Joseph 'Joe' Cada (born November 18, 1987) is an American professional poker player from Shelby Charter Township, Michigan, best known as the winner of the Main Event at the 2009 World Series of Poker (WSOP). Cada became a representative of Team PokerStars in 2009 in the weeks prior to becoming World Champion. Joseph Cada was born on the 18th November 1987, in Shelby Charter Township, Michigan USA, and is a professional poker player who is most famous for winning the Main Event in the 2009 World Series of Poker tournament, the youngest Main Event winner. He is also a member of Team Poker Stars. The latest tweets from @cada99. Joe Cada, a 21-year-old card playing phenom, has become the youngest player in history to win the Texas Hold 'Em main event at the World Series of Poker. With his 22nd birthday just one week away.

Rumors have been confirmed that Jonathan Duhamel has parted ways with PokerStars. Speculation started during the WPT Seminole Hard Rock Poker Showdown, when Duhamel showed up without a PokerStars patch anywhere on his attire. And a quick trip to the world’s largest poker site reveals that the 2010 WSOP Main Event champ no longer appears on the pro roster.

Duhamel joins what’s become a growing trend across the online poker industry, where sponsored players have diminished value. Stars has recently let go of Alex Kravchenko, Dario Minieri, David Williams, Humberto Brenes, Jose Barbero and Marcel Luske. And a big sign that PokerStars no longer values former WSOP Main Event winners was when they dumped 2009 champ Joe Cada after he merely asked for 100% rakeback.

Other sites that have moved away from sponsored pros include Bodog, Full Tilt and Party Poker. The prevailing thought is that simply sticking a big-name poker pro in a tournament and slapping a team patch on them doesn’t draw recreational players. So many sites are busy trying to create an amateur-friendly experience over relying on a roster full of famous pros.

But this isn’t to say that sponsorships are totally dead these days. Stars has proven this by signing several players over the last few months that meet their brand strategy. First off, they signed Jaime Staples and Jason Somerville because of their big presence on Twitch, the live-streaming site that’s seen as the next big thing in poker. Other signings reflect PokerStars’ ambitions in Asian – even in countries like Japan, where poker isn’t even legal. For instance, they signed model/actress Yuiko Matsukawa namely because she’s a hot girl with mainstream fame in Japan.

Whatever PokerStars’ ultimate plan is with regard to sponsored players, it clearly doesn’t revolve around those who are just good at poker. Instead, signed players need to be multi-dimensional (w/ a Twitch presence) or just be cute/Asian like Matsukawa with no clue on how poker works.

1. Joe Cada is a professional poker player and the winner of the 2009 World Series of Poker.

Bio

For most young poker players, the decision to drop-out of school and 'go pro' is one met with disdain and caution, but for Joe Cada, that choice turned him into a millionaire. Hailing from Shelby Township, MI, Cada enrolled in classes at nearby Macomb Community College, but quickly realized that school was not for him. Fast forward to July 15, 2009, when Joe validated his decision to drop-out of school by earning a spot at the 2009 WSOP final table, which guaranteed him at least $1.2 million, and a chance at $8.5 million. When the dust settled, the last of the November Nine left standing was Cada, who at the age of 21, became the youngest player to win the World Series of Poker.

Prior to his crowning achievement, Joe Cada already had two WSOP cashes to his name: 64th in a $2500 NL event for $6K and 17th in a $1500 NL event for $21.5K. All told, Cada's WSOP earnings exceed $8.6 million.

For more information about Joe Cada, check out Poker News Daily.

Sponsorship

Upon making the WSOP final table, Cada was signed by PokerStars.

Picture

This is a picture of Joe Cada at the 2009 World Series of Poker final table:

Video Interview with Cada

Here's an interview that Cada did with PokerNews after making the final table:

More About the Final Table

The final tablers at the World Series are also known as the 'November Nine' because of the four month delay in between the bulk of the main event play and the conclusion of the final table.

The final table of the 2009 World Series of Poker included a vast array of players from the best player in the world (Phil Ivey) to a logger from western Maryland who had never been to Las Vegas before the main event (Darvin Moon).

Joe Cada Career Earnings

Heads-Up Play

When play was three-handed, Joe Cada crippled Frenchman Antoine Saout in nasty fashion as his ducks spiked a deuce to draw out on Saout's pocket queens. A few hands later, Cada finished Saout off when his A-K beat the Frenchman's snowmen, which set the stage for a heads-up battle with Darvin Moon.

Even though Cada started heads-up play with a 2-1 chip lead, the match was quite swingy as both players traded big blows. In perhaps his most important hand of the whole tournament, Cada opened to 3 million on the button and Moon called. The flop came down Tc 5d 9h and both players checked. When the Td fell on the turn, Cada led 3 million into a pot of 6.5 million, only to see Moon make a huge all-in move. After tanking for a while, Cada decided to make a hero call with J9 (second pair), and was able to hold up against Moon's 78 (an OESD).

On the final hand of play, Cada opened to 3 million on the button and when Moon three-bet to 8 million, Joe, who had Moon covered, quickly moved all-in with his 99. Moonsnap-called with his QdJd, but when the board ran 8c 2c 7s Kh 7c, Joe Cada's 9s were good and he become the 2009 WSOP Main Event Champion.

Post-WSOP Final Table Interview

The Bernard Lee Poker Show (10/6/20): Joe Cada Cardplayer ...

An interview with Joe Cada, the 2009 WSOP Main Event Champion. On the final hand of play, Cada's 99 won a race vs. Darvin Moon's QJ.