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For years, Dan “judgedredd13” Charlton was a grinder in every sense of the word. He put in the hours, battled at the tables, and was no stranger to a good night out when the cards were done. But 18 months ago, he decided to make a big change, he got sober.

At first, it wasn’t about poker. It was about feeling better, being more present, and seeing what life looked like without alcohol and drugs. But as time passed, he started noticing something else, his game was sharper, his decisions were clearer, and he was playing some of the best poker of his life.

Charlton’s transformation didn’t happen overnight. Like many poker pros, he had fallen into a familiar pattern: late nights, a few too many drinks, and a lifestyle centered around partying. “I loved my time drinking… not all of it, but I had some great times partying,” he reflected. He wasn’t shy about the fact that he embraced the poker scene’s often wild, intoxicating lifestyle, yet it was clear that this lifestyle came with a price.

Charlton isn’t the only player who’s made this shift. Fellow pro and January GPI Player of the MonthShannon Shorr stepped away from drinking in 2024, and in The Overlay, Lance Bradley’s Substack, Shorr shared how sobriety has helped him refocus and elevate his game. For Charlton, the impact has been just as profound, not just in poker, but in life.

The Turning Point

The shift toward sobriety for Charlton came gradually. “I kind of wanted to stop for a long, long time,” he admitted. While he had been caught in the cycle of partying, he knew deep down that something needed to change. But moderation was never his strong suit.

“It’s not just the time you spend doing all that stuff, it’s the money you spend,”

“The thing was, I just couldn’t do the moderation stuff,” he confessed. “I’d tell myself, ‘I’ll just have a few beers,’ but before I knew it, I’d be six days deep, partying at someone’s kitchen table, and all the good I’d done would be undone.”

This unrelenting cycle of highs and lows was starting to take a toll—not only on his poker career but on his overall life. “When you get older, the hangovers get worse, right? And all the substances and stuff, it can take a long time to recover from. It’s not just the time you spend doing all that stuff, it’s the money you spend, and the fact that your brain changes when you do all this stuff,” he explained.

Despite his knowledge that these habits were detrimental, the reality of breaking free wasn’t easy. “You really get stuck in that routine,” Charlton said. The partying wasn’t just about the alcohol and substances; it was about the people and the lifestyle. “You’re surrounded by scumbags,” he reflected, adding that while not everyone he partied with was truly “scummy,” the environment certainly encouraged behavior that wasn’t conducive to his well-being.

“Poker is my life. It’s just something I love doing…it’s beautiful,”

The lack of genuine connections made it even harder to maintain. “When you bond over substances, it’s not real. You get into these shallow relationships,” he shared.

“You only really bond over your shared love of whatever the substance is, but after a while, you start realizing none of it is fulfilling. And I knew I was losing myself in that.”

Finding the Strength to Quit

The decision to quit drinking wasn’t solely motivated by poker. For Charlton, the shift was about reclaiming his life. But there was one major factor that pushed him over the edge: his parents. “I didn’t want them to only ever know me as a scumbag,” he admitted. “I spoke to people who had similar problems, and one of the biggest regrets they had was that their parents never got to see them get clean before they died.”

His parents’ constant worry about his lifestyle had weighed heavily on him. “I wanted to sort it out, to show them I could turn it around,” he explained. Sobriety wasn’t just about being a better poker player; it was about being a better son, friend, and human being.

WSOP Main Event Finalist Philippe Souki Among Champions at WPT Prime Cyprus

The Poker Game Transformed

Once he made the decision to quit drinking, the impact on Charlton’s life, and his poker game, was immediate. “When you do all this stuff, the chemicals in your brain change,” he acknowledged. “It’s definitely not a healthy state to play poker in. And not just poker, nothing in life. It was bad for everything.”

“It’s like escaping from a burning building. You throw the mattress out the window, you jump, and you survive the fall. It’s a relief,”

And while he was initially unsure how quitting alcohol would affect his game, it quickly became clear: sobriety had a powerful effect on his poker decisions. “I’ve always known I was good at poker,” Charlton shared. “I wasn’t always elite, but I knew I could make more money if I just got my life together.”

