Jason Scott 'JCarver' Somerville (born April 15, 1987) is an American

poker player Poker is a family of comparing card games in which players wager over which hand is best according to that specific game's rules. It is played worldwide, with varying rules in different places. While the earliest known form of the game was ...

specializing in

Texas Hold'em Texas hold 'em (also known as Texas holdem, hold 'em, and holdem) is the most popular variant of the card game of poker. Two cards, known as hole cards, are dealt face down to each player, and then five community cards are dealt face up in ...

. He has one

World Series of Poker bracelet The World Series of Poker (WSOP) bracelet is considered the most coveted non-monetary prize a poker player can win. Since 1976, a bracelet has been awarded to the winner of every event at the annual WSOP. Even if the victory occurred before 1976 ...

and 3.9 million in live tournament results. He is the founder of Run It UP, a video/live stream series where viewers are encouraged to "watch, listen, and learn as he turns $50 into $10,000". He has been a contributor to the PokerVT training team as an advanced instructor in

poker tournament A poker tournament is a tournament where players compete by playing poker. It can feature as few as two players playing on a single table (called a " heads-up" tournament), and as many as tens of thousands of players playing on thousands of tabl ...

s and a "Ones to Watch" for the

World Poker Tour The World Poker Tour (WPT) is an internationally televised gaming and entertainment brand. Since 2002, the World Poker Tour has operated a series of international poker tournaments and associated television series broadcasting playdown and the ...

XI Season.

Career

Somerville discovered

poker Poker is a family of Card game#Comparing games, comparing card games in which Card player, players betting (poker), wager over which poker hand, hand is best according to that specific game's rules. It is played worldwide, with varying rules i ...

in 2004 while watching the

with his dad on television. Shortly thereafter, he began researching the game on the internet and playing locally with friends. Graduating from high school that year, a year early, he began playing freeroll tournaments online hoping to emerge into real money poker. In doing so, he turned "free" money into a six-figure bankroll without ever making a single deposit. From the ages of 18-20, Somerville added live tournaments to his online schedule where he was legally able to do so. He has played at the

World Series of Poker The World Series of Poker (WSOP) is a series of poker tournaments held annually in Paradise, Nevada, and since 2004, sponsored by Eldorado Resorts, Caesars Entertainment. It dates its origins to 1970, when Benny Binion invited seven of the best ...

every year since turning 21, as well as many other tournaments around the world, gaining increasing success and notoriety with each year. In 2013, Jason Somerville signed as a sponsored Pro with Ultimate Poker, the official gaming partner of the UFC. In 2008, Somerville joined the PokerVT training team as an instructor in the advanced

arena. In 2012, the

named him a "Ones to Watch" for their eleventh season (2012–2013). On February 27, 2015, Jason was announced as a Team Pokerstars Pro.

Online Poker

Somerville has over 250 online tournament "

in the money ''In the Money'' is a 1958 American comedy film directed by William Beaudine and starring The Bowery Boys. The film was released on February 16, 1958, by Monogram Pictures, Allied Artists Pictures and is the 48th and final film in the series. It ...

" finishes, totaling over $2.2 million in online tournament winnings. In 2009, he cashed his first Spring Championship of Online Poker event earning $35,140 for a 20th-place finish and cashed in five

World Championship of Online Poker The World Championship of Online Poker (WCOOP) is an online poker tournament series sponsored by PokerStars. It is played on the PokerStars website in September. Established in 2002, WCOOP is PokerStars' attempt to establish the online equivalent ...

events, including one final table, for a combined $21,760. In 2010, he won his first SCOOP event and cashed in five others, including another final table finish, for $448,421 and three WCOOP events for $19,100. In April 2011,

online poker Online poker is the game of poker played over the Internet. It has been partly responsible for a huge increase in the number of poker players worldwide. Christiansen Capital Advisors stated online poker revenues grew from $82.7 million in 2001 t ...

was shut down in the USA. Somerville was mostly absent from online tournament poker until 2013 when Ultimate Poker brought legalized and regulated online poker back to America, having chosen not to relocate out of the country. Jason played on Ultimate Poker until it was shut down in 2014 because the Nevada-based site's revenues fell far short of projected expectations. In September 2012, Somerville cashed in six WCOOP events, including two final tables, for $31,453.

