Introducing our fourth KK Crusher!

Consistency. Dedication. Growth. Success. These are the qualities that define KK Crushers, a brand-new initiative celebrating some of the most accomplished and respected players in the KKPoker community.

KK Crushers shines a spotlight on players who have consistently performed at a high level while representing everything that makes the KKPoker community special. Beyond tournament results and nicknames, it’s an opportunity to discover the people behind the avatars and learn about their journeys, challenges, personalities and ambitions.

Following Tommy ‘JustX’ Savov, Vlad ‘Sarah.K’ Barbu, and Bruno ‘Snoway’ Mazarelli Casadei, we are delighted to introduce the fourth member of the KK Crushers family…

CHRISTOPHER ‘PokinStaR’ ALCINDOR

From playmoney games and freerolls to a WSOP Bracelet winner!

The game of poker has completely changed the life of Canada’s Chris Alcindor.

The man from Montreal once had his sights set on a career as an Electrical Engineer, but when playing poker turned into winning at poker, and Chris realized that the game could be studied, he instantly knew where his life challenge lay.

After years of success in online poker, it was in January 2024 when his live poker adventure really kicked off, culminating in winning two WSOP Rings, and in June 2026, under the bright lights on the tournament final table in Las Vegas, he achieved every poker player’s ultimate goal: a gold Bracelet for $387,000, in one his favorite games, Pot Limit Big O.

And as a two-time KKPoker Vegas Dream winner, Chris has long been a notable name in our community.

This is his story of a remarkable poker career so far.

‘PokinStar’ Origins

Successful poker players often have a recognizable online persona, and sometimes their nickname is all we know about them.

However, for Chris, his online poker success, experience in live poker, and work in the industry have made his alias ‘PokinStaR‘ extremely well-known throughout the KKPoker community and much wider. But how did it come to be?

“When I first started poker, I was playing playmoney tournaments and freerolls on Pokerstars. My goal was to one day compete with the game’s very best (aka the stars), so I came up with a little word play which is basically me reaching for / poking the stars in the hopes of becoming one!” said Chris.

Chris’ venture into poker began with his early introduction to strategy games and evolved after he understood how poker skill can be studied.

“First of all, I really like playing strategy games. Also, a friend asked me one day if I knew why we always saw the same 30-40 people winning poker tournaments and if I thought they were the luckiest people in the world. That made me pause and think a lot, there had to be more to it, so I decided to find out more by trying it for myself. A couple of weeks later, I fell in love with the fact that it was such a simple game to learn, yet such a tough game to master… I embraced that challenge!“

Chris’ poker study evolved from traditional NLH to Mixed Games. After paying off his student loans and becoming a consistent online poker winner, he believed even more in his ability for long-term poker success.

Joining KKPoker

Chris joined the KKPoker community as a player in 2022, and his reputation in the Canadian poker community also led to consultant opportunities with KKLIVE for events in Montreal.

When KKPoker launched the VEGAS DREAM promotion, it opened more opportunities for online poker players seeking access to the biggest live poker series in Las Vegas. In 2024, Chris was a $12,000 package winner and headed to the home of live poker as part of the KK Elite Team.

“KKPoker Vegas Dream gave me the opportunity to compete in poker’s biggest live Main Event and to make my dream come true. It gave me a huge confidence boost and made me realize that I belonged and could hold my own playing the bigger league. If I did not win my entry via the satellite I would not have played the Main Event.” added Chris.

In 2024, Chris did not cash in the Main Event; however, the experience spurred him on, and in 2025, he became a back-to-back Vegas Dream package winner and used his knowledge from the year before to have a deeper run, winning $32,500 in 499th place.

“Having that deep run in the Main in 2025 really helped me feel more comfortable playing my usual game.

“When I played in 2024, I noticed I sometimes kept myself from making moves in spots that I would usually pick. It was my first time playing the Main Event and I didn’t want to ‘waste’ it, but that really wasn’t the right mindset.

“The 2025 run also prepared me to have the required physical and mental strength to play my A-game multiple days in a row, something that’s easier done online than live. I’d also add that finally being comfortable playing a live 10k tournament makes it a lot easier on the nerves when playing smaller buy-ins afterward, like that $1,500 Big O event.”

The Bracelet Journey

Although Chris missed out on winning a Vegas Dream package in 2026, he decided to make the trip to Las Vegas anyway and play some of his favorite Mixed Games.

