Playing Card King: Faded Spade's Tom Wheaton Brings Another Staking Package to Five Diamond

By Sean Chaffin

With a bevy of backers following along at home, Tom Wheaton is hoping he can repeat history and pay off again for his YouStake backers. The owner and founder of Faded Spade cards first sought some poker investors via YouStake in 2018 at the WPT Bobby Baldwin Classic.

The event was his first major tournament entry at the $10,000 buy-in level. The backing deal was used as a way to market his playing card brand and build some goodwill with those who like the cards. It also paid off for himself and those at home when he finished 19th for $19,990.

A year later, he gave it a shot again in the WPT Choctaw but didn’t find a cash. He has notched a couple additional scores, however, at Run It Up Reno and at a Heartland Poker Tour event. Wheaton is now at it again in an even bigger event here at the WPT Five Diamond World Poker Classic. 

“I sold about 70 percent of myself,” he said at the second break in the action. “They’re our customers, people that like the brand, some family and friends, but the majority of people I just don’t know. YouStake is a great platform for that. It allows people to try and get a return on investment from players they support. I’ve been fortunate since I transitioned to tournaments to have had some good results.”

Wheaton yo-yoed a bit early at Bellagio – down to 35,000, up to 50,000, down to 40,000, and then to 65,000 by the second break. He found himself at a table with Eli Elezra and Josh Arieh.

“Overall, I feel like the cadence of play is pretty good,” he said. “Everyone is playing really solid, so I’m just picking spots.”

Sean Chaffin is a freelance writer in Crandall, Texas, and his work appears in numerous websites and publications. Follow him on Twitter @PokerTraditions.