"I went from $20M in loans to $780M in a single year!" - Cary Katz

GTO Wizard - The best way to learn and practice GTO! Use this link to sign up: 👉 https://gtowizard.com/Jungleman Ready to play? Click here to join Jungle on Phenom Poker! 👉 https://play.phenompoker.com/register... Join The JungleVerse and sharpen your skills in a community built for winners: 👉 https://enterthejungleverse.com/ I sat down with Cary Katz, the man who quietly built the modern stage of poker. He’s the founder of PokerGO, the one who brought us the Super High Roller Bowl, Poker Masters, US Poker Open, and yes, even the Big Blind Ante. What fascinates me isn’t just his $40M+ in tournament winnings, but his mindset: the shift from frustration to gratitude, from creating a prison with losses to celebrating them. Cary opens up about business risks, how passion projects cost more than you expect, and why he thinks integrity is the only real strategy in life. We also got into health, longevity, and some personal truths: how it took him 55 years to quit sugar, why lifting weights is a cheat code against the “four horsemen,” and how he views the next 30 years of his life as a freeroll. From billion-dollar loans to billions of minutes of poker watched, Cary’s story isn’t just about poker, it’s about building, adapting, and finding perspective through the swings. He also finally lays out who he thinks are poker's true icons... You're not going to want to miss this stunning conversation! Check out Winning the Game of Life on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast... 🎬 WATCH OTHER VIDEO LIKE THIS: 👉 POKER is the self-improvement tool no one talks about:    • POKER is the self-improvement tool no one ...   👉 Poker Champion Explains Poker Mistakes At Every Level:    • Poker Champion Explains Poker Mistakes At ...   👉 2x poker champion guide to winning $1M    • 2x poker champion guide to winning $1M   #Pokerstrategytips #Pokertournamenthighlights #Pokerplayerprofiles #Pokerplayerrankings #Pokercoaching #Pokermentalgame 00:00 – Cary Katz on being a “copycat” in poker & business 00:37 – Dan introduces Cary Katz’s impact on poker 01:02 – Building PokerGO, Super High Roller Bowl & majors 02:05 – Why Cary prefers tournaments over cash games 02:34 – Staking, friendships, and instincts in high rollers 04:14 – Copying great ideas to grow poker brands 06:03 – Making poker a true spectator sport 07:07 – Challenges with live broadcasting & delays 07:33 – Transition from Poker Central → PokerGO 08:48 – Expanding PokerGO globally (Brazil, Japan, Spanish markets) 09:41 – Cary’s mindset shift: embracing losses & positivity 12:16 – Winning his first bracelet with a new mindset 13:30 – Dan & Cary on gratitude, history, and perspective 19:00 – Health & lifestyle: fasting, quitting sugar, longevity 22:17 – Fitness, weightlifting, yoga, and cryotherapy 27:01 – Fitness vs. business focus – finding balance 27:25 – Cary’s sales background and path to building College Loan Corp 29:04 – Scaling from $20M to $3B in student loans 33:26 – Starting PokerGO as a passion project 34:53 – The cost of poker productions & why paywalls exist 40:17 – Online poker challenges vs. live poker instincts 43:22 – Why Cary supports poker: passion & competition 45:16 – The invention of the Big Blind Ante 48:18 – Difficulties of the media business & PokerGO growth 50:59 – Life balance, gratitude, and slowing down time 55:00 – Business lessons: revenue, hiring, and integrity 58:51 – Poker players transitioning into business 01:03:40 – Cary’s goals: family, longevity, and staying present 01:04:09 – What’s next for Cary Katz and PokerGO 01:04:45 – Titles, bracelets, and long-term poker goals 01:05:22 – Embracing swings & “the wave” in poker and life 01:06:12 – Closing banter: Negreanu’s influence & poker icons ======================== Known as Jungleman in the poker world, Dan has won nearly $12 million in live tournament earnings, more than $11 million in high stakes online games, and is a 2x World Series of Poker champion. On the podcast, Dan will interview interesting individuals who all have one thing in common… poker and helping others. Conversations about life lessons from poker, achieving success, personal growth, mental health, diet & fitness, parenthood, philanthropy, effective altruism, and more. Every Thursday. Follow "Jungleman" Dan Cates: Instagram:   / thedancates   X (Formerly Twitter): https://x.com/junglemandan