At 20 years old, Joseph Olivieri is not yet old enough to play in most American card rooms. That hasn't stopped the North Carolina native from building one of the more unusual young résumés in live poker: two WSOP Circuit rings, seven Seminole Hard Rock Poker titles in 18 months, and around $300,000 in live earnings — almost all of it in mixed games.
A recent PokerNews profile asked whether Olivieri could be poker's next big thing. His record so far suggests the question is a fair one.
The latest ring: Big O at TCH Social
Olivieri's most recent win came in Event #3, Pot-Limit Big O, at the WSOP Circuit stop at TCH Social in Austin, Texas. He won $31,990 and beat Yuval Bronshtein heads-up — a WSOP bracelet winner with more than $4 million in live tournament cashes.
Big O is a five-card Omaha variant, usually played hi-lo, and it rewards players who understand hand values in games where draws and split pots are everywhere. Beating a player of Bronshtein's experience heads-up in that format says more about Olivieri's ability than the size of the prize.
The ring was his second on the WSOP Circuit.
Why Florida and Texas
Olivieri's path has been shaped by age limits. He can't play locally in North Carolina because of his age. Seminole Hard Rock Hollywood in Florida, however, allows players from 18, and that's where his career took off.
He has won seven Seminole Hard Rock Poker titles in the last 18 months. For context, the Seminole Hard Rock record belongs to Raminder Singh with 21 titles. Olivieri is a third of the way there before most players his age have set foot in a casino. One of those trophies came in a 10-Game Mix when he was 19, for $18,665.
Texas card houses, which operate under a membership model, have also opened doors — his latest Circuit ring came at one in Austin.
He has also played the Asian Poker Tour, with three cashes including a win, and plans to head to the APT Championship in Taiwan in November.
From dealing home games to winning rings
Olivieri's route into poker started at 16, dealing local home games in North Carolina. "I was going to home games just to hangout with my dad," he told PokerNews.
He played football and rugby in school, but lost interest in academics during the pandemic years of online classes. College, he said, "wasn't going to be an option." Poker filled the gap. "Once I started playing poker, I just really didn't care much about school," he said.
That kind of story is more common than the poker world sometimes admits. Many successful players found the game young, often through family, and turned it into a career before taking a traditional path.
Why mixed games?
What sets Olivieri apart from most young players is his focus. The typical route for a talented young player today runs through no-limit hold'em — online MTTs, solver study and a move into high rollers. Olivieri has gone the other way.
He told PokerNews that mixed games are his focus, and that his next steps include a full WSOP summer schedule in Las Vegas, "mainly mixed events." He'd like to play mixed cash games too, but noted "there aren't many."
There are good reasons this approach can work:
- Smaller fields. Mixed-game tournaments draw a fraction of the entries of hold'em events, which improves the odds of making final tables and winning.
- Weaker average opponents in some games. Many hold'em regulars struggle in stud or draw games, while specialists who know all the games can find edges across the rotation.
- Less solver saturation. Mixed games have far fewer study tools than hold'em, so experience and game knowledge still carry more weight.
He's not ruling out hold'em forever. "I definitely want to start getting into hold'em, playing some of the bigger hold'em stuff. But right now my focus is mixed games," he said.
Next stop: WSOP Paradise
A WSOP Circuit ring comes with a travel and ticket package, and Olivieri plans to use it at WSOP Paradise in the Bahamas in December. Then, when he turns 21 in March, the full US poker calendar opens up — including the 2027 WSOP in Las Vegas.
His long-term plan is simple: "I just think about playing this for a long time."
What makes a mixed-game specialist
Mixed games require a different skill set from no-limit hold'em. A mixed-game player needs to understand stud games, where some cards are face up; draw games, where players swap cards and hands are hidden; and split-pot games, where the pot is divided between the best high hand and the best low hand. Moving between them at each rotation change without losing focus is a skill of its own.
Olivieri's wins in Big O and a 10-Game Mix suggest he has that range. Beating an experienced opponent like Bronshtein heads-up in one of the most volatile Omaha variants is a strong sign of how far he has already come.
Young winners are shaping 2026
Olivieri's rise fits a broader theme this year. Lucas Jumalon won the 2026 WSOP Main Event at 22, becoming the second-youngest Main Event champion behind Joe Cada, who won in 2009 weeks before his 22nd birthday. Young players who learned the game through online study and modern tools are reaching the top of the live game faster than ever.
What makes Olivieri different is that he's doing it in the part of poker where young players are least common.
What this means for players
Mixed games are an underused edge. If you're a hold'em player looking for softer tournament fields, learning one or two additional games can open up events with far fewer entrants. Start with Omaha, then look at our Hold'em vs Omaha guide to understand how hand values change.
Learn the basics before specialising. Olivieri's edge comes from knowing many games well. A solid grasp of hand rankings, including lowball rankings used in hi-lo and draw games, is the foundation.
Age rules vary by venue. Some casinos allow 18-year-olds; many require 21. Online, most real-money sites require players to be at least 18. Check our beginner poker sites guide for low-stakes places to learn.
Play online to build volume. Mixed-game tables are rarer online, but many sites offer Omaha and hi-lo games. Our real money poker rankings include sites such as BetOnline that spread games beyond hold'em.
Olivieri has five months until he turns 21. Based on the last 18 months, he'll be arriving at the WSOP with a résumé many players twice his age would envy.