Team RIU is already robust with poker talent, but we are happy to add even more to the family with the addition of Ricky Guan, founder of the ‘Young Wizards.’  

Guan, a Brooklyn native that now takes up residence in New Jersey, brings a ton of online poker success to his stream, all before he is old enough to rent a car. Playing under the screen name ‘ratedGTO,’ Guan racked up six-figures worth of online cashes at just 24 years old.

The soon-to-be 25-year-old poker pro learned the game in high school after seeing it televised on ESPN. He took a liking to poker, but he didn’t really begin to take it seriously until college.

During his time studying business management and marketing at Binghamton University, Guan met a few like-minded students that wanted to bring back the BU Poker Club. Those students ended up bringing the club back from the dead and Guan’s poker career never looked back.

During his time at college in Upstate New York, Guan and his friends earned the title ‘The Young Wizards’ from other poker players in the area. The nickname stuck and followed Guan for the next several years.

Guan finished his degree at Binghamton, moved back to New York City and worked in sales for a few months. His passion, however, was poker, and before long he was back to grinding it out on the felt.

With a passion for mentoring, Guan took on a group of students, all of whom were younger than he was. Guan was one of the original Young Wizards, but after leaving school and taking on a group of new, up-and-coming players to mentor, Guan became affectionately known as ‘The Headmaster’ and his proteges became the Wizards.  

“The Young Wizards” are currently comprised of six poker players, all of whom have yet to finish their undergraduate degree. Not only are they are quickly becoming successful online grinders thanks to Guan’s tutelage, but Guan owes a lot of his own success to his teammates as well.

In the 12 months since forming the group, Guan’s students excelled. Between all six of them, the group has put together seven figures in online earnings, along with another seven figures in the live arena. They are quickly becoming a force to be reckoned with in the American poker world.  

As if spreading knowledge and winning money wasn’t enough, Guan wanted more from his poker career. He wanted to create quality poker content.

He started his Twitch channel in May, where he streams his online play on most of the New Jersey-based online sites. You can find his streams, where he’ll go through his thought process as well as entertain his viewers, on www.twitch.tv/ratedgto.

His decision to make content and stream his tournament sessions on Twitch was the driving factor behind Guan’s move across the Hudson River and into New Jersey. His move to the Garden State allows him the ability to grind the highest stakes MTTs on PokerStars NJ and all of the other New Jersey-based sites.

Aside from his online exploits, Guan also racked up $265,828 in live earnings mostly in tournaments throughout the East Coast and out in Vegas at the World Series of Poker.

It was the many online poker options in New Jersey that brought Guan to leave New York and start streaming on Twitch, but it was thanks to a deep run in a live tournament that sparked his interest in streaming.

Guan’s biggest live tournament cash came last year when he finished sixth at the Borgata Spring Poker Open for over $73,000. After Guan busted, he collected his money and was invited into the commentary booth for the final table’s livestream.

That sparked his new adventure behind the microphone as a commentator and a streamer. Guan went on to be a regular part of the Borgata’s livestream commentary, which only helped the development of his Twitch streams.

Guan’s passion for the game is rare and it makes for an interesting and entertaining stream. Make sure to check out his stream and look for him at future Run It Up events.