Kyle Birdwell is from Texas, had a major role in a $1 million win this week, and is not, as far as we know, a Buddhist. This will be important later.
He is also in the money in in the 2024 WPT World Championship with 298 other people. He is not close to the leader's stack. That guy, Malcolm Trayner (pictured above) has nearly 3.3 million chips worth 218 big blinds tomorrow. Birdwell has nowhere near that, and he's still smiling. We'll get back to him in a second.
At the close of play on Day 2, 299 players remained in the World Championship. All of them had just slipped into the money after Ernest Bush busted out on the bubble. Left among the remaining field are countless superstars of the game: David "ODB" Baker, Scott Stewart (who ended Ernest Bush's tournament), Preston McEwen, Calvin Anderson, Mikita Badziakouski, Maria Konnikova, Jon Van Fleet, Nate Silver, and many more.
Watch the World Championship Bubble
Back to Birdwell
The man from Fort Worth carries himself like a Texan, all the way down to the Aggies ballcap he's pulled down on his head. No one at his table – not Vince Van Patten, not Mark Seif, and maybe not even Birdwell himself – knows just how close to inner peace he has come.
Mudita, a word that doesn't typically get tossed around at Dallas Cowboys games, is the Buddhist concept of "sympathetic joy." Put another way, it's the ability to feel happy for someone's joy when most people would be feeling envy. And, boy-howdy, has Birdwell had every opportunity to practice that over the past few days.
As he waited for the money bubble to pop in the 2024 WPT World Championship, Birdwell's sizable stack ran into a buzzsaw not once but twice. Meanwhile, TV cameras with boom mics and lights hovered over his table as Vince Van Patten and Mark Seif relived 22 years of WPT memories...loudly. Birdwell smiled through it all.
The whole time you'd hardly have known Birdwell had been punched in the face with bad fortune and good luck so many times this week he should be in the concussion protocol.
If you have been following coverage of the World Championship, you likely saw Chase Bricker win the ClubWPT Gold $5 million Invitational for more than $1 million. What you might not have seen was the face of the man who convinced Bricker to chase a seat in the event. That guy?
Here's a hint: he's not a Buddhist.
A friend, indeed
Like a lot of the Texas crew with which Bricker and Birdwell roll, the boys have a competitive streak.
"We had a little bit of a competitive race against each other going into the freeroll," Birdwell said during Day 2 of the World Championship.
Birdwell had his seat to the Invitational and badgered Bricker to try to win his. Bricker ultimately failed to win a seat but followed Birdwell to Vegas anyway. There, Bricker pulled a free seat in a raffle and went on to win the entire thing. Birdwell? He played two hands and was the first person to bust out. Cool story...sort of, but it didn't really help Birdwell in the lifetime earnings race the boys are in.
"I had a $20,00 lead over him as far as career earnings, and now he has $980,000 over me," Birdwell said. "So, it would be nice to catch up and see if I can go back ahead of him."
To do that, Birdwell would have to play the World Championship, something he'd not planned to do...until his buddy won $1 million.
"I'm in because Chase won," Birdwell said. "We made that agreement. So, now he's sweating me."
A Bird(well) of a different feather
Kyle Birdwell is a poker player and entrepreneur with more than $300,000 in live poker earnings. He has two WSOP Circuit rings...and, apparently, the spirit of a Buddhist.
To wit: imagine you spend all of your energy convincing your buddy to try to get into a poker tournament and that buddy drags his feet and complains the whole time. Then when he finally gets in, you bust out first, and he becomes a millionaire.
Birdwell? Well, he went to the bar and made sure his buddy had a beverage for his winner interview. Where envy could have taken over, Birdwell had joy for his buddy. And buddy Birdwell might not be a Buddhist, but he can manage mudita with the best of them.
"I was really excited for him. It's always fun to see players from Fort Worth and Dallas crushing out here," Birdwell said.
Birdwell will have work to do to catch up to the lead pack when the remaining 299 players return on Day 3 at 12pm. All it will take is one double for Birdwell to be right back in it.
In the meantime, he's notched at least a $20,000 cash. If he can somehow pick up another $960,000 this weekend, he and Chase Bricker will be tied again, and the karmic balance will be restored...until next time.
All photos courtesy WPT
