Quieting the chaos is something Jason Mercier chases every day. Life with three boys under six years old gives few opportunities for a dedicated father to spend any by himself, let alone at a card table. With the World Poker Tour in his backyard, Mercier found a few days to return to the felt.
“Life is very chaotic,” Mercier said while on break of Day 2 in the Seminole Hard Rock Poker Showdown Championship. “We just got a puppy too, so life isn’t getting easier.”
Mercier all but walked away from the game in 2018 to focus on becoming a father. In 2022 he dabbled enough at the tables to give him the itch to return to playing in 2023.
For fans new to the game, Mercier was one of the faces of PokerStars for a decade while he racked up over $20 million in tournament earnings. His reputation as a player grew over the years from an online MTT beast, to a feared live player, to crushing the biggest stakes around the world.
Mercier was everywhere for a few years, patched up alongside Daniel Negreanu and Chris Moneymaker. He immersed himself completely into the game as a young, single man and 15 years on, he’s found a balance between family and poker – weighted towards family.
“Poker definitely does not consume me anymore,” he said. “I played more in the last year, probably 80 days, than I had in the last seven, whereas back in the day, I was playing 364 days a year.”
With so few opportunities to play poker, we assumed he had days circled on the calendar. “No, I don’t,” he laughed. “It just doesn’t happen to be honest.”
“I take things one day at a time with my family,” said Mercier. “My youngest is starting preschool in August and it will be nice to have all three boys at school. We’re looking forward to finally having a routine without a baby in the house.”
All change – early to rise, early to bed
Mercier’s days as a poker player are much different than a decade ago. “When a tournament started at noon, I used to wake up at 10:30. This morning I woke up at 6:30 am after going to sleep at one,” he said.
“When it gets late into the night and 9pm rolls around, I’m looking for a pillow because it’s bedtime for me normally,” Mercier half-joked. “It’s the long hours that’s the big difference now, it’s those last few hours I’m pretty tired.”
Mercier won nearly $650,000 and won two of the six events he cashed in, including his sixth World Series of Poker bracelet in 2023. He jumped back in the deep end of the pool by firing at events $10,000 buy-in or higher, save for the $1,500 2-7 Lowball bracelet he won that he entered on a whim.
In other words, like he was studying every day. “Poker has always been like riding a bike for me,” he said. “I play on and off, even during Covid I was playing online trying to stay sharp. I can go a few months without playing and hop into a tournament and I don’t feel rusty at all.”
Mercier is ready to be a sports dad – he was a successful high school basketball player. “I’m happy that my oldest is into sports and I’ve taken him to a few Heat games and Hurricanes football games,” he said. “He gets locked in on every play. It’s an awesome experience to see that as someone so into sports.”
Mercier back for the 2024 WSOP?
He’d prefer that they find sports rather than poker, “if they get into it that’s cool, it will be something we can bond over,” he said. But he wants them to learn from physical competition.
“Sports are important for young boys,” said Mercier. “You learn so much from sports – you learn how to work as a team, learn strategy and other life lessons; like learning how to lose and how to bounce back from adversity.”
Mercier has plans for Las Vegas this summer but was non-committal about any events. “There’s a few events and cash games I’d like to play, but I don’t know if I will,” he said. “I’m taking things one day at a time with my family.”
All photos courtesy of World Poker Tour - lead photo by Joe Giron.
