Roger Returns: Teska Looks for Back-to-Back Gardens Titles

By Sean Chaffin

With another WPT Main Tour back on the West Coast, Roger Teska was once again in the field and hoping to make it back-to-back Gardens titles. In July, he topped 373 entries to win the Gardens Poker Festival for $368,475 – kicking off Season XVIII by adding his name to the Champions Cup.

Part of his winning package included a new BMW X1 worth an extra $40,000, which he gave to his mother and shipped to her home in Indiana.

“She loved it,” he says. “She really appreciated it, but didn’t want to drive it for the first three weeks. She was just overjoyed. She lives on a country road and didn’t want to scratch it I guess.”

Since winning in July, Teska has been traveling quite a bit. That included a bachelor party in New Zealand then a stopover in Sydney, Australia, to see some friends. While down under, Teska played in a A$20,000 ($13,700) World Series of Poker International Circuit event and finished third for $104,718. It wasn’t part of his original plan but was a nice part of the trip.

“For a guy who didn’t plan on playing any poker,” he says, “it paid for the trip.”

Another recent trip included a visit to Tulum, Mexico, a small town south of Cancun with Mayan ruins, white sand beaches, and crystal blue Caribbean waters. Teska enjoys traveling and the freedom poker gives him. He plays mostly private cash games and rarely in tournaments or even casinos.

“I just play the tournaments here because I live in L.A.,” he says.

Laid back and always looking for fun, Teska has been a regular cocktail drinker at the tables. 

“I just try to keep it loose,” Teska said after his win in July. “I’m drinking, having fun, and I’m definitely the least concerned about leveling up of anybody in the field. Maybe that gave me a little bit of an edge.

“A cocktail helps me stay loose I think and definitely if I take it too far I’ll just punt off a stack, but I seem to do alright.”

That has apparently changed and he was drinking water before hitting the rail after the third break in the day on Day 1a. However, Teska is back in action on Day 1b. 

His recent traveling fun may have had some influence on that decision and he’s now joined the “dry” movement at least temporarily.

“It’s a sober January,” he says. “I’ve had a hard last three months.”

Sean Chaffin is a freelance writer in Crandall, Texas, and his work appears in numerous websites and publications. Follow him on Twitter @PokerTraditions.