While many recent college graduates spent their summers interviewing and competing for jobs, one Ohio State alumnus decided to try his luck as a professional poker player, continuing a journey that started with $5 poker tournaments with roommates.
This summer Chris Sparks, who graduated from OSU last June with a degree in marketing and psychology, won $135,000, his largest prize amount to date.
"I was able to beat out a field of 6,500 players to win the Sunday Million on PokerStars, which is the largest weekly tournament online," Sparks said in an e-mail.
Photo courtesy of Chris Sparks
Chris Sparks won $135,000 this summer playing poker."I took the last $11 in my account and used it all to enter an $11 tournament," he said. "I ended up winning it for $1,400 when I had like $200 in my checking account at the time."
He did not realize how good he had become at poker until one weekend his sophomore year, he said.
"I deposited $50 into a new poker site on a Friday," Sparks said. "By the time I left for class Monday morning I had almost $20,000 in my account. It was at this time I decided that I should start taking poker a little more seriously."
Though Sparks has had recent success in poker, people commonly discourage him from continuing.
"In general, the public's view of poker is incredibly off the mark. They view poker as a game of chance rather than a game of skill," Sparks said. "Just like any other skill in life, anyone who takes the time and effort to study and improve can become a winning poker player."
There were times when he felt like folding, giving up on poker for good.
"Poker is not as easy or glamorous as it may seem. To win against the top players you have to work incredibly hard and have a very thick stomach. There have been a couple days where I have played great and still lost thousands of dollars," he said. "As the popular saying goes, 'playing poker is a hard way to make an easy living.'"
Though Sparks' journey with poker has had its ups and downs, it has opened doors and allowed him to travel throughout the world and compete in tournaments.
"My first major live tournament was the Latin American Poker Tour in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil," Sparks said. "I have also been to Las Vegas a few times and it is always an absolute blast. It is a real thrill to have the opportunity to play with all the well-known players and possibly get your 15 minutes of fame on television."
As for future traveling, he is going to New Zealand for a tournament series next week and is planning trips to the Bahamas in January and Italy in April.
Sparks prefers live poker for the social surrounding, but said there are advantages to playing online poker.
"When I play online I usually play between 18 and 24 tables at the same time," he said. "This, combined with the faster pace, means that I can see up to 100 times as many hands while playing online, which means I can win money much faster. Also, playing online is simply convenient. You do not have to drive anywhere, and you can start and stop playing whenever you want," he said.
For the inexperienced player looking to improve their poker skills, Sparks offers some advice.
"There are many excellent books and articles out there for players to read. It is also very helpful to find someone who is a better player than you and just watch and ask them questions," he said. "However, the best way to improve is simply by playing poker. The more you practice and think about the game, the more natural it will become."
Though Sparks has decided to take a job with Ford Motor Company, he still plans on finding time to play poker.
"I look forward to starting work in a few weeks. My first assignment will be working in advertising strategy and business planning for crossover vehicles," he said. "I will continue to play poker in my spare time, using a schedule similar to the one I used while working and taking classes at Ohio State."
Sparks may not be pursuing poker full-time, but he hopes to win a World Series of Poker event.
"It is definitely at or near the top of the list of aspirations for any poker player," he said. "I was able to go out and play a few of the preliminary events in June but I was not able to make the main event because of a schedule conflict. I am definitely planning on playing it next year."
For the most part, Sparks makes an effort to keep his future goals in poker as non-specific as possible.
"I just hope to continuously improve and steadily increase my income from playing. I would like to continue using poker as an avenue to travel and experience the world," he said.
Megan Laney can be reached at laney.19@osu.edu.
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