On 4 June, he cashed in the $1.5K PLO Hi-Lo 8 or Better event, finishing 72nd for $3,525. Not long after his elimination, he used his profit to enter the $1.5K Pot Limit Big O and began the run of his career.

The event attracted 2,150 entries, created a $2.8M prize pool, and featured notable names such as Brian Rast, Matthew Wantman, Daniel Weinman, Ben Yu, John Racener, Ari Engel, Mike Matusow, Dario Sammartino, Bryce Yockey and Viktor Blom.

DAY 1

“The Big O event had two Day 1s this year, which worked to my advantage since both 1A and Day 2 of the $1,500 PLO8 happened to play at the same time. Around dinner time, I was eliminated from the PLO8 event in 72nd place, so I decided to late register the Big O.” said Chris.

“The blinds were already big, so with about 15-20BBs, I played aggressively to try and get a good stack, but quickly reached the 2 re-entries cap, so the only option left was to perform better with my last chance on Day 1B.

“So the next day, I came back well-rested and ready to give my all in the last event I planned for this trip (3 events in total).

“I managed to build a decent stack early on and snowballed from there, but shortly after late reg closed, I lost some chips vs shorter stacks a couple times, and then more with a big bluff in a multi-way pot that failed.

“At some point, I get moved to another table full of new players, the blinds go up, and all of a sudden I’m short on chips and in a critical position… I have 10,500 chips, blinds are 1k/2k and I have less than an orbit to figure out a way to spin up my 5.25BBs.

“It all started with my AJ743 (UTG). I opened to 7k; everyone folded to the big stack in the BB, who put me in for the rest, and I called. He turned over TT863. I flopped a low draw, took the lead with a turned J, and scooped (won the whole pot) with another J on the river. I now had 24k, and little bit more breathing room!

“From there I studied the players, picked my spots very carefully, and, with a little luck, slowly built my stack back up to a nice bag of 212k. So, within the last 5 levels of the day, I went from a short stack on the verge of elimination to 47th out of 161 players left with 42BBs and a min cash guaranteed going into Day 2. I was so happy with myself for not giving up and being able to switch things around at such a crucial moment too!“

DAY 2

“I started as the second chip leader on my table filled with accomplished poker players, and I was ready to do what it took to go all the way.

“With blinds restarting at 3k/5k, I knew it would be a long day. But I was only concerned with making high-quality decisions at the table while gathering as much information as possible about my opponents. I started the day strong, catching good cards at the right time to knock out multiple tough players, and after almost 4h of play, I was in the top 10 chip leaders of the tournament with 868k (72BBs) when the blinds were 6k/12k.

“After some back-and-forth, though, I had lost about half my stack trying to apply pressure while avoiding unnecessary confrontations. I even got bluffed in a big pot against the chip leader at the time, so I decided to switch gears again.

“With less than 100 players left, I played a key hand where I opened Ac Qh 9h 4d 3s from the CO, a bigger stack on the button called, the SB folded, and the BB called. The flop came Qs Qd 6s, BB checked, I bet small, the button raised POT, BB folded, and after pausing for a while, I decided to go with it and jam. He quickly called and flipped over 8c 6h 6d 3h 2h for a flopped boat. The turn is the Ks, which is no help, but the river is As!!! We avoided elimination one more time and scored a HUGE double up in the process!

“We are back in the top 10 with 955k and blinds at 10k/15k (Level 20). Within the last few hours of the day, I scored another big double up with Ac Qd 8d 7h 2s vs Ad Jd 9h 4c 2h after we got it in on the 8s 8h 6h flop. The turn brought the Kh to give my opponent a flush, but the river Qh gave me a boat, once again giving me the winning hand!

“We have 1.9M chips at that point! Later on against a medium stack, I called his EP open on the button with Kd Qd Jh 9s 4h and was heads-up on a Kh 9d 6h flop. This is a great flop for my hand, but something felt a bit off with my opponents cbet sizing, which was bigger than his usual for this kind of flop texture, so I decided to play it cautiously, thinking he might have a set, and just call. The turn brought the perfect card for me, the Ts, so when he jammed, I snap-called; he turned over As Ks Kc 7c 2d, and I was far ahead with one card to come. The river didn’t pair the board, so I got to scoop yet another nice pot.

