Stephen Chidwick reveals high roller secrets in Reddit AMA
The British tournament crusher spoke out on how much of his winnings translates into profit, his favourite ever hand and how he prepares for high rollers.
The British poker legend Stephen Chidwick took to Reddit last night, revealing some of the secrets of his success, as well as his thoughts on which poker operators offer the best experience and value.
The WSOP bracelet winner, who sits behind only Bryn Kenney in terms of tournament ranking results, was extremely candid in the tell-all style ‘Ask Me Anything’ (AMA) thread on Reddit.
Speaking honestly about exactly how much money he’s made from the game, as well as his opinion on poker operators, other players and his tactics in high rollers, Chidwick’s answers were extremely revealing about the life and career of one of poker’s quietest stars.
Q: With $76m in winnings, how much is profit?
Stephen Chidwick: I don’t have exact numbers from the earlier part of my career but somewhere in the 5-10m range.
Q: How difficult has MTTs got in the last couple years for professionals? It seems like the edges get smaller and smaller every year in the high rollers when everyone has access to the same solver tools.
SC: Yeah they’re tough, but challenging and fun. There’s still a lot of elements that aren’t captured by the tools.
Q: Do you think financial success at poker and the health of the ecosystem inherently requires weaker players, degenerates, bumhunting and gamblers to be part of it? And if so, can poker ever shed its image of being a casino gambling game and become respected in the same way chess or other games and sports are? And is this actually an image you wish poker had?
SC: I do think poker can and is increasingly being seen as more of a mind-sport. There’s an organization in India that runs a yearly team-based competition that’s completely free to enter and qualifiers get drafted onto teams and compete in a bunch of different formats and it gets 10s of millions of views. Things like Game of Gold also appeal to a wider audience. From what I understand poker is being used more and more by businesses as an education in critical thinking, game theory, dealing with imperfect information etc. And yes I would like for this trend to continue. Though I don’t see the degenerate/gambly/bumhunter aspect going anywhere either. But they can be separated to greater and lesser extents in my opinion.
Which poker tour is the worst?
Q: What poker tours do you prefer to play and why? How different is the player experience (in the high rollers and non-high rollers) between the EPTs, Tritons, WSOP, PGTs, etc?
SC: Tritons are a great experience, biggest stakes/prizepools, super well run and I know and enjoy being around almost everyone that plays them. Playing PokerGO events at ARIA is also very comfortable and very fun and run well but doesn’t match up to Triton, same with EPTs. WSOP is the worst by a lot but they’re soft
Q: What’s your most memorable hand?
SC: At my first WSOP 16 years ago I was playing the $10,000 NL Single Draw with Doyle Brunson. I played a pot with him where I 3b out of the BB vs his late position open and stood pat with a jack low (kind of a weak hand). He drew one, I checked, and he made a big bet. I check raised all in for not very much more as a bluff and he grumbled to himself for a while before folding. I showed the jack, and he says, “you’ve got my number kid”. I thought I was hot shit.
Q: What is your opinion on cash games at your stake level? Are tournaments more viable? Also, what % of your playing volume is mixed games other than NLH/PLO?
SC: Most cash games at high stakes are private and I don’t really have any interest in trying to get in them. I enjoy tournaments more in any case. Almost none of my volume is non NL/PLO. A few short deck tournaments here and there and I’ll flick in a couple of mixed events during WSOP if I feel like it but the structures are slow in mixed and fast in NL/PLO so it’s hard to play them without having to miss bigger tournaments that I actually know how to play
Q: When you sit down at the table who comes to mind first that you don't want to see on your immediate right?
SC: Probably Ike [Isaac Haxton].
Q: What goals do you have for this year?
SC: Not so much goals for the year as goals in general obviously:
• let go of false beliefs/limiting opinions of self and others wherever I find them
• embody my highest values in everything I do
• inspire others to make positive changes in their lives
• learn continuously and cultivate ‘beginners mind’
• deepen my understanding of, connection with, and service of, the divine
It won’t be long before Stephen Chidwick once again gets the chance to draw closer to Bryn Kenney at the top of the charts. With a keen focus on his goals, who would put it past that happening in 2026?
