On his off days, he began to play poker, and quit his job after realizing that he was winning more money playing poker than working. He started playing poker when he was a caddy at a golf course and played poker after the rounds. Thomas Keller has won 1 bracelets and 0 rings for total earnings of $1,028,993. See all events where they placed in-the-money.
Thomas 'Thunder' Keller has been known as one of the top young players in the game for a while now. His victory in the $2,500 No Limit Holdem event at the 2003 Bellagio Five Diamond Poker Classic put him on the tournament poker map for good. But it was his victory in the $5,000 No Limit Hold Em event at the 2004 World Series of Poker that put him in an elite group of bracelet winners, and put his skills on television, for all the world to see. At the ripe age of twenty-four years old, Thomas seems to have the poker world by the tail. I recently caught up with him to see how life has been the last year or so.
PN: What has been the biggest change in your life since you won a WSOP bracelet?
I think people perceive notoriety incorrectly unless they have actually received some of it. It changes the way people perceive you, but it doesn't change who you are as a person. A lot of people ask questions of me, or some people socialize with me who may not have before, but it hasn't been that different. I think a lot of people think when you become known, it changes you, but I don't think it has changed me.
PN: What has been the hardest thing to adjust to?
I haven't had a big problem with it. I have had things like people coming up to me, while I am at dinner saying things like 'I can beat you at poker, let's play right now', but things like that have been pretty rare, and in general its been pretty smooth.
PN: You went to Stanford. Do you think your top shelf education gives you any kind of advantage over other poker players?
I don't really know. A lot of poker players are very intelligent even if they don't have degree. I think some people think having a degree has more value than it is really worth. I think the fact that I got into Stanford may be a better indicator that I am pretty intelligent than the fact that I have a degree.
PN: Palo Alto (city where Stanford is located) is not a huge town. When you were there, did you ever play with, or run into Phil H? (Hellmuth makes his home in Palo Alto)
Thomas Keller Lawsuit
I never met him then, which is funny because he said during the whole time he was writing this book he was at this coffee shop, which I had been to a number of times, because it is right near the university. He said he was pretty much there every day, but I never ran into him, no.
PN: Obviously, you are a poker player�But, do you consider yourself a gambler?
I'm definitely a gambler, but when it comes to finances, I primarily play poker, and I generally stay away from most other forms of gambling.
PN: Talk about UltimateBet, and why you choose to affiliate yourself with them over any other site?
I'm really good friends with a lot of the people at Ultimate Bet like Annie Duke, and several of the other team members like Antonio Esfandiari. I've played on there a long time, and I really love the software, and the customer support is great. Also, they have the fastest shuffle you will see on the internet. For instance, if you are playing heads up, sometimes you can get in close to 300 hands an hour, which is amazing.
PN: In the last year, do you find yourself trending toward more online play, or more toward live play?
When I'm playing tournaments, its almost always live. I try to hit most of the big 10k events. Outside of tournament play, I usually seem to be ending up playing online. Once you get used to the pace of online play, you can play so much faster than live, its kinda tough to make the transition and go back to live play.
PN: So, do you tend to not play much side action when you are at a tournament site?
Not much anymore. I used to, and now I don't. Even if I am at a tournament and I busted out, or it's the night before the event begins, and I want to play...You can usually find me upstairs in my room playing online rather than playing the live action. It's a combination of several of things � to play the really big limits, you need to carry a big roll around, and I don't like to do that. I can play very big online, and play a bunch of different games, and all I need to do is carry my laptop, which is nice. Also, the speed factor is important too, live play can seem so slow by comparison.
PN: What are your goals as a player in 2005?
I'd love to win another big tournament this year. But, its tough because you want to make goals, and you want to be realistic, too. With the size of the fields being so big, and given the fact I will only play 12-15 events this year...realistically, what are my chances of actually winning one, even if I am one of the better players? Also, I don't hit every tournament, and I don't play in smaller events.
I try to do well outside of the tournaments, and I try to have fun when I play the big tournaments. It seems like so many people take poker so seriously, and get so bent out of shape from it. At the end of the day, I still see poker as a game, and I try to have fun with it. I figure I'm a good player, and it will work out in the long term. You will go through stretches of months, or maybe a year or more where you will run bad, and I think you just have to take it with a smile I think. I know a lot of people who have been driven pretty crazy by poker.
PN: You recently participated in the WPT's 'young guns' episode. What was that experience like?
It was a lot of fun. It was extremely competitive, and I think that a lot of us wished the blind structure wouldn't have gone up quite as fast, but that's the way it works for TV.
