How 99-Year-Old Professional Poker Player Gene Bellar Keeps His Mind Sharp

Gene Bellar will celebrate his 100th birthday on Dec. 22, 2024, and he's proof that you're only as old as you feel—and he feels spry as ever.

Bellar was a child during the Great Depression, and he grew up on a farm in Tennessee with three sisters and no electricity.

When he was just 17 years old, Bellar enlisted in the Navy to fight in World War II. It was during his military service—which also extended to the Korean and Vietnam Wars—that he first learned to play cards, usually pinochle, but it would be decades before he began playing poker.

He got married in 1964, and in 1967, retired from the military as a chief petty officer. From there, Bellar began working as a cost estimator in a shipyard for about 15 years. He and his wife were married for 55 years.

"She passed away about five years ago," Bellar tells Parade. "You're never ready for it, but you know it's always going to come."

It was after his wife's passing that Bellar began playing poker regularly, and he credits the game for keeping him sharp, social and a bit of a shark (but in the warmest, friendliest way).

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When did you first learn how to play poker?

"After I retired, I started playing at a local card room where I live and got lucky and hit the jackpot, about $3,500! My wife didn't really like playing poker, so I had to sneak off and do that. I did that day and when I got home, I knew she wanted to know where I'd been. I handed her $1,000, and she didn't say anything to me after that."

How often do you play poker now?

"I play almost every morning. I go to bed early and I wake up early. I go down around 4 or 5 a.m., play for a couple hours or so and come home. Sometimes I eat breakfast and go back for a few hours. I don't go in the afternoons. It gets too crowded!"

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What do you love most about poker?

"When you get a good pot going, everyone immediately gets excited, you're anticipating what's going to come out. Sometimes it doesn't happen! It's exciting and I like winning."

What are some life lessons you've learned from playing poker?

"You try to figure people out as you go along. You just have to go with the flow and sometimes you win, sometimes you don't. That's the exciting part about it."

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Playing poker at age 99 is impressive! Do you think playing poker is what has kept your mind sharp throughout the years?

"Yeah, your mind is always going during a poker game. I used to do crossword puzzles as well. You have to keep your mind active, just like your body. It helps you to keep your mind in gear."

Do you have any other hobbies that you swear by to keep your mind sharp?

"Honestly, not really! I got a little garden in the back—I grow tomatoes, onions and peppers, stuff like that. It keeps my body busy a little bit. I gotta get up and move. If I sit and watch TV for a few minutes, I gotta get up and go in the yard for a walk. I also have two chickens that follow me around the yard everywhere I go."

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Do you ever get nervous or anxious during high-stakes poker games? How do you keep your cool?

"It's hard to explain, but you learn as you go along. I've been doing it for about five years now, and I can do a lot better now than I used to. You understand how people play. If they're raising the pot by a big amount, you know you want to get out of there, but if you've got a good hand, you do the same thing—you raise the pot. It's a good game."

What was the World Series of Poker like?

"A friend of mine recommended I go up there. He said they'd foot the bill for everything. They called and said they'd fly me and my daughter out there, and feed us for free, so we went! It's a long, drawn-out process. It runs for three days and about 12 hours a day. I played for 10 hours, so I was in it for quite a while. The people who get down to win the money, they have to play three days for it! For me, as old as I am, it's just too much. I was getting ready to leave when I got out! It was a beautiful experience, we had a lot of fun. They treated us like royalty."

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What was your favorite part of the World Series of Poker?

"My favorite part of the World Series of Poker was winning! I don't know what other part you can really consider, other than the fact that it's a good game and it passes the time away. For me, that's one of the easiest things to do to pass the time away. I don't need the money, I've got a good income coming in. I don't do it for the money, I just like to play it and socialize. It's always a big bunch of people there, and they're always talking back and forth, you know? It's a good conversation."

What is at least one thing you wish everyone knew about the game of poker?

"How to have patience! Patience is the main thing to playing poker. If you don't have patience, you're not going to get very far. You'll get a pair once every 17 rounds. If you keep putting money in, you're going to run out of money to put in. When you don't have the cards to do it, you have to get gone. Sometimes you'll have several good hands right in a row, but that's rare, so you have to know your limits."

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