Tom Marchese is known by the online moniker “Kingsofcards” and makes his home in New Jersey. His lifetime tournament career earnings exceed $2.4 million and he was named the 2010 CardPlayer Player of the Year. His 2010 campaign will be remembered as the breakout year for a player that many had on their radars as one of the up-and-comers in the world of No Limit Hold’em.
Marchese’s CardPlayer Player of the Year victory was by a wide margin over Dwyte Pilgrim, Sorel “Imper1um” Mizzi, Venssa Selbst, and November Niner John Racener. Marchese won the award by making 11 final tables, winning two tournament titles, and recording over $2 million in just 16 live cashes. His strong point total would have won him the award in four of the last five years.
His biggest cash of 2010 came in the PokerStars North American Poker Tour (NAPT) Venetian Main Event. He bested 872 entrants and took down $827,648 for his efforts. Finishing in the top 20 in that same Main Event were notable pros like Blair Hinkle, Andrew Chen, Andrew Lichtenberger, and “Miami” John Cernuto. Marchese stated that winning the NAPT Venetian Main Event was the highlight of the year.
His win at the NAPT Venetian Main Event was just the tip of the iceberg. He finished in fourth place in the No Limit Hold’em High Roller Event at the European Poker Tour (EPT) Monte Carlo stop for $350,125 and also had another six-figure payday at the World Series of Poker (WSOP) $10,000 Pot Limit Hold’em World Championship, where he finished in sixth place for $123,264.
Marchese had two other six-figure finishes in 2010. The first came in September in the EPT London Main Event, where he finished in seventh for $156,490. The second came in October at the World Poker Tour (WPT) Foxwoods World Poker Finals, where he finished third for $211,759.
It’s an ironic twist of fate that Marchese rose to fame in the world of live tournament poker after making his bankroll in online cash games. He played Limit Hold’em at $0.50-$1 blinds, but made his way up to the $15-$30 and $30-$60 games. Later, he took up No Limit Hold’em and was a regular at the six-max $2-$4 games. Eventually, he table selected between heads-up and short-handed games at mid- and high-stakes.
He started playing professionally around the age of 20 while still in college. He told Poker News Daily that he would show his father cash game graphs and explain that the game of poker wasn’t just simple luck. It wasn’t until a big score at a live tournament at Borgata that the decision to turn pro and leave college behind came to fruition. Now, his father constantly text messages to get chip updates during tournaments.
Marchese has said that his favorite poker destination was Aruba because of the beaches and relaxed atmosphere. He also stated that he likes to travel to Portugal or anywhere that has nice beaches.