Vanessa Kade was on top of the world after her $1.5 million win, but she hasn't been able to buy herself something nice with the proceeds yet. The laptop she wanted was out of stock and Amazon nixed her order for new jeans. These are just some of the troubles for one of poker's newest millionaires. All this is according to the AMA she did last night on Instagram.
She tweeted out "doing an ama on IG until I get sleepy," late last night.
Instead, she's been buying happiness by tipping generously to "people who seem like they need it or who were treated like shit in front of [her]." The biggest thing the win bought her though was freedom, which she views as "the most valuable asset."
It has been a pretty impressive couple of months for Vanessa Kade. A solid poker player and minor celebrity, she rose to sudden prominence when she called out GGPoker for hiring noted misogynist Dan Bilzerian. Bilzerian and GGPoker struck back, but only managed to Streisand-effect Kade's profile into overdrive. She became the face of feminism in poker.
Shortly after that, ACR signed Kade as their first new pro after Chris Moneymaker. Within weeks she won a 69,000-player tourney on Stars and became a millionaire for an evening's work clicking buttons.
Unfortunately, the AMA comes in Instagram's "story" format, so it won't be up for long. For anyone who missed it, here are the highlights.
Away from the felt
Has Kade's win turbo-charged her confidence at the table? Not so much.
"If you're wondering if I feel like the GOAT or invincible then no." She elaborates, explaining that players always make mistakes, no matter how good they are. And a run of cold cards can make anyone "feel like a fish."
But she's working with a coach to get more comfortable at the higher stakes she's now bankrolled for.
In the AMA, she also expands on what she gets up to in her personal life, away from the Twitch streams and the felt. Self-deprecation is a running theme. When asked "Why are you so beautiful?" Kade answers: "Filters mostly [...] remember social media is not real life."
That doesn't stop several questioners of all genders trying it on with her. "Are you gay like Daniel [Negreanu]?" one person asks, referencing an in-joke about a player in an online game who went off at her on a rant about Canadian players. "No," Kade responds. "But I'm one more shitty relationship away from it."
Other questioners proposed marriage, alcoholic drinks, and a secluded hike far away from potential witnesses.
At the moment though her only true love is chocolate (though her coach has her steering clear of that right now.)
Her list of hobbies is impressive: scuba, travel, photography, and gaming, at the moment. But a historical list includes: competitive softball, horseback riding, ice skating, staining glass, pottery, music (piano and violin), dance (jazz and ballet), sailing, archery, and yoga. She wanted to give parkour a go, but lessons were cut due to COVID.
She also speaks French but has "besoin de pratique," due to a lack of French speaking pals.
That's a lot of hobbies. One wonders how she finds time for poker, let alone Instagram AMAs.
Featured image source: Instagram
