He Chased A Six-Figure Score For Years. Then He Missed It By $2.

He Chased A Six-Figure Score For Years. Then He Missed It By $2.

From Table 1 Podcast by Table 1 Podcast

August 7, 2026 · 1h 22m

About this episode

Michael Gagliano shares his journey in poker, detailing his near misses and personal challenges.

Ninety-nine thousand, nine hundred and ninety-eight dollars. That's what the conversion said. Michael Gagliano had never had a six-figure score. Every friend he had did. He'd been playing for years — good enough that everyone knew the name, never quite good enough to break through. Then he gets fifth in a WPT in Prague. Aces into queens. Paid out in euros. He's standing in the payout line. Plugs the number into XE.com. $99,998. Two dollars. That's the story of most of his career. Always close. Never the guy. He was a hockey goalie who quit one day because video games were more interesting. He wanted to be a sound engineer until his mom talked him out of it. He lasted one semester at UMass, played pool ten hours a day, read Bringing Down the House , and practiced counting cards alone in his room. Except he wasn't 21 yet. And you can't count cards online. So he found poker instead. Then he was a nit. A real one. He'd put $50 online, run it to $300, and withdraw it. Over and over. Never building anything. He became a special ed teacher. Worked 7 to 3:15, raced home, and late-regged whatever was starting at 3:30. He had $1,200 to his name and spent $800 of it on a camera he couldn't…

People in this episode

Hosts: Art Parmann, Justin Young

Guest: Michael Gagliano

Topics covered

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: UMass

Books & works: Bringing Down the House

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