Additional reporting by Mike Patrick.
This week delivered a third World Series of Poker bracelet for John Racener, but it came in a month when another even more precious delivery took place.
“We had our 3rd boy on Memorial Day, about 2 weeks ago,” Racener told PokerOrg’s Mike Patrick, immediately following his victory in the $1,500 Super Turbo Bounty. “It’s been a lot of emotions. I really wanted to be here at the World Series, but I love being at home with my family and kids. I’ve never wanted to be at two places at the same time like this in my entire life.”
Florida-based Racener has been coming to the WSOP since long before the days of parenthood, racking up cashes with astonishing regularity. His first series with multiple cashes was back in 2007, but when it comes to running deep there are few accomplishments to match his 2017 series.
Back then he cashed in no fewer than 17 different WSOP events, and ended up just missing out on the Player of the Year honors to Chris Ferguson.
‘Missing out’ could have potentially become a theme of his career, given his deepest run in the Main Event ended with a heads-up defeat to Jonathan Duhamel (above) in 2010. But Racener is not the type to look back in anger. He’s gone on to cash in every WSOP, every year since. Even the recent arrival of his new son, Reed, could only postpone his arrival in Las Vegas.
“I was very anxious to get out here,” he confessed. "I got here yesterday. My first tournament was today, right out of the gate. I told my wife I was excited and anxious to get here. I'm so excited right now.”
Three boys, three bracelets
“It's 4:30am back home,” Racener said, with his Tuesday midnight victory in the bag. “I just called them. I told her, ‘If I call, you better answer me, it's good news!’. But her and the baby are sound asleep, I guess, which is also good.”
With the energy levels of anyone with a newborn at home, Racener’s choice of his first WSOP event of the summer was a wise one: the super-turbo plays to a finish in one day, even if doing so with a starting field of 2,232 runners may look all but impossible.
He was not the only bracelet winner to go deep — the likes of Shaun Deeb, Jesse Lonis, Steve Zolotow and Nacho Barbero all survived the bubble, while JC Tran joined him at the final table. Tran eventually bowed out in 4th, and Racener would eventually find himself heads-up with Israel’s Liran Betito, playing beneath a banner bearing the smiling face of Jonathan Duhamel, Racener’s vanquisher back in the 2010 Main Event.
When the end came, it was not a pre-flop shove that sealed the deal, but a cannily played hand that saw Racener flop top pair and turn a second pair, while his opponent suffered an unfortunate runout that saw him flop a pair and improve to an inferior two-pair on the river.
But those are just details. What counts is that Racener arrived in town at the right time and played the right game — as he so often does. He’ll be bringing a third bracelet home to celebrate the arrival of his third son.
“His name's Reed, another poker term, like you ‘get a read on somebody’. We have three boys: one's named River, as in ‘on the river’ and then there’s Remington — I won a Remington Trophy in the Commerce before.”
For everyone's sake, let's hope he's not a Badugi fan.
So, now Racener’s off the mark at the 2025 WSOP, but if we know one thing about him, it’s that he doesn’t just play, or cash, one event. We asked: what’s the plan? And has it changed now he has an extra $247,595 in his pocket?
“The plan was, come until the 20th, so I have about 10-11 days right now, then go home and get my wife's temperature on maybe coming back once or twice more.
“One of the options was to come back for the Main and then stay the remainder; the other option was to come back for the $50K [Poker Players Championship], then maybe go home and then come back again for the Main.
“It’s a lot of traveling but I don't care, man. I won't sleep. I'll be fatigued, but if I can be with them one day and playing a tournament the next day at the World Series, I'll be so happy.”
A smile, a bracelet and a happy family. If anyone’s ‘missing out’, it’s certainly not John Racener.
