Anthrax guitarist Scott Ian recently opened up about his passion for poker and revealed a surprising habit he developed during the band’s live performances, in a video shared by PokerNews.
Ian admitted that his love for online poker tournaments occasionally clashed with his stage commitments, leading him to find a creative — and unconventional — solution.
“There were times where I’d be in a Sunday tournament. I’d be going deep in the tournament, and then it’s time for the band to go on stage and I’m like, ‘What am I going to do?'” Ian said.
Rather than folding out of the tournament, Ian took his game literally on stage with him.
“So I would literally bring my laptop on stage. I’d be up there playing. My laptop would be right over there on the side where my guitar tech is set up. And so I’d be out there playing and songs are an average four minutes to six minutes, and then I would run back [and ask] ‘What happened?'” he continued.
Ian also revealed that his guitar tech became an unlikely poker partner during those moments, following specific instructions between songs.
“My tech knew enough about [Texas] Hold’Em, and I would just give him instructions like ‘just fold anything except for nines or better at this point.’ There were actually a few times where he would get in the hands and actually win a pot for me, and so if I cashed, I’d cash him out at the end of the game, too,” Ian said.
The comments were made as part of a broader conversation about how poker legend Annie Duke helped shape Ian into a serious poker player. It is a connection that speaks to Duke’s long-standing influence well beyond the professional poker circuit.
As noted on Annie Duke’s official website, Duke won more than $4 million in tournament poker throughout her career, cementing her status as one of the most accomplished players in the history of the game. Her influence on players like Ian is a testament to the reach she built during her time at the top of the sport.
Duke’s credentials are hard to dispute. She bested a field of 234 players to win her first World Series of Poker (WSOP) bracelet in 2004, one of the most prestigious achievements in competitive poker, as reported by Harvard Kennedy School. That victory helped establish her as a dominant force in a field that has historically been male-dominated.
Beyond the felt, Duke built a second career as a decision-making author and speaker. She applied the strategic thinking she honed at the poker table to broader lessons about uncertainty and risk. It is precisely this disciplined, analytical approach to the game that appears to have resonated with Ian, who described learning poker not just as a pastime but as a serious pursuit.
The crossover between music and poker is not entirely surprising. The game has long attracted high-profile figures from outside the casino world, drawn by its blend of strategy, psychology, and competition. For Ian, the pull was clearly strong enough to follow him all the way onto the stage.
