The Brazilian poker professional Kelvin Kerber is the subject of the second episode of GGPoker’s documentary series Online Poker Millionaires. From his upbringing to life-changing moments at the felt, Kerber’s life in Brazil is explored in detail by Poker Films as the second episode of an exclusive series dropped this week. We took a look at the surprisingly emotional short feature.

A Brazilian Background

In the first episode of Online Poker Millionaires, we met the Greek poker pro Alex Theologis. In Episode 2 of the series, the action moves from Europe to South America… Brazil to be precise.

Kelvin Kerber is now known as a poker crusher, but it wasn’t always the way. In fact, his grounded poker lifestyle is an appealing one. His work in grinding out a poker living playing $5 or $11 entry events isn’t something that he looks back on with any shame at all, in fact quite the opposite. Kelvin would clearly have been happy to carry on playing that way for years but his talent grew and grew.

Kelvin had poker dreams and he believed that winning a World Series of Poker bracelet would never come. But in the $1,000-entry Tag Team event last summer, he and his countryman Peter Patricio made it happen, winning $92,390 each and that all-important bracelet.

“This tournament was very, very special, because it was a tag team, so i was playing with a friend. Every year of my career, something very ice happened.”

Kelvin was 17 or 18 when he was introduced to poker via friends. Buying in for $1 dollar via his buddies, he won and took that $1 out of the $5 he won and paid it back. Every year since then, poker has kept growing for Kelvin. Now with an average buy-in of close to $500 and almost $4 million in GGPoker winnings alone, Kelvin has transformed his life thanks to the game he loves.

The Motivation of Family

Kelvin’s mentality and application are phenomenal and he is rightly very proud of the many online trophies he won before he even stepped into the live arena.

“On any Sunday there are so many options that can pay you $400,000 [if you win] for example,” he says. “My session on a Sunday is around $30,000 in buy-ins. Any prize in a $10,000 is a very good session.”

In the Poker Films production, which is directed and edited by Michael Bailey and narrated by Emma Topping, the documentary explores what drives Kelvin and that is centered around his family. His fiancée, Claudia, explains how she believes that the game has made him a better father to their children and partner than ever, praising his ability to make time to spend with them and getting quality time with their kids, as well as staying healthy by eating good food and socialising together.

“I want, when [the children] are old, for them to remember me being there for the trivial things of their childhood.”

Life was very different for Kelvin himself, who came from what he calls a very ‘humble’ family, but it’s clear that they were hard times he lived through. Poverty is a word that within Brazil has a different social meaning than might translate worldwide but working multiple jobs as a parent, Kelvin’s Mum needed her son to help out at home and it was what the man himself calls now ‘a long struggle’.

“When you want something you can’t have that people around you do have, it’s a mix of anger and thinking its unfair. It’s something nobody should go through.”

Kelvin clearly doesn’t want his family to endure the same difficult fate, and works hard at poker in order to preserve their lifestyle.

Tennis and Physicality

The effort of the mind in poker is mirrored by Kelvin’s love of Tennis which he plays two days a week. He thinks there are similarities between sports like football and tennis and poker, which he prepares for physically. Meditation, performing cardio fitness and eating well helps Kelvin stay focused at the felt, but he blows off some steam too with friends and family at regular barbecues.

“Poker not only gave me a career, but very good friends.” Kelvin says. One of those buddies is fellow Brazilian Fabian Kovalski, his poker peer and someone with $4.4 million in winnings on GGPoker alone.

“It’s inspirational for me to watch Kelvin and try to follow his example.” Fabian says. “He knows the game enough and is curious enough to look for different areas of the game you might not be used to.”

Watching Kelvin in the zone playing online is fascinating as he explains his thought processes and it’s obvious that playing the GGMillion$, which costs $10,000 to play unless you qualify into the weekly event that plays down to a final nine on Sundays and then down to a winner live-streamed on Tuesday nights in a big production on GGPoker.

“Downswings happen to all of us. I’ve had a 15-year career and still think k ‘Maybe I’ve been running well this whole time’. You have to have real discipline.”

When Kelvin won a $10,000 buy-in event for over $400,000, he won six-figure sums in several events, he then reached the GGMillion$ Final table. All-in with pocket kings, he lost to queen-nine when his opponent Chris Nguyen hit both his cards on the flop.

“If I could thank poker for anything, it would be my life entirely.” Kelvin says, and its then that the core value of Kelvin’s life is laid bare – gratitude.

When Phil Hellmuth won his 17^th and most recent bracelet, Kelvin finished fourth behind The Poker Brat. He came sixth at that GGMillion$ final table and has since appeared as a co-commentator on the show. But if those near-misses teach the viewer anything it is one simple truth.

Even bigger things than have already happened are coming for Kelvin Kerber.

You can watch Episode 2 of Online Poker Millionaires starring Kelvin Kerber here.