Table 1 Podcast

Before Wayne Chiang was helping shape the future of poker content at the WSOP…
he was one of the best StarCraft players in the world.
Not “pretty good.”
World Champion.
Back when esports barely existed…
before Twitch…
before streaming…
before anyone thought playing video games could become a career…
Wayne was already there.
Grinding real-time strategy games.
Writing battle reports by hand because replays didn’t exist yet.
Competing against future poker legends, esports pioneers, and internet entrepreneurs before any of them were famous.
Then poker happened.
And suddenly the same competitive obsession that made him elite at StarCraft…
translated perfectly into online poker during the boom.
In this episode of The Table 1 Podcast, Wayne “D22-soso” joins Art Parmann and Justin Young for one of the most fascinating crossover stories we’ve had yet:
♠️ Becoming a StarCraft World Champion in the earliest days of esports
♥️ The original “content creator” grind before streaming existed
♦️ The overlap between elite gamers and poker crushers
♣️ Going broke in poker and rebuilding from scratch
♠️ The insane early online poker ecosystem
♥️ Playing the biggest games online before bankroll management existed
♦️ Becoming part-owner of Live at the Bike
♣️ Helping shape the WSOP Vlogger Program today
♠️ Why poker needs creators more than ever
♥️ How AI, content, and media are changing poker forever
We also get into:
esports history
Commerce poker politics
poker fame vs actual skill
livestream tells
what makes good poker content
and why “your network is your net worth” becomes more true the longer you play poker.
This one feels like a time capsule of:
early esports,
early online poker,
and the weird internet era that created both.
👇 Drop a comment:
What old-school poker or esports moment made YOU realize the internet was changing everything?
Show Notes
00:00 Pro Gamer Origins
11:46 E-Sports Forever?!
16:05 Poker!
19:30 “Old school” online poker
30:46 Going Broke
39:00 Streaming Poker & Live at the Bike
46:36 2-Hand Hold’em
48:49 WSOP & Content!
56:45 The BOOK
Wayne's Links
X - https://x.com/D22_soso
2 Hand Hold'em - http://play2hh.herokuapp.com/
YouTube - https://youtube.com/@waynechiangpoker
WSOP Vlogger Program:
https://www.wsop.com/poker-vlogger-program/
T1 Links
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IG - https://instagram.com/table1vegas

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Matt Savage almost changed poker history.
Seriously.
One ruling…
one sentence…
and the most famous hand of the poker boom might’ve played out completely differently.
But that’s only a tiny piece of Matt’s story.
Because before poker had standardized tournament rules…
before the TDA…
before modern tournament poker became the machine it is today…
everything was chaos.
Different casinos had different rules.
Players argued nonstop.
Structures were all over the place.
And during the poker boom?
Absolute insanity.
So Matt Savage helped fix it.
In this episode of The Table 1 Podcast, Matt joins Art Parmann and Justin Young for a deep dive into the hidden side of poker that most players never think about:
♠️ The early WPT days and poker’s Wild West era
♥️ Building the Tournament Directors Association (TDA)
♦️ Running the WSOP during the Moneymaker boom
♣️ The hand that almost changed poker history forever
♠️ Why Matt thinks some modern tournament structures are broken
♥️ The future of poker with AI, solvers, phones, and cheating concerns
♦️ Why recreational players matter more than pros realize
♣️ The chaos of old-school WSOP poker rooms
We also get into:
poker room disasters
missing money scandals
livestream headaches
bizarre rulings
why everybody hates the floor… until they need the floor
…and why tournament poker today looks completely different because of people like Matt.
This one is poker history, poker philosophy, and behind-the-scenes Vegas chaos all wrapped into one episode.
👇 Comment below:
What’s the most controversial poker ruling YOU’ve ever seen?
Watch on YouTube:
PASTE_YOUTUBE_LINK_HERE
Show Notes
00:00 Early Bowling Life
07:02 Lucky You
09:57 Almost Ruining The Poker Boom & Matt’s Poker Origin Story
21:50 Early Days at WPT & The TDA
34:50 The Boom!
40:25 WSOP!
49:29 Technology in Poker & Unique Formats
1:08:23 2026 & Beyond
Matt’s Links
X - https://x.com/SavagePoker
TDA - https://pokertda.com/
T1 Links
Phenom Poker (Daily MTTs + deposit bonus):
https://play.phenompoker.com/register?r=Table1
First-time depositors can get up to 150% up to $3,000 when you use our link.
Card Player Magazine (Table 1 stories):
https://table1.vegas/cardplayer
Follow us:
X - https://x.com/table1vegas
IG - https://instagram.com/table1vegas