“We have 2.6M now and are approaching the end of Day 2. The last 3 hours didn’t go so well for me, and I lost most of the pots I was involved in, but I was able to keep a limit on the damage and preserve a healthy stack. The day ended on Level 25 with blinds 25k/50k and I finished in the middle of the pack in 16^th place with 29 players left, bagging about 1.5M for Day 3.“

DAY 3

“I remember being on the phone with my wife just before the restart on Day 3, and after we hung up, I actually had to run a little to make it to my seat just in time. As I’m stacking my chips, the first two hands I get dealt were decent AAXXX hands, so I open UTG+1 on the first one, win the blinds, then open again from UTG, BB defends, I cbet on a favorable flop, and get a fold. Decent way to start the day and create some momentum right?!

“Next notable hand, CO opens and I 3-bet to POT from the button with Ad Ac Kd 7s 4c, he calls relatively quickly. We go heads-up on an 8d 5h 2h flop. Villain checks, and I thought about my options for a while and decided I prefer checking back on this board considering the SPR was slightly above 1 (about 1.2 I think).

“My main reasons were the following: I don’t have the Ah and a good portion of my opponent’s open/calling range preflop will contain either Ah or As, and since I don’t have any hearts in hand, it’s highly possible I could be up against A2/A3 type of hand with hearts. I’m certainly never getting any A3 hands to fold on this flop since they would have the nut low.

“Also, seeing a turn card would give me a better idea of how well my hand will perform by the river, and I can perhaps induce some bluffs from some A2-type hands by checking back.

“Sure enough, the 9d comes on the turn and my opponent leads for POT. This turn card is great for me as I pick up a diamond draw to go with my overpair + second nut low and double gutter, so I put the rest of my chips in, and I’m very happy to see villain turn over Ah Jc Tc Td 2s for a pair of Tens with a counterfeited A2 low draw that won’t be able to outdraw my made A4 low. All I need to scoop the pot is to fade an offsuit (non-diamond) Q, 7 or T. The river brought the Qd, completing my flush, so just like that I doubled up and now have about 3.6M (60BBs) with blinds at 30k/60k.

“We continue to battle and wait for good spots to pick up chips. A couple of hours go by, and we go from 29 players to 2 tables, then to 12 players. When 6-handed play started, I felt very comfortable, as this is a format I have played a lot, and decided to open my range considerably and apply more pressure to build a decent stack before the FT.

“I was able to do just that, and soon enough, around 7 pm we finally reached the final table with 8 players left. I had a top 3 stack with a cool 8M chips (40BBs), not far behind chip leader Song Wang, who had 14.1M.

FINAL TABLE

“Just a couple of hands in, the short stack is eliminated, and then I try to eliminate the new short stack in a BvB battle but end up doubling him up. I lost some hands here and there, and in the next big confrontation I end up crippling Anthony Reategui with my KQQ64 vs a hand he mucked on a 99JQ4 runout, where we saw the flop multiway. So he probably had less than 5BBs after that hand, which created a dream opportunity for bigger stacks to apply maximum ICM pressure to shorter stacks that would and probably should wait for him to bust in 7^th place.

“For context, 7^th place paid $57K, 6^th paid $75K and 5^th paid $101K. So to my big surprise, this next hand was worth so much in terms of equity…

“With the short stack still in the mix, there is an open from HJ, a call from CO, and I raise POT to 2.1M on the button with Ah Ad 5h 5c 2d and both players call!

“I thought ‘What’s going on? This has to be some sort of ICM suicide’ because HJ already committed half his stack in and CO had less than 10BBs left behind to play the hand.

“The Flop comes Js 5d 3h and now HJ jams, CO calls and I snap-call!

“This is a pot for the tournament chip lead, and if I KO both of them, I can guarantee myself a clean 6-figure payday… I have middle set with the nut low draw and 2 backdoor nut flush draws. HJ turns over Ac Kd Kh Th 2c and CO shows As 9d 9h 4h 2s, what a dream spot!

“I’m thinking ‘brick brick and we are in business!’

“The turn brings the 1-outer 2h to counterfit everyone’s low except James Roullier but also gives him the wheel for a better high. Now I need the board to pair or to catch a heart to win the high, but at least I have Dimitri (HJ) crushed unless he binks a K on the river.

“River brought the 8d, so instead of eliminating him, I actually only quartered him since we both now have the same low and Roullier (CO) scoops a massive triple up! What a hand….

