How does it feels when you are all-in for a World Series of Poker bracelet and a minute later are ushered aside so people can see the winner? That’s one of the many questions we asked Allen Kessler in this week’s edition of Poker Routines.

Allen Kessler is Joey Knish, the consummate live grinder, doing what he needs to do to make ‘it’ work, like a tractor, stuck in low gear, patiently trundling from tournament to tournament.

He has been around as long as the deck of cards. Like a sturdy piece of meat marinating in a slow cooker, some people find him palatable, others not. He has a voice. He shares it. His very livelihood depends on it.

Kessler’s first cash came in the 2001 World Series of Poker (WSOP) when he finished 16th in a $5,150 Omaha Hi-Lo Split Eight or Better event that saw Scotty Nguyen beat Phil Hellmuth Jr., heads-up to take the bracelet.