From poker, to business, back to poker with David Daneshgar
BonusFinder, an online casino comparison site, spoke with professional poker player David Daneshgar to discuss his experience playing in the World Series of Poker (WSOP), who his final table picks are and his transition from poker, to CEO and Co-Founder of Whippy AI.
Daneshgar was raised in Westlake Village, a quiet suburb in the northwest of Los Angeles. Growing up, nightlife was pretty quiet so Daneshgar and his friends began playing card games among themselves – purely for bragging rights – and they eventually started to add a few dollars on the line for the winner, to make it a little more exciting.
After studying economics and business at the University of California, in 2003, he took a Junior Analyst role in finance but soon realised he was making more money after work by playing, and winning, $5/$10 cash games.
In 2006 Daneshgar put away the finance suit and tie, packed two duffel bags, and decided to start playing on the poker tournament circuit full-time.
Speaking on his life-changing decision he said: “Looking back, the decision felt reckless, but the upside of mastering a game that rewards both intellect and nerve was too tempting to ignore.”
When reflecting on what attracted him to card games Daneshgar commented: “What drew me in was the mix of psychology and hard math: you’re reading body language one moment then running combinatorics in your head the next.”
Daneshgar’s experience on the WSOP circuit
Having won a WSOP bracelet back in 2008 at a $1,500 event, Daneshgar is back at WSOP in hopes of winning big – following a nice recent win at The Venetian:
“Just before the series kicked off, I played a $1,600 DeepStack at The Venetian and finished fourth. It was a great confidence boost because the structure there mirrors what we see at the WSOP – slow blinds, a lot of post-flop decisions.”
However, having previously snatched a bracelet he went on to say how that gave him a firm amount of confidence for future games:
“Having closed one out already gives me a calmness most people don’t feel when the cameras start rolling. I can draw on muscle memory from 14-hour days, final table lighting rigs and that surreal moment when they slide an absurd pile of chips your way.”
Transition into Co-Founder and CEO of Whippy AI
Daneshgar has earned over $2m in poker earnings since going professional and has now invested that into his own business – Whippy.AI.
Whippy AI, is an AI platform that’s aiming to reshape how companies engage customers through email, voice and SMS agents – combining all features into a single SaaS solution.
Through Daneshgar’s company, a staffing agency can run phone calls, SMS, email, automated workflows and a 24/7 voice AI receptionist from a single dashboard – “It saves clients the cost and chaos of Frankensteining five different platforms together”, Daneshgar commented.
So why enter this year? Despite being a successful businessman Daneshgar simply said: “The WSOP main event is poker’s Super Bowl, plain and simple.”
He continued to say: “Deep stacks and two-hour levels mean skill edges compound over time, and that’s catnip for someone who sees the game as a marathon, not a sprint.”
With a love for the game – money isn’t the motive for Daneshgar anymore (although it is always a bonus).
“Beyond that, the field is a fascinating mix of seasoned pros and first-timers who won their seats online. That diversity reminds me why I fell in love with poker in the first place – anyone, from any walk of life, can sit down with a dream and a chip stack.”
However, despite not needing the money Daneshgar is not counting himself out:
“I still feel I’m one of the sharper minds in the room, and if you believe that, you have to put up the buy-in and find out. Plus, no matter how many tech companies I start, nothing replaces that adrenaline hit when you bag up chips at 3am in the Amazon Room.”
Daniel Daneshgar’s WSOP final table 2025 picks
This year’s WSOP final table will occur on 15-16 July and Daneshgar has a few WSOP main event 2025 picks in mind…
Like most people, his top picks are the two top contenders and biggest names in poker – 11x WSOP bracelet winner Phil Ivey and 7x WSOP bracelet winner Daniel Negreanu:
“Phil Ivey is never a dark horse, but he’s overdue for another deep run and his composure is unmatched when the stacks get shallow.
“Daniel Negreanu’s edge is table talk and stamina; he extracts information the way a journalist coaxes a quote.”
Meanwhile Daneshgar’s outsider pick is Stephen Chidwick:
“He plays a near-perfect game-theory style, almost robotic in posture and timing, which makes him brutally hard to exploit. If the cards break his way early, he’s the player most likely to steamroll a table full of amateurs and pros alike.”
Poker tips from David Daneshgar
As someone who has done incredibly well on the professional poker tournament circuit, Daneshgar has a few tips to be shared…
First off – he clarified: “A lot of it boils down to applying selective pressure at moments other players dread.”
Prime time is everything: “On the money bubble, for example, many amateurs are desperate just to cash; that’s when I open every pot I can, forcing them to choose between survival and discomfort.
“Once the field tightens, the game becomes a puzzle of bet-sizing and board texture: each wager tells a story, and I’m piecing it together in real time.”
As well as being able to read others you have to be able to read yourself, with Daneshgar pinpointing the importance of emotional control: “Emotional control is the other pillar. Everyone talks about ’tilt’, but few practice the discipline to shut off the adrenaline after a bad beat.
“I treat each hand like a new chess position – no carry-over frustration, no victory laps.”
Speaking of exercising his technique Daneshgar said: “One of my favorite memories was The Borgata final table where eight of the nine players wanted to chop the payouts.
“I could see the fear in their eyes; I refused, used that leverage and ended up winning outright. That’s the payoff for staying rational when everyone else is negotiating from anxiety.”
Best online casinos to play poker?
Despite being a primarily land-based professional poker player, Daneshgar clarified that some operators have great offers to encourage you to transition into playing at brick-and-mortar casinos:
“I don’t grind online nearly as much as I did during the Full Tilt and PokerStars boom, but right now GGPoker has captured the spotlight.”
The reason for GGPoker? Daneshgar explained: “Their WSOP satellite system funneled hundreds of qualifiers into Las Vegas this summer, creating an international flavor you can feel at every table.
“From a player’s standpoint, that “click a button, win a $10K seat” model is the best bonus imaginable – it converts a few tournament tokens into the chance of a lifetime. If I log on these days, it’s usually to sweat a friend who’s deep in a GG qualifier; the rail is half the fun.”
Where would Daneshgar be without poker?
If Daneshgar didn’t fall into poker or tech entrepreneurship, interestingly he commented that he would have likely fallen into real estate – he assimilated it to poker:
“My uncle is in the business, and whenever I walk a property with him I get that same “edge-finding” itch poker gives me—just with zoning laws instead of river cards.”
However, family life remains an astounding presence in his life: “Outside of work, I’d happily trade a few boardrooms for more time as ‘Uncle David’; I have a niece and nephew who don’t care how many bracelets I own, which is the best ego check imaginable.”
