Rockstar Texas Dealing Academy

Mark discusses his new found confidence after completing the program

Mark discusses his new found confidence after completing the program.

I’d like to ask the poker community for your help in sharing and spreading awareness of what I do and what I hope to accomplish so I think the best course of action for me is to state my intentions publicly. My friend Mike inspired me recently so I’m gonna copy him and hope the algorithm does its thing.

Some people ask me about my name so I’m going to introduce myself. Ky is short for Kyler. Maxwell is my middle name. I go by Ky Maxwell in poker to create a clear distinction between my poker endeavors and my other life goals. Kyler is my government name and the only people that still call me this are my mom and the cops (this is a joke.) And maybe a few people I’ve known for over a decade. So call me Ky, please.

My focus for 2026 is to build Rockstar Texas Dealing Academy into what I hope it can be. A needed tool to help improve both people’s lives and situations and to level up Texas poker as a whole with more intentional humans. My goal is to connect my two circles: music and poker. If only more people realized how much overlap was there, it would surprise many. I offer a scholarship once per quarter to a deserving person that can’t afford to pay for classes to help them change their life.

My goals are to improve the quality of dealers by providing strong education and skills that can help people earn a living but more importantly to accomplish their goals in other aspects of life too, especially their passions and purpose. I also want to help grow poker as a sport (yes, it’s a sport.)

I’m committed to helping to change the narrative around what it is and what it isn’t and to providing strong education and resources for people to utilize it for good reasons. And to break the stigma.

I know gambling is a sensitive subject for many and there are plenty of folks that misuse tools (like that doesn’t happen with tons of other things…) but poker believe it or not is a game of skill, similar to chess.
And it actually can be a very powerful tool to connect and network with people, to travel, to PLAY, to have fun, and to get off our phones and to just compete (boy do we need more of all of that in todays world).

Cont. in comments

From never dealing before to dealing mixed games and main events, Margaret shares her World Series of Poker experience and the importance of formal training.

Margaret comes from a healthcare background, a nurse practitioner who was ready for a change.

First hand testimony from Mr. Mark Speck on his recent experience with us and becoming a professional poker dealer post retirement