There’s an up-and-coming female star in the poker world. Even though she first learned poker as a young kid, Cat ‘Catrific’ Valdes didn’t enter her first tournament until October of last year.

That tournament was at a friend’s house, but the bug bit, and it bit hard. She decided to enter a real tournament a couple of weeks later, sitting down at the felt at the Bicycle Casino in Los Angeles. Valdes lasted until the final table, and chopped the pot with four other players. She only picked up around $500, but it was enough.

Valdes has spent the last seven years making a living vlogging on YouTube. She talks about virtually everything, from getting drunk to why she squabbles with her neighbors. She calls herself a nerd and a fan of strategy games, a skill that definitely helps her at the poker tables. The extroverted player loves what she does. It has allowed her a great deal of flexibility and she’s been able to mix it up with a lot of people she would have otherwise never met.

Her first interaction with poker came when she was still in elementary school. Her grandparents taught her how to play 5-card stud, but she admits she never seriously considered poker to be a life’s goal. Since entering her first tournament last year, she’s embraced the cards with both hands and doesn’t plan on looking back.