Digital Social Hour - Chess Champion's Shocking Career Pivot You Didn't Expect | Alexandra Botez DSH #925

Episode Date: November 27, 2024

🎯 Witness former chess champion Alexandra Botez's unexpected career pivot into high-stakes poker! From reaching chess excellence at age 12 to now preparing for a $25K poker tournament in the Bahamas, Alexandra's journey will surprise you. Want to know what drives a chess prodigy to switch paths? Alexandra shares her fascinating story, from achieving an 1800 chess rating at just 12 years old to earning her way into Stanford. But here's the twist - she's now all-in on poker, preparing for her biggest tournament yet! 🃏 Discover why this former chess champion chose to leave competitive chess behind and dive into the world of high-stakes poker. Alexandra opens up about the realities of professional chess, her streaming career with her sister, and why sometimes the most unexpected career moves make perfect sense. 🎮 Watch as Alexandra shares her poker tournament experience, coaching journey, and honest insights about making it in the competitive world of chess. From child prodigy to poker player, this conversation reveals the strategic mind behind the moves. Ready for more inspiring stories and exclusive conversations? Subscribe now and join our growing community of game-changers! 🔔 #hikaru #pokervlog #livepoker #gothamchess #pokertips CHAPTERS: 00:00 - Botez Hits Chess All-Time High 00:25 - Botez Exits Poker Tournament 01:20 - Chess Success in Poker Strategy 03:02 - World Chess Championship Predictions 03:48 - Botez's Grandmaster Aspirations 04:24 - Botez's Shift from Chess to Poker APPLY TO BE ON THE PODCAST: https://www.digitalsocialhour.com/application BUSINESS INQUIRIES/SPONSORS: [e-mail] GUEST: Alexandra Botez https://www.instagram.com/missbotez/ LISTEN ON: Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/digital-social-hour/id1676846015 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5Jn7LXarRlI8Hc0GtTn759 Sean Kelly Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/seanmikekelly/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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with iGaming Ontario. I hit a new all time high on Just Today. Heck yeah, what's your ELO? It's slow compared to you, but. Doesn't matter, it's about your all-time high. What is it? 1460. Let's go.

But you probably hit that when you were 10. I'm probably more like 14, but. Wow. Oh wait, 1400? Oh yeah, nevermind. Probably like. Wow, wait a minute, we filmed good. But I started playing really young.

All right guys, here with Alexandra Botez at the Celebrity Poker Tour, and you just busted out. What happened? I had six big blinds, pocket fives, ton of limpers. I shove, folds to the last guy. He calls me with 10-9 off. I have it up until the turn and he rivers a straight and we're out.

Damn. Feels bad, man. I mean, you probably made the right move. Hey, it's fine. It's poker. It's fun for It's poker. It's fun for everyone. Yeah.

You've been playing a lot of poker lately. I played a lot of poker in the first half of the year. And then I took a little bit of a break, but I'll probably play Bahamas this December. OK. So you're going to fly out and play in the tournament? And play the 25K. Yeah.

I know. It's going to be a big one. Is that the biggest buying you've ever done? 25K, yeah. Wow. So you've been practicing, I bet. I am going to be studying a lot leading into it, yeah. You got a coach and everything?

I do have a coach, but honestly, like just, I have- BetMGM, authorized gaming partner of the NBA, has your back all season long. From tip-off to the final buzzer, you're always taken care of with the sportsbook, Born in Vegas. That's a feeling you can only get with BetMGM. And no matter your team, your favorite player, or your style, there's something every NBA fan will love about BetMGM. Download the app today and discover why BetMGM is your basketball home for the season.

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Yeah. You're pretty new to poker, right? A couple of years. Yep. Yeah, that makes sense. I hit a new all time high in chess today. Heck yeah. What's your ELO?

It's slow compared to you, but. Doesn't matter. It's about your all-time high. What is it? 1460. Let's go. So it's only fitting I had you on today. Happy to be here. Yeah, but you probably hit that when you were 10.

Probably more like 14, but. Wow, damn, that's young. Oh wait, 1400? Oh yeah, nevermind, probably like. Wow, wait a minute, we feel good. But I started playing really young yeah how young when I was six I was really good when I was young and like I hit 1800 when I was 12 and then it kind of just tapered out Wow. What do you think caused that plateau? Um,

That's a good question I think I after I want a full ride when I was 15 for chess and then I just thought what else am I gonna do with Chess so then I sort of just what else am I gonna do with chess? So then I sort of just switched to focusing on school instead. Full ride to Stanford, right? I didn't get a full ride, but I did get financial aid, woohoo!

Let's go. Did you make it all the way through? I did, yeah, I finished. Well done. What's it for? Breaking news coming in from Bet365, where every nail-biting overtime win, breakaway, pick six, three-point shot,

underdog win, buzzer beater, shoot out, walk off, and absolutely every play in between is amazing. From football to basketball and hockey to baseball, whatever the moment, it's never ordinary at Bet 365. Must be 19 or older, Ontario only. Please play responsibly. If you or someone you know has concerns about gambling, visit connectsontario.ca. I don't know, but I did finish. You don't know the major? I do know the major. I'm just saying my college degree did nothing for me.

Well, I love the honesty. Yeah. But the networking was probably good. For sure. And I met some of my close friends there, so. Yeah. And you stream with the people you met there, right? No, I stream with my sister. Oh, okay.

Yeah. Who else? Pardon? Who else are you streaming with? Just her mainly? Like on the same channel? Just like in the videos I guess like are you collaborating with other chess players? Yeah for sure I mean like you collaborate with everyone who's in chess and generally in streaming. Yeah it's a small world right? Mm-hmm. Yes the world championships coming up next week you said right? Yep. Do you have any predictions on who's going to win that? I mean, Gukesh is the favorite, but more than anything, nobody cares that much about this World Chess Championship because the number one player, Magnus, isn't playing.

So it's like a World Championship match between World Number 4 and World Number 20. Not as exciting. That being said, Gukesh is 18. India loves chess. So like if he wins, it'll be big for him. Ding Li Ren already has a world championship title, but the world championship title doesn't mean as much anymore, because it doesn't mean

you're the best player in the world. Right, because the best players stop competing in it. Yes. Yeah, what about the women's side? Are you following that side? Honestly, I don't really follow that much competitive chess in general, but the women's world championship doesn't happen at the same time.

Got it. Yeah. Was becoming a grand master a big goal of yours? It was never even a goal. Really? Yeah. Oh wow. So you were just playing like,

like what was the main goal I guess? To win a scholarship. Okay. So you wanted to, you planned on stopping after the scholarship? I always really liked playing chess, but if you're not one of the top players in the world, it's very hard to make a living. If you're gonna be a grandmaster,

you might as well have gotten a PhD in something that actually pays you money. So yeah, it was just one of the things that I realized it's very tough to make a living, even if you love the game. That makes sense. It's like being a struggling artist. Yeah, so you're leaning more towards poker now?

I have been enjoying poker a lot and I'll definitely keep playing more. We'll see how it goes. Well, stay tuned. You said that, when's that event coming up? The 25K one? In December. In December.

So stay tuned for that and where else can people find you? On MySpace. Yeah, you still use it? Only platform I use. Okay. If you know, you know. Well, we'll link to YouTube below.

Sounds good. You got a good YouTube channel. All know, you know. Well, we'll link to YouTube below. You guys can do YouTube channel. All right. Peace guys.