Dana KuhnNot many Washington University students can say that they spent their summer vacation winning $19,000 at the World Series of Poker. Jonathan Diamond, who graduated in 2005 with a B.S. in Political Science and Psychology, can honestly say that he did.
The Pittsburgh native had done something that he would have never imagined was possible just a few short years ago.
A member of the Sigma Alpha Mu (commonly referred to as Sammy) fraternity while at the University, Diamond, known by many simply as the ‘Boneman,’ enjoyed his time on the former hilltop campus, appreciating the many different aspects of campus life that helped round him and give him a quality education that he has yet to actually use.
“I wasn’t the best student but I had a great overall experience at Wash. U.,” he said. “I hope that someday I will actually use everything I learned, but for right now I’m just enjoying playing poker.”
His foray into poker didn’t start until relatively recently, and in that time Diamond has proven that he has what it takes to make a name for himself.
“I didn’t start playing poker until I was 21, during my junior year,” said Diamond. “It was a pretty typical story. I just started playing with some of my friends, found out that I liked it and that I was pretty good. Naturally I moved into playing online rather than just with my friends.”
By senior year Diamond began taking his poker playing and skill to a whole new level.
“At first poker was just a means for me to make a little extra spending money,” he said. “I never thought it would ever be anything I would do full-time. As senior year went on, though, I was playing really well and I played more and more. I was only averaging about 15 hours of online play a week, but it was enough for me to cover some big expenses, like paying for my spring break trip.”
Predominantly an online No-Limit Texas Hold’em player, Diamond decided to test the waters of the biggest stage in the poker world as he attempted to qualify for the World Series of Poker (WSOP) in Las Vegas.
In order to earn a seat at the prized event Diamond had to win a Qualifier Tournament on the PokerStars website he uses.
After spending $2,000 trying to qualify, playing in eight tournaments along the way, Diamond earned his seat to sit with the greatest in the world at the Main Event.
PokerStars made sure he was well received in his debut appearance. After covering the cost of the $10,000 buy-in, as well as supplying him with a free nine-day hotel stay, he was off to Las Vegas to see where his talent and ability would get him.
“It was such a great experience,” he said. “I actually went out to Vegas about a month early to get comfortable with the scene. I never played in a live tournament before so I was a little nervous at first, but after I won about $3,000 in a tournament at Caesar’s Palace on my second day in Vegas, I got a lot more confident.”
“It was an awesome life,” he said. “My best friend lived out there so I stayed with him. I would go to the casinos and play some poker – maybe I’d win some money, maybe I wouldn’t. Either way, it was just a lot of fun. I’d party with my friends out by the pool and just live the life. I wouldn’t want to do it forever, but for a summer vacation, it was pretty sweet. Not many people can do that.”
By the time the actual WSOP event came around, Diamond had a cheering section of about 10 of his best friends who flew out to support him and he was feeling pretty confident in his ability.
After the first day of play he turned his starting $10,000 into $64,000, securing his position in the top 150 or 200 out of the staggering 8800 players in the field. On Day Two he upped his chip count to a little over $75,000. Then, disaster struck.
After a couple of unfavorable hands, Diamond was down to a measly 1100 chips, hardly enough to play a hand.
But lady luck, along with skill, was on his side, as he was able to double up a couple of times on critical “all-in” hands to allow him to move on to Day Three.
“The third day was crazy,” Diamond said. “Of the original 8,800 [players] there were only 1,100 left, so I knew it would be tough.
Diamond was struggling, but played a particular hand well and was able to get back in contention. Playing against a notoriously conservative opponent who Diamond had competed with the day before, the University grad was dealt a 7-2 off-suit, a famously atrocious hand.
“After I got my hand I looked at it and saw 7-2 off -suit, the worst starting hand there is,” he said. “Still, I told myself I was going to push him and so I went all-in with my 7-2 off. The guy looks down at his cards, looks up at me, then back down at his cards. Finally, he calls,” said Diamond.
His opponent flipped over an Ace-Queen combination at which point Diamond recalls thinking that his chances were shot.
“I thought I was done,” he said. “I flipped over my cards and the 10 or so friends that were there cheering me on, just went crazy. They yelled ‘Hammer!’ [nickname for 7-2], and everyone was just wondering what the hell I was doing. I got really lucky and hit a 2, giving me the better hand. I doubled up and continued to play really well.”
When Diamond finally made his exit late on the third afternoon, he walked away in 643rd place out of 8,800 with a respectable $19,050 in his pocket and the knowledge that he played – and played well – with some of the best poker players in the world.
For now, Diamond is enjoying the freedom that comes with the territory of being a full-time poker player.
“It’s a pretty good life,” he said. “I guess I’m not quite yet ready to face the real world, so in the meantime I get to sleep as long as I want, play according to my own schedule, and travel a lot. I’m probably making more than I would at your traditional entry-level job and just get to do a lot of things that most other people right out of college can’t do.”
As expected, his parents aren’t terribly thrilled by the path that he has taken since he left Clayton, but they respect the fact that he is supporting himself and making his own money.
According to Diamond, as long as he and his two sisters are able to support themselves and be happy, that’s all that matters to his parents.
Still, Diamond doesn’t see poker fitting into his long-term plans.
“I don’t want to play poker my whole life,” he said. “While it’s nice now, I don’t think it’s the type of thing I want to do forever. I’m not the kind of guy who likes sitting around all day, and sometimes [poker] does get a little old and boring. In Vegas I met a couple of pros who have been playing for decades and honestly it was a little depressing seeing how their lives are completely dictated by the highs and lows of poker.”
Diamond says that eventually he would like to settle down and start his own business.
For now, though, the former ‘Sammy’ brother is enjoying his lucrative life as a poker player.
He might have just left the steps of Brookings a little over a year ago, but Diamond has already made a name for himself.