Ultimate Poker

On May 31, 2013, Somerville, Jonathan Little, and William Reynolds joined

Antonio Esfandiari Antonio "The Magician" Esfandiari (; born December 8, 1978, as Amir Esfandiary), is a professional poker player and former professional magician, known for his elaborate chip tricks. Esfandiari was the face of the now-defunct poker site, Ultim ...

as the first members of the Ultimate Poker team. In October 2014, Somerville and Ultimate Poker parted ways. The parting was due to financial consequences created by Ultimate Poker's withdrawal from the

New Jersey New Jersey is a U.S. state, state located in both the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. Located at the geographic hub of the urban area, heavily urbanized Northeas ...

market.

Live Poker

WSOP

In 2008, Somerville played his first

schedule, cashing in three No Limit Hold'em events for $16,027. In 2009, he cashed in 3 No-Limit Hold'em events for $311,786 with 2 final table finishes. In 2010, he cashed in four No-Limit Hold'em events for $640,904 with 2 final table finishes and his first

WSOP Main Event The World Series of Poker (WSOP) is a series of poker tournaments held annually in Paradise, Nevada, and since 2004, sponsored by Caesars Entertainment. It dates its origins to 1970, when Benny Binion invited seven of the best-known poker play ...

. In 2011, Jason won his first

bracelet A bracelet is an article of jewellery that is worn around the wrist. Bracelets may serve different uses, such as being worn as an ornament. When worn as ornaments, bracelets may have a supportive function to hold other items of decoration, ...

in a $1,000 No Limit Texas Hold'em event, defeating a field of 3,175 players, and cashed in one other No-Limit Hold'em event that year for $525,274. In 2012, he cashed in 3 No-Limit Hold'em events for $124,683, including his deepest yet run in the

placing 69th of 6,598 players. That same summer he also placed 3rd in No Limit Hold'em

satellite tournament A tournament is a competition involving at least three competitors, all participating in a sport or game. More specifically, the term may be used in either of two overlapping senses: # One or more competitions held at a single venue and concentr ...

to the

Big One for One Drop The Big One for One Drop is a $1,000,000 buy-in No Limit Texas Hold 'em poker tournament hosted first in 2012, and for its first four editions, with the World Series of Poker (WSOP). It became the highest buy-in poker tournament in history as wel ...

$1,000,000

buy-in Buying in may refer to: * Buying in (poker), a tournament entrance fee *Buying in (securities), a process in which a buyer whose seller fails to deliver the securities contracted for, can "buy in" the securities from a third party *Management buy- ...

tournament for $400,000. Overall, as of 2020, Jason Somerville has cashed in 28 World Series events for a total of $1,733,859.

Other Notable Events

In April 2009, Somerville placed 19th in the €10,000 EPT No Limit Hold'em Grand Final in

Monte Carlo Monte Carlo ( ; ; or colloquially ; , ; ) is an official administrative area of Monaco, specifically the Ward (country subdivision), ward of Monte Carlo/Spélugues, where the Monte Carlo Casino is located. Informally, the name also refers to ...

for $68,372. In October later that year, he placed 73rd in the EPT €5,000 No Limit Hold'em Main event in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

for $14,646. In January 2010, he placed 4th in the Poker Caribbean Adventures $5,000 No Limit Hold'em tournament for $81,480. In February 2012, he made the final table, placing 6th, of the

Los Angeles Poker Classic $10,000 No Limit Hold'em tournament for $202,910. In June 2014, Somerville FYF'd a 100k High Roller tournament at the Bellagio and chopped into 4th place money for $1,327,352.

