Tommy Chen Believes Poker’s Future Relies on the Flip of Bitcoin

By Matt Clark

To say Tommy Chen (pictured) regards the power of cryptocurrency to change the poker landscape does little to mine below the surface. The California pro thinks the recent uptick in tournament field sizes across the world is not a coincidence. One of the beneficiaries was the Season XVI WPT Five Diamond World Poker Classic in December that set a record with 812 entries at $10,000 each. At the time, Bitcoin was flying high.

The Future Is Here

Before Chen entered the poker world, he was an Electrical Engineering and Computer Science student at UC Berkeley. Chen first heard about Bitcoin in 2012 when the technology was valued at only $10. Known as “BTCBlade” across poker forums and the online poker world, Chen is already starting to see the impact of cryptocurrency in his immediate community.

“I know so many online poker players who are retired now because of crypto going up,” Chen claimed. “In one or two years, more people from the online universe will start having more real money when they can buy in with crypto. Maybe the tournament fields will grow by 50 to 100 percent in two or three years. I see poker getting bigger.”

Chen estimates that out of the 21 million bitcoins in existence, 100,000 belong to the poker community.

Middle of a New Boom

The poker world hasn’t stopped talking about cryptocurrency, specifically Bitcoin, over the last several months when the unit climbed from a value of hundreds to more than $10,000.

The biggest tournaments in the United States are in the middle of a numbers increase that may be part of the boom that Chen speaks of. As mentioned, the Season XVI Five Diamond World Poker Classic attracted a record-breaking total of 812 entries. Last summer’s World Series of Poker Main Event brought in 7,221 players in the third-largest field ever.

Online poker’s departure post-Black Friday led to a short-term participation drop. According to Chen, that trend has the ability to turn around when cryptocurrency is adopted worldwide.

“I personally think that the IRS is not going to be a thing, because of crypto, someday,” Chen stated. “Everyone can buy in and cash out whenever they want. I think it will blow [tournaments] out of proportion because Americans will be able to play again. Because now, crypto has set our economy equal to the rest of the world again.”

Where Does the Next Wave Come From?

If the poker community does own 100,000 of the bitcoins in existence, as Chen estimates, and the price is substantially higher to purchase now than at this time last year, how does Chen think the new group of players is going to emerge?

“China!” he exclaimed. “My girlfriend is Chinese. She’s watching this social media about people talking about poker. I believe that with the whole internet being able to rejoin the whole poker force, I bet you Bitcoin will have an impact on global economic freedom.”

Chen is adamant that federal government’s not having control over the withdrawal process that hampers exchange of the U.S. dollar is the next step to the “freedom” he speaks of. This is a practice that Chen is already preaching.

“The government can’t just shut down random exchanges,” he said. “And if you play online poker like you did before, they just shut down your cash outs. Now, I’m just cashing out in Ethereum Classic every week. It’s better for everyone. Because of cryptocurrency, they cannot block online poker and the floodgates will open.”

Adding to His Own Portfolio

The cryptocurrency interests of Chen balance what has turned into a successful career. Chen notched his best career score in the 2017 $10,000 Six-Max No-Limit Hold’em event at the World Series of Poker for $479,561.

Here at Thunder Valley Casino Resort, Day 1a at WPT Rolling Thunder proved to be worthwhile for Chen and returns to tomorrow’s Day 2 with 71,000.

Unlike other online players who cut back on their schedules, Chen is adding more volume to his. Should his chip stack increase on Day 2, Chen can cash in a WPT event for the first time since Season X.

Looking to win your way to a World Poker Tour event for your shot at becoming a WPT champion? Play for your chance on ClubWPT.com, where eligible VIP Members can play for over $100,000 in cash and prizes each month, including seats to WPT events, no purchase necessary.