From Professional Footballer to Poker Pro: The Steve Enriquez Story

In the course of a “regular” life, we are born, go to school, and find work to support ourselves and, depending on the situation, our family. If we are lucky, somewhere along the way, we find something we have a true passion for. We nurture and grow that passion until we excel at it. Sometimes, a person will get extremely lucky and find a job working in the field that they are passionate about. That person will spend their entire life never feeling like they have to work because of the love for what they do. Then there are some people who, after excelling to near the top of their field, find something new. A new passion. A new love. That’s what happened to GGTeam player Steve Enriquez.

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From the Pitch to the Poker Table: A Life-Changing Decision

Born in Spain, Steve’s first love, as it is with many Spaniards, was football (soccer for the North Americans here), and he was good. We do not mean the best amongst his friends or even the best in the neighborhood. He was good enough that he was drafted and made his professional debut in the Spanish 2nd Division B at age 19. It was during this time, when he was not playing or practicing football, that his friends and teammates would grab a deck of cards and play poker.

Steve first started playing poker at 16 and enjoyed the game. It wasn’t until he started playing with his teammates, most of whom were much older and, by extension, wiser, that he realized how good he was. “I have always loved football. It was my passion. But I loved playing poker too. It was a tough choice to make but I have no regrets.” And in 2010, he left the pitch for the last time as a professional and started playing poker full time.

The $50 Miracle: Never Needing to Deposit Again

His poker career started off as most players do: you find a great promotion and try to run it up as much as possible. Most of us, including most professionals, eventually have to make a deposit, but not Steve. “When I first started playing, I found a promotion that gave me $50 for free. I took the $50 and started playing online and winning. I ran that $50 up to $10,000 and I never had to deposit.” Over the years, since that initial run, he has made deposits, but it has always been with winnings he previously earned.

Finding His Home at GGPoker

It was this love of poker that eventually led him to GGPoker. “I love playing at GG. It is really the best site in the world. And it helps that I am doing well there. The community is probably the best in the world. And the things they are doing to push poker around the world, and to further develop the game, I’m happy to be a part of it.”

Building a Community: Streaming and Teaching the Game

Steve now splits his time between being a renowned Spanish poker announcer and poker streamer, and he thoroughly enjoys both. His streams are lively and engaging but it’s the community that makes it enjoyable for him. “I try to stream every day. Every day counts. And I love having the community playing along with me. Chatting and reacting with them. It makes it feel like I am playing with friends, and having them along with me to share the highs and lows…it’s one of my favorite things.” To further his reach aiding the community, he is also part of Mento Poker, one of the largest Spanish-language poker schools, which aims to foster poker with the Spanish-speaking community.

WSOP Dreams: Chasing That First Bracelet

As a poker player, Steve has been coming to the WSOP since 2015. While he has yet to win his first bracelet, the joyful excitement he brings wherever he goes is infectious. His smile simply says, ‘It doesn’t matter if you succeed, as long as you’re having fun,’ which makes any time spent with him feel fulfilling. He is hopeful that this will be his year as he prepares to go into day 2, but he is aware that his short stack will make it difficult. At the very least, “my goal is to just do my best. Last year I finished 554th, so this year, I aim to finish higher.”

The Power of Technology: WSOP+ App Gets His Approval

We got to ask him about the new WSOP+ app, and he was happy to share his thoughts. “The app is incredible, I love it. It makes it so easy to find your tables, get information on the other players, and it makes it easy to pay. But the best part is you can follow your fans, and they can follow you.

Live Qualification Drama: Surviving to Victory

Steve qualified for the Main Event through GGPoker this year, and he did it while on his stream. “It was a great time with my viewers watching. The best part was I didn’t even have to do anything. I qualified through $150 satellite into the $1,200 seat tournament. When we got to the final table, one of the other players was on fire. He literally knocked out everyone else at the table, and all I had to do was survive, which I did.”

The Show Must Go On: Staying Positive

Unfortunately, Steve’s WSOP adventure ended on Day 2. Starting with 20K didn’t leave him much room for maneuvering, but he did make a decent run of it. We saw him again afterwards as he was running to his next event, smile still in full view, as he shared a last thought: “Just keep it entertaining. Having fun should be the goal. Winning is nice, but if it’s not fun, why do it?”

There is no doubt that Steve will eventually win his first bracelet, and we will undoubtedly be seeing more of him every year. Until then, we will be watching his stream and enjoying the ride along with him.

Article written by: Shawn Altbaum
Photographs by Tim Ash and are owned and are the exclusive property of GGPoker.