Tyler Blevins, also known as Ninja, has rediscovered his passion for poker after his recent appearance at Hustler Casino Live.
Hustler Casino Live’s recent poker stream turned stars into non-poker players and proved that even global legends like Phil Hellmuth and Tom Dwan were beaten for a short period of time at a lively table.
With online legends like the “MrBeast” YouTube sensation, chess superstar Alexandra Botez and extraordinary cash game player Alan Keating taking their seats, it would be easy to take a back seat. One player who would never do that, however, was video game legend Ninja, also known as Tyler Blevins.
Reach the heights in the Hustler game
“It gave me a lot of confidence and I played better all night.”
Sitting in the $ 100 / $ 200 unlimited hold’em game, the Fortnite legend made a net profit, with a return of $ 144,300, included in this dramatic hand.
I still can’t believe this happened last night … @phil_hellmuth pic.twitter.com/GjsrWBXoro
– Ninja (@Ninja) May 2, 2022
After the event, Blevins told us that the reaction on hand, via Twitter, Tik Tok and other social media has been amazing.
“I haven’t participated in a moment like this in a long time!” He said. “I was very lucky to be with Hellmuth. He was helping me with some of the decisions I was making. I almost never called a draw and I was proud of myself. He was giving me a lot of positive reinforcement after some My plays gave me a lot of confidence and I played better all night. “
After the game, Blevins took to Twitter and offered the image of poker with the most memes of the year to date.
New meme template. Twitter make your pic.twitter.com/iUmxu79E4X
– Ninja (@Ninja) May 2, 2022
Hellmuth and Blevins behaved like a burning house and the feeling was mutual, as we discovered when we contacted Hellmuth this week. The Poker Brat confirmed to us that the two men will meet again soon.
“We had to talk before we started; he talked to me about his charity events and I thought it was amazing,” Blevins says. “Then he told me why he was known. I said, ‘Don’t worry about it man, I’m exploding all the time too!’
Ninja’s plan works
“I found a new passion because winning or losing was a lot of fun for me.”
If the other players had expected Blevins to arrive simply in hopes of having fun, they would have underestimated the game’s legend.
“I went there so as not to lose,” he says. “I told my friends I was trying not to be the first to come out. In the back of my head, I said, ‘I could win this.’ There were players who could kick Phil out, and Alexandra was one. that this was happening, I thought I could do well if I read people and played smart. “
It turned out that Blevins did just that. Winning six figures may have been slightly below the $ 400,000 winnings that both Botez and Jimmy ‘MrBeast’ Donaldson took home, but it was an impressive performance.
“Keating and Mr. Beast were going all out [a lot]. I was sitting there thinking, “One of these guys will make me a beacon.” If I played at an elite board of eight or nine more players, it would probably hurt me, but it would be a learning experience. I found a new passion because winning or losing was a lot of fun that night. “
Ninja always smiles at the poker table and his personality seems made for the game.
Blevins and his background in … poker?
Blevins may be known by his nickname Fortnite Ninja, but he actually played poker long before he grabbed a game controller and made his way to notoriety. When I was a teenager, poker was on TV all the time. The boy who would probably become the most famous player in the world idolized Phil Ivey and Doyle Brunson among others. However, his first plans to play the game were in trouble.
“We dismantled the ping-pong table and bought legitimate poker chips,” he laughs. “We’ll have $ 5 or $ 10 shopping with all our friends. In his day, he would do stupid tricks for a draw of stairs or color, even if it wasn’t open.
Blevins showed no such ingenuity in the Hustler stream, perhaps because of the memories of his first experience playing poker when he was young.
“There was a year or two when I was paying attention and I was never good!” he describes. “I was lucky and I always went to the draws. I would need a club and call 500 tokens, don’t! I won one in ten games and thought it was good enough. I played online for a while and I was beaten. “
Back to the Game
“I don’t consider playing poker.”
More than a decade may seem like a long time to pause the game, especially since it was during that time that poker experienced its greatest period of growth in poker. During this time, Blevins became a ‘Ninja’, crushed Fortnite and changed the game as an industry. In short, Ninja is the most popular streamer in history in the most definitive video game of recent times. It is his competitive advantage that he believes has made him return to poker.
“I’m fine, but I don’t like losing money,” he admits. “I don’t like playing so much. I’m having fun and I don’t plan on playing poker. I definitely want to play more now. “
Blevins has a renewed passion for the game from which he moved away as a young man. In fact, she’s already playing online, but you still won’t see her characteristic blue hair and her wide Detroit smile on any avatar … yet.
“I’m going to be anonymous right now,” he says with a smile. “I already signed up for a poker website and now I have $ 2,500. I bought for $ 1,000 and have up to $ 3,500 playing around $ 10 / $ 20. It’s really cool. “
Which Fortnite players could play poker?
Ninja has many offers to return to poker action.
“He probably plays a bit like Phil Hellmuth.”
If you watch Fortnite, you’ll know that Ninja is a good friend of many other very popular video game players. In large numbers, Ninja followers are millions on YouTube and social media channels. His videos have garnered a total of 2.490 million views on YouTube alone. But who else in your world could join the poker party?
“I think SypherPK and CouRageJD could play,” he says. “I know Courage plays poker and Sypher is very analytical, although he can be overly thoughtful. He probably plays a bit like Phil Hellmuth. He was looking [Hellmuth] all night and I don’t think he came in unless he was sitting very nice. He was very methodical with his hands playing and I was able to pick a couple of Fortnite players that were like that. “
Blevins has had great feedback from the poker community, with Hellmuth one of many looking for Blevins to regain his ‘Ninja’ skills very soon. It seems like the legend of the game is as passionate about it as his new poker teammates.
“I am very happy and able to take advantage of the experience. I really felt like I did well thanks to my gaming experience. Let’s just say I’m very happy right now. “
Could Ninja Play World Series of Poker? It would not surprise us that it happens, and whether you win or lose, something is guaranteed. The man known as Ninja will always play with a smile on his face.
