This whole narrative on Reddit/twitter/comment section about how Keating is sooooo meta/smart… He shows up and loses on purpose to get into better games gets old.

that's because the deck hit him in the face and he won 2 massive coolers

its somewhat accurate (the stuff like he did with ninja is exactly that) but with the caveat he's also a degenerate gambler at heart

It just gets old, it’s a bullet proof vest…
It’s either “Holy **** this guys actually good, he’s got everyone fooled. He’s a crusher, bro” or it’s “Sure he plays bad but it’s on purpose”

its definitely more in the middle. He's definitely not a crusher but he's mathematically sound so he has a gto base somewhere in there. Add in his good to above average talking skills and id say he's an above average player that often plays down to the table. Like a version of early Benyamine but not actually caring about the money

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hxx_yeUgkWk

here is the official clipped version

I think he plays below the table

He's a whale and the game is literally built around him and has been for a while. Playing nonstop means you improve at poker, and he's not a fool he just has too much money to be forced into playing well when he feels like gambling.

ive never got the whole i have money let me go donate to people at the poker table mindset

It's not his intent, it's just a by-product of not studying/working/focusing as hard as other people in the game. Poker is a lot of fun, but we want to spin the wheel with lots of hands and in lots of situations. It's fun to see what happens, or make a wacky call. I think we all remember playing in little games with our friends and making hero calls or running huge bluffs and laughing and talking trash. Poker is one of the few games where the winners/losers don't bisect along the 50% line though; if you aren't at the absolute top, you're at the bottom. If you aren't playing your best game all the time, you lose. This is why Keating gets credit for knowing how to play. He could play well if he wanted to (he's pretty intelligent), but his financial status means he doesn't have to, and the fun of gambling and the popularity/nice treatment/reputation as an entertainer is worth more to most people than a negligible chunk of their net worth.

People indicated in another thread that he was a secret crusher in the wealthy games. It's entirely possible, because his poker acumen and reputation as a whale would allow him to win for quite some time against lower-tier comp before they finally got sick of him. If he's picking up in bigger games than HCL, it makes it even harder for him to take it seriously. It's honestly a solid exercise in tilt control to play well in the big game and then go have your fun in a game that's minor stakes for you.

Dwan said he's been a pro for 15+ years.

Seems to be a similar case to JRB, maybe not the best player but creating great lineups for private games.