Images courtesy of the World Series of Poker
Poker’s best players don’t just master one discipline but are always open to many. One such tournament and cash game crusher, Andy Stacks, is a former star of Game of Gold and has recently fallen in love with tournaments after previously crushing at cash.
We sat down with Andy to talk about how GTO has affected the game he’s grown up playing and how tournaments and cash games can fulfill different aspects of a poker player’s love for the game.
The Main Event Man
We catch up with Andy amid a frantic period in his tournament-traveling life, with the WSOP Super Circuit Series heading to Canada and the Playground Poker Club in Montreal. Going deep in the Main Event, he has thoroughly enjoyed the series and his first trip to the City known as The 514 to its locals.
Seeing the WSOP brand come to Montreal and Playground is awesome, Andy says. It’s also my first time in Montreal, so this was the perfect reason to fly out. I was down to just 11 big blinds on Day 1, so being able to spin it back up and make a deep run was incredibly exciting.
I also finished 108th in the WSOP Main Event in Vegas this summer, so to follow that up with another deep run so soon in such a prestigious event felt pretty special.
Andy’s run to the latter stages of this year’s WSOP Main Event in Vegas was impressive. Having dropped super short on Day 3, surviving on and on into multiple more days felt surreal.
I felt like I was freerolling in a sense after coming back from being so short, but that didn’t mean I was going to start taking unnecessary risks. With my last deep Main Event run ending on Day 5 in 2019, I really wanted to challenge myself to make it further and beat my own record.
Despite being all-in and at risk on many occasions, Andy credits himself with preparing for the worst yet focusing on staying in the right headspace to positively adapt to survival on each occasion.
Every time I was all in and at risk, I mentally prepared myself to fully accept whatever the outcome was. But I’ll admit, getting set over set and having the whole run end on one hand was still heartbreaking.
Is Cash Still King?
After so many years playing cash games, Andy Stacks has become a superb tournament poker player. He appreciates both disciplines, but I wanted to know what drives him on in the game more in the future now that he has won big in both tournament poker and huge cash games.
With the direction high stakes cash games have been going, I’ve gradually lost a lot of interest in continuing to compete in them. There are many reasons for that, which I’ve talked about in more depth on several podcasts that you can find on my YouTube channel. Fortunately, tournaments have reignited that interest.
While he is nowhere near as experienced in playing professional poker tournaments, Andy tells me that his lack of edge has actually inspired him far more than it has daunted him and is keeping the game of poker fresh.
I’m actually enjoying the idea of starting from scratch and relearning tournament strategy, including all the things I never knew before. The difference between the two formats is so vast, and it’s been fascinating to watch a form of poker that was once completely foreign to me and try to figure it out now. As I always say, decisions are more interesting when you can’t reload.
Cash games are often live-streamed in 2026, and coverage of these streams has attracted millions of viewers to the game of poker. Despite their obvious polarity, Andy sees some areas in which the content could be improved.
I understand why side games like stand-up or squid game are popular, he says. They’re great for creating action. But I think we’ve seen enough of them that I’d like to see more of the traditional cash game format and the strategy that comes with it.
Far from this more traditional outlook diminishing action, Andy believes it naturally creates more space for moves, like the metaphorical widening of the Formula 1 tracks allows for cars to overtake more freely.
I’d like to see some of the side games dialed back and more emphasis on the kind of poker that gives players room to make decisions postflop, rather than so much of the gambling style preflop all-ins.
Game of Gold and Beyond GTO
It feels as fresh as ever to re-watch, but it’s now several years since Game of Gold became one of the most watched poker shows ever on YouTube, attracting vast audiences and producing thrilling drama in every episode. Andy, who participated in Season 1, was brilliant to watch, and his dry but often cutting observations were a standout memory of the show.
The whole experience was unlike anything I’d done in poker before, says Andy. I’m really glad I was one of the contestants who got to experience such a unique and fresh concept for a poker reality show. My bustout was definitely painful, though, especially after making it to the later stages and seeing so many players get eliminated!
Andy confesses that he had high hopes of making a deep run and potentially winning it all, but he’d still sign up to a reboot the second someone handed him a pen.
I haven’t heard of any immediate plans for Season 2, but if they do bring it back, I’d definitely love the opportunity to return. I think adding more twists and different poker variants could make the format even more interesting and unpredictable for everyone involved.
In 2026, one of the best ways to bring people together in poker is by playing in Meet-up Games, or ‘MUGs’. Both the eight-time WSOP bracelet winner Daniel Negreanu and the 2025 WSOP Main Event champion Michael Mizrachi played in them at the recent WSOP Super Circuit Series in Montreal.
I think they’re great for growing the game. Fans of poker from all walks of life, regardless of what format or stakes they play, get the opportunity to meet some of the guys who got them interested in poker in the first place, interact with them, and even compete against them.
In other sports, players of amateur level simply don’t get to associate with those who are levels above them. You can’t rock up to a football pitch and share it with Lionel Messi. A random scratch golfer won’t get the chance to tee off with Rory McIlroy. But poker players attending MUGs really do get to play with their heroes.
For someone who plays the game recreationally, having the chance to sit at the same table as players they’ve followed for years is a pretty unique opportunity. Ultimately, poker is a social game, and MUGs are a great way to bring the poker community together.
GTO is obviously here to stay, but as someone who has both studied GTO and can see the benefits of playing against it, I wanted to know if Andy thinks it is largely a positive or negative for those looking to start playing the game on a recreational level.
I don’t think GTO is detrimental to the game. I think it only becomes detrimental when players start discussing it nonstop at the table after every hand and making others feel self-conscious about their play, or worried that their decisions are being judged against what’s considered ‘correct’.
That added social pressure can take some of the fun out of the game for players. Maybe save the GTO talk for away from the table and let’s talk about literally anything else!
Andy is one of the most sociable players in poker. With Montreal ticked off his bucket list, it won’t be long before he pitches up somewhere else in the world to play the game he continues to love.
