“You know what my first step was? Looking for Cadillacs to buy. Literally, I was on the internet that night looking at Cadillac’s to buy.”

That might sound like a good problem to have but for poker pro Zach Schneider, at that time, he didn’t even realize that it was the beginning of a cycle that many poker players face – hitting a huge score and then finding themselves broke.

A product of the Moneymaker era, Schneider, now 35 years old, is quick to recall his start in the game of poker.

“The whole Moneymaker thing was the end of high school, beginning of college for me. I got caught up in that, like everyone else.”

Moneymaker’s run and the rush of online poker quickly arrived in Schneider’s life but he can pinpoint the moment he knew he was going to take the game seriously for life.

“I remember being super into online poker. I had a small bankroll, but I needed to get a job and I had an interview for one – like a pretty good interview lined up and I needed to get a suit,” Schneider said. “I went to stay at my buddy’s house who lived closer to the interview and I played in a tournament that night. I remember it was the Wednesday Quarter Million or something and I got fourth place for $24K, which felt like a million dollars back then.

“I ended up not going to the interview and that was pretty much it. Once I won an amount of money that was, at that point life-changing, that was it for me.”

The next he knew, Schneider was reveling in that first big score and shopping for a Cadillac. That wasn’t the only potentially reckless idea Schneider had for the money. He was booking flights to Las Vegas to fire live tournaments on the assumption that $24K scores were commonplace.

“It was kind of a bad thing in a way. It reinforced the unhealthy part of poker that a lot of people fall into when they find money early. I don’t know,” he said recalling how he moved up and down the stakes many times. “I went broke many times. I was just kind of…the bad player who thinks he’s good.”

“One day you have $20,000 and the next two weeks…you have nothing.”

The cycle completed itself a number of times before Schneider hit rock bottom. He decided he not only needed to take the game more seriously, but he also needed to get back on his feet by being staked. So he started to study and he started to build a poker network. First other players and eventually he connected with backers.

“I look at myself now, ten years later, and I have a pretty vast network and a lot of resources available to me and it really started with finding a stake and building a network.”

Five years ago, he connected with Jordan Drummond, the CEO and lead coach of BBZ Staking and Coaching. While Schneider had never before really had a coach, once he found Drummond and started studying with him, he’s never looked back.

“From 2014 to 2016 no one attended more of Jordan’s coaching sessions than me,” Schneider said. “I’ve been his student ever since. When you’re getting coached by Jodan, it’s very clear from the beginning that he’s extremely confident and knowledgable in what he’s talking about. It’s a confidence that you know it when you see it and as soon as it hits you it’s very humbling and you have no choice but to kind of submit. Like, it’s very clear this guy knows way more than I do. I just need to shut up and listen.”

Schneider did just that. He’s been with them for years and he’s now a product of BBZ Staking and Coaching. Schneider finds himself in the same company as notable tournament players like Jae ‘Yugiohpro’ Kim, Parker ‘Tonkaaaa’ Talbot and recent PokerStars Sunday Million winner Conor ‘1_conor_b_1’ Beresford.

“I don’t know if I’m capable of stressing enough of how much of a mentor, a friend, and an ally that Jordan has been over the years…even away from poker.”

“I called myself a professional poker player and that how I made my very modest and leader living for many years. But it wasn’t until I met Jordan and elevated my game – and the way that I think about the game – that I started to put real money in the bank and feel like the direction of poker was a legitimate one.

“He showed me that it was possible and the only thing you need to do is work hard.”

Just last year, the dedication that Schneider put into the game paid off in a big way. In October 2018 Schneider booked a career-defining win in the Main Event of the World Series of Poker Circuit event at the Horseshoe Casino in Hammond, Indiana. Schneider took home over $302,000 and his second WSOP Circuit ring in what he calls one of his proudest moments in poker.

“The fact that I could share that with friends and family who didn’t quite understand what I’ve been doing for ten years made it more real for everyone else. That was rewarding.”

Schnieder continues his work with BBZ Staking and Coaching and recently spent his first summer in Las Vegas, grinding tournaments full-time.