PN: Any young players you know that you feel like could have been at that table also?
When I walked in, I was a little surprised that Gavin Griffin wasn't there, as he had just won a bracelet also. Also, my twin brother, Shawn who is a professional too, but he doesn't play as many tournaments.
PN: In 2004, you got married. Talk about what effect having a stable home life has had on your poker game.
I think having a strong foundation at home is very important, and very helpful. The life can be pretty grueling, so its nice if you have had a bad day to have someone to go home to who will understand.
PN: What do you think the biggest challenge is facing the business of poker as the explosion continues?
Thomas Keller Books
That's a great question. I think one of the biggest challenges is to take poker away from other forms of gambling, and showing it more as a game of skill. I think a lot of people still have a perception of poker like blackjack, craps, or whatever where anyone can win, but its mostly luck. In the short term, that may be true, but I think in the long run we all know that that is pretty ridiculous. I don't know how much that would help the business aspect of it, but I think it would help the competitive side, and the TV side would be helped a lot if it was shown more as a game of skill.
Readers can find out more about Thomas 'Thunder' Keller, and contact him by going to his website www.thunderkeller.com
May 6, 2004Sign up to receive daily news from VegasInsider
by Nolan Dalla
Special to VegasInsider.com
Official Results:
If you don't know the name Thomas Keller yet, you soon will. Keller, better known as 'Thunder,' blasted away 253 players in the $5,000 buy-in No-Limit Texas hold'em event and collected $382,020. At age 23, he is one of the youngest players ever to win a World Series of Poker gold bracelet. Remarkably, his feat comes only 24-hours after Scott Fischman, also aged 23, won his second gold bracelet at this year's tournament. This is fast becoming 'the year of the young guns.'
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PN: What has been the biggest change in your life since you won a WSOP bracelet?
I think people perceive notoriety incorrectly unless they have actually received some of it. It changes the way people perceive you, but it doesn't change who you are as a person. A lot of people ask questions of me, or some people socialize with me who may not have before, but it hasn't been that different. I think a lot of people think when you become known, it changes you, but I don't think it has changed me.
PN: What has been the hardest thing to adjust to?
I haven't had a big problem with it. I have had things like people coming up to me, while I am at dinner saying things like 'I can beat you at poker, let's play right now', but things like that have been pretty rare, and in general its been pretty smooth.
PN: You went to Stanford. Do you think your top shelf education gives you any kind of advantage over other poker players?
I don't really know. A lot of poker players are very intelligent even if they don't have degree. I think some people think having a degree has more value than it is really worth. I think the fact that I got into Stanford may be a better indicator that I am pretty intelligent than the fact that I have a degree.
PN: Palo Alto (city where Stanford is located) is not a huge town. When you were there, did you ever play with, or run into Phil H? (Hellmuth makes his home in Palo Alto)
Thomas Keller Lawsuit
I never met him then, which is funny because he said during the whole time he was writing this book he was at this coffee shop, which I had been to a number of times, because it is right near the university. He said he was pretty much there every day, but I never ran into him, no.
PN: Obviously, you are a poker player�But, do you consider yourself a gambler?
I'm definitely a gambler, but when it comes to finances, I primarily play poker, and I generally stay away from most other forms of gambling.
PN: Talk about UltimateBet, and why you choose to affiliate yourself with them over any other site?
I'm really good friends with a lot of the people at Ultimate Bet like Annie Duke, and several of the other team members like Antonio Esfandiari. I've played on there a long time, and I really love the software, and the customer support is great. Also, they have the fastest shuffle you will see on the internet. For instance, if you are playing heads up, sometimes you can get in close to 300 hands an hour, which is amazing.
PN: In the last year, do you find yourself trending toward more online play, or more toward live play?
When I'm playing tournaments, its almost always live. I try to hit most of the big 10k events. Outside of tournament play, I usually seem to be ending up playing online. Once you get used to the pace of online play, you can play so much faster than live, its kinda tough to make the transition and go back to live play.
PN: So, do you tend to not play much side action when you are at a tournament site?
Not much anymore. I used to, and now I don't. Even if I am at a tournament and I busted out, or it's the night before the event begins, and I want to play...You can usually find me upstairs in my room playing online rather than playing the live action. It's a combination of several of things � to play the really big limits, you need to carry a big roll around, and I don't like to do that. I can play very big online, and play a bunch of different games, and all I need to do is carry my laptop, which is nice. Also, the speed factor is important too, live play can seem so slow by comparison.
