Joel "Binkin_Turns" Barton Getting Back to His Online Poker Roots
Hailing from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Joel "Binkin_Turns" Barton has been battling in the WSOP PA bracelet events. In his mid-forties, Barton jokes he has "the longest engagement possible" at 20 years, and while they were going to tie the knot in Las Vegas seven years ago, it was called off because his fiance said he "was running too bad that trip."
"We are happily engaged," he added. A former accountant, Barton became a poker pro after learning to play online during the "Poker Boom."
"I joined a poker club, read the poker bible and every other book possible," he explained. "I realized nobody understood this was a math game. I created hundreds of spreadsheets to study and was even No. #1 in Pennsylvania on PocketFives."
Unfortunately, like so many others Barton was hit hard by Black Friday back in 2011.
"Too old to move to Mexico, so I started selling cars," he explained. "Also started playing poker much smaller."
Pre-COVID, Barton was a regular at Rivers Pittsburgh, but not that the Keystone State has legalized online poker he's getting back to his roots. He's consistently in the top 10 in MTT count according to Shark Scope and is a solid winner under $50.
Barton, who has played the live version of the WSOP since 2015, is among the most excited players in Pennsylvania that their state has legalized and regulated online poker.