The focus that sobriety provided was undeniable. “I always knew that if I patched it all together, it would really improve my game,” he said, emphasizing how bad habits had previously held him back.

The results spoke for themselves. In 2024, Charlton had his most profitable year in live tournaments, earning over $337,000, highlighted by a career-defining win at the WSOP Circuit UK Main Event. In 2025, he hasn’t slowed down. He already has 13 cashes and over $120,000 in earnings. His performance at WPT Prime Cyprus has continued the trend, where he’s made three final tables and bagged big in Day 1B of the WPT Prime Cyprus Championship.

The Power of Sobriety in Poker

Charlton’s success wasn’t just about a lucky streak, it was about a mindset shift. Sobriety had given him the clarity and energy to focus on the game, something he felt was impossible while partying. “I’m not an end boss or anything, but I know I’m pretty good,” he admitted, but he was confident that his best poker was ahead of him. “Whenever I didn’t do any of the seshing about, I always did well,” he reflected, realizing that when he looked at poker more seriously, it always paid off.

But it wasn’t just the money that kept him in the game. Poker had always been a passion for Charlton, and despite the ups and downs, he had never lost his love for the game. “I love the game. I’m not going anywhere,” he said. “Poker is what I do.”

Finding Peace Outside the Tables

As Charlton reflected on his journey, it was clear that sobriety had brought him peace in many areas of life, not just poker. “I’m in a much better place now,” he said. The clarity, both at the tables and in his personal life, had allowed him to forge deeper relationships and enjoy a sense of well-being that was previously out of reach. “I’m not judging people that party, but I’m just happy to have gotten out of that cycle.”

“I always knew that if I patched it all together, it would really improve my game,”

The poker world was filled with highs and lows, but Charlton now felt like he was in control. “It’s like escaping from a burning building,” he said. “You throw the mattress out the window, you jump, and you survive the fall. It’s a relief. You got out of there.”

Despite the struggles, Charlton held no grudges against the people he left behind. “I’m not hating on these people. They’re victims of it all too,” he said with empathy. But he knew he had made the right choice. “When you’re surrounded by bad influences, you become a reflection of that,” he explained. “But when you get out, you see it for what it is. I’m just happy to have moved on.”

Holtz cites an alleged incident from the Poker Atlas Tour Main Event at Resorts World.

Thoughts on the State of Online Poker

Charlton also gave his candid thoughts on the current state of online poker. His online career was, at one point, his bread and butter, but he feels the online landscape has taken a negative turn. “I kind of retired from online poker,” he explained. It was really reggy, and the guarantees were in the mud; they were terrible.”

Charlton cited the growing prevalence of cheating in online poker as another major factor in his decision to step away. “There’s quite a lot of cheating,” he shared, pointing at collusion and real-time assistance that’s present in many online games. “I really feel like online poker is dying; it’s getting exponentially worse,” he said regretfully. “The cheaters work so much harder than the security teams do because, at the end of the day, the money that’s stolen comes from the players, not the sites.”

How WPT Global Ensures Game Integrity in Online Poker

The Future: A Lifelong Passion

As Charlton continues to build on his success, he remained as passionate about poker as ever. He had seen the highs and lows of the game, both on and off the table, and had emerged stronger and more focused. “Poker is my life,” he said, with conviction. “It’s just something I love doing, and it’s very simple, and it never gets old to me, you know, it’s beautiful.”

WPT Prime Cyprus Results

Images courtesy of World Poker Tour/Chamada Poker

Calum has been a part of the PokerNews team since September 2021 after working in the UK energy sector. He played his first hand of poker in 2017 and immediately fell in love with the game. Calum has written for various poker outlets but found his home at PokerNews, where he has contributed to various articles and live updates, providing insights and reporting on major poker events, including the World Series of Poker (WSOP).

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