Poker world
Poker YouTubers & streamers
From Twitch pioneers to live-poker vloggers: the creators who brought poker to a new generation.
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Poker used to reach new players through TV. Today most of them find it on YouTube and Twitch. Streamers made online tournaments fun to watch, vloggers took viewers into real card rooms, and strategy channels gave away coaching that once cost a fortune. These are the creators who changed how poker is watched and learned. For the TV shows and live-streamed cash games themselves, see poker shows.
In short
- Streamers play online live on Twitch and talk you through each decision.
- Vloggers film real live cash-game sessions and edit them into short YouTube videos.
- Strategy channels teach for free: a good first step before paying for a course.
Live streamers
Players who stream their own sessions, usually on Twitch, and talk viewers through their decisions.
Jason Somerville
Twitch · YouTube · since mid-2010sA WSOP bracelet winner who streamed his online sessions on Twitch, talking viewers through every decision. His 'Run It Up' brand grew from the stream into live events.
Why it matters: Made Twitch a home for poker and showed that a poker stream could be both entertaining and educational.
Jaime Staples
Twitch · YouTube · since mid-2010sA Canadian online pro and one of the most popular early poker streamers, known for long, friendly tournament streams on Twitch from around 2015.
Why it matters: Part of the first wave that turned streaming into a career path for poker players.
Lex Veldhuis
Twitch · YouTube · since late 2010sA Dutch pro whose high-energy tournament streams became some of the most watched poker channels on Twitch. His stream of the 2020 PokerStars SCOOP Main Event peaked at 58,799 viewers, a record for a poker streamer at the time.
Why it matters: Brought a big new audience to online tournament poker, and to poker as live entertainment.
Spraggy (Ben Spragg)
Twitch · YouTube · since late 2010sA British streamer known for fun, fast online tournament streams and community events.
Why it matters: Showed that a poker stream can win viewers with personality and community, not only high stakes.
Vloggers
Short films from real sessions and the life of a poker player, mostly from live cash games.
Andrew Neeme
YouTube · since 2016A Las Vegas cash-game pro who filmed his own sessions and life as a poker player in short vlogs.
Why it matters: One of the first live-poker vloggers. The format he helped start became one of the most popular kinds of poker content.
Brad Owen
YouTube · since late 2010sFunny, well-edited vlogs from live cash games, mostly in Las Vegas, from small stakes to big.
Why it matters: Grew one of the biggest poker channels on YouTube and inspired many players to start their own vlogs.
Rampage (Ethan Yau)
YouTube · since early 2020sA young vlogger who documented his climb from low stakes to the biggest live-streamed cash games.
Why it matters: Showed a new generation a fast rise through the stakes, told on camera.
Daniel Negreanu
YouTube · podcasts · since late 2010sOne of the best-known tournament players in history, who filmed vlogs from the World Series of Poker and other big events.
Why it matters: Brought viewers behind the scenes at the biggest tournaments from the point of view of a top pro.
Strategy channels
Coaches and pros who teach on YouTube, from free basics to deep theory.
Doug Polk
YouTube · podcasts · since mid-2010sA heads-up specialist who made strategy videos and poker news commentary, and co-founded the Upswing Poker training site in 2015. In 2020–21 he beat Daniel Negreanu in a public high-stakes heads-up challenge over 25,000 hands, winning about $1.2 million.
Why it matters: Made serious strategy content popular on YouTube, and his heads-up challenge was one of the most-followed matches of the era.
Jonathan Little
YouTube · podcasts · books · since 2010sA tournament pro and coach with a large library of free strategy videos, podcasts and books, and the PokerCoaching.com training site.
Why it matters: One of the most widely used sources of free tournament strategy.
Bart Hanson
YouTube · podcasts · since 2010sA live cash-game coach and commentator, known for Crush Live Poker and for commentating live-streamed cash games.
Why it matters: Focused strategy content on live cash games, which most training had ignored.
Podcasts and news
Interviews, news and debate about the poker world.
Joey Ingram
YouTube · podcasts · since 2010sA podcaster and YouTuber who interviews players and covers poker news. In 2019 his videos analysing a live-streamed cash game helped bring a major cheating scandal to light.
Why it matters: Showed the power of the poker community, and of online video, to hold the game to account.
Coming soon: creators from Asia and Europe who stream and vlog in their own languages.
Frequently asked questions
Who made poker popular on Twitch?
Jason Somerville is widely credited with making poker a hit on Twitch in the mid-2010s, together with early full-time streamers such as Jaime Staples. Lex Veldhuis and Spraggy later built some of the biggest poker channels on the platform.
Who started poker vlogging?
Andrew Neeme and Brad Owen were among the first live-poker vloggers in the late 2010s, filming their own cash-game sessions in Las Vegas. Their format inspired hundreds of other vloggers.
Where can I learn poker strategy for free on YouTube?
Strategy channels such as Jonathan Little's and Doug Polk's have large libraries of free videos, and Bart Hanson focuses on live cash games. Start with our free Poker 101 guide if you are new.
What is the difference between a poker streamer and a vlogger?
A streamer broadcasts live, usually online sessions on Twitch, and talks with viewers in real time. A vlogger films live sessions and edits them into short videos for YouTube.