Hailing from Vlissingen, Netherlands, and quite possibly having the coolest name ever, Dutch Poker pro Lex Veldhuis has made quite the name for himself across the globe.
Lex is, perhaps, best known for Twitch streaming under his online moniker RaSZi, his PokerStars ambassadorship, and his strong social media presence.
In the beginning (of Lex Veldhuis’ career)
Like many professional poker players, the 34-year-old Veldhuis got his start in gaming. For Veldhuis, it was StarCraft where, during an international event, he met French poker pro Bertrand “ElkY” Grospellier who introduced Veldhuis to online poker. In fact, it was Grospellier who deposited Veldhuis’ first $10 into PokerStars.com.
Lex Veldhuis is also an avid tennis player. He played from ages six to 19 and did well until he attended university. He later met Dutch tennis pro Raemon Sluiter and his girlfriend Fatima Moreira de Melo, and the relationship with the couple rekindled Veldhuis’ passion for tennis while Veldhuis coached de Melo in poker.
Hello poker
Veldhuis—like many online players—made the leap into live tournament play—but didn’t like the slower pace and one-table limitations when online poker afforded him the chance to play multiple tables at a far faster speed.
At the present time, Veldhuis’ total live tournament winnings are nearing $679,000 with his largest live cash of $277,939 coming in May, 2009, at the 40th WSOP $40,000 NLHE 40th Anniversary event where he placed 7th.
Welcome to Twitch
That said, Lex Veldhuis is predominantly a high-stakes online Pot-Limit Omaha (PLO) cash player. He is currently a Team PokerStars ambassador and streams his PokerStars and FullTilt action live on Twitch.
Despite being a long-time Twitch user, Veldhuis has only been streaming for about two years. In a recent blog post, Veldhuis said it was something he had wanted to do for years but wasn’t quite sure as to the type of streaming content he wanted to offer. Being a perfectionist didn’t help either, but he eventually learned that to make something happen, you have to start somewhere.
So, he turned on the camera and sought to “fix something every day” by embracing his fans and the incredible interaction such platforms like Twitch allow. Veldhuis says that Twitch connects poker and games—two of his passions—together.
Thus, Twitch has enabled Veldhuis to gain a newfound appreciation for poker—and multi-table tournaments (MTTs)—through the eyes of his fans. He has also learned how to effectively balance his audience interaction with his play.
In fact, Lex Veldhuis won a big tournament last November—one he even predicted he would win. Fancy that!
We did it! 15 hour stream, 9000 viewers and $55,000 for winning my favorite tournament, the $1050 @PokerStars Thrill. Insane Thanksgiving prediction LUL! Thanks everyone for the love and support. https://t.co/mWIrHlrfSs
— LexVeldhuis (@RaSZi) November 24, 2017
Lex Veldhuis also has a successful YouTube channel with more than 44,000 subscribers. If you are so inclined, you can follow him on his Twitter and Instagram accounts. He also runs a Facebook Twitch page.
Lex Veldhuis on a healthy life balance
Last year, Veldhuis opened up to PokerStars blog about his love of computer games and Game of Thrones and just being “the biggest nerd there is.” (For the record, nerds are cool.)
He recently adjusted his schedule to one more conventional (think daytime) to improve his work-life balance as poker—especially Twitch live streaming—tends to take up many, many odd hours. Now, he has time for other endeavors such as, um, playing video games with his new online friends.
Lex Veldhuis rounds his life out with his girlfriend, reading (Game of Thrones, of course), shooting pool, playing tennis, and otherwise trying to stay active in between being online. If you get a chance, check him out on Twitch. He’s fun to watch.
Until next time.
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