“This could and would make many players tilt, but not me. Although I was understandably very disappointed with the outcome, I just told myself that it won’t matter in the end if I keep putting myself in these very favorable spots. I would not allow anything to break my mindset and prevent me from accomplishing my dream!

“The other huge hand that was a very critical turning point for me was against Roullier, when he had me covered during 6-handed play. Thomas Koral opened from UTG, James called from the SB and I called with Ks Th 7s 4d 2d from the BB. The flop came Kc Kd Ts, and it was checked around. On the turn, I remember looking at James’s face light up as the dealer turned over the Js. He paused for a second and led out for 1M in a 2.2M pot; I called and UTG folded. River brought the Qc and James now bets 2M. I have 2.125M, so I would be left with exactly one small blind if I call and lose this hand, which would put me all-in dark the very next hand in the small blind.

“I remember doing my best to gather as much information about the hand to help me take the best possible decision in that spot, and the reason this was a bit tough was that I played for a long time with James and he seldom bluffed from what I’ve seen; also, the way the hand played out, I was quite sure that turn card improved his hand… I just didn’t know if that was a good thing or a bad thing for me.

“I could beat 3 combos of JJ, but I was also losing if he had KJ (3 combos), KQ (3 combos). My problem was, I was convinced he wasn’t bluffing, so I had to figure out if he could think he had the best hand while still value-betting worse, so hands like AQJXX, AQTXX, QJ9XX apart from JJXXX.

“I went deep in the tank, and my opponent still looked quite confident. Eventually I made the call, and what a relief to see James flip over Qd Jd Jc 9s 5c for a smaller boat.

“I was so happy that I forgot that by winning this pot I doubled up right back into solid contention for the bracelet. Later on during the break, my friend, Jerry, told me that he enjoyed watching me take my time to make sure I would end up making the right decision. I thought I took about 4 mins to make up my mind, and I was surprised when Jerry told me it took at least 10 mins haha! Guess it was all worth it in the end, right?!

“There were other key hands on my way to victory, and I feel like I got tested on all the different aspects of the game before I was able to finally claim the victory.

“I got put to the test, having to make hero calls, hero folds, some big bluffs, and thin-value bets, both as a chip leader and as a short stack.

“I was tested on my reading abilities and on my ability to properly range my opponents. Ultimately, these tests are what I enjoy the most about playing the game I love. I really had to overcome adversity and show what I was made of to beat this field of crushers!” said Chris.

“I Love Poker”

Chris’ achievements at the WSOP marked 20 years of hard work in poker. His ability to adapt, remain confident, pivot, learn new games to find an edge, and so much more enabled his recent success. For some, that can be too much time to remain consistent, and when asked whether Chris ever considered quitting poker during the tough times, his response was clear and simple.

“No never, I love poker!“

And what has poker taught him?

“Poker is one of the best and most brutal life coaches you can have!

“It taught me how to manage my expectations and how to be comfortable in uncomfortable situations. It helped me greatly with dealing with my emotions, not being result-oriented, risk management, patience, discipline- you name it!

“Basically, anything about yourself you aren’t aware of can and usually ends up being used against you one way or another. It forces you to pick up the slack and work on your weaknesses, and is a great tool for self-development when approached the right way.

“Outside of poker, I’m looking to enjoy the pleasures of life to the fullest, so traveling with my wife when possible, spending quality time with the family, and working on some business projects are the main focus at the moment.“

One of Chris’ favorite travel destinations is South America, so exploring the region further will be on his future plans.

Chris’ advice to aspiring poker players centers on focus and taking the right path to success for the best overall outcomes.

“Start small and do not look for shortcuts! What I mean by that is first to establish and respect a proper poker bankroll that’s within your means. Ideally, having 100x your average buy-in will allow you to somewhat withstand the variance and play with less financial pressure. Then find the game and format that suit you best before putting in the reps.

“The goal here is to gradually move up the stakes until you reach your target buy-in range. This will promote comfort and consistency, which is a stable foundation for confidence. In turn, being more confident will eventually lead to better thinking and decision-making, so improving while enjoying the learning process becomes inevitable, really.“

KKPoker is delighted to see Chris’ continued success and honored to celebrate him, once again, this time as a new KK CRUSHER!

Look out for more information on upcoming KK Crusher promotions, featuring bonus tournament bounty prizes, freerolls, giveaways and more!

Additional photos taken by PokerNews/WSOP.