James McManus, Columnist

Poker's Millennials Thump Grizzled Vets

July 8, 2014 at 9:12 PM UTC

James McManus is the author of "Positively Fifth Street" and "Cowboys Full: The Story of Poker." He has written about the game for the New York Times, Harper's, the New Yorker, Foreign Policy, Esquire and Grantland. He teaches writing and literature at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago.

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Until about 15 years ago, poker was dominated by veterans who'd logged thousands of hours of live high-stakes action. But once poker moved to the Internet, ambitious and talented students could play eight or 10 tables at once, contesting hundreds of pots per hour, applying math, logic, game theory and lightning Xbox dexterity while honing their game.

The winners in cash games and tournaments got younger and younger. Beginning in 2008, when 22-year-old Peter Eastgate won the World Series of Poker's Main Event, the winners have been Joe Cada, 21; Jonathan Duhamel, 23; Pius Heinz, 22; Greg Merson, 24; and Ryan Riess, 23.