Taylor Caby didn’t set out to change poker.
He set out to get a job.
Finance degree.
University of Illinois.
Do well in school → get hired → make money.
That was the plan.
Poker was just something on the side.
A few basement games.
$20 buy-ins.
Messing around with friends.
Then online poker showed up.
And the first problem?
He couldn’t even deposit.
He asked his dad to use the credit card.
Dad said yes.
Mom said absolutely not.
So for six months… he played freerolls.
Grinding for pennies.
Eventually he figured it out and loaded about $30–$35 online.
That was the bankroll.
Six months later?
He wins a tournament for $3,000.
By the end of the year:
He’s made about $50,000.
In college.
And within another year…
He’s playing some of the biggest games on the internet.
If you’re new around here, every week (or so) we pull a gambler out of their seat and ask how they got there.
This week’s episode is Taylor’s full arc:
From $35 bankroll…
To high-stakes crusher…
To building CardRunners…
To accidentally making poker harder for everyone…
To doing it all over again in another industry.
Then something bigger happened.
He realized something most people didn’t.
Poker players weren’t just losing because they were unlucky.
They were losing because they didn’t understand the game.
So he started recording how he played.
Not as a business.
Just something to put on a resume.
That became CardRunners.
And almost overnight…
Everything changed.
Players got better.
Games got tougher.
And suddenly…People started saying he was ruining poker.
From there:
♠️ Played high-stakes online against the best in the world
♥️ Built one of the most influential poker businesses ever
♦️ Partnered with Full Tilt during the boom
♣️ Made $10K on launch day…and got shut down for fraud
(Yes. That actually happened.)
Then came Black Friday.
And just like that…
Half the poker world disappeared overnight.
CardRunners lost a massive chunk of its customers.
Full Tilt collapsed.
The entire ecosystem changed.
Taylor’s take?
The whole thing “felt like a mirage.”
And here’s where the story takes a turn most poker players never make.
He didn’t double down.
He walked away.
Built a daily fantasy sports company.
Lost money.
Went back to gambling.
Then built another business…
Establish The Run.
Same idea as CardRunners.
Different game.
Before you click play:
Want to clear a 200% deposit bonus and battle some fellow degenerates online?
Phenom Poker is running daily MTTs, and first-time depositors can get up to 200% on $2,000 when you sign up with our link:
(And if you’re in Vegas… come play with us at Table 1)
🎧 Listen / Watch
YouTube: https://youtu.be/O358Vy13y5Y
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/episode/6WSHNuii7ruMBRdyQLyH8g?si=h0eElVYUStajyV2dzxeFbQ
Reply and tell us:
What was the first thing you ever made money doing?
Taylor turned $35 into a career.
See you next week!
— Art & Justin
🃏 @artparmann & @justinyoung07
📌 Don’t forget to subscribe for more behind-the-scenes stories from the world’s funniest, fiercest, and most feral poker personalities. (it really helps us!)
PS: Want to play high stakes in Las Vegas — but in a game that still feels like home?
Come play with us at Table 1.
PPS: Check out our Cardplayer Featured Stories — the best hands, moments, and madness from the pod.
