Michael Mizrachi aka. 'The Grinder', who binked the 2025 Poker Players Championship for a record fourth title and WSOP Main Event Champion, joins Tuck for a cosy 888Ride.
This poker legend and titan discusses his huge WSOP summer, life after winning the PPC and Main Event, his poker-playing family, and prop bets with Chino Rheem!
Mizrachi first burst onto the poker scene in 2015 by winning the WPT Poker Tour (WPT) L.A. Poker Classic for $1,859,909. A year later, he captured a second WPT title when he won the 2006 Borgata Winter Open for $1,173,373.
Ten days before that second win, he finished as runner-up to Scotty Nguyen in the WPT Gold Strike Poker Open for $566,352.
Ten years later, this remarkable run was topped by his insane winning streak in 2025.
Michael Mizrachi Secures Historic Main Event Victory
The $10,000 Main Event attracts thousands of players from around the world, and the 2025 tournament was no exception.
Mizrachi was one of hundreds, perhaps thousands, of professionals joining the recreational players who threw their caps into the ring.
It seemed like a fairytale run, with The Grinder putting his tournament life on the line at crucial points, winning flips, bluffing and defying poker probability.
The results speak for themselves. Mizrachi took down the title, bracelet and $10 million in cash!
Keeping It All in the Family
The Grinder keeps it all in the family when it comes to the family poker business:
"I mean, like hanging with the family. I'm just on; I feel like I'm still on the run. So, right after I won, I've been travelling everywhere. I went to Cypress. It was an amazing event in Cypress. Thank you, Rob Young. You did an amazing job. We're playing a bunch of high rollers. I had my uh brothers with me.
“And guess what? My son's now on the poker scene a little bit. Okay. He's almost 21 in a couple weeks. So, that was exciting, and all the brothers were still in this tournament, and my son was deep in the tournament. He got knocked out with Kings versus A10 - another Mizrachi to worry about. “
With four brothers, growing up in the Mizrachi household was a raucous experience at best!
Setting booby traps and playing possum was a regular occurrence, and their mum had her hands full keeping the bros in line:
"We did a lot of crazy stuff. I was always the toughest one out of them. So, in the beginning, I think Rob, when I was really, really young, Rob hit me, and I played dead.
"So, I was on the floor, you know, trying to get him back. So, I pretended I was dead. I'm good at playing dead. So yeah, like it was a possum."
That said, the boys attended good schools and grew up with their heads on their shoulders, focused on success.
What’s Left on the Table for the Grinder?
With eight WSOP gold bracelets, four PPC titles and $29 million in lifetime earnings, what’s next for this gregarious poker professional?
"I feel like, well, the next chapter right now is I've done a lot in poker. I've cemented my legacy by winning the Main Event."
Don’t forget, Mizrachi picked up a Poker Hall of Fame induction post his WSOP Main Event win. The WSOP changed the rules to allow a second inductee in the same year, alongside Nick Schulman.
However, it's family that most fills up Mizrachi's life nowadays. He's planning to join his son, Paul, at the boxing gym and get back in shape.
“I'm going boxing with Paul now about taking boxing after this podcast. We're going right to the boxing gym. I'm getting back in shape. I'll be ripped by 2026. So, that's the goal.
“And I feel like the most important thing now is my health rather than playing poker first.
‘Cause, if you don't have your health, you’ve got nothing else. So right after this, I'm going to have my protein shake.
“Getting right to the boxing gym. I'm going to go into extreme couture MMA!”
We’re looking forward to what he does next outside the boxing ring and on the poker felt. Well played, Michael!
