The countdown to the 2026 WSOP starts here. 100 bracelets. The world's best players. And PokerOrg will be on the floor from start to finish.
Patrik Antonius is one of the most successful high-stakes cash game specialists in the game, both live and online. He received the WSOP Poker Hall of Fame award in 2024.
Are you doing any special preparation for the summer grind before traveling to Las Vegas for the WSOP?
Preparation for me always stays the same: I maintain a physical fitness regimen and adjust my sleep schedule to align with my cash game hours.
I've been on this extreme schedule in Vegas for the last three years. I get up between 5:30am and 6:30am and train, because we start playing cash games between 9am and 11am.
Do you plan to play only cash games this year? How about the Main Event?
I'm not playing the WSOP events. I haven't played those tournaments since 2007. I play so much poker. The tournament grind is just not for me.
But maybe I will play the Main Event. It's a tricky one. We usually have good cash games for those weeks. Who knows? If the cash games suddenly die, I’ll go play some tournaments.
Two years ago, you were inducted into The Poker Hall of Fame. What impact did it have on your life?
To be honest, it meant a lot to me, even though I never aimed to be a Hall of Famer. After so many years in the game, friends — especially top players — often asked, 'How the hell are you not in the Poker Hall of Fame?'
The Poker Hall of Fame award hasn't changed things much in my life. I keep living my dream life and still playing poker around the world on the biggest stages.
How did it feel to know how your peers feel about you and your career?
I felt great that I had been appreciated. You know, I love poker a lot. I care about the game and the industry, and I feel like I'm a good ambassador for poker. A lot of people have told me they started playing poker because of me. I inspire them.
But yes, it felt really good. And it feels wonderful to be in the Hall of Fame with this special group of people.
Tell us about your company - First Land of Poker.
FLOP took a real turn in 2024 — and that's where things got exciting. We went from a poker community app to the ultimate game maker for live poker rooms.
Waitlists running on their own, real-time visibility on every table, and your room discovered by our entire player community actively looking for action. FLOP connects both worlds and fills your tables consistently, automatically, with the right players at the right time.
To open up the US market, we're coming in strong with the FLOP Cash Game Tour, and I'll be personally hosting three days of cash game action.
I have to ask about your heads-up battle with Vladimir ‘Gambledore’ Korzinin for the 2024 Triton Invitational title and the over $5M first-place prize.
How can you not have a good time when you play with Gambledore? He has such energy that even if you lose a hand to him, you feel good. He was outplaying players a lot because of the unpredictability; I made a lot of mistakes in the tournament that I won against him.
He has a very unique way of approaching life and poker. It's almost incredible what happened when he came to play and the success he had. We all miss him at the Tritons. But I am sure he will be back at some point.
Patrik Antonius: The quickfire round
Follow Patrik on X and IG. For more info on FLOP visit their website.
The 2026 WSOP starts on May 26 and runs through August 5, when the Main Event champion will be crowned.
Images courtesy of Triton Poker.
