button in SafariIs This 20-Year-Old With Two WSOP Wins the Next Big Thing in Poker?
Table Of Contents
Joseph Olivieri has two WSOP Circuit rings and seven SHRP titles, and he isn't even old enough to play poker in most U.S. poker rooms.
At age 20, Olivieri has already accomplished more than many longtime poker players. He has $300,000 in earnings and is consistently running deep in tournaments all around the world. But he isn't taking the traditional route to success — he mostly plays mixed games.
The young poker player who appears to have a bright future ahead said he started in poker at age 16 dealing in local home games in North Carolina. He took a liking to the game while in high school.
"I was going to home games just to hangout with my dad," Olivieri said.
Olivieri played football and rugby growing up. But he began to focus on poker late in his high school years more than studying, he admits. His early high school days were right smack dab in the heart of the pandemic, and he didn't care much for the online classes he was forced into taking due to the COVID shutdowns.
"Once I started playing poker, I just really didn't care much about school," he admitted.
More Focused on Poker Than School
College wasn't going to be an option after high school, but he wasn't going to be forced into the working world either — he'd developed a skillset in poker that was about to make him some money.
The only problem for the up-and-comer is he's limited in where he can play until he turns 21 in March. He can't play locally in North Carolina, but he's found success at Seminole Hard Rock in Hollywood, Florida where the gambling age is 18.
Olivieri has already racked up seven Seminole Hard Rock Poker (SHRP) wins in just 18 months. That's even more impressive when you consider longtime crusher Raminder Singh holds the record with 21 SHRP titles, and he's been playing in South Florida for many years.
Olivieri recently won his second WSOP Circuit ring in Texas, one of a few places he can play in the U.S. He took down Event #3: Pot-Limit Big O at TCH Social in Austin for $31,990, beating out some experienced grinders, including his heads-up opponent, Yuval Bronshtein, a World Series of Poker (WSOP) bracelet winner with over $4 million in live tournament cashes.
There aren't many under-20 American players in history who've posted such a resume in tournament poker. Don't expect him to go down the same path as many other young crushers who made a buck in poker and then bounced for another career path.
"I just think about playing this for a long time," Olivieri plans.
What's Next for Young Poker Star?
Olivieri isn't just playing poker to earn a living. He cares about winning titles and hopes to make a name for himself in this game. He wants to continue winning Circuit rings, and soon chasing WSOP bracelets, the most coveted piece of jewelry in poker.
The bracelet hunting will start in December at WSOP Paradise, as he can legally play in the Bahamas. Like all Circuit ring winners, he won a travel and ticket package into the series. He'll play a few events, but next summer is when he'll be heading to Las Vegas where he plans to "play a full schedule, mainly mixed events."
Mixed games is his focus, for now. Olivieri prefers tournaments, mostly because "if I were to play cash, I'd like to play mixed games, but there aren't many." But he doesn't despise No-Limit Hold'em, the most popular poker variant. In fact, NLH could be in the cards for him down the road.
"I definitely want to start getting into hold'em, playing some of the bigger hold'em stuff. But right now my focus is mixed games," he explained.
Olivieri hasn't just found success in his native country. The recent WSOPC ring winner has three Asian Poker Tour (APT) cashes, including one win, and he will head to Taiwan for the APT Championship in November.
No doubt the 20-year-old, at this rate, is on the right path to poker stardom. There are some new young stars in the game, including Lucas Jumalon, the second-youngest WSOP Main Event winner (22). Perhaps, Olivieri will top Jumalon next summer by becoming the youngest World Champion (Joe Cada holds the record when he won it in 2009 just weeks before his 22nd birthday, in case you wondered).
