How uni dropout made $100k in three months

He went to a prestigious private school and top-class uni, but dropped out to take a gamble. Now he’s making more money than most graduates.

You might say Malcolm Trayner has a good poker face.

The 20-year-old uni dropout has made $100,000 in three months from poker tournaments, winning $90,000 at one high-stakes game alone.

“I’m more successful these days,” he says with a cryptic smile.

Mr Trayner couldn’t say exactly how much he makes each week as his income varies depending on luck. But he’s more than “comfortable” from the lucrative side hustle.

“I definitely have losing days, weeks, even a month. But when you’re going through long losing streaks, you’ve got to trust in your ability … as long as you’re not the unluckiest person in the world.”

Mr Trayner pauses to stifle a yawn. The gambling guru has only just woken up, about noon, in his Sydney share flat. For many, he’s living the dream.

Malcolm Trayner made $100,000 in three months. Picture: @malcolmtrayner/Instagram

FROM PRIVATE SCHOOL PLAYGROUND TO HIGH-STAKES CASINO

Mr Trayner hasn’t always been a gambler. After graduating from north shore private school Barker College two years ago, he started studying applied finance at Macquarie University. But it wasn’t for him. He dropped out a month later, in March 2018.

“I didn’t drop out of uni to play poker,” he says. “I dropped out of uni to work, to make money.”

Malcolm Trayner went to prestigious school Barker College. Picture: Malcolm Trayner/Facebook

At first Mr Trayner only earned $25 an hour working at the local RSL. Then in October 2018 he had his poker debut. In two months he made $10,000 from the unusual hobby.

Then in December, he hit the jackpot.

“I got lucky,” Mr Trayner says.

He entered a global tournament, The World Series of Poker (WSOP), at the Star Sydney, which is the largest WSOP international circuit event in the world.

Malcolm at the WSOP tournament on December 2, 2018. Picture: Twitch

Mr Trayner was one of 1501 contestants battling for $600,000 in prize money.

“I got down to the last two players,” Mr Trayner says.

The winner was set to get a whopping $110,000 while the runner-up would receive $70,000 — still a staggering amount.

Mr Trayner made a deal with his opponent, which he says is common in the poker world.

Before the last round, they agreed to split the winnings 50/50.

He ended up coming second and both players left $90,000 richer.

PLAYING YOUR CARDS RIGHT

Mr Trayner’s big win was a year ago.

Since then, he’s gone from strength to strength in the risky world of poker.

With the lump sum in his pocket, he was able to play more high stakes tournaments.

Malcolm won $90,000 in one game. Picture: @aplcitynorth/Facebook

“The big win really got the ball rolling,” he said.

All year he’s been playing tournaments, both online and in person. And he wins more than he loses, on average.

“Since I’m looking to make a living out of it (gambling), I have to stay disciplined. I can’t afford to make mistakes,” he said.

MORE SKILL THAN LUCK

“While poker has a large luck component, skill determines long run success,” Mr Trayner says.

When he is told he must be really good at reading people, he just laughs.

“Facial tells are a very rare occurrence. I rarely pick up on body and facial tells. The importance of it is very overhyped by movies,” he says.

“The real skill is when you have a good hand and you learn how to win the most. If you have a bad hand, the skill is losing the least.”

Malcolm Trayner is making even more money this year. Picture: Poker News

And he has an ace up his sleeve.

He had 10 coaching sessions with an older poker pro earlier this year to improve his game.

“We looked at computer simulations (of poker), which I then tried to implement in my own games,” he said.

“The computers provide the most optimal, inexploitable strategy for extracting the most money from your opponents.

“I got a lot out of it.”

Malcolm is thinking of a backup option. Picture: Poker News

AN UNCERTAIN FUTURE

“While poker is going good, obviously I’m going to stick to it,” Mr Trayner says.

“It’s a game with no skill ceiling. You can constantly improve … so I still have a long way to go.

“There are some very good pros out there that would make millions a year.”

In fact, he knows one poker pro who owns eight houses at only 28 years old.

But the casino king recognises poker might not be a long-term career.

“Bad things happen to the best of us,” he says.

“A lot of people are delusional. They tell themselves they’re a winning player but they never win. Who knows, maybe I could be one.

“(My) parents initially thought it was a very bad idea and … still want me to get a backup.

“If I don’t end up having much success I’ll seriously have to think about going back to uni.”

As to Mr Trayner’s future, well, all bets are off.

If this article has brought up any issues for you, please don’t hesitate to contact Gambling Help on 1800 858 858 or visit the website