For years, Dan “judgedredd13” Charlton was a grinder in each sense of the phrase. He put within the hours, battled on the tables, and was no stranger to a great night time out when the playing cards had been carried out. However 18 months in the past, he determined to make an enormous change, he received sober.
At first, it wasn’t about poker. It was about feeling higher, being extra current, and seeing what life seemed like with out alcohol and medicines. However as time handed, he began noticing one thing else, his recreation was sharper, his selections had been clearer, and he was taking part in among the greatest poker of his life.
Charlton’s transformation didn’t occur in a single day. Like many poker professionals, he had fallen into a well-known sample: late nights, a number of too many drinks, and a way of life centered round partying. “I liked my time consuming… not all of it, however I had some nice instances partying,” he mirrored. He wasn’t shy about the truth that he embraced the poker scene’s usually wild, intoxicating way of life, but it was clear that this way of life got here with a value.
Charlton isn’t the one participant who’s made this shift. Fellow professional and January GPI Participant of the Month Shannon Shorr stepped away from consuming in 2024, and in The Overlay, Lance Bradley’s Substack, Shorr shared how sobriety has helped him refocus and elevate his recreation. For Charlton, the impression has been simply as profound, not simply in poker, however in life.
The Turning Level
The shift towards sobriety for Charlton got here step by step. “I type of needed to cease for an extended, very long time,” he admitted. Whereas he had been caught within the cycle of partying, he knew deep down that one thing wanted to alter. However moderation was by no means his sturdy go well with.
“It’s not simply the time you spend doing all that stuff, it’s the cash you spend,”
“The factor was, I simply couldn’t do the moderation stuff,” he confessed. “I’d inform myself, ‘I’ll simply have a number of beers,’ however earlier than I knew it, I’d be six days deep, partying at somebody’s kitchen desk, and all the nice I’d carried out could be undone.”
This unrelenting cycle of highs and lows was beginning to take a toll—not solely on his poker profession however on his total life. “Whenever you become older, the hangovers worsen, proper? And all of the substances and stuff, it may well take a very long time to recuperate from. It’s not simply the time you spend doing all that stuff, it’s the cash you spend, and the truth that your mind modifications once you do all these things,” he defined.
Regardless of his data that these habits had been detrimental, the fact of breaking free wasn’t straightforward. “You actually get caught in that routine,” Charlton stated. The partying wasn’t simply in regards to the alcohol and substances; it was in regards to the folks and the life-style. “You’re surrounded by scumbags,” he mirrored, including that whereas not everybody he partied with was really “scummy,” the surroundings actually inspired conduct that wasn’t conducive to his well-being.
“Poker is my life. It is simply one thing I really like doing…it is stunning,”
The dearth of real connections made it even more durable to take care of. “Whenever you bond over substances, it’s not actual. You get into these shallow relationships,” he shared.
“You solely actually bond over your shared love of regardless of the substance is, however after some time, you begin realizing none of it’s fulfilling. And I knew I used to be shedding myself in that.”
Discovering the Energy to Give up
The choice to give up consuming wasn’t solely motivated by poker. For Charlton, the shift was about reclaiming his life. However there was one main issue that pushed him over the sting: his dad and mom. “I didn’t need them to solely ever know me as a scumbag,” he admitted. “I spoke to individuals who had comparable issues, and one of many greatest regrets they’d was that their dad and mom by no means received to see them get clear earlier than they died.”
His dad and mom’ fixed fear about his way of life had weighed closely on him. “I needed to kind it out, to indicate them I might flip it round,” he defined. Sobriety wasn’t nearly being a greater poker participant; it was about being a greater son, pal, and human being.
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The Poker Recreation Remodeled
As soon as he made the choice to give up consuming, the impression on Charlton’s life, and his poker recreation, was rapid. “Whenever you do all these things, the chemical compounds in your mind change,” he acknowledged. “It’s positively not a wholesome state to play poker in. And never simply poker, nothing in life. It was unhealthy for every thing.”
