There is a group of friends in their early 20s who are helping to breathe new life into the classic game of poker. As the industry seeks to attract the next generation of poker players almost 20 years after the initial online poker boom, personalities like Next Gen Poker are going to be very important in driving the conversation and maintaining the game’s relevance in the eyes of Gen Z.
Next Gen Poker has cultivated a YouTube fan base of over 200,000 subscribers and their channel has received almost 120 million views across the 338 videos published on the platform to date. Their channel describes the trio as three 23-year-olds who “fell in love” with the game of poker. They even have their own online store selling merchandise to their followers.
Jack, Rosey and Frankie have been friends since college and enjoyed a shared passion for the game of poker ever since. The group has been inspired by the modern-day professionals who have taken the game to new levels since the online poker boom of the early 2000s.
It all started for Next Gen Poker when the pals began to vlog their poker sessions when they were relative newbies. Since then, their vlogs have grown in demand, with weekly shows documenting their progress playing deep stack $1/$2 Texas Hold’em cash games, as well as some shots at the biggest poker tournaments – such as the World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event in Las Vegas, where world-class entertainers like Wayne Newton reign supreme.
There’s something wholesome about watching the next generation of poker talent emerge onto the scene. These young men have clearly captured the imagination of budding poker amateurs. They’ve also enchanted current pros too, who will feel somewhat nostalgic watching the journey of Next Gen Poker as they follow the same paths walked by themselves all those years ago.
Next Gen Poker have recently been appointed as brand ambassadors of well-established online poker room, PokerStars. The trio are set to work closely with this operator to provide branded vlog content and social media posts on big live events within the PokerStars calendar, as well as other big North American poker events like the North American Poker Tour (NAPT) coming to Vegas this fall.
The most notable vlogs of Next Gen Poker to date
One of the most popular recent vlogs of Next Gen Poker documented their journey playing in their first Main Event tournament in the Wynn’s poker room in Las Vegas. All three of them paid the $10,000 entry fee and vlogged their progress in the tournament. It provides a fascinating insight into the psychological battle for poker newbies rubbing shoulders with established professionals. Viewers can visibly see an element of imposter syndrome among the Next Gen Poker trio, but they show tremendous courage and a healthy dose of talent along the way.
The group also entered games in the 2023 WSOP, with a vlog documenting their entry into the Mystery Millions tournament – a bounty event with two unknown bounties in the field worth $1 million apiece.
They also do plenty of fun vlogs too. They recently visited a land-based poker room and sat down for three hours at a low-stakes cash game table to determine once and for all who was the better player.
In one of their most recent vlogs, the guys even attempted to sit down at cash game tables playing with only one eye – and only viewing one of their hole cards. They also tried to “race” their way up the cash game levels in a single session in another vlog. Each player started with $200, playing at $1/$2 cash game tables. Once their bankroll hit $500, they moved up to a $2/$5 table. Growing their chip stacks to $1,000 meant they graduated to the $5/$10 tables, the biggest games offered in this poker room. Whichever player spent the most time at the $5/$10 tables was the winner.
It’s certainly refreshing to see more young people getting into poker and the vlogging success of Next Gen Poker certainly underscores the new age of poker as a form of entertainment and not just a hobby or pastime.
Bob Andrews is a content editor for Landscape Insight, With a background in journalism, Bob brings a unique perspective to his role as he oversees the creation and publication of a wide range of content, including articles, podcasts, and videos. You can reach Bob at – [email protected] or by Our website Contact Us Page.
