In May, Jeremy Becker caught the attention of poker Twitter as he seemingly rattled off win after win after win in the Wynn daily tournaments.
He won one on May 4, May 8, May 11, and May 14. These are $200 buy-in tournaments with fewer than 100 entries. They’re populated by tourists, locals who play poker as a hobby, or dealers looking to enjoy some time on the felt where they’re not pitching cards.
The Wynn Poker Room Twitter account posts winner photos of each tournament winner. It didn’t take long for people to realize the same guy kept popping up. Becker got some media attention for his success, but then everything changed in a minute when poker’s biggest star took notice.
You looking for a stake at the WSOP kiddo?
— Daniel Negreanu (@RealKidPoker) May 12, 2023
“My friend texted me the Negreanu tweet and I didn’t believe him. I go ‘stop fucking with me. what is this Photoshop?’ And then a lot of people started texting me. Once he put out that tweet it was crazy,” Becker said. “I’m showing up to the daily the next day and I’m getting people taking selfies with me. It was a joke. It was awesome for sure.”
Becker, who recently turned 27 years old, continued to play the dailies while working the details of a deal that allowed Becker to play a big WSOP schedule, including the Main Event.
“I played (the Main Event) the last two years on my own, but this year Negreanu gave me a backing deal for the World Series. So him and Josh Arieh have half, I have the other half,” Becker, who cashed the 2022 WSOP Main Event for $17,000, said.
Now Becker is sitting on Day 5 of the WSOP Main Event with more than a million chips. Becker admits he hasn’t exactly been playing his best the last few weeks due to some factors outside of his control.
“I was definitely on a roll at the Wynn when I first moved out here,” Becker admitted. “I’ve had a pretty bad Series though. I think I got COVID earlier in the Series, haven’t really been the same since, but feeling good now and saved it for the right tournament I guess.”
The WSOP Main Event is known for being the slowest structure for any poker tournament in the world. It’s a far cry from the dailies on the Strip and Becker knows it.
“You definitely gotta adjust. I’d say in those dailies, I definitely tend to be more aggressive because you really need to chip up or else you’re going to blind out,” Becker said. “Whereas in this sort of structure, I’m more leaving the pressure to the other guys, basically playing the opposite, I’m catching the punts in this, where in the other one, I’m the one punting.”
With 411 players remaining in the Main Event, Becker could be staring at a six-figure payday if he continues catching those punts. Roughly one-quarter of the remaining field will earn $100,000 or more. He knows that a massive score here would be a great way to reward Negreanu and Arieh for believing in him, but would also know it could change his life and the trajectory of his poker career.
“I definitely want to make them money for believing in me, giving me a chance, basically telling I could play whatever I want throughout the Series,” Becker said. “For myself, I want to make some money and the experience is worth a ton because hopefully, I can play this every year for the rest of my poker career. So going deep real early would definitely be super nice.”