17 years is a long time, whatever you spend it doing.
Back in January 2009, President Barack Obama was sworn in for his first term in office, Michael Jackson was planning a world tour, and young poker hotshot Lex Veldhuis had just signed with PokerStars as an ambassador.
In the intervening period one could fit the entire reigns of Alexander the Great, Julius Caesar or Keeping Up With the Kardashians. It’s twice the span of the recording career of The Beatles, and longer than many marriages.
And while there’s none of the bitterness of a divorce or a band break-up, Lex Veldhuis’ departure from the PokerStars brand has given the Dutch poker-streaming phenomenon a new lease of life. When major relationships end, it’s natural to spend some time figuring out who we are as an individual, what we want to do and where we want to go, and Veldhuis is leaning into the chance for renewal, reinvention and reinvigoration.
Plus, with no partnership commitments there are opportunities to ‘play the field’. After 17 years of playing exclusively at PokerStars, Veldhuis returned to the online streets this week with his first ever tournament at GGPoker. It went well.
‘I'm ready to grind'
“It's been 17 good years,” Veldhuis shares in an exclusive chat with PokerOrg. “I didn’t know if I would be doing this for 10 years. I figured after so long it would be cool to see what's out there, try different things, spice up the stream, try being a free agent in the poker world. New beginnings.”
That experimentation has already led to great tournament results, but as a streamer Veldhuis has other metrics for success, and that’s been going well too.
After a months-long period away from poker streaming — an age in the world of daily livestream content — his return to poker on Twitch proved that his audience is still there for him, with his first stream of the year drawing in the type of viewership numbers not seen for a while.
Some of Lex's fans wear…