Online poker content

Somerville began his online video career creating strategy videos for PokerVT in 2011. Somerville posted his first YouTube series titled "Eating Cake" to

YouTube YouTube is an American social media and online video sharing platform owned by Google. YouTube was founded on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim who were three former employees of PayPal. Headquartered in ...

on December 2, 2011. The series lasted 30 episodes, with the final episode being published on February 13, 2012. After

Russell Thomas Russell Thomas (born ) is an American operatic tenor. He has performed leading roles at some of the world's leading opera houses, including the Metropolitan Opera, Los Angeles Opera, Lyric Opera of Chicago, the English National Opera, Deutsche Op ...

made the final table of the 2012

, he contacted Somerville to help him prepare during the three months leading up to the October 28 event. Somerville chronicled the experience in a six-episode documentary series titled "The Final Table". Since August 2013, Somerville has periodically released videos for a series titled "STORYTIME: Life and Times of J. Carver" in which he tells the story of how his career in poker began and has progressed throughout the years. Also discussed is the origin of the name "JCarver". The series currently sits at six parts, although Somerville has expressed interest in creating more videos for the series in the future. On April 14, 2014,

PokerNews PokerNews is a website dedicated to providing poker industry news, live tournament coverage, strategy, player interviews and videos, podcasts, and information on bonuses and freeroll tournaments available at online poker rooms. It is run by iBus ...

announced that Somerville would cohost the live hour-long PokerNews Podcast every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday during the 2014

, available on YouTube. In April 2018, Somerville appeared on Stones Gambling Hall’s live stream of a $5/$10/$20 No Limit Hold’em cash game as a commentator along with poker streamer Lex Veldhuis.

Run It Up

As of early 2014, Somerville has focused on live-streaming poker sessions for Run It Up on his

Twitch Twitch may refer to: Biology * Muscle contraction ** Convulsion, rapid and repeated muscle contraction and relaxation ** Fasciculation, a small, local, involuntary muscle contraction ** Myoclonic twitch, a jerk usually caused by sudden muscle c ...

channel. He was signed to Team PokerStars and began Season 3 of his Twitch stream on March 1, 2015. Somerville took a break from streaming on Twitch starting May 21, 2017, causing his followers to question if and when he would return to that venue, but he returned in August 2018.

Personal life

Somerville was born and raised in

Long Island, New York Long Island is a densely populated continental island in southeastern New York (state), New York state, extending into the Atlantic Ocean. It constitutes a significant share of the New York metropolitan area in both population and land are ...

. While signed with Ultimate Poker from 2013-2014, he has resided in

Las Vegas Las Vegas, colloquially referred to as Vegas, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and the county seat of Clark County. The Las Vegas Valley metropolitan area is the largest within the greater Mojave Desert, and second-l ...

. In early 2015 he moved to

Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

so he could play on PokerStars, which is not available in the United States. On

Valentine's Day Valentine's Day, also called Saint Valentine's Day or the Feast of Saint Valentine, is celebrated annually on February 14. It originated as a Christian feast day honoring a Christian martyrs, martyr named Saint Valentine, Valentine, and ...

of 2012, Somerville

came out Coming out of the closet, often shortened to coming out, is a metaphor used to describe LGBTQ people's self-disclosure of their sexual orientation, romantic orientation, or gender identity. This is often framed and debated as a privacy issue, ...

gay ''Gay'' is a term that primarily refers to a homosexual person or the trait of being homosexual. The term originally meant 'carefree', 'cheerful', or 'bright and showy'. While scant usage referring to male homosexuality dates to the late ...

in a

blog A blog (a Clipping (morphology), truncation of "weblog") is an informational website consisting of discrete, often informal diary-style text entries also known as posts. Posts are typically displayed in Reverse chronology, reverse chronologic ...

post. He is the first, and currently the only, openly gay high-stakes male player. He has found great support both from within the

community and from media outlets outside of the world of

, including

Perez Hilton Mario Armando Lavandeira Jr. (born March 23, 1978), known professionally as Perez Hilton, is an American blogger, columnist, and media personality. His blog is known for posts covering gossip items about celebrities, and for posting Tabloid jou ...

and

The Advocate An advocate is a professional in the field of law. The Advocate, The Advocates or Advocate may also refer to: Magazines * The Advocate (magazine), ''The Advocate'' (magazine), an LGBT magazine based in the United States * ''The Harvard Advocate' ...

References

External links

Official Website

Verified Twitter Account

Jason Somerville in-depth podcast interview about coming out, winning big, and UFCCard Player profileHendon Mob profilePokerNews profileWPT profileWSOP profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Somerville, Jason 1987 births American poker players American Twitch (service) streamers LGBTQ people from New York (state) Living people People from Long Island People with ulcerative colitis