Jason Mercier Struggling At The Cash Poker Tables

Florida pro Jason Mercier is one of the most talented tournament poker players in the world, having won $16,422,563, and captured 3 WSOP bracelets during a career stretching back to 2008. As well as being the 11th most successful live tournament player in the world, the 29 year-old pro has also amassed a further $2,206,185, as well as 2 WCOOP titles, playing online at his sponsored site PokerStars.
While Mercier’s tournament credentials are there for all to see, the pro has struggled, however, at the virtual cash games and is currently -$611,127 in the red at PokerStars. According to his highstakesdb statistics, Mercier lost -$10,881 in 2011, and -$131,423 in 2012, and while the following two years he returned positive results having won +$52,276 in 2013, and +$75,415 in 2014, the last two years have been the worse of his cash game career having notched up losses of $-431,500 in 2015, and a further -$165,015 so far in 2016.
Nevertheless it’s a familiar tale in the poker world, and while cash poker players are often able to make the adjustment to compete at the tournament tables, the same doesn’t seem to work in reverse. Daniel Negreanu, for instance, is a -$361,676 life time loser at PokerStars’ online cash tables, although it seems like the 41 year-old star rarely dips his toes in the site’s cash game action any more, with his last jaunt more than a year ago. One other top tournament player, 14-times WSOP bracelet winner Phil Helmuth, has also been struggling at cash games of late and has dropped more than $320,000 over the past few weeks playing in his local home game. As the 51 year-old pro tweeted recently:
“Sigh, just realized that I WAS up $200,000 in 2016, now I’m down $120,000. I lost $140,000 last Monday & $100,000 this Monday #RoughWeek”
Fortunately, the biggest tournament series of the year is about to kick-off in Las Vegas on May 31st, with the WSOP providing ample opportunities for pros such as Mercier, Negreanu, and Hellmuth to shine at the poker variant that they know best.