ClubWPT Qualifiers Ed Stolte and Bryan Wittman Gained Valuable Experience for the WPT L.A. Poker Classic Winning Their Seats at King of the Club

The World Poker Tour hosted a special ClubWPT King of the Club tournament for ClubWPT Qualifiers on the WPT final table television set back in September of last year during the WPT Borgata Poker Open. Two different sets of eight qualifiers played down to a winner that night, and the winner of each table emerged with a $10,000 seat in this WPT L.A. Poker Classic. Those two winners are Bryan Wittman and Ed Stolte, and they are both playing in the field on Day 1.

Wittman and Stolte spoke with WPT.com about their tournament so far, and they also talked about the valuable experience they gained playing under the bright lights of the WPT television set.

Ed Stolte (ClubWPT Username: “Derffle”)

Ed Stolte (pictured above) is 34-year-old commercial electrician from Nokesville, Virginia, and he has been playing on ClubWPT since 2011. Stolte started playing poker when he was a kid, but just recreationally with friends until he learned about the opportunities to play on ClubWPT.com, where members can play poker for a chance to share in $100,000 in cash and prizes each month, no purchase necessary.

“I’ve got to say that ClubWPT is what really got my game jump-started,” Stolte said. “Everything I’ve got right now, I owe it all to them, because without them I wouldn’t have the platform to do what I’m doing now.”

Stolte was playing off and on for a few years, but he took a break with the arrival of his son, Vincent, almost four years ago.

“That kind of threw everything else right out the window, but he’s got a little bit older,” Stolte said. “I got back into playing, and King of the Club came along, and I made a great run, so here I am.”

Since he won the WPT L.A. Poker Classic seat from King of the Club, Stolte has been doing nothing but playing cards, watching strategy videos, and learning as much as he can in his free time. There are a few casinos where he lives, but ClubWPT has made up the majority of his poker education.

“I get some live playing experience, but nothing like ClubWPT,” Stolte said. “On ClubWPT you have to make decisions a lot quicker than you do in a live tournament. Here, I can take my time a little bit more, and think about what I’m doing. It’s quite a difference playing online to live. You can’t see the people, you only see chip stacks.”

When asked about his initial impression after playing against some of the best players in the game, Stolte said he recognizes the talent in the room, but also that he isn’t scared.

“I’ve seen a lot of high-caliber players here so far, but I’m not intimidated,” he said. “I’m trying to keep my head calm about it because I haven’t played in too many huge tournaments. I’m just going to keep trying to move up.”

Stolte also acknowledged that his lack of nerves was due in large part to his experience at the ClubWPT King of the Club final table.

“It really was a huge help,” Stolte said. “I was a little nervous when I was playing the final table out there in Atlantic City, and I’ve had almost none today. I feel like another guy in the crowd. This is just normal now.”

In addition to his son, Stolte would like to give a shout out to his girlfriend and family back home, as well as his boss at TMB Electric.

“Thank you for letting me come play,” said Stolte with a grin.

Looking to win your way to a World Poker Tour event for your shot at becoming a WPT champion? Play for your chance on ClubWPT.com, where eligible VIP Members can play for over $100,000 in cash and prizes each month, including seats to WPT events, no purchase necessary.

Bryan Wittman (ClubWPT Username: “Sallipug”)

Bryan Wittman (pictured above) is 50 years old, and he lives in Garden Ridge, Texas. He is a corporate attorney who does mergers and acquisitions, venture capital, and general corporate work.

Wittman has two children, and he would like to give a shout out to his nine-year-old son and biggest fan, Aaron, and his seven-year-old daughter, Natalie, who wants her dad to teach her how to play poker.

Wittman was so overwhelmed at the moment of his ClubWPT King of the Club victory that the meaning had not yet set in, but the gift of hindsight led him to share some thoughts with WPT.com.

“It was an incredible experience,” Wittman said. “I wish I had been able to enjoy it more in the moment, but there was so much stress and anxiety about not being the first person out, and then trying to make the cash, and then playing heads up when I had no heads-up experience live at all. If you look at my reaction after I finished, it was just utter relief. I wasn’t fist-pumping or jumping for joy. I was relieved that I had survived it.”

Like Stolte, Wittman earned a $10,000 seat into the Season XVI WPT L.A. Poker Classic Championship.

“Afterwards it was just incredible to bask in the accomplishment,” Wittman said. “Looking back on it, financially it wasn’t life-changing, but as an experience, it was clearly life-changing for me. I would not have gone to Atlantic City, and St. Louis, and Los Angeles, and played live poker tournaments against real players had it not been for this opportunity.”

Wittman’s access to live poker in Texas is very, very limited, and it’s hard for him to travel a lot with the kids.

“ClubWPT is the way that I get my reps in and get practice and play against good competition and make myself better,” said Wittman.

He has been playing hundreds of hands per day for the last few months to try and get ready for the WPT L.A. Poker Classic.

“It’s a real honor, a privilege, and an opportunity to play at this event,” said Wittman. “It’s a nice event for ClubWPT players to play in because it’s a freezeout. There are no re-buys, so the professionals can’t leverage their rebuys against us qualifiers.”

Wittman also shared the sentiments of Stolte that the King of the Club helped take nerves out of the equation in such a premier poker tournament.

“I was a lot more nervous before I played King of the Club than I was coming here today,” said Wittman. “Part of that was just the unknown. I didn’t know how good I was, I didn’t know how good my opponents were. Here I have no illusions — the players are much better and more experienced than I am. I know that going into it.”

Wittman also thinks that being the unknown at the table has been a bit of an advantage so far.

“It really is, and in some ways, because I’m playing against professionals, in several hands they haven’t known how to play against me because I’ve got such amateurish betting lines that they’re utterly confused with my play and can’t put me on a hand,” said Wittman.

Looking to win your way to a World Poker Tour event for your shot at becoming a WPT champion? Play for your chance on ClubWPT.com, where eligible VIP Members can play for over $100,000 in cash and prizes each month, including seats to WPT events, no purchase necessary.