The inaugural season of the Global Poker League is underway. Twelve teams make up the league, and sitting in fifth place after the first two weeks of action in the Americas Conference is the San Francisco Rush, captained by none other than Faraz ‘The-Toilet’ Jaka.

From writing city guides to a week-long stay at a no-talk retreat, Jaka has done it all. Now, he’s part of history, joining the likes of Chris Moneymaker, Liv Boeree, and Max Pescatori as managers of GPL teams as the league navigates its first season.

“Managing the San Francisco Rush takes time on top of remaining competitive in the poker world, so I’m trying to keep it at just that for now,” Jaka said. “I’ve always said hi to [GPL founder Alex Dreyfus] in the halls of the WSOP while he was at his GPI desk. Over little chats here and there, I got to know more about what he was doing as an entrepreneur and he got to know about some of the things I was doing outside of poker.”

Dreyfus thought Jaka would make a good fit to help lead the first GPL season, which is now entering its third week and concludes in November in London.

“It’s an opportunity to be on the forefront of something that could revolutionize the game of poker,” Jaka said. “I feel like it’s all of our jobs, if you desire to do so, to help promote the league if you truly care about growing this industry. It’s important for our industry leaders, both from the player and business sides, to involve themselves and help in whatever ways they can. Even if you aren’t super well known, simply sharing what’s going on in the GPL with your friends, family, and social media will make a difference. If the GPL wins, we all win.”

Jaka passed $4 million in career online tournament winnings on April 12. In the live arena, he hit $5 million in career winnings late last year, 15% of which came after a third place finish in the PCA Main Event in 2012. Despite being overly successful at the tables, it’s his work away from the felts that has allowed him to grow professionally.

“I like taking on roles where I get to pursue new things,” the San Francisco Rush manager said. “Having to manage players and seeing the ins and outs of a business run by such a savvy entrepreneur like Alex Dreyfus is an opportunity for me to experience something new. The experience you get from taking on different tasks will be beneficial in your future.”

One of the “new” things Jaka recently took part in was the first ever GPL draft, which was held in Los Angeles in February. When the draft was over and the final pick was in, Jaka’s team consisted of Phil Galfond, Tony Gregg, Kitty Kuo, Anton Wigