Some of the largest names in poker began on the by desk dealing playing cards, having fun with the job safety, insurance coverage, and regular paycheck that skilled gamblers lack. That contains World Series of Poker foremost occasion winners Scotty Nguyen and Johnny Chan. Mike Matusow dealt throughout Las Vegas within the early days of his profession to complement his earnings.
Ted Forrest additionally started his profession working as a seller in Las Vegas, and Layne Flack labored the field in Deadwood, South Dakota, whereas attending faculty. David Chiu credited his time dealing in Black Hawk, Colorado, for studying how gamers react to fingers.
Add Sami Bechahed to that checklist of profitable gamers who began out within the seller chair. The 38-year-old parlayed his expertise within the field and a love for the sport into some main success on the tables over the previous couple of years, racking up $1.6 million in dwell match winnings.
The Paris native’s run began in 2021 after successful a pair of occasions on the Bike, and in August 2022 he stepped it up with a runner-up end in a $275 aspect occasion on the Legends of Poker for $194,100. That November, he added one other WSOP Circuit ring at Choctaw in Oklahoma, grabbing the largest rating of his profession for $274,916.
In March 2023, Bechahed continued his sizzling streak by scoring the trophy within the Mini Mega Millions at Gardens Casino in California for $155,540. The wins and deep runs simply stored piling up, and when the PokerStars North American Poker Tour returned to Las Vegas in November 2023, the Frenchman got here out on prime for an additional $268,945.
“It was by far the highlight of my young professional career,” Bechahed mentioned. “Being able to win it against top players like the ones I faced at the final table and prior felt like a huge accomplishment.”
Bechahed has an actual card-playing workmanlike story – rising up the ranks from seller to participant in decrease buy-in occasions earlier than graduating to the upper stakes.
“I’m not sure there’s a key to the success, but the experience I built by dealing definitely helped me have a very good understanding and feel for the game,” he says. “I don’t use solvers at all. I don’t even know how to use them. I never hired a [strategy] coach. But that doesn’t mean I don’t work on my game, I think about poker all the time and watch a lot of content. I hired a mental coach, which really helps me structure my thoughts, feelings, and my game in general. I really have pride in knowing that my game is the reflection of who I am and my interpretation of the game.”
With a rising poker file, Bechahed spoke with Card Player about his journey within the sport, shifting to turning into a full-time participant, and the place he’s headed sooner or later.
Getting In The Game
Born in France, Bechahed spent his early years in Tunisia, the place he lived till age 6. He then returned to France till age 29 and says he had a “pretty normal and happy childhood.” He now believes three nationalities symbolize the individual he’s turn out to be – France, the U.S., and Tunisia.
A love of poker started in his late teenagers when he began enjoying with a few of his soccer teammates round 2005. Games had been a daily prevalence within the clubhouse, with gamers shopping for in for €10.
“We would play all night,” he recalled. “I got hooked immediately. I was winning consistently, then started playing a lot online. I was a winning player but nothing crazy. I kept playing a lot for 10 years, but all this was very recreational and very small.”
The stakes ramped up significantly after a transfer to Los Angeles in April 2016. Bechahed was obsessed with poker, however his English wasn’t nice. He additionally wanted a job after receiving his work allow. A free dealing faculty on the Bicycle Casino appeared like a great resolution and earlier than lengthy he was shuffling and pitching playing cards at one in every of California’s main poker rooms.
The gig appeared like a pure match and he should have been spectacular within the position. By March of 2017, Bechahed was chosen as one in every of a choose few sellers for the Live on the Bike, spreading a number of the greatest livestreamed money video games on the time.
COVID modified every part. Casinos across the state closed and Bechahed wanted one thing else to make ends meet. To get by, he began dealing at residence video games throughout L.A.
“That was life-changing in terms of money, since I built a legitimacy dealing Live at the Bike,” he says. “I would get hired in the best home games. By December 2021, casinos reopened, and home games were dying little by little.”
The slowdown in his residence sport dealing turned out to be fortuitous for Bechahed as a participant. He began getting into smaller tournaments and located some instant success to construct a bankroll – scoring $5,000 right here and there earlier than grabbing a runner-up in a $300 WSOP Circuit occasion on the Gardens for $59,935. Despite the success, Bechahed stored dealing, which led to a different alternative in March of 2022 with Hustler Casino Live.
