Matt Berkey

Matt Berkey is a professional poker player from Leechburg, Pennsylvania, who moved to Las Vegas in 2008 to pursue his career. He began playing full-time in 2005, building a career in live cash games while also competing online under the screen name “Berkey11.”

Before poker became his profession, Berkey studied computer science at Gannon University, with a minor in mathematics. A left-handed college baseball pitcher, he originally used poker to support his pursuit of professional-team tryouts. Even college road trips became opportunities to play cards with his teammates.

Berkey founded Solve For Why, a poker-training business built around understanding the reasoning behind decisions rather than simply memorizing strategies. He also created Poker Out Loud, an instructional format in which players wear noise-canceling headphones and explain their thought processes aloud during play.

His media work includes co-hosting Only Friends, the award-winning poker podcast whose original run concluded in April 2025 after 719 episodes. Berkey is also the subject of PokerGO’s Dead Money documentary, which explores his life and background beyond the table.