High-stakes killer Chance Kornuth has delivered two seven-figure cashes in the past two WSOPs. Even though million-dollar payouts more than pay the bills, many players feel WSOP bracelets measure their legacies in the game. Kornuth captured his fourth in the $1,000 buy-in Flip & Go event this summer. He's 62nd on the Hendon Mob all-time money list with over $18M in tournament winnings, but what makes the founder of Chip Leader Coaching tick?
What's the most unusual place you’ve played poker?
The most unusual place was on a yacht in the Bahamas during a PokerStars Caribbean Adventure. This game was years and years ago. I’ve played in high rises and casinos for private games worldwide. But playing on a yacht just stands out in my mind.
What is your go-to food while playing poker?
It’s kind of a two-part answer. For dinner, it is almost always sushi. It’s the only thing I can eat without going into a food coma. That’s important when you’re playing poker. While I’m playing, it’s usually a healthy snack. It’s essential to ensure you can mentally perform at your highest level. I find having heavy meals while playing makes it harder to think.
Given total power, what is the one thing you would change in the poker world?
I would probably eliminate all bots, data mining, and things like that in poker. The way the online landscape has changed over the years is very unfortunate. I wish that it wasn’t a thing at all. You can still play online. And it can be profitable. But it sucks that you have to worry about those things and have your win rate impacted in general.
Name one poker rule you hate.
In heads-up pots, you can’t talk about your hand. Even in online poker, you can send emojis or something like that. You should be able to speak during a hand, as some people are really good at it. And some people are terrible at it. But I think in live poker, that element of information is really fun, and controlling what people can and can’t do in that regard is not good.
What most inspires you in your day-to-day life?
To become better and better each day as a person and a player. My daughter inspires me. And to make sure I can support her financially in the long term. But I also want to exemplify what a good man should be. So, when she is looking for a partner in the future, she has an example of what that would look and act like in a man.
You write some very short poker and life wisdom on your X feed. What drives you to do that most days?
I enjoy posting those messages on Twitter/X and being a head coach on Chip Leader Coaching, which inspires people. I love to see their success in the game. It all started with Alex Foxen back in the day. But even though he just won his second bracelet last week, I no longer consider him a student. He’s obviously a peer.
Also, our student, Ian Cohen, shipped a WSOP circuit main event and a ring for $193,000 last week. Then Dan Kozner shipped an online event for $75,000 for his first WSOP bracelet. Not every week is like that. But when you get to see these fantastic results from our students at CLC, it’s gratifying.
Kornuth co-founded the popular training site Chip Leader Coaching at www.clcpoker.com. Follow Kornuth on X and Instagram.
Additional image courtesy of WPT.
