Jason Somerville holds a special place in the zeitgeist of poker content creation. Somerville, an early adopter of the Twitch streaming platform, led the charge in streaming online poker content to a large audience.
Somerville knew how to build a community and his savvy marketing moves saw his channel blow up in popularity in a relatively short amount of time. It was hard work, sure, but Somerville made it look easy.
Nowadays, the Poker category on Twitch is chock full of up-and-comers, fan favorites, and top level players. They’re all dedicated to streaming their gameplay to the masses, educating a new generation of players, and introducing the game to a brand new audience.
The “Godfather of Twitch Poker” took a few minutes on break to speak to PokerOrg about all things poker, content creation, and what he’s been up to lately away from the felt.
The “happy warrior” mindset shift
Somerville took a step back from content creation a few years ago, but hints at a possible return some time in the future.
Additionally, Somerville shares some insight into lifestyle changes he’s implemented recently. The Run It Up founder has traded smoking marijuana for ingesting caffeine, a change that he says has made him mentally sharper.
Somerville ends by re-iterating his outlook on being able to play poker and create content around the game for a living. He notes that there’s too much complaining in poker for his liking and expresses his own appreciation for the life he created within poker. It’s a mindset that’s hard for most to adopt, but seems to work wonders for Somerville, who describes it as a “happy warrior” outlook.
If you’re looking for more stories from the World Series of Poker, click the button below to stay up to date with all the latest from Las Vegas.