PN: What are your goals as a player in 2005?
I'd love to win another big tournament this year. But, its tough because you want to make goals, and you want to be realistic, too. With the size of the fields being so big, and given the fact I will only play 12-15 events this year...realistically, what are my chances of actually winning one, even if I am one of the better players? Also, I don't hit every tournament, and I don't play in smaller events.
I try to do well outside of the tournaments, and I try to have fun when I play the big tournaments. It seems like so many people take poker so seriously, and get so bent out of shape from it. At the end of the day, I still see poker as a game, and I try to have fun with it. I figure I'm a good player, and it will work out in the long term. You will go through stretches of months, or maybe a year or more where you will run bad, and I think you just have to take it with a smile I think. I know a lot of people who have been driven pretty crazy by poker.
PN: You recently participated in the WPT's 'young guns' episode. What was that experience like?
It was a lot of fun. It was extremely competitive, and I think that a lot of us wished the blind structure wouldn't have gone up quite as fast, but that's the way it works for TV.
PN: Any young players you know that you feel like could have been at that table also?
When I walked in, I was a little surprised that Gavin Griffin wasn't there, as he had just won a bracelet also. Also, my twin brother, Shawn who is a professional too, but he doesn't play as many tournaments.
PN: In 2004, you got married. Talk about what effect having a stable home life has had on your poker game.
I think having a strong foundation at home is very important, and very helpful. The life can be pretty grueling, so its nice if you have had a bad day to have someone to go home to who will understand.
PN: What do you think the biggest challenge is facing the business of poker as the explosion continues?
Thomas Keller Books
That's a great question. I think one of the biggest challenges is to take poker away from other forms of gambling, and showing it more as a game of skill. I think a lot of people still have a perception of poker like blackjack, craps, or whatever where anyone can win, but its mostly luck. In the short term, that may be true, but I think in the long run we all know that that is pretty ridiculous. I don't know how much that would help the business aspect of it, but I think it would help the competitive side, and the TV side would be helped a lot if it was shown more as a game of skill.
Readers can find out more about Thomas 'Thunder' Keller, and contact him by going to his website www.thunderkeller.com
May 6, 2004Sign up to receive daily news from VegasInsider
by Nolan Dalla
Special to VegasInsider.com
Official Results:
If you don't know the name Thomas Keller yet, you soon will. Keller, better known as 'Thunder,' blasted away 253 players in the $5,000 buy-in No-Limit Texas hold'em event and collected $382,020. At age 23, he is one of the youngest players ever to win a World Series of Poker gold bracelet. Remarkably, his feat comes only 24-hours after Scott Fischman, also aged 23, won his second gold bracelet at this year's tournament. This is fast becoming 'the year of the young guns.'
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'He's the best young poker player in the world,' said one Arizona local – who goes by the name Shoe. 'I must have played with him 50 times, and fifty times he won. I've never seen anything like him.'
Thunder reportedly beat the game so consistently, at one point he cornered the market on every one of the casino's $100 chips. Instead of cashing out at the end of each session, Thunder stashed his winnings inside the trunk of his car. After several months, Thunder's car was awash in black chips, rack after rack piled up inside the back of the car.
Finally, the day came when the big cash game players wanted to play poker and there were no $100 chips left inside the casino. Thunder had locked up all the black chips -- estimated to be worth well over a million dollars. Then and there, Thunder sold off racks of chips to the players, $10,000 at a time, directly from the back of his car.
And so, the date May 4th rolled around and Thunder decided to enter his first-ever tournament at the World Series of Poker. Thunder's name was absent amongst the table chatter, as players and onlookers looked around and began speculating who might win the 13th event at this year's World Series. At one point during the tournament, all eyes in the room were on Chris Moneymaker, the defending world poker champion. Moneymaker had ten percent of all the chips in play when there were 60 players remaining (he busted out 32nd). There were other well-known faces, too – including Mickey Appleman, Billy Baxter, John Bonetti, Johnny Chan, Eskimo Clark, Chris Ferguson, Ted Forrest, Jennifer Harman, Dan Harrington, Dan Heimiller, Berry Johnston, John Juanda, Howard Lederer, Toto Leonidas, O'Neil Longson, Carlos Mortensen, Mike Matusow, Jim Meehan, Daniel Negreanu, Men Nguyen, Minh Nguyen, Scotty Nguyen, David Pham, Barry Shulman, Huck Seed, Erik Seidel, Mike Sexton, Bob Stupak, Dewey Tomko, Devil Fish Ulliott, Robert Williamson – all of whom have won gold bracelets. Also, actor Toby Maguire, known for his roles in 'Spiderman' and 'Seabiscuit,' played in the event.
