Dan Smith Stays Disciplined at the Poker Masters

Dan Smith returns to Day 2 of the $100,000 Poker Masters Championship on the short end of chip distribution, but he’s made comebacks before and with the ARIA as his de facto home away from home, he knows what it takes to win an event with a six-figure buy-in.

“The bigger the tournament, the more likely I am to do all the right things,” Smith said. “If this were a $25K, I might tag along if people went out for drinks, but in a $100K that will never happen.”

Keeping a disciplined routine kept Smith in contention through much of the Series. “I have morning routine that I do every day, especially when I play poker,” he said. “I meditate for at least ten minutes, I’ve been doing the Tim Ferriss Gratitude Journal and this week I’ve been playing racquetball with Stephen Chidwick every day. It’s fun but he’s a lot better than me.”

Smith is among the players that hope to see the Series return in the future. “Playing at the ARIA in general, it’s my favorite place to play, I think it’s a cool idea but maybe with a few small tweaks,” he said. “It’s a lot of poker and it really does take a toll on the players – the days are long. But really, I think we all love it – do it a few times a year and I think we all show up.”

Dan Smith has stayed healthy and focused for the Poker Masters. (Photo: Danny Maxwell/Poker Central)

Smith was happy with his play in the Series, making Event #3’s Final Table. “I had accumulated a lot chips in the first event – 1.2 million – and in one very rough orbit failed to cash,” he said. “Which would have been a mountain of chips at that final table. Then in the third event I had a third of the chips in play and at the final table nothing really went right.”

Smith has a chance to win the overall Poker Masters Purple Jacket™ Standings. “I like the Jacket – I think I look pretty good in purple so I look forward to collecting it in a couple days.”

Smith is one of the 15 players that return action on Day 2 live exclusively on PokerGO at 5:30 pm ET.