Several athletes have etched their names in the world of professional snow sports, including Molly Bloom (skier), Ingemar Backman (snowboarder), and Petter Northug (skier). These pros have conquered challenges on the slope, but their athletic prowess hasn’t stopped there — they’ve also proven that they can dominate on the poker felt. After all, poker and winter sports are more connected than you think.
According to ski guide Mike Austin, playing or experiencing the high-stakes nature of poker can boost decision-making when navigating complex situations like avalanche terrains. This is because poker forces players to acknowledge uncertainties and craft strategies to avoid costly losses. Thus, playing the card game can help backcountry skiers and snowboarders enhance their situational awareness by looking for early signs of trouble when navigating high-consequence terrain. In other words, skiing or snowboarding in complex terrain is like playing high-stakes poker: one should learn to calculate if the risks are worth the reward, and when to fold or walk away from danger.
This link between poker and winter sports is partly the reason why quite a few snowboarders and skiers have tried their hand at the card game. This is coupled with the card game’s widespread popularity, with a YouGov survey finding that 60% of Americans play poker. If you’re still not quite sure how the two fields intersect, take a look below at three prominent examples of skiers and snowboarders who have ventured into the world of poker.
Molly Bloom
Molly Bloom is a former U.S. Ski Team member who ranked third in the North American Cup for moguls. She was well on her way to qualifying for the Olympics before a crash derailed her career. Since then, Bloom faced a significant career shift, turning to the world of poker as an alternative. Bloom was helped in part by the poker boom ignited by Chris Moneymaker, an ambassador for the US online poker platform Americas Cardroom who is best known for winning the 2003 World Series of Poker and making history as the first champion to qualify for the tournament through online poker. Moneymaker’s poker boom contributed to the card game’s popularity, allowing personalities like Bloom to set up their own poker careers. Bloom, also known as the “Poker Princess,” ran an underground poker empire in the 2000s, reportedly earning $4 million annually. Her venture into poker was featured in the film Molly’s Game, as well as in her book of the same title.
Ingemar Backman
When it comes to making a mark on snowboarding history, nobody has done it quite like Ingemar Backman. The Swedish professional snowboarder made history by setting a world record for the highest air out of a quarter pipe, reaching an impressive height of 8.5 meters, in Riksgransen in 1996. Since then, Backman continued to tally impressive performances, appearing on top of the podium twice in the Air & Style snowboarding contest in Innsbruck, Austria, and cementing his spot in the upper echelon of professional snowboarding. Aside from creating an iconic legacy in the winter sport, Backman has also made a name for himself in professional poker. In 2005, Backman participated in the European Poker Tour (EPT) Main Event, finishing 5th and winning $48,899. Backman currently has $147,682 in total live earnings, according to his Hendon Mob database.
Petter Northug Jr.
Norwegian skiing legend Petter Northug Jr. knows a thing or two about having a stellar career in the winter sport. After all, he has a total of 13 World Championships, two Winter Olympic gold medals, and 18 FIS Cross-Country World Cup wins with 13 podium finishes. Aside from an impressive skiing record, Northug also boasts several victories in high-stakes poker tournaments, with almost $40,000 in live earnings. In 2010, Northug participated in the 2010 World Series of Poker $10,000 World Championship – No Limit Hold’em event, finishing 653rd and raking $21,327. He also joined the Norwegian Poker Nationals, according to FasterSkier. In 2012, Northug finished 7th in the EPT No Limit Hold’em event in Barcelona, where he won $7,126.
Apart from their talent in winter sports, these athletes’ success in poker is what sets them apart from other skiers and snowboarders, proving their versatility and skills go beyond the slopes. For more cross-country skiing stories, visit the FasterSkier website.
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