Excessive-stakes poker skilled, podcaster, and YouTuber Dan “Jungleman” Cates has simply issued a problem to his fellow poker content material creators. Believing himself to be “the very best content-creating poker participant, for certain, that is on the market,” Dan is prepared to face any of his friends who’ve at the least 10,000 subscribers in a high-stakes poker showdown.
Primary Problem Data
Dan launched the small print of this problem on his YouTube channel (@JunglemanDanCates) in a video dated April 18, 2025. The video is entitled, “I wish to battle poker content material creators…Who ought to or not it’s?” with a thumbnail picture asking, “Do You Suppose You Can Beat Me?” You may watch the video beneath:
Cates is prepared to face anybody who qualifies at minimal stakes of $100/$200 for 10,000+ palms. What’s extra, Dan’s able to play his opponent’s finest recreation throughout the problem.
That is an open problem, which means that any particular person who meets the factors of getting 10,000 subscribers can take part. “If somebody want to battle and stream it, that might be excellent,” Cates stated. Dan named just a few particular potential opponents, together with Phil Galfond and Mikael Thuritz.
About Dan “Jungleman” Cates
Daniel Cates, generally known as Jungleman due to his on-line screenname “jungleman12” at Full Tilt, was one of many legendary on-line high-stakes execs throughout the pre-Black Friday period. He started enjoying critically in 2008 on the age of 18 in $0.25/$0.50 heads-up video games. Using an uncommon “reverse recreation choice” technique whereby he sought out the very best gamers at his stake degree to play towards, Dan quickly superior to greater video games.
Dan “Jungleman” CatesPoker Winnings
Inside just a few years, Dan was enjoying in a few of the greatest video games on the web towards the likes of Viktor “Isildur1” Blom, Tom “durrrr” Dwan, and Patrik Antonius. In 2010, he recorded $5.5 million in winnings, making him the most important on-line poker winner of the yr. In whole, Dan has collected greater than $11 million from his on-line poker adventures.
He has supplemented this earnings with takings from main stay poker tournaments, which he started enjoying in 2011. His document reveals greater than $17 million in winnings from such contests, together with two World Sequence of Poker bracelets (consecutive victories within the 2021 and 2022 $50,000 Poker Gamers Championship occasion)
Off-the-Felt Endeavors
After all, being an enormous successful poker participant would not seize the entire Jungleman story as a result of he has additionally made a reputation for himself as a content material creator. Dan has been a coach with RunItOnce since 2021, and in 2022 he began a podcast referred to as “Successful the Recreation of Life” the place he interviews outstanding figures on this planet of poker to debate psychological well being, diet, philanthropy, and different associated subjects.
Dan’s YouTube channel has 28k subscribers, and he boasts practically 132k followers on Instagram. In the meantime, his X account has near 82k followers.
Causes for the Problem
There are any variety of explanation why somebody may problem a problem like Dan’s: the thrill of high-level competitors, the assumption that one has a optimistic expectation towards the sector, and even an insatiable longing for stratospheric betting motion. At first of his video, Cates shed some mild on why he is able to put himself on the road with this problem:
There’s a lot of poker content material on the market, and it may be laborious to determine who’s actually good and who’s not so good. And I will make this loads less complicated for you guys as a result of I will overtly problem all of them to play me at their finest recreation and show that I am not the very best as a result of I believe I am the very best content-creating poker participant for certain…I want to name out people who find themselves a bit of bit stuffed with shit of how good they’re, put them of their place as delicately as attainable.
It appears Cates’ motivation is twofold. He needs to exhibit that a few of his poker friends are inferior to they declare thus educating viewers. On the similar time, he thinks he is the very best and needs to show it to the world.
Later within the video, Jungleman explains that, “Poker gamers lately haven’t got an entire lot of balls. I do not actually suppose it needs to be that means, and I believe that someway, boldness needs to be glorified.” So he is seeking to get away from the GTO-optimized, grind-small-edges philosophy of poker and into extra of a realm the place particular person braveness and nerves of metal are rewarded.
After all, generally the obvious motivations are the true ones. Dan’s YouTube channel has fewer than 30k subscribers: not loads for a three-year-old channel by a poker participant of his caliber. It is possible that is he is seeking to drum up some site visitors and engagement for his content material.
Not Jungleman’s First Rodeo
Although the participant pool for these sorts of high-stakes duels is restricted to these with the required bankrolls and mindsets, Dan Cates has been on this demographic for a very long time. Certainly, he has participated in lots of such battles prior to now.
Maybe essentially the most well-known of those was the “durrrr problem.” This was a 50,000-hand problem from Tom “durrrr” Dwan with stakes of $200/$400+ and 4 tables performed on the similar time. In addition to the wins and losses incurred on the tables, there was a aspect wager concerned: If Dwan gained, he would get an extra $500,000 from his opponent, but when the opposite participant prevailed, “durrrr” must hand over $1.5 million.
Cates accepted the problem, they usually started enjoying in August 2010. Dan began off solidly, successful greater than $1 million. Nevertheless, the venue for the occasion, Full Tilt Poker, went belly-up because of the occasions of Black Friday earlier than the match may very well be concluded. There have been a number of half-hearted makes an attempt to resurrect it over time, however as of April 2025, solely round 20,000 of the minimal 50,000 palms have been performed.
Extra not too long ago, Phil Galfond issued a problem, which Dan accepted, they usually started enjoying in early 2023. This was a smaller problem for 7,500 palms of PLO, however the two rivals solely managed to place in six classes on the tables earlier than the problem was suspended indefinitely.
Follow Your Heads-up Recreation At the moment
Though many on-line poker websites have ceased to supply two-player tables, there are nonetheless some that function them, like Ignition. This allows you to follow for the sorts of heads-up duels favored by the likes of Dan “Jungleman” Cates and Phil Galfond. Whenever you make your first deposit at Ignition via crypto-currency, you may get a 150% as much as $1,500 bonus, which may positively be cleared via heads-up play. Press the button beneath to enroll:
To be taught extra about Ignition earlier than continuing additional, try this complete Ignition Poker overview.
April 15, 2025 – by Max Golden, Editor-in-Chief
