Earning a one-word name is a sign you’ve made it in a chosen niche. Sting, Oprah, Snoop – each hold a legendary role in their respective lanes. Poker has a few — Doyle, Daniel, and Chino.
Chino Rheem has had about of a legendary career as you can have in gambling. He’s crossed generations – he sat with the old school playing with Doyle and Chip, and now he’s beating up on the new school at the PokerGO Studio.
On Sunday, he finds himself in Day 2 of the World Poker Tour Choctaw Championship with a decent stack. He has about 50 players to fade to collect his 13th cash and is one of six players to win three WPT titles.
In the last six months, Rheem won $1.65 million and we had to know if something new school clicked in his old school game.
“In tournaments? I have?” he asked. “Let’s fucking go!”
So, the new school theory of solvers, GTO, and studying data was thrown out the window in the first 20 seconds of the interview.
“To be honest, I’ve been losing in the Studio lately,” Rheem said. “I’ve had a lot of success there and I really like playing there. It’s a great environment and there’s good camaraderie with the guys. It’s good to beat high-level players and have good competition.”
While most of the field is glued to their tables and cards, Rheem sits side-saddle in his chair with the lion's share of his attention on the Cleveland vs. Orlando playoff game on the big screen.
Playing for today
Chasing titles and maximizing value in every moment isn’t Rheem’s motivation anymore. So, he’s not playing for a fourth title anymore, he’s playing for today.
“Yeah, I’m not really (playing for titles),” he said. "Don’t get me wrong, I do want to win a (WSOP) bracelet to get that monkey off my back. I’ve always said that I play for the money.”
While he’s still playing for money, he goes about in different ways than in the past. “I try to learn and get better every day,” he said. “I learn from hands and I’m grateful that I have good friends that are knowledgeable in poker.”
“I talk through hands and spots with them,” said Rheem. “They can criticize me on what I need to work on and study.”
Facing criticism is nothing new for Rheem. His lows in the game were often fodder for 2+2 trolls. But 20 years in the game armored Rheem against critics and he’s gained a lot of wisdom over the last couple of years.
If Rheem could go back in time and talk to “poker boom Chino,” what would he tell his younger self?
“Don’t do drugs,” he said bluntly. “Be more responsible outside of poker with your life – be more balanced.”
“If you lose, just accept it,” he added. “You don’t have to get back your losses the next day. Stop chasing it and stay in the flow.”
All photos courtesy of WPT – shot by Enrique Malfavon
