Aaron Kanter playing with full house

Aaron, Preston, almost 2, and Jenny Kanter sit in their Lodi home, where they moved in about a year ago. Aaron, a career poker player, came in fourth place in the 2005 World Series of Poker. (Brian Feulner/News-Sentinel)

Aaron Kanter playing with full house

World Series of Poker star moves back to Lodi, focuses on family

By Maggie Creamer
News-Sentinel Staff Writer

Friday, October 23, 2009 6:13 AM PDT

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After his World Series of Poker fourth-place finish in 2005, Aaron Kanter is more focused on his family these days, spending only about 40 to 50 hours a week playing poker online.

When he was young, he could play for 70 hours a week, but now that he's back in Lodi, family is on his mind.

"I sit down for a six-hour tournament, and my back hurts," he said.

The 31-year-old has made his living by playing online and in more than 50 live tournaments around the country.

Kanter was living in Elk Grove with his wife, Jenny, and son in a house that he bought with the $2 million from his 2005 fourth-place finish, but the Lodi High School graduate always knew he wanted to move back to his hometown.

In a home decorated with poker memorabilia on Edgewood Drive, Kanter plays in his refinished basement on two computer screens. He usually plays multiple cash games at a time, and they flash across the screen all in play.

His family has lived in Lodi for a year, and his wife calls the basement his "man cave," but it is complete with child gate and baby monitor for their son, Preston, who will be two years old in December.

"(Preston) was attracted to the computer's power button light, and he was turning it off during games," Kanter said. "It probably cost me a couple hundred bucks until I put that gate up."

Instead of traveling to play in tournaments, Kanter has instead focused on online play so he can spend more time at home.

Aaron Kanter plays several games of poker at a time from his home office in Lodi. (Brian Feulner/News-Sentinel)

He won about $30,000 in March and $60,000 last October. But instead of tournament play for big payouts, he is focusing on cash games that provide a more steady flow of income.

Kanter spoke to Lodi's Rotary Club on Thursday about how he has managed his earnings, what his future goals are and how the game is changing.

'Wasn't supposed to happen in my lifetime'

Kanter still cannot believe he turned something he enjoyed playing in college into a full-time career. His only other career path had been mortgage broker.

"I did seven mortgages; four of them were for my parents," he said while laughing.

Taking his mortgage skills, he has used them to invest in several properties with his poker winnings. After the housing crash, he jokes that it would have made a better investment to buy some Ferraris.

He has been meticulous about his money, which includes paying his taxes, he told the group.

"I'm probably one of the more honest, taxpaying poker players out there," he said to a crowd of laughs. "I've claimed every dime online. We do get a lot of deductions available."

Every year, Kanter plans to continue entering the World Series because, he said, "you can't miss that one."

"There are 6,000 players, and only 10 people make it to the final table, so the odds aren't that good. It wasn't supposed to happen in my lifetime," he said.

He said he would rather play games in person, but playing online allows him to spend time with his family.

"Online I feel like an assembly worker. I don't have time to think or do anything because I'm playing so many different tables," he said.

In response to a question about whether he is earning enough, he said he has made poker his full-time job.

"I've been doing it for almost seven years now; if you weren't doing well ... you'd lose money pretty fast," Kanter said.

Many of the Rotary questions centered around him playing in tournaments. He said he goes back and forth on wearing sunglasses. He likes wearing them to watch what other people are doing with their hands, chips or cards.

He also said it has been a relatively easy transition from playing online to tournament play.

"If you are a good player online, you are going to be a good player live," he said.

As far as playing cards locally at the Wine and Country Cardroom, he said that one hand would take two to three minutes as opposed to playing 10 to 12 games online, where they are all in continuous play.

"We wouldn't go down there to make money; it'd be to get out of the house," Kanter said.

Working from home

As far as online play, he has noticed a shift in who is playing the game.

"It used to be when I first got started, there were a lot more retired people playing, and now there is a lot more younger kids my age, and especially online," he said.

In 2007, Kanter was one of the top 20 in the world for earnings in online poker. Of the other top players, two or three were around his age, and the rest were under 23, he said.

He thinks the shift is because college kids have more time, and some will play for 80 or 90 hours a week, he said. He still is always studying to improve his game. He reviews all the hands that were significant during a day and will replay them, evaluating the hands through computer software that calculates the odds, to decide if he made good decisions.

He also recommends posting hands online and asking other poker players what they would do in a similar situation.

Kanter is hoping to take the love of his sport and teach others about it by filming videos to post online that people can view for a fee, or by giving personal lessons.

He knows he will continue playing but has other plans of things he would like to do. He wants to start coaching basketball again and hopes his son will want to play when he grows up.

But he said he has no plans to stop playing poker.

"Teach, coach and play poker on the side, too, and semi-retire by the time I'm 40," he said.

Contact reporter Maggie Creamer at maggiec@lodinews.com.