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Tim Pool, host of the popular TimCast podcast, says poker has become far more than a hobby. Speaking to PokerNews at the 2026 Potomac Summer Poker Open in Maryland, the political commentator revealed he earns between $100 and $150 an hour playing low-stakes cash games.
Pool’s connection to poker dates back to childhood, when he played Five Card Draw casually with friends. He later transitioned to Texas Hold’em, initially playing with play money before the COVID-19 pandemic pushed him to take the game more seriously.
Since 2020, Pool estimates he has played poker roughly 20 hours a week. He primarily sticks to $1/$2 and $1/$3 cash games, and says that in July alone he was winning at a rate of about 50 big blinds per hour.
Beyond cash games, Pool has increasingly appeared at major poker events over the past year, including televised World Poker Tour cash game segments. At the 2026 World Series of Poker, he built up a bankroll through $5/$10 games before entering the $10,000 Main Event, where he advanced to Day 2 before busting when his ace-king ran into pocket aces.
Tournament results in Maryland have followed a similar pattern of near-misses. Pool exited just short of the money in the $500 Opener after losing with ace-jack against pocket nines, and again in the $3,000 Main Event when his ace-five fell to pocket kings despite briefly taking the lead.
Despite his polarizing public persona, Pool is described as easygoing at the tables, willing to chat with opponents about hands. He is currently competing in Day 1b of the $750,000 guaranteed Main Event and plans to attend future stops, including WSOP Paradise in the Bahamas.