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This week we're joined by Allen "The Chainsaw" Kessler. Most poker stories have some common thread. For Allen, that thread is curiosity.
Whether that be the mechanics of a card game or a video poker machine, or even your basic slot machine, Allen's played — and beaten — them all.
Show Notes:
00:00 Introduction to woodworking
4:15 Who is Allen Kessler?
10:04 Weekend Warrior Mode
15:39 Selling Phone Numbers?!
31:44 Vegas Baby!
40:00 Chain(saw)ing Some Poker Tourneys Together
45:38 The Chainsaw Mixed Series of Poker
51:32 The WSOP + Fantasy Poker
1:07:38 Binking a slot for $1,000,000+
1:18:05 Which Bracelet is Allen Gonna Win?
Allen's Links:
YouTube:
https://www.youtube.com/@UCVwTQG94x6mgJAgaIANr5TQ
X:
https://x.com/AllenKessler
Instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/chainsawpoker/

Mike Matusow was one of the best players in the world.
And he knew it.
But before the bracelets… before the TV cameras… before the meltdowns…
He was just a kid in Las Vegas:
Getting picked on
Selling candy at school
Building a race car to find his place
Then he discovered gambling.
And it hit fast.
Video poker turned into addiction.
Addiction turned into poker.
Poker turned into dominance.
Within months, he goes from never playing poker… to sitting with legends like Johnny Moss.
To being told by the reigning World Champion:
“You’re one of the only ones who knows what’s going on.”
That’s how fast it happened.
But the story everyone thinks they know? That’s only part of it.
Because behind the wins… there’s a different story:
Drugs
Jail
Millions lost
Mental battles
Starting over again and again
And somehow… still competing at the highest level.
In this episode of The Table 1 Podcast, Mike “The Mouth” Matusow joins Art Parmann and Justin Young to break down one of the most intense careers in poker:
♠️ Getting bullied growing up and finding confidence through cars
♥️ Becoming addicted to gambling before poker
♦️ Learning poker and becoming elite almost instantly
♣️ Playing with legends in the 90s poker scene
♠️ The Scotty Nguyen backing story and calling his shot
♥️ The 2005 WSOP Main Event run — and how it slipped away
♦️ Russ Hamilton stealing millions from him
♣️ Jail, depression, and rebuilding his life
♠️ Why modern poker is broken and what players get wrong
♥️ The mindset required to win at the highest level
This one is raw, unfiltered, and a look at poker from someone who lived through every era of it.
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Follow Mike
Twitter: https://x.com/themouthmatusow
Instagram: https://instagram.com/mikematusow
Table 1 Podcast
The Table 1 Podcast is poker’s living room.
We bring you the stories behind the biggest personalities in poker — the wins, the losses, and everything that happens away from the felt.
Subscribe for new episodes every week.

John Borenstein wasn’t supposed to make it in poker.
He got kicked out of three high schools.
Finished with a GED.
And spent his teenage years running around New Jersey doing things that definitely weren’t part of any career plan.
Then one night… he ended up in a stolen van.
And that’s not even the craziest part.
Before he ever played a real tournament, he satellited into a $22 online event…
Overslept…
Woke up late…
And won it for $27,000.
In his parents’ basement.
From there?
He didn’t go pro the normal way.
He opened an underground poker club.
At 18.
We’re talking:
Armed robberies
Methhead regulars
Partners stealing rent money
Getting held at gunpoint
…and somehow…
that turned into a six-figure tournament career.
In this episode of The Table 1 Podcast, John joins Art Parmann and Justin Young to tell one of the wildest poker stories you’ll hear.
Getting expelled from multiple high schools
The stolen van story that got him kicked out
Winning $27K as a teenager by accident
Running underground poker games at 18
Getting robbed at gunpoint in a home game
Losing everything… then winning it back in 24 hours
The Colossus run with 22,000 players
Why he hates modern poker
This one is chaos, comedy, and somehow still a success story.
Show Notes
00:00 — Getting kicked out of school
Three high schools → GED with honors
3:44 — First poker games + early suspensions
Running games in empty classrooms
5:07 — The stolen van story
Car theft → crash → expulsion
12:52 — First big online score ($27K)
Satellite → overslept → wins anyway
16:46 — Starting an underground poker club
Turning winnings into a business at 18
22:29 — Armed robbery at the game
Held at gunpoint in a home game
27:29 — Quits poker → Amazon job
Trying to go “normal”
29:47 — Wins $40K → quits job immediately
Back to poker full-time
36:01 — PCA trip + early tournament success
First big live scores
42:24 — WSOP Colossus final table run
22,000-player field → first major result
47:30 — Why he hates modern poker
Solver era vs old-school instincts
52:59 — The Tinder story begins
Peggy Sue enters the chat…
1:09:17 — $50K blackjack punt → comeback
Loses everything… wins it back next day
Come Play With Us
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https://play.phenompoker.com/register?r=Table1
Follow John
Instagram: https://instagram.com/itsmejonb
Table 1 Podcast
The Table 1 Podcast is poker’s living room.
We bring you the stories behind the biggest personalities in poker — the wins, the losses, and everything that happens away from the felt.
Subscribe for new episodes every week.