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Jeff Gross has proved himself as a poker player over many years in live tournaments, cash games, and on the high roller circuit. Recently, he became part of partypoker's Team Online roster. But from childhood to college, Jeff Gross had very different ambitions than playing poker for a living. Who was Jeff Gross.. Before the Game?
'I played soccer since I was four years old,' says Gross, looking back at his formative memories, 'It was one of those games that everyone played where they were young.'
Jeff Gross Poker Net Worth
Gross grew up in Ann Arbor, one of Michigan's busier towns. It was a place where little league soccer was very popular, he could always find a competitive soccer game to play in. When Gross was eight years old, something happened that had never taken place in the history of soccer ever before. The FIFA World Cup came to America.
'My Dad said 'It's not about what happens, it's about how you react to what happens.'
'I was eight years old and I went to games in Detroit at the Silverdome. I saw Sweden vs Russia [which finished 3-1 to Sweden]. That was the one I remember - it was very cool to go to a World Cup game right in my back yard.'
Being one of 71,528 in a Silverdome crowd watching a Swedish team packed with superstars such as Henrik Larsson, Tomas Brolin, and Martin Dahlin, the young Gross was inspired.
'I was just getting into the game seriously and it definitely helped to see it first-hand.'
Advice for football turned out to be highly applicable to poker, as Gross would later discover. Most of the advice he took came from his father.
'The strategy behind soccer and the gaming aspect definitely [apply]; having to deal with mental ups and downs and the competitive nature.. and being balanced.
'I'm an only child. My Dad, in particular, said ‘It's not about what happens, it's about how you react to what happens.''
Gross stuck with soccer and found it the perfect environment in which to test his mental and physical skills. Gross, a midfield maestro, made the team tick in the ‘quarterback' role.
'For a while, I expected to turn professional. I was captain of my teams all the way through.'
'For a while, I expected to turn professional. I was captain of my teams all the way through. I was a point man, more of a skill player.'
Having excelled in his local team, he became captain of Michigan Wolves, and would win a state championship with Gross central to the team's success.
'We had a strong programme, we were one of the elite academies. I saw a couple of guys who were two or three years older who were doing really well in MLS. I thought that could be cool.'
Gross loved playing and traveling with the team who were ranked number four in the country. The competition was everything to him, and he loved the feeling of winning.
'I stuck with it, went to college and got to Division One. I got to team up with really good individuals from the whole state.'
Gross was flying. But he was about to crash land. When he arrived at college, his dreams of soccer stardom didn't match up with some of the realities attached. But by then, he had a bigger problem: his coach.
'My coach and I didn't really get along. It was South Carolina, very Bible Belt and we just didn't mesh well. I started to realize the financial implications of playing professionally, even if I could get to MLS.'
Having longed to push himself to a professional standard, Gross discovered he might not carry on down the linear path he had been on since the day he first kicked a ball. He also discovered something else: poker.
'when I worked out you could win money playing a game, it was a blast.'
'I'd found my new passion of poker. Going to college, I really thought there'd be a chance of playing soccer professionally until that sophomore year when it became a little less fun. It wasn't feasible or physically realistic for me to go pro.'
Gross picked up poker over a plastic chipset. It was the summer of 2003, and in Las Vegas, Nevada, a certain Chris Moneymaker was about to change the future of the game.
Jeff Gross Poker Bio
'It was right around the Moneymaker World Series on ESPN. I always loved board games and video games and when I worked out you could win money playing a game, it was a blast.'
From learning the game, Gross moved pretty fast. There were $30 tournaments at his house with friends, 20 players sitting down to play. Cash games at the house started with blinds of $0.25/$0.50.
'I went to some University games and did well, it was a unique experience and a lot of fun. This was before I knew position or starting hands, any of the technical stuff, but really, no-one did. It was the very beginning.'
It was only the beginning for Jeff Gross, too. Both in poker and life, he was about to climb the ranks. Poker was going to be his future, and he was about to meet a person who would change his life..
Find out who in Before the Game: Jeff Gross (Part Two).
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PokerStars continues to reshape its roster of ambassadors, and popular streaming personalities Jeff Gross and Jaime Staples are the latest casualties.
Both players released short videos on Twitter discussing their exits from under the PokerStars banner.
