phenom Poker:
https://play.phenompoker.com/register?r=Table1
Play with us in Vegas:
https://table1.vegas
Justin's Poker Coaching series:
Learn to Crush Live Poker - https://pokercoaching.com/table1
Follow us:
X - https://x.com/table1vegas
IG - https://instagram.com/table1vegas

Ana Marquez once sold a fake Chanel purse for $400.
Why?
Because she needed a bankroll.
Back in business.
25NL, here she comes.
That is a pretty perfect Ana Marquez origin story.
Ana grew up in Málaga, Spain, came to America for school, studied history and economics at American University, and somehow ended up writing her thesis on poker.
Not playing poker.
Writing about poker.
Then she found the underground Maryland games.
Then Borgata.
Then online poker.
Then the Maryland crew.
Then PCA.
Then Black Friday.
Then PokerStars.
Then 888.
Then ACR.
Then Triton.
And somewhere in the middle of all that, her dad found a stash of cash and thought something terrible was going on.
Ana had to explain bankroll management.
In this episode of The Table 1 Podcast, Ana joins Art Parmann and Justin Young to tell the full story:
♠️ Growing up in Spain and being too competitive for family game night
♥️ Learning five-card draw from her mom with chickpeas
♦️ Almost getting caught tagging graffiti while her dad took pictures
♣️ Moving to Washington D.C. for school
♠️ Studying World War I, World War II, diplomacy, and military strategy
♥️ Discovering poker through friends in college
♦️ Sitting behind a friend for 13 hours at Borgata
♣️ Playing underground Maryland games with the crew that would become poker legends
♠️ Writing her thesis on how tournament poker changed society’s view of the game
♥️ Her dad finding her poker cash and assuming the worst
♦️ Selling a fake Chanel purse to reload for 25NL
♣️ Her first huge live run at PCA
♠️ Winning big online right before Black Friday
♥️ Somehow dodging disaster because her dad told her to get the money off the computer
♦️ Becoming a PokerStars Team Pro
♣️ Getting dropped even while ranked #1 in Spain
♠️ Winning the Hollywood Poker Open
♥️ Why she likes being completely alone during deep tournament runs
♦️ Taking a health break at the worst possible time
♣️ Falling behind during the solver boom
♠️ Rebuilding during quarantine
♥️ Returning to cash games
♦️ Private games in Dubai
♣️ ACR, Triton, Jeju “poker jail,” and what she is chasing now
This is one of those poker stories that does not feel planned.
It feels like someone kept following the next weird door.
A thesis became a bankroll.
A fake purse became a reload.
A hidden cash stash became a family meeting.
And somehow, all of it became a poker career.
👇 Drop a comment:
What is the strangest thing you’ve ever sold to get back in action?
Show Notes
00:00 — Intro + Ana Marquez
01:37 — Growing Up In Spain
05:20 — Good Grades, Bad Student
06:04 — Graffiti, Family & Moving To America
12:13 — American University + The Poker Thesis
13:28 — Discovering Poker
16:30 — Borgata + Underground Maryland Games
19:41 — Dad Finds The Cash
21:22 — The Fake Chanel Bankroll Reload
22:29 — Early Online Poker Grind
30:27 — PCA Breakthrough Run
34:03 — Black Friday Changes Everything
37:25 — PokerStars Team Pro Era
39:35 — Getting Dropped While Ranked #1 In Spain
43:44 — Hollywood Poker Open + Live Tournament Life
49:03 — Why She Plays Best Alone
55:31 — Health Breaks, Solvers & Falling Behind
1:01:37 — Quarantine Rebuild
1:06:39 — Back To Cash Games
1:12:04 — ACR, Dubai & Private Games
1:19:41 — Triton, Jeju & What’s Next
Ana’s Links
Website:
https://anamarquezpoker.com
Instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/anamarquezpoker
T1 Links
Play with us in Vegas:
https://table1.vegas
Card Player Magazine:
https://table1.vegas/cardplayer
Follow us:
X - https://x.com/table1vegas
IG - https://instagram.com/table1vegas