In this episode of 888ride, David Tuchman welcomes Daniel "Jungleman" Cates for a joyride during the 2024 World Series of Poker in Las Vegas. Cates is a two-time WSOP bracelet winner who goes by the nickname "Jungleman" and has been crushing the game forever.
Check out the full-length Jungleman podcast HERE.
Back-to-Back Poker Player's Championship Wins
In this episode of 888ride, David Tuchman welcomes Daniel "Jungleman" Cates for a joyride during the 2024 World Series of Poker in Las Vegas. Cates is a two-time WSOP bracelet winner who goes by the nickname "Jungleman" and has been crushing the game forever.
His back-to-back Poker Players’ Championship wins were a first (2021 and 2022), boosting his nearly $15,000.000 in live tournament earnings (as of 11/2024)
“I'm not like one of the best no limit tournament players. but overall, I'm probably one of the best poker players. And it was a good tournament, too, or what I've done. And also, it was useful for, it's useful for using a bit of showmanship and bringing a bit more fun out to the game of poker.”
Jungleman -Dragons, and Tigers and Bears, Oh My!
For Jungleman, keeping poker light, fun, and entertaining is a huge part of the game. His costumes reflect that, and he sometimes projects the outcome he would like in an event.
It's. It's a bit of both. I mean, I don't like to only just be the crusher because, you know, it's obviously like. Like, to be the crusher by itself is so obvious.
"There's no value in these things that are good from these points of view. It's kind of a deep point, which is that to aspire to be something that crushes to value, that has no merit to it because it's so obvious."
Jungleman -Building the Utopian Poker Community!
Off the felt, Daniel's exploits are still very much poker-related, but building a better utopian poker community is high up on his list of goals.
"I'm building a poker community. First, poker has a lot of paid-positive benefits that actually benefit society in a number of ways.
“Secondly, I'm already invested in it, so my leverage goes quite far now. I can make a positive difference within it and, hopefully, make the game better for everybody.”
He'd also like to delve more into business, creating a proper company with legs and teeth. Education is big on his list, with a focus on children.
Unfortunately, "a million things have sidetracked my focus." One thing Daniel never loses sight of is "making poker better for everybody."
Vegas Cash Games vs Tournaments!
As far as Cates is concerned, the cash games in Las Vegas are still ripe for the picking.
"It looks like there's loads of potential. Poker's still tough, but there's loads of potential money to be made if someone applies themselves. I think it's a pretty good opportunity."
Although tournaments are not his focus, Jungleman sees potential in how these events could align with his current new diet:
"But maybe I should be more interested in these tournaments. They're kind of aligning a bit with this new diet I'm trying, where I eat once a day. And, yeah, that's convenient for tournaments.
"It's kind of nice not to think about food for a long time. Now you just think about other things you're not eating. Okay, now I'm gonna use my energy for something else."
This somewhat higher-minded way of thinking falls in line with Jungleman's ultimate "goal to collectively make people's dreams happen in a way that collectively parabolically benefits society."
We genuinely wish him all the best on his journey.
