All bets are off when it comes to Jeff Williams.

The University student put it all on the line almost three years ago while competing in a no-limit Texas Hold ‘Em poker tournament in Monte Carlo, Monaco, and ended up winning more than $1 million.

While that might be every college student’s dream, Williams is almost exactly where he was before winning it all: at the University, pursuing a degree.

“It’s not been the exact same, but pretty close,” said Williams, a senior from Dunwoody.

Williams is on track to graduate in May even after changing his major from political science to history. “I’ve played a couple of tournaments, but I’m concentrating on finishing up. Nothing too crazy,” he said.

Not too crazy for someone who added winning an international poker tournament as a college freshman to his résumé.

Instead of road tripping to the beach or spending the week at home during his freshman year spring break, Williams found himself more than 4,000 miles from home. After playing at PokerStars.com, he qualified for the European Poker Tour Grand Finale in Monaco. He then beat the odds by defeating a roster of international poker players and took home the top prize.

Since his Monte Carlo debut, Williams has participated in a number of tournaments and continues playing online.

Still, even with such extraordinary success under his belt, Williams seems content being an average University student who ventures downtown “way too much.”

Williams plans on staying in Athens after graduation and traveling around “doing poker stuff.” This includes jet-setting to Las Vegas to play in the World Series of Poker tournaments, which Williams did this past year, placing second in one of the tournaments.

“The final table was shown on ESPN, and a lot of people have come up to me [since the show],” he said.

Viewers would have noticed Williams donning his poker gear, which includes sunglasses and headphones, in order to stay focused and “combat boredom” throughout the game.

His music selection varies, depending on the amount of chips he’s accumulated. If he’s up in chips, Williams blasts rap music to keep him playing aggressively. If he’s down in the chip count, Williams tends to listen to calm music to “keep him from going crazy.”

Even with aspirations of winning a top prize at the World Series event, Williams does not plan to pursue poker full time.

In fact, poker may have led Williams to a new career path: venture capitalist.

Known as “staking” in the poker world, Williams has started “banking” players and receiving a percentage of their wins in return, he said.

And while it’s a risky career path, Williams certainly does have a knack for putting it all on the line.