“It’s like escaping from a burning constructing. You throw the mattress out the window, you leap, and also you survive the autumn. It’s a reduction,”
And whereas he was initially uncertain how quitting alcohol would have an effect on his recreation, it shortly grew to become clear: sobriety had a strong impact on his poker selections. “I’ve at all times recognized I used to be good at poker,” Charlton shared. “I wasn’t at all times elite, however I knew I might earn more money if I simply received my life collectively.”
The main focus that sobriety offered was simple. “I at all times knew that if I patched all of it collectively, it might actually enhance my recreation,” he stated, emphasizing how unhealthy habits had beforehand held him again.
The outcomes spoke for themselves. In 2024, Charlton had his most worthwhile yr in dwell tournaments, incomes over $337,000, highlighted by a career-defining win on the WSOP Circuit UK Foremost Occasion. In 2025, he hasn’t slowed down. He already has 13 cashes and over $120,000 in earnings. His efficiency at WPT Prime Cyprus has continued the development, the place he is made three remaining tables and bagged large in Day 1B of the WPT Prime Cyprus Championship.
The Energy of Sobriety in Poker
Charlton’s success wasn’t nearly a fortunate streak, it was a couple of mindset shift. Sobriety had given him the readability and vitality to deal with the sport, one thing he felt was not possible whereas partying. “I’m not an finish boss or something, however I do know I’m fairly good,” he admitted, however he was assured that his greatest poker was forward of him. “At any time when I didn’t do any of the seshing about, I at all times did nicely,” he mirrored, realizing that when he checked out poker extra severely, it at all times paid off.
But it surely wasn’t simply the cash that saved him within the recreation. Poker had at all times been a ardour for Charlton, and regardless of the ups and downs, he had by no means misplaced his love for the sport. “I really like the sport. I’m not going wherever,” he stated. “Poker is what I do.”
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Discovering Peace Exterior the Tables
As Charlton mirrored on his journey, it was clear that sobriety had introduced him peace in lots of areas of life, not simply poker. “I’m in a a lot better place now,” he stated. The readability, each on the tables and in his private life, had allowed him to forge deeper relationships and luxuriate in a way of well-being that was beforehand out of attain. “I’m not judging those that get together, however I’m simply comfortable to have gotten out of that cycle.”
“I at all times knew that if I patched all of it collectively, it might actually enhance my recreation,”
The poker world was stuffed with highs and lows, however Charlton now felt like he was in management. “It’s like escaping from a burning constructing,” he stated. “You throw the mattress out the window, you leap, and also you survive the autumn. It’s a reduction. You bought out of there.”
Regardless of the struggles, Charlton held no grudges towards the folks he left behind. “I’m not hating on these folks. They’re victims of all of it too,” he stated with empathy. However he knew he had made the fitting selection. “Whenever you’re surrounded by unhealthy influences, you turn into a mirrored image of that,” he defined. “However once you get out, you see it for what it’s. I’m simply comfortable to have moved on.”
Ideas on the State of On-line Poker
Charlton additionally gave his candid ideas on the present state of on-line poker. His on-line profession was, at one level, his bread and butter, however he feels the net panorama has taken a adverse flip. “I type of retired from on-line poker,” he defined. It was actually reggy, and the ensures had been within the mud; they had been horrible.”
Charlton cited the rising prevalence of dishonest in on-line poker as one other main think about his resolution to step away. “There’s various dishonest,” he shared, pointing at collusion and real-time help that’s current in lots of on-line video games. “I actually really feel like on-line poker is dying; it’s getting exponentially worse,” he stated regretfully. “The cheaters work a lot more durable than the safety groups do as a result of, on the finish of the day, the cash that’s stolen comes from the gamers, not the websites.”
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The Future: A Lifelong Ardour
As Charlton continues to construct on his success, he remained as keen about poker as ever. He had seen the highs and lows of the sport, each on and off the desk, and had emerged stronger and extra centered. “Poker is my life,” he stated, with conviction. “It is simply one thing I really like doing, and it is quite simple, and it by no means will get outdated to me, , it is stunning.”
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Photos courtesy of World Poker Tour/Chamada Poker
Calum Grant
Senior Editor & Reside Occasions Govt
