NHS Grad Finds Success on Poker's Biggest Stage

As the song says, "You never count your money when you're sittin' at the table, there'll be time enough for countin' when the dealin's done." For 2003 Niwot High School graduate and current professional poker player Adam DeMersseman, the dealing at this year's World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event is done. The count? A cool $262,300 in prize money and bragging rights as one of the top tournament players in the world.

DeMersseman survived a grueling 7 days at the Main Event this July, taking 30th place out of a staggering 8,663 players – the second largest field in WSOP history.

A recently minted professional poker player, DeMersseman began his pro poker journey in 2017 at the age of 33 while living in San Diego, CA. "When I was 33, I finally had patience," he said. "I started playing $60 tournaments at Ocean's 11 Casino every day, then moved to $240 tournaments on the weekends in Los Angeles."

After a year of grinding out these smaller, local tournaments, DeMersseman built up the skill and bankroll to enter his first two $1,000 tournaments. He finished third and second, respectively, winning over $100,000 in the process. After spending a few years honing his skills, he finally took the plunge and moved to Las Vegas in 2021 to be closer to the action.

A tournament specialist who eschews cash games, DeMersseman credits his success playing poker to patience and preparation. It also helps that he's no stranger to competition. A standout baseball and football player during his tenure at Niwot High School, he was starting at catcher and batting cleanup for the NHS varsity baseball team as a sophomore. "I try to prepare for poker tournaments the way an athlete would," said DeMersseman. "I train for them and take them very seriously."

He routinely wakes two-and-a-half hours prior to the first deal to go through a methodical pre-tournament routine, and makes sure any distractions are minimized. "Poker tournaments are not for everyone," he said, "but for me, they're very healthy. I get really regimented and have to make sure my whole life is in order. I can't have anything lingering or have a to-do list I'm ignoring."

For those who are considering diving into the world of poker tournaments, DeMersseman's advice is fairly straightforward. Get used to long hours and playing on short sleep, play good cards and position, and don't bluff away your chips. More than anything, patience is the key. "I should have been eliminated five times on day two alone, and would have been if I was playing three years ago" DeMersseman said, "but I made solid folds in some big spots where the majority of players would have called."

In the Main Event, even solid play and patience has its limit, and after outlasting 8,633 players, his luck took a turn. DeMersseman called an all-in with a vastly superior hand of Ace/10 versus his opponent's 10/9, but a 9 came on the river and that, as they say, was that. With his chip stack critically reduced, it was a short time before he was forced all-in and his terrific run on poker's biggest stage was complete.

It's clear from his results and his dedication that recent success is the tip of the iceberg for DeMersseman. His coaches, former 2015 WSOP Main Event winner Jo McKeehen and current Global Poker Index #1 player in the world, Chance Kornuth, help him keep his success in perspective. "With coaches like mine, I get humbled all the time," he said, "but as far as my tournament career, I think I'm just getting started."