She’d already made a name for herself in the poker world as an award-winning content creator and a darn good poker player as well, but Caitlin Comeskey had yet to take that next step on the felt until this summer.
The proud Texan has gone from being not just a talented woman both on and off the felt, to a breakthrough story here in Las Vegas with her biggest-ever buy-ins and results in a summer that’s just the beginning for a new, motivated, refocused Caitlin Comeskey.
Having only played mix for just over a year in private games and small-field $20-$50 tournaments on PokerStars, Comeskey developed a love and affinity for those games. And after cashing in the $1,500 HORSE and 8-Game last summer, she came ready to shine this year.
“So, the first week I touched down, I was killing it. I cashed the $1,500 Limit O8, and then I cashed $1,500 2-7 Single Draw. I won an Aria 2-7 Single Draw event, and then I cashed PLO8, and I won satellites into Big O and PLO8.
"Now, I don't play PLO8 and Big O. I don't play those games. I learned all the other games in the 8 and 9 game mix, but those are a bit beyond my pay grade, but I just was feeling so good and playing good.”
A reality check
Riding high in that first week of the summer, Comeskey made her deepest-ever run at the WSOP in the $1,500 2-7 Single Draw, her best mixed game, finishing 30th, but it came with a wake-up call in a moment that she called ‘overwhelming’.
Sitting at the final four tables between David ‘ODB’ Baker and Jerry Wong with one of the biggest stacks remaining, she played a huge pot that eliminated her from the tournament, which she called 'a punt'.
It led her to talk to her coach, Alex Livingston, about the harsh, sudden end to her early rush.
“I was in my doldrums about that, and I asked Alex, ‘How do you deal with the pressure?’ Because I couldn't even breathe. I do meditation and things to help me, but I've never been in that spot before, and it scared me.
"He said the only way you can get better and be ready for them is just to put yourself into more and more spots. And so, I really took that advice to heart, and that's what put me in the pot-limit events, where I'm really not comfortable.”
Comeskey would cash in one of those events that she wasn't completely comfortable in, the $1,500 PLO8. And with renewed confidence and motivation, thanks to her chat with Livingston and her experience in those pot-limit events, not all of it positive, the best was yet to come.
Caitlin Comeskey at her first WSOP final table.
Time for the big stage
The $1,000 Ladies Championship event would be Comeskey’s next breakthrough, final tabling the prestigious event and finishing fourth for a career-best $67,735. But she wasn’t done there.
With her confidence sky high again and embracing her love for mixed games, she decided to fire the $10K Stud8 Championship, using her own money from her Ladies event earnings. It proved to be a great decision.
Comeskey made her second final table in as many events played, finishing fifth to eclipse her high score for the second time in less than a week, earning $97,785. She’s having her best time ever on the felt, and it couldn’t have come at a better time.
“I’m on cloud nine. You can’t hurt me! It's been a dream. I wrote a thing on Twitter about how I'm so grateful for the magic that entered my life, because I was going through a lot, and I really did mean that. That was very, very authentic. Yeah, it was incredible. I can't believe it. Back-to-back final tables. Who does that? Me! I f***ing did that!”
And she’s far from done this summer. When we spoke with her, she was right back in the next $10K Championship event, 8-game mix. She's on to another Day 2 with a healthy stack and a chance at another run with the biggest names in the game.
Even with this new level of success, she’s not suddenly going to be blasting off into every $10K mixed event at next summer’s WSOP, not entirely anyway.
“I mean, I can't keep just flicking them in on my own dime. If I do a full schedule of them next year, I will definitely sell action.
"I would love to be chosen for a fantasy team. ODB told me when he saw me running deep in the $10K Stud 8, he was like, ‘I'm gonna put you on my fantasy team next year.’ And I was like, ‘You f***ing better!’ So, looking forward, that would be really cool, yeah.”
Could Comeskey be leading ODB to fantasy poker glory next summer?Stepping away from content to focus on poker
Part of what’s allowed Comeskey to reach these new heights has been putting her work as a content creator on the back burner. No longer associated with PokerStars or any company, she’s stepped back from that realm, exchanging elaborate comedy reels for end-of-night bag dance videos.
While she says the door on her content creation days isn’t completely closed, she’s in a place that she really wants to be right now.
“There are jobs out there that I would take, but at this point, I’ve been a winning poker player for six years, and I challenged myself to find out what would happen if I actually tried, and actually studied, and didn't do any content, didn't take any low-paying jobs, and just fully committed myself to the game. And that’s what’s up!”
