Poker Writer
High-stakes poker player Stephen Chidwick was, until today, one of only a few celebrities of the game without a social media presence. He has just joined X, announcing his presence with a lengthy introductory post to begin his journey into “poker Twitter”.
His post on X discusses at length his place in the poker world and why he has chosen to join social media now.
Chidwick is the #2 player on the all-time money list according to Card Player, with $70 million in career earnings. He has long been one of the most elite players in the world, but little is known about him as a person or outside of poker, as he is one of the quietest and most unassuming players on the felt.
It appears as though the British pro has decided to open up a bit and engage with the poker world. He says he will use X to be more active in discussions to give his thoughts more often, something that he previously did not consider worthwhile. The tone of the post suggests that he particularly wants to be a part of conversations on mental health.
I guess I didn’t really think I had much of value to say….. “I don’t waste my time with social media,” I told myself. And while that decision was undoubtedly the right one for me at the time, the reasons were fabricated—or at least incomplete.
Chidwick Comes Out of His Shell
He went on to talk about that stoic table image and how people’s perception of him has affected it. Words like “robotic” have at times been used to describe Chidwick’s play. Aside from the quiet persona, he’s known as a well-studied “game theoretically optimal” style player who aims to avoid mistakes rather than going after his opponents.
This is a classification that has not escaped Chidwick’s attention.
When someone threw out an offhanded criticism—“boring,” “robotic,” “no personality”—I took it to heart. Because somewhere in me, I was scared they were right.
Breakout successes at the table, particularly in 2019, helped bolster his ego, he said, but also led him to pressure himself to be perfect.
He closed his post with encouraging words for others who are “in the darkness”. Urging them to persevere, he promised that things can get better and hoped that his own story could serve as an example.
Poker Twitter Community
Several players and members of the poker community welcomed Chidwick to X and commended him for his revealing message.
Fellow high-roller player Juan Pardo praised Chidwick’s message:
Truly inspiring. Thank you for opening up and showing your heart. What you’ve truly conveyed from the outside is that you’re a very focused person, with a great attention span, and someone who cares deeply about what you do. And those are very important values nowadays
Poker streamer and commenter Joey Ingram welcomed Chidwick’s fresh perspective:
We need some fresh blood on poker twitter
Although X is no longer Twitter, “Poker Twitter” is still what the poker community on X calls itself. It is still going strong even as many other former communities on the site disbanded in the wake of the changes made by Elon Musk. took over. Most of the big names in the game who were active on Twitter before are still active on X and it is one of the main forums for public discussions of poker issues.
For instance, Phil Hellmuth and Daniel Negreanu both have very active X accounts, as do other prominent players like 2025 player of the year Shaun Deeb.
Some players, such as Allen Kessler, are arguably better known for their presence on X than their actual poker play.
In that light, Chidwick’s “Poker Twitter” debut is notable is largely because of how unusual it was in the poker world for a player of his stature not to have a presence there to begin with.
That leaves Phil Ivey as the largest name without a “real” presence on X. Although there is an account bearing his name, it’s used only as a promotional account for his relationship with the World Poker Tour, with only a few posts a year, none of them personal in nature.
