When you check out Ellen DeGeneres' Wiki page, she is described as an "American comedian, show host, actress, and writer", but after her encounter with this poker personality, she may be able to add ‘poker player' to her resume.
Ellen turned 62 a month ago, on Sunday January 26th. As a special birthday gift, her wife Portia de Rossi gave her a private poker lesson with World Poker Tour commentator Vince Van Patten.
A video of the coaching session was shared on de Rossi's Instagram account, showing Van Patten giving her some of the finer points of live tells at the table. Van Patten emphasized the concept that if a player acts weak, then they are generally strong; if a player acts strong, then they are generally weak, "Some players will go ‘Uhh, I might...' and then they try to table talk me back into the hand, if they're strong."
Ellen said jokingly, "I'm not table talking you, I'm just talking and you're at a table."
Vince learned how to play poker from his father, the late actor Dick Van Patten, when he was in his teens. The former pro tennis player, active WPT commentator and the star of prop-bet comedy poker movie 7 Days to Vegas walked out of the DeGeneres household impressed by Ellen's skills.
While DeGeneres does not have any tournament cashes recorded anywhere, she might have some degree of experience in the high-stakes gambling scene. Radar Online, a gossip site, alleged in 2018 that DeGeneres hosts nosebleed high-stakes poker sessions at her home with other A-list celebs wherein players would frequently bet with a few hundred thousand dollars per swing. However, those reports were never proven. Radar Online is owned by American Media, Inc., the same company that owns the National Enquirer, a longstanding tabloid newspaper notorious for making false claims regarding politicians and celebrities.
Source:
https://people.com/tv/ellen-degeneres-poker-session-birthday-portia-de-rossi/