“Despite the early tournament success, I couldn’t ever imagine myself going as full-time poker pro. Working for HCL was great because of the experience of dealing to amazing players and the flexibility of the job,” Bechahed says. “Ryan Feldman (Hustler Casino Live founder and owner) knew I played tournaments, and let me have my own schedule as long as I was professional and reliable on the job, which I never failed to be.”
Feldman says Bechahed is likely one of the finest sellers he’s ever labored with, having recognized him since 2017 when he was working operations for the Bike. The HCL proprietor additionally testified to his character behind the scenes as properly.
“He was such a good dealer, and more importantly a great person,” Feldman says. “Sami is one of the nicest and friendliest people I’ve ever worked with, always a pleasure to be around. I remember years ago he would tell me about online tournaments he’s playing, and he would ask me for advice. In between dealer downs he would be practicing. He always had the urge to become a great poker player. He would learn a lot by watching players play while he’s dealing and predicting what hands they have.”
“When he started having big tournament success, all of us at HCL would be rooting him on and following along. It made us so happy every time to see him go deep in tournaments. It’s amazing to see his success.”
Tournament Tested
Bechahed’s poker aspect challenge changed into a full-time lifestyle after the massive win on the NAPT in 2023. At the 2024 WSOP, Bechahed notched 15 cashes in dwell and on-line occasions, together with a 74th-place end within the $10,000 foremost occasion for $120,000. His foremost occasion journey ended when his full home was topped by a straight flush, concluding what he known as “an amazing summer.”
Bechahed additionally grabbed an eighth-place rating of $48,904 in a $3,000 no-limit maintain’em six-handed occasion and fifteenth in a $5,000 no-limit occasion for $32,059. In the latter, he rivered his personal one-outer straight flush to ship Erik Seidel to the rail. The hand was named as one of many greatest unhealthy beats of the 12 months.
In November, Bechahed was again in Resorts World Las Vegas making an attempt to defend his NAPT title. While he didn’t pull off the double, Bechahed did give it a stable effort – taking thirty seventh for $17,100. He additionally gained a $550 eight-game combine occasion so as to add one more trophy to his show case.
“For now, I only play live tournaments,” he says. “But I’m also aware that I’m going to find an alternative. Either live cash games, which I don’t really enjoy, or online tournaments, but I’m not good enough technically (in those) to play profitably. So, for now I travel all around the world to play poker tournaments, which is fun and a longtime dream, but tiring and difficult when you have a little family.”
Back In France, But On The Hunt For Poker
The household packed up and relocated again to Paris in August after contemplating the transfer for some time. Bechahed married his spouse Nicole in 2019 they usually now have a son that’s nearly a 12 months outdated. The transfer provided a little bit of a change of surroundings, regardless of extra restricted choices to hit the tables.
“We moved to France mainly because it was my American wife’s dream to live in Paris,” he says. “She has been trying to convince me to do so for five years. It finally made sense at the beginning of 2024. We wanted a change of lifestyle and being close to my family played a big part in this move. The poker scene isn’t the best in Paris. There are not a lot of options in tournaments, besides low stakes, and the rake is too high in cash games, so I have to travel a lot to play poker.”
When not on the card desk, Bechahed enjoys spending time with Nicole and their son, exploring Paris, consuming at good eating places, and ingesting good wine. Soccer additionally stays a ardour. He as soon as dreamed of enjoying professionally however poker now suits the invoice relating to staying aggressive.
“My main goal is to win an EPT,” he says. “I know that it’s hard to achieve as I share this goal with a lot of amazing players. Ever since I started watching poker on TV many years ago, it was something so fascinating for me that I would never have believed I would even be able to play them. Obviously, winning a WSOP bracelet would also be great.”
Bechahed’s gritty rise to the highest continues. After a giant run during the last two years, don’t guess towards him.
Find Bechahed on Twitter/X @SoWIZZSami
*Photos by PokerStars – Joe Giron, Manuel Kovsca – WPT
