Ben Sulsky – A Model for High Stakes Online Poker Longevity

Some poker players have become online legends for their previous exploits. Phil Ivey, Patrik Antonius, Tom Dwan, Phil Galfond, and Viktor Blom are among the most-famous players to ever log on.

Ben ‘Sauce123’ Sulsky is also pretty well known, but not to the extent of the aforementioned players. He also hasn’t won quite as many profits over his online career as Antonius ($17m) or Ivey ($10m).

Nevertheless, Sulsky may be the best of these legends today. He’s one of the few online grinders from the old guard that’s still making serious profits today.

Sulsky Shows a Steady Win Rate Over his Career

Ben Sulsky first got his start in online poker by playing freerolls. He never even deposited in these early days and eventually ran his bankroll up to $3,000.

Sauce123 then quit playing for two years. When he returned, he quickly lost a $1,000 deposit. Afterward, he made another deposit and vowed to adhere to strict bankroll management principles. Sulsky has since gone on to make millions of dollars through online cash games.

He first entered the internet nosebleeds in 2011. Suslky’s intro was a rough one, because he lost several hundred thousand dollars in high stakes games. But he quickly steadied the ship and won $4.8 million by 2012.

Like many skilled online grinders, he found the Black Friday transition to be tough. His career winnings went sideways from 2012 to 2015.

He could’ve easily packed things in at this point, just like most other famous pros who’ve made fortunes pre-Black Friday. However, Sulsky has never stopped grinding at the highest limits.

As a result, he’s been steadily adding to his win total ever since a 2015 downswing that saw his career profits sink to $3.6 million. At the time of this writing, his internet cash profits sit at $5.6 million.

What Makes Sulsky So Special as a Player?

Earlier, I mentioned how other players have won more than Sauce123. In fact, he’s on the fringe of the top 10 when it comes to all-time online poker cash winnings. But what’s impressive about Sulsky is that he’s winning at a higher rate today than anybody ahead of him.

Take Antonius and Ivey, for example. They have triple and double Suslky’s career winnings, respectively. But both have lost money since Black Friday and largely retired from the internet scene. The same holds true for other online heroes, like Galfond, Blom, and Dwan.

Many of the same players realize that they no longer have the skills and dedication to continue pursuing internet poker at the highest level. Some now focus on different pursuits, while others just aren’t interested in putting this much time towards the game.

Whatever the case may be, Ben Sulsky remains an exception to the norm. He’s found a way to keep winning at a time when online poker is tougher than ever before.

Of course, this should come as no surprise when considering that Sulsky has a very studious approach to the game. His success is attributed to his dedication to working on his skills.