Professional poker player and coach Adam Hendrix has accomplished much in his career, but his biggest achievement thus far may very well take place at the 2025 World Series of Poker. Catching up with Alaska’s #1 all-time leader in tournament winnings, Hendrix shared his thoughts on the upcoming WSOP, what the “poker grind” is like, advice to first-time WSOP players, and who he wants to see crush this summer.
Las Vegas, Nevada (April 7, 2025) - From the comfort of his home in Las Vegas, professional poker player and coach for PokerCoaching.com Adam Hendrix tuned into his virtual interview with the WSOP Media Team fresh off a cash in the Circuit Main Event of the recent WSOP Circuit series at the Las Vegas Horseshoe.
Cashing major poker tournaments is nothing new to Hendrix, having surpassed $8 million in career tournament winnings just a few weeks ago.
With the strong start Hendrix has had in 2025, readers may be surprised to hear that he has been playing less volume compared to past years.
“This last year or so, I haven’t been playing as much poker as usual,” Hendrix said. “I just bought a house so I have been chilling more here, playing some basketball, and still playing more poker than the average person.”
Even when playing less volume, Hendrix has already put up impressive numbers in 2025, with his $556,054 in winnings this year keeping pace with the consistent success he has had the last few.
The keys to Hendrix’s success? Playing when he is in the right head space, and of course, reaching final tables.
“Last year I was playing a lot less but still finding some final tables,” Hendrix said. “Playing when I feel like it helps.”
While Hendrix may be scaling back his schedule currently, as the 2025 World Series of Poker (WSOP) draws closer nearly every professional poker player is making plans to “lock-in” and grind come May 27th.
Discussing the 2025 WSOP, Hendrix not only shared his plans for the summer, but also offered insights for players making their first trip to the biggest poker event in the world, as well as who he thinks is due for success.
Hendrix (right) congratulating heads-up opponent Nathan Gamble after falling
just short of his first bracelet at the 2017 WSOP.
The 2025 World Series of Poker
During his very first WSOP in 2017, Hendrix came just short of pulling off every poker player’s dream: winning a bracelet.
Losing heads-up to two-time WSOP bracelet winner Nathan Gamble in the $1,500 Pot-Limit Omaha Hi-Lo 8 or Better event, Hendrix came just short of winning his first bracelet at the start of his professional poker career.
Looking back at his second place finish for $137,992 at the 2017 WSOP, nearly eight years later Hendrix is quick to point out the positives of the heads-up loss.
“If I win that event, maybe I wouldn’t have the drive to keep playing or show up to the WSOP,” Hendrix said. “Who knows? It could have been good for me in the end, it keeps you motivated. The person who wins something really big super early in their career may slack off the rest of it. You might not try super hard and assume you’re better than you are, but poker is very humbling.”
With eight WSOP final tables to his name and over $2.4 million in WSOP winnings, for Hendrix it may not be a question of it, but when?
“I think the bracelet will come,” Hendrix said. “It definitely hurts in the moment, but you’re still making decent money at these final tables.”
When asked what bracelet events he is most looking forward to competing in this summer, the Pot-Limit Omaha (PLO) crusher has a fun format circled on his calendar.
“There’s a half and half $25K,” Hendrix said. “I’m looking forward to that as last year they got rid of it, but this year it’s back. It’s fun because half PLO and half hold’em is just an interesting mixture, not many players play both games that well.”
Citing his approach of “playing when he feels like it”, Hendrix fosters success during the WSOP by not diving deep into a constant grind throughout the nearly two month long event.
“It’s hard to keep that consistency when the WSOP is going on,” Hendrix said. “It's fine to take a break during these long series because like there's so many other events. I think if there's that part in your head where you're saying ‘I'm not going to play very well today’ you probably aren't.”
“Even if you think you're a winning poker player, you're probably just punting a lot of equity every time you play when you could just be resting. You can improve your ROI (return on investment) for future tournaments by taking a day off.”
Along with the $25K PLO/NLH bracelet event, Hendrix looks forward to hopefully
pulling another six-figure bounty in the Mystery Millions.
Adam Hendrix’s Advice for First-Time WSOP Players
Along with only playing when they are in the right headspace and being willing to take days off, Hendrix had additional advice for poker players making their first trip to the WSOP.
“Plan your schedule a little bit and have a few tournaments you really want to play,” Hendrix said. “It's all about what you want, but remember these are big events. The amount of players in WSOP events are far bigger than like any other tournament series or tournaments that you usually play.”
“You have to dull your expectations a bit. It's very hard to make a final table because there's thousands of players in these events. So focus on not thinking ‘I'm going to win a bracelet’ or ‘I'm going to make a final table’ but more like ‘I'm going to play really well and I'm going to enjoy it.’
For PLO newbies playing their first Pot-Limit Omaha tournament at the WSOP, Hendrix recommends relishing the experience of the event rather than the end result.
“Treat these like a coaching experience,” Hendrix said. “(The buy-in) is an administrative fee to play and learn the game. Show up the first hand. Even if you’re a weaker player, if you’re trying to get the most out of the event, it’s good to show up on hand one to get the most experience and learn as much as you can. Pay attention to who you think are the good players and get something from that.”
Whether you’re looking for PLO, no-limit hold’em, or another format, regardless of the events you play Hendrix recommends new players come towards the end of the series. After over a month of tournaments, fatigued grinders may give new players an edge.
“A tip for the newbies that are coming: come in the last two weeks of WSOP and you'll find everybody's playing terribly and trying to make up their money.”
Hendrix thinks good friend Michael Rossitto is a dark horse at the 2025 WSOP
and hopes to see him have his best summer to date.
Who to watch at the 2025 WSOP
Out of the massive fields the 2025 WSOP will attract, Hendrix has his picks for who he thinks is primed to have a breakout summer.
“There's quite a few newer names, and you can put Clemen Deng on there,” Hendrix shared. “He was at Triton and pulled a pretty cool bluff with pocket nines versus ace-king in the $100K Main Event there. We hung out in Seoul, and he is definitely a young up-in-comer. He plays a lot online and is pretty good. I could definitely see him doing pretty well at WSOP.”
Along with Deng, Hendrix hopes to see fortunes turn in the favor of one of his good friends who has historically run bad at the WSOP.
“I’m a little biased, but Michael Rossitto has to have a good WSOP,” Hendrix said. “He just doesn’t have good summers. He kills it at the Wynn but at the WSOP I just don’t know what happens. His online alias for a while was WSOPboy93, so he should be the sickest WSOP player of all-time! He’s always super excited for the WSOP, I think he will be a dark horse this year.”
Plans for after the 2025 WSOP
Residing amongst the bright lights and bustle of Las Vegas, it makes sense that Hendrix enjoys getting away to somewhere more peaceful after every WSOP.
Returning to his home state of Alaska, Hendrix always looks forward to seeing family and friends as he enjoys the tranquility of The Last Frontier.
“When I get up to Alaska, I do everything but poker when I’m there,” Hendrix said. “I see some friends I haven’t seen in awhile, and we have this cabin that is super isolated. We go across the bay on a boat and can only get there when the tide is high, so you’re stuck there for 12 hours. It’s a cool experience, just hanging out and thinking about anything other than poker.”
A special thank you to poker pro and coach Adam Hendrix for taking the time to chat with the WSOP Media Team ahead of the 2025 World Series of Poker. Want to keep up with Hendrix at the 2025 WSOP? Follow him on Instagram at @icemanhendrix and on X at @AdamHendrix10. For poker coaching, check out Adam's content and info on PokerCoaching.com.