This week, the World Series of Poker action has been hotter than one of Boston Rob’s barbs on The Traitors. Harrah’s Pompano Beach Casino is the venue for players to battle for a WSOP Circuit ring and hundreds of thousands of dollars. With the $2,200-entry High Roller event fast approaching, we spoke to one of the most consistent winners in comparable events over the past two decades, Chris Conrad, a.k.a. the self-titled ‘Biloxi Bomber’.
An Affable Hero
“Hard work doesn’t always show in live tournament poker.”
Playing a poker tournament set on Pompano Beach is a popular pursuit for many players this month, with many trying their hand in dozens of poker tournaments at Harrah’s. With seven WSOP Circuit rings, 253 WSOP cashes and over $1.23 million of his $1.7m career earnings coming in WSOP events, Chris Conrad will be one of the favorites at the felt.
Heading into a tournament in good form is always important to a poker professional, as Chris has been for the best part of two decades. He approaches the action with a WSOP circuit win as recently as last August, so has a confidence boost in his locker.
“Live poker had been a struggle for me for through last summer of WSOP,” Chris admits. “Cherokee has always been my happy place both on and off the felt. That win in August in the 6-Max was a confidence boost. I know lots of kids put in a lot of work, and I’ve done my work since COVID. But hard work doesn’t always show in live poker. The amount of tournaments you can play versus online is such a small sample size. But August propelled me into a couple of other deep runs including the $10,000 Wynn in December and just recently the $3,500 at the Hollywood Hard Rock.”
Chris’ result for $50,000 in the WPT World Championships at the Wynn in late 2024 was a result that boosted not only his own bankroll, but that of PokerStake investors, too. Despite his steady success, Chris himself still feels that he has a lot to prove.
“My career in live poker has been an underachievement to best summarize it,” he tells us. “I haven’t had a six-figure score in over 10 years. Poker has got tougher since my glory days but also variance also hasn’t been on my side in key moments. I don’t grind live poker stop-to-stop as in my younger days, but I’ve put in more live work in the last two years than in the previous five.”
Playing High Rollers and Handling Pressure
“Better structures allow me to find better spots rather than having to get short.”
Playing in a high roller event always comes with greater pressure for some players. They could be reaching out of their usual bankroll, playing outside their comfort zone and not used to the smaller fields. That’s not the case with Chris, however, and he has a great record in them as a consequence.
“I think more of my success in high rollers has everything to do with better structures and longer levels,” he says. “Obviously, smaller fields will have more opportunities to do better than the small buy-in big fields. But better structures allow me to find better spots rather than having to get short and take the higher variant spots.”
Chris says that he treats every tournament the same in terms of his preparations, reviewing hands before any online session or any live tournament he plays.
“Knowing people at the table is common whether it’s a small field or big field when you’ve been around for nearly 20 years in this industry. I generally treat all tournaments the same regardless of buy-in, trying to make the same decisions in a $55 online tourney as I would a $25,000-entry high roller.
Chris says that the only difference in terms of high rollers to other events is selling action to tournaments and that’s a pure bankroll management equation. A crucial part of winning at high rollers isn’t just making the money but reaching the podium places where pay-jumps can mean the difference between profit and loss.
“There are many stages of the tournaments and different ICM situations that correlate to those stages,” says Chris. “Generally, making it past late registration, people play differently as they do on the bubble of money and bubbles of bagging. But the biggest ICM decisions come at the final two table. Payouts always matter and some brands pay out higher percentages and higher min-cashes. All those [elements] factor into different strategies.”
Happy Memories of High Rollers
Chris says that his fondest memory of a high roller came very recently in his two-decade career at the professional poker felt.
“My fondest recent memory is definitely last December’s Wynn WPT World Championships, coasting $10,000. Busting 76th late on Day 3 was disappointing but it was a fun ride while it lasted. Playing on the feature table where friends and family got to watch and support me was a good experience.”
Across an industry where Chris has so many friends, playing against tough players is par for the course. There’s one fellow high roller he respects more than most, however.
“There are lots of good players out there but Josh Reichard has to be one of the best players out there. Josh is able to play lots of pots and stay highly involved while most have no clue what part of his range is.”
With a raft of high rollers on the horizon, selling action to big events on PokerStake has helped Chris and made it more fun for his fans along the way, as well as his superstar photographer partner, Katerina Lukina. Chris is loving his PokerStake journey.
“Selling action on PokerStake has been amazing!” he says. “What Josh has done here with his team is amazing. I think it’s very easy from a players point of view and I’m also a customer, buying action and supporting others. It’s always fun to be able to have a big – or cheap! sweat of a friend or poker idol.”
As he prepares for the 16th event of the Harrah’s WSOP Circuit festival, the $2,200-entry high roller, Chris is selling to his own fans via his official PokerStake selling page. With a $100,000 guaranteed prizepool, it might not just be Chris winning big… but you too if you invest in his high roller journey!
