Working Man: Jeremy Hamey on Poker and Working as a Commercial Fisherman

By Sean Chaffin

Jeremy Hamey (pictured) may not be a professional poker player. He has a regular day job, but you might not know that when finding out the volume he puts in at the poker table. It simply seems impossible to some.

“I play 400 tournaments a year,” the Gardens qualifier says. “I usually play four or five times a week.”

That involves putting in the work in multiple daily tournaments at the Gardens and other Southern California card rooms. It was a nice November for this player who works as a financial adviser when he’s not tossing chips in a pot. He scored a win in a $125 event at the Gardens for $6,090.

On Day 1, Hamey had a shot in the WPT Five Diamond World Poker Classic after finishing among the top five in the Gardens Satellite Spectacular, which featured 324 players. Hamey looked to turn that run of good luck at the Gardens to something even bigger in Las Vegas.

“This is the biggest event I’ve ever played,” he says. “But I’ve played in over 15 World Series of Poker events, so I’m kind of used to playing against this level of competition. Obviously the WPT is at a different level especially with it being the main event here at Bellagio. I’m going to probably tread lightly in the beginning and get my bearings on the table dynamics and ramp up my play as the day goes on.”

How does Hamey manage running his financial advising business and still have time to play so much poker?

“The way I’m set up I don’t have a lot of daily upkeep,” he says. “Most of my clients are out of state and so my day to day operations are pretty limited, so I have a lot of time on my hands.”

This poker player grew up in Juneau, Alaska, which offered some unique opportunities for a young man. There were numerous outdoors activities not far from his home and Hamey did all the major hikes in his area. An interesting note about his hometown? You can’t simply drive out of town. Those looking to get away or leave from the state’s capital have only two options – take a plane or boat. He now lives in Orange County, California, but travels back to Alaska a few times a year.

“It’s a very close-knit community,” he says. “It’s very spread out, very beautiful – but a lot of rain. I was glad to get down to sunny Southern California.”

Hamey enjoyed playing basketball as a youngster and his father was a high school teacher and coach. After high school, he played and later also coached some in college. But as he left the hardcourt behind, another game took up much of his time – though maybe not as much as it does now.

“Poker definitely became my competitive outlet even as my playing days became fewer,” he says.

After college, however, Hamey found a job many might have experienced only on the Discovery Channel. He spent a year working as a commercial fisherman. His job wasn’t quite what the crab fishermen in Deadliest Catch experienced, but Hamey spent a large amount of time aboard a vessel bringing in salmon.

“It was intense being 50 miles away from shore on a little boat with big waves,” he says. “We were catching as many fish as we could and only sleeping two or three hours a day.”

Life at the poker may seem easy by comparison. No waves, no frigid temperatures, no fear of never seeing land again, and no chance of being thrown overboard. But with the prestigious Five Diamond World Poker Classic bringing out so many top players, he’d definitely have to look out for sharks.

Unfortunately one of the sharks swam his way later in the day when Justin Liberto’s Ace-King topped his pocket Jacks and he was sent to the rail. Despite the elimination, it’s a good bet he’ll be back in a tournament field soon.

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