Meet Charlie Chiu - Grindhouse 3

Over the upcoming weeks, we will introduce the Grindhouse 3 participants to the public. Charlie Chiu is flying all the way from Taiwan to join the project in the Austrian Alps and Pokercode sat down with the 25-year old poker playing YouTuber about his interesting career path, and why Grindhouse 3 is the logical next step.

Charlie Chiu is what you get when a Taiwanese boy falls in love with American pop culture. Chiu was born and raised in East Asia but he decided to go to the USA to study computer engineering. Despite being a senior, graduation isn’t something on Chiu’s radar currently as he came across the wonderful game of poker during his time in the country of the American Dream.

Growing Up In Taiwan

Chiu was born in Taiwan and grew up in a strict family with a focus on academic work. When he was younger it wasn’t just one school he went to.

“I woke up at 6 am every morning and went to school, but after school, I basically needed to go to another school to study English, math, and physics. I got home at 9/10 pm every day after finishing homework. My childhood was very intense and I felt that I couldn’t be confined within the rules, and I did the opposite of what my parents told me”.

In the meantime, Chiu focused any of his spare time on his YouTube channel, on which he broke down American music artists and their music. The channel currently has an impressive 458,000 subscribers. Since he couldn’t be held down by rules or wishes from others, Chiu went to the USA to learn as much as he could about American culture.

“I was fascinated by life in America, like the American dream. I went to the USA for the 2nd time in 2018 and I met so many nice people there. People don’t talk to strangers in Taiwan, it’s not really an Asian thing. It was really amazing to see the culture and life in America.”

Getting in Touch With Poker

So when Chiu moved to the United States to study computer engineering, he found another piece of American culture. After he learned about poker and what it was, he found Daniel Negreanu’s Masterclass. He learned the rules of the game and found himself with the dream of winning millions.

“I thought that if I learned everything from the Masterclass I was going to win millions, but I started losing so much money at the start. I just wasn’t good at the game.”

He decided to do what he knows best, create a YouTube Channel. His poker-related YouTube channel currently has 23,000 subscribers and he takes his subscribers along on his journey.

“I do Chinese poker content there and I actually got a lot of resources and opportunities because of it. I’m trying to upload one video every week, but now I also play full-time. I’m playing so much that I can’t really focus on college anymore, haha. I can’t grind 5 times a week and then take classes and study poker, create videos, it’s not possible.”

Charlie became better at the game as time progressed and he studied more. He made the trip down to the Nevadan Desert to play the World Series of Poker in Las Vegas last summer and he’s currently working on those videos.

“I started my poker YouTube channel as a side hustle. I wanted to become a pro first, and have the channel second.”

Finding His Study Group In Grindhouse 3

According to Chiu, poker isn’t that popular in Taiwan and most people relate it mostly to gambling. Those who are fond of the game aren’t that good and Charlie believes that is because of a lack of resources and study content aimed at the Asian market.

“Nobody is really doing Chinese content. Even if they have done it, it’s just not as good as the resources you can find outside of Asia.”

Because of the lack of well-studied poker players, Chiu has been riding solo for most of his poker career thus far, but he’s hoping Grindhouse 3 can bring a change to that.

“I always wanted to have some buddies to play together, grind together, and maybe even live together. It’s hard to find anybody here in Taiwan. The energy is just not right as they don’t study at all. A lot of people think they are the best, but they don’t study the game.

When I applied I saw Grindhouse 1 and Grindhouse 2 and I thought that it was amazing to see a group of people that all share the same motivation to study and grind together. It’s the perfect opportunity for me to find my study group, so I applied right away!”

Extending His Trip to Europe

Coming all the way from Taiwan, Chiu is looking to fly close to 24 hours to the Austrian Alps. Because of the long trip, he already thought about extending his stay until after the Grindhouse 3 project wraps up.

“I’m aiming to get to know as many people as I can. Players, coaches, of course, the participants, maybe even the crew! I think I can get better in 10 days, but the time is limited, of course. The people that I meet can potentially last forever and maybe I can make friends that can last a lifetime.”

Chiu’s incredible work ethic and motivation are admirable and he hopes that he can contribute to others in the house as well.

“I really like to talk with people about their goals and ambitions. Figure out what they’re passionate about. I think I can bring some positive perspectives and energy to push people to dream even harder.”

When asked about his own dreams and goals he slowed down:

“I think after I played for 3 years now, I don’t want to make millions anymore as I wanted at the start. I know that I can’t expect that. I think about my poker goal right now and want consistency. I want to constantly improve, grind consistently, eat healthily, and have a good schedule. I’m not aiming to win tournaments right away, because, in the long run, it’s about consistency.

I really hope I make fewer mistakes after Grindhouse. I want to understand more about the life of a professional poker player and how to have a healthy lifestyle with poker as my main source of income.”