Amidst all the poker stars and a bona fide Hollywood celebrity in the room, Thunder plodded along and played his best game, and ended up at the final table second in chips, to James Sousa's slight advantage. Players at the final table busted out as follows:
9th – FRANK SINOPOLI – The 32-year-old poker player from Florida went out with 9-9 against pocket kings. Sinopoli was check-raised after a flop of 7-6-2 and was 'all-in.' A nine failed to rescue Sinopoli – which meant a 9th place finish worth $23,889.
8th – PHILLIP MARMORSTEIN – Easily the most colorful player of the bunch, Marmorstein came dressed in lederhosen topped by an Alpine cap and father, reminiscent of the traditional dress of his naïve Germany. Marmorstein, who was born in Munich and now lives in London, was toppled from the final table when he lost with A-Q to a pair of 8s. Marmorstein will soon be passing through customs with $35,820, ready to convert to Euros.
7th – YOUNG PHAN – Seven-handed play continued for two full hours, making it perhaps one of the longest seven-handed no-limit games in WSOP history. Phan, a native of Vietnam, made his final stand with A-K versus J-J. Phan failed to hit a pair and exited in 7th place with $47,760. Phan, who has been coming to the WSOP for ten years, has two children and lives in Irvine, CA.
6th – PAUL 'ESKIMO' CLARK – Clark is legendary in poker circles as one of the game's most eccentric personalities. He gambles high and never backs away from a proposition. Clark was 'all in' with A-10 against A-J and failed to pull of the upset. Clark, originally from New Orleans and now living in Las Vegas, is a 15-year veteran of the WSOP who has won three gold bracelets. He came up short in this event and pocketed $59,680.
5th – SALIM 'SAM' BATSHON – Originally from the West Bank of Israel/Palestine, Batshon's best finish had been 18th in a No-Limit Hold'em event here at the WSOP back in 2002. Batshon, who now lives in California, took a bad beat when his A-8 lost to J-8 after a jack flopped. Batshon received $71,620.
4th – LEE WATKINSON – Watkinson, a 38-year-old finalist from Tacoma, WA went out in 4th place. He was short-stacked and went 'all in' with 2-2 – losing to a straight. He collected $83,560. 3rd – JAMES SOUSA – Sousa is originally from Boston. He's won over half-a-million dollars playing poker during his lifetime, and spends his extra time handicapping sports, including baseball. Souosa went out in third place with second pair, after the flop came J-J-10. Sousa had a 10, but lost to Thunder, who had a jack in his hand and busted his opponent. Sousa took home six figures -- $107,520.
When heads-up play began, the chip counts were as follows:
THUNDER: $1,009,000
DEKNIJFF: $261,000
Thomas Keller became the second 23-year old player to win at the WSOP. (AP Images) |
Deknijff had his work cut out, facing a fearless (and largely unknown) opponent, with a massive chip advantage. Deknijff, who goes by the nickname 'The Knife' was sliced and diced when he lost the last hand of the night. He check-raised 'all in' with K-2 after the flop came 9-4-2. Thunder wasn't going anywhere, except directly to his chips with pocket 10s, good for an overpair. The board ended up showing 9-4-2-9-9, and Thunder won with the higher full-house. The runner up, Martin Deknijff is from Sweden. He collected $210,100.
Immediately after the tournament, ESPN cameras rolled and captured the birth of a new poker star. 'Thunder' had managed to do the unthinkable – winning his first-ever attempt at the World Series of Poker, playing in what was one of the toughest No-Limit Hold'em fields in history. He was also forthright in discussing how he learned to play poker so quickly.
'The Internet is a great teaching tool,' Thunder said afterward. 'The players there don't get enough respect.'
When asked about his goals at his first WSOP tournament, Thunder replied: 'I came in trying to win it. I've always liked jewelry and I wanted to win the gold bracele. Realistically, you want to make the final table, but when we got down to four-handed, that's when I realized I would not be happy unless I won (first place). And now, here I am.'
Thomas Keller Cookbook
Thomas 'Thunder' Keller, the newest World Series of Poker champion, was joined at the final table by his new wife. The happy couple was married only two weeks ago. As he departed the Las Vegas Horseshoe with his new bride, it's unknown whether or not Thunder took his winnings in cash, or check. Someone might want to check inside Thunder's trunk, and see.