Jesse Cohen

Pennsylvania native Jesse Cohen is the definition of a grinder. He has been playing poker to make a living for over a decade now. His career has not been characterised by any single, huge wins that have significantly boosted his bankroll; Jesse is instead someone that has been putting in the volume year after year and has quietly racked up a nice sum of winnings.

Between 2007 and 2015, the American has accumulated more than $3.3 million in online tourney earnings under the screenname ‘JMaster130’ on both PokerStars and Full Tilt. He is a MiniFTOPS winner, an FTOPS runner-up and has won the majority of mid-stakes daily tournaments.

Following Black Friday which prevented U. S. residents from playing online poker, Jesse adjusted to the adverse circumstances by upping his volume at the live tables. Since 2011, he has accrued over $1.2 million on the North American circuit. His largest score was in 2016 thanks to a deep run in the WSOP Main Event which saw him outlast more than 6,650 players. Although his departure in 51st was not what Cohen had dreamed about, he took home $142,447 and was a part of one of the more entertaining televised tournaments in recent years. There was strategic table talk from Will Kassouf, dramatic outbursts from his opponents and a worthy winner in the exciting and dynamic amateur player Qui Nguyen.

Jesse has been outspoken about how legal changes to online poker in his country has made life as a pro card player more difficult. Although he is a tournament specialist, he has played cash games more regularly both online and live as it provides him with a more consistent income compared with tournaments. In October of 2017, he posted on Twitter about the issue of unregulated poker sites in North America, taking aim specifically at Americas Cardroom.