PokerStars Pro Joe Cada to Defend WSOP Title

Last year Joe Cada took eight and half million dollars away from the table at the World Series of Poker Main Event. Joe played 16 events in all, and his Main Event haul is the third highest WSOP winnings ever, following Jamie Gold’s $12 million and Peter Eastgate’s take of $9 million. This year, according to news reports, Joe intends to play in twenty events, and he is aiming to defend his Main Event bracelet.

In the old TV show, “The Millionaire,” the fictitious millionaire John Bearsford Tipton gave people $1 million tax-free to see how it would affect their lives. Too often, it seemed, the money changed the way the people lived. By contrast, Cada is still playing; he is active as a Team PokerStars Pro, only half a year after winning poker’s biggest title.

This says something about the man and something about the player. It is not uncommon for success to go to a person’s head, or for them to get distracted after winning a huge pot. The current WSOP champ is still at it, playing a lot of poker and living the same life he led before last November. This is the sort of balance and composure that one sees in winners.

Cada has said in interviews that he is going to enter 20 events this year at the WSOP, increasing from last year’s 16. Of course, he will be playing Texas Hold’em with the intention of defending his title at the Main Event next November. Every indication is that the champ has his game in order for this year’s WSOP.