Jeff Gross Poker Player
The announcements may come as a bit of a surprise to many in light of PokerStars' recent ambassador strategy, which appeared to zero in on exactly the type of streamer personality of which Gross and Staples are emblematic. However, in a recent interview with PokerNews, PokerStars' Eric Hollreiser did hint the company may change course slightly.
He said the company was '100 percent committed' to Twitch but also called it 'an experiment.'
'It's terrific, and the streamers are great, and they're building an audience and building a community,' he said. 'At the same time, realistically speaking, it needs to be at a much larger scale to have a meaningful impact.'
Jeff Gross
Gross' PokerFlowShow has been around for a few years now and was spotlighted right here on PokerNews back in 2016. In the years since, he has built his following up to a hefty 55,000-plus followers, landing a deal with PokerStars in 2017 as they ramped up their commitment to promoting streamers.
Gross, who has over $3.2 million in live cashes, was a natural fit with a presence both at numerous live events and his strong online following on Twitch. His natural charisma and ability to make connections had even earned him the nickname 'Professional Best Friend.'
In his video, Gross said he was unable to come to an agreement with PokerStars. He said he appreciated his time with the company and was grateful they gave him a shot as an ambassador.
'It's been an amazing, amazing journey,' he said. 'Signing my first major deal was super, super exciting.'
Gross: 'This is just the beginning, this is not the end of Jeff Gross Poker, of streaming, of Twitch.'
Gross thanked many people at the company, singling out over a dozen individuals by name, including fellow ambassadors Daniel Negreanu and Andre Akkari, to whom he said he owed special thanks.
Despite the fact that he'll no longer be sporting a red spade patch at any of the live events he attends, Gross won't be disappearing into the ether, though. Far from it, as he said he plans to remain busy and visible as ever.
'This is just the beginning, this is not the end of Jeff Gross Poker, of streaming, of Twitch,' he said. 'The FlowShow is coming to a theater near you. Got a lot of fun projects planned. We're gonna have a lot of fun together. Thank you to PokerStars, and I'll see you guys very soon.'
Jaime Staples
While somewhat less known compared to Gross when it comes to fans of live poker — he only has about $130,000 in recorded live cashes — Staples has built himself into a star on Twitch, where he has just shy of 120,000 followers.
Most notably in recent months, Staples participated in and won a high-stakes prop bet against Bill Perkins that brought him even more recognition.
With that pedigree, it was no surprise that Staples was one of the first ambassadors PokerStars brought aboard specifically because of his reach on the streaming platform.
Despite the fact that he'll no longer be sporting a red spade patch at any of the live events he attends, Gross won't be disappearing into the ether, though. Far from it, as he said he plans to remain busy and visible as ever.
'This is just the beginning, this is not the end of Jeff Gross Poker, of streaming, of Twitch,' he said. 'The FlowShow is coming to a theater near you. Got a lot of fun projects planned. We're gonna have a lot of fun together. Thank you to PokerStars, and I'll see you guys very soon.'
Jaime Staples
While somewhat less known compared to Gross when it comes to fans of live poker — he only has about $130,000 in recorded live cashes — Staples has built himself into a star on Twitch, where he has just shy of 120,000 followers.
Most notably in recent months, Staples participated in and won a high-stakes prop bet against Bill Perkins that brought him even more recognition.
With that pedigree, it was no surprise that Staples was one of the first ambassadors PokerStars brought aboard specifically because of his reach on the streaming platform.
Staples: 'Being sponsored by PokerStars was my dream when I got into the game.'
'I've been so lucky over the past four years,' the Canadian said. 'Being sponsored by PokerStars was my dream when I got into the game. My genuine peak of interest in this game was being able to do what I've been able to do these last few years. I'll forever be grateful for that.'
Staples said he'll look to continue promoting the game the way he has been as a PokerStars ambassador. Like Gross, he sent out a round of thanks to the folks he worked with at PokerStars, as well as his fellow team members.
'You made the days awesome. It's been such a pleasure working alongside you for the past four years,' he said.
'As for the future for me, I'm really excited. It's a little bit scary but at the same time, I know that if I continue to work hard, and I'm true to what I believe is going to make this game great, everything will work out in the long run.'
No internet game t-rex dinosaur game. The Stars Group owns a majority share in iBus Media.
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