Erik Cajelais

Erik Cajelais was born in Montreal, Canada, and started playing poker around the age of 15 with his brother. As an adult, he began by playing small buy-in tournaments at local bars before moving on to Montreal's underground poker clubs to compete in events and cash games with buy-ins ranging from $50 to $300. In 2005, he started playing tournaments in the United States and achieved a breakout in 2006 by winning the $5,000 buy-in Five Diamond World Poker Classic for approximately $430,730, a result that laid the foundation for the rest of his career.

Cajelais has career tournament earnings exceeding $4 million. Notable results include:

• World Series of Poker (WSOP): 81 cashes for a total of approximately $1.64 million. His best finish came in 2007 when he placed runner-up in the $5,000 Pot-Limit Omaha event ($483,755). He has also made multiple final tables, such as finishing 19th in 2023 WSOP Event #64 ($10,247).
• World Poker Tour (WPT): Accumulated winnings of about $1.03 million. Notable results include a 4th-place finish in the 2011-2012 WPT Bay 101 Shooting Star ($256,300), a 2nd-place finish in the 2007-2008 WPT Turks & Caicos ($225,000), and a 7th-place finish in the 2019-2021 WPT Seminole Hard Rock ($203,405).
• Other Events: Multiple cashes in events such as WPT Fallsview and Borgata.

Cajelais is known for his aggressive style and excellent hand-reading ability, especially in Pot-Limit Omaha (PLO), which he calls his "favorite game." In cash games, he excels at using position and stack depth to apply pressure, frequently raising preflop and making continuation bets, while also possessing strong bluffing skills. He has appeared on the famous poker show High Stakes Poker, facing off against top professionals and demonstrating his adaptability in high-stakes games.

Cajelais, nicknamed "The Cajun" due to his French-Canadian background, has cited Phil Ivey as his idol in interviews and believes the movie Rounders had a significant impact on popularizing poker. In his free time, he enjoys spending time with family and friends and is a fan of UFC, soccer, and golf. He advises aspiring pros to choose games that match their bankroll and to keep playing when they are winning.