Jeremy Ausmus Closes Out Epic 2024 PGT Season in Style

An already stellar 2024 PGT season turned even better for Jeremy Ausmus after he cashed in for an extra $50,000 PGT Passport as the PGT Player of the Year for 2024. He then grabbed another $500,000 as the winner of the PGT $1,000,000 Championship over the weekend, which had $1 million in bonus cash up for grabs for all participants.

Those extra winnings have proven to be more than just a nice bonus, but for the 45-year-old poker pro originally from Colorado, the quest for the PGT Player of the Year title offers extra motivation throughout the year.

“Like I was telling (PokerGO commentator) Jeff Platt, there are a lot of the best players in the world here in Vegas, and this is where we come to battle, and the place that the PGT has provided for us to play high stakes that didn't used to exist on a very regular basis,” he says. “It means a lot because it's tough, tough competition, and lots of great players. So to win it is amazing. The leaderboard’s awesome. I love it. It just really inspires me. It's like a video game, you want to try to get to the top.

As the new PGT season commences, the title may not always be the ultimate goal, but Ausmus sees the bonus as a nice extra after a year of hard work and putting in plenty of hours at the tables. That’s similar to his general outlook on playing poker for a living. Being based in Las Vegas also helps those efforts in the long run.

“I’m just going to put in a lot of volume here no matter what,” he says. “I've never set financial or monetary goals for poker. I just try to put in that time and play my best and always improve. Those are my three things. And then the results take care of themselves eventually. So I think my chances every year are good to win this because I play all the games. I live here, so at the (World Series of Poker), I get to sleep in my own bed. I go all out at the Series. And those are very heavy for points for the PGT. I guess it's my goal, but it's not like my specific goal, but kind of just the outcome of my process.”

Studio Stud

Along with Daniel Negreanu (Player of the Year runner-up) and Jim Collopy (seventh in the Player of the Year race), Ausmus considers himself one of the few players that battle it out in the PokerGO Studio throughout the year no matter what series or event. That gives him an inside track on the Player of the Year title each season.

That certainly paid off this year, with numerous top finishes coming his way inside the studio and beyond. That started with several final table appearances to start the year, including two runner-up scores in the PokerGO Cup and PGT Mixed Games. He then won a $25,500 PLO high roller side event in April at the World Poker Tour Seminole Hard Rock stop for $206,400.

At the World Series of Poker, Ausmus found several deep runs, including a third, two fourths, a sixth, and two sevenths. His summer was highlighted by a runner-up finish in the $100,000 high roller, winning $1.9 million and just missing out on a seventh bracelet. At the Super High Roller Series in Cyprus, another runner-up and third-place finish came his way for total winnings of more than $2 million. He then grabbed a runner-up at the Poker Masters before finally securing a PGT win after 684 days in October.

Overall, Ausmus takes a holistic look at his time at the tables and doesn’t focus on winning tournaments. If they come, that’s great, but he really just hopes to be consistent and play well. That helped ease some of the frustrations that may have come with a major lull between PGT wins before breaking through in October with a win despite many close calls.

“It really doesn't bother me that much to not win,” he says. “I look at how my year is going. Am I winning? Am I losing? How many final tables have I made? Because I was just deep in everything. So it's like there's a trade-off you can make. Certain players will either have all the chips in the tournament and they're going to win more often, or they're going to be out but they're not going to be there as much.

“So what makes the most money? That's what I try to focus on. And I think being there a lot and getting seconds and thirds and fifths and sixths, that all adds up to a lot. It's not like the Super Bowl. It's not like football or baseball, where the only goal is to win and you get second and you’ve lost. It's just not like that with poker. When you get second, you win a bunch of money. So the titles are nice and they come eventually, but that wasn't bothering me.”

Up for the Championship Challenge

Ausmus broke that winner’s circle drought in the second half of the year in a big way, including winning the season-ending PGT $1,000,000 Championship event to conclude the 2024 PGT season and start 2025 with a bang. The event brings together the PGT's Top 40 players, with chip stacks based on PGT leaderboard position which is determined by PGT points earned throughout the year, and select Dream Seat winners. That meant Ausmus came in immediately as the chip leader. Does that twist offer any unique challenges or additional pressure to win?

“No, there's no added pressure,” he says. “I started with five more big blinds than Negreanu, 10 more big blinds than Seth Davies, 15 more big blinds than (Michael) Rocco. You see it all the time. I'll see inexperienced players playing in a tournament with someone and some guy has all the chips. Then later they're like, ‘You busted. What happened?’

“They can't believe that they didn't win the tournament. Even when you’re chip leader with 10 left or five left – you don't just win 80% time. You don't win the majority of the time. So with 50 left and not even a huge chip lead, it's anyone's game. I'm favored, but it's not like I'm likely to win, so I don't put too much pressure on myself. I just try to play my best.”

Considering the differing chip stacks and freeroll for the 50-entrant field, Ausmus found the final table, which included Nick Schulman (runner-up, $200,000), Calvin Anderson (third, $120,000), Dylan Weisman          (fourth, $80,000), Chris Hunichen (fifth, $60,000), and Collopy (sixth, $40,000), to bring some differing elements to the tournament.

“It's probably better to watch because … this final table was probably a little looser than most,” he says, “and that's because people are playing to win more.”

Looking Ahead

Now with the PGT Player of the Year title and a season-ending PGT $1,000,000 Championship win under his belt, Ausmus is heading to Jeju, South Korea, to play the next Triton Poker series. Beyond that, he sees a similar schedule as last year for 2025.

“I don't think anything's really changed,” he says. “I'm just ready to come in and play a lot of events. It does hurt to miss the Mixed Game Series a little bit, but I always say, ‘I'm going to go to the next Triton,’ and so I decided I'm going this time. I'm going to do it and see. At least I'm not missing a big No-Limit series, or the PLO series. Those are my two. I'm better at those games, so I do love the Mixed Series, but I'm just going to have to miss them.”

Ausmus is a family man with a wife and two kids at home. What are their thoughts on their father having such a unique job?

“My kids think it's cool when I bring home the trophies,” he says. “They watch it. They probably are watching this one (the PGT $1,000,000 Championship). They don't watch all of them. They watch some. My kids aren't really into poker. They are curious how I did and if I want a trophy or a bunch of money, but they don't really play. I tried to teach them many times, and they just don't want to sit down and learn it, and they don't want to take the time to do it. They don't seem to have the patience for it. My wife is always watching, and my family, my sisters, my mom, stepdad, they're always watching every event now, which is cool. So I always have a lot of people rooting for me.”

Asked whether there are some things he’d change or add to the PGT, Ausmus didn’t have many suggestions and is pleased to keep being part of the action.

“I don't have any complaints,” he says. “I'm just very grateful for the PGT even existing because it gives me a place to come work. And they add in this extra money, so it's a big deal for grinding professionals like Jim and me, people like that. So I wouldn't change a lot, and you guys listen to feedback really well as far as adding new events. You're always improving the tournaments and this and that. I wouldn't change much about it.”

Listen to the Complete Jeremy Ausmus Interview on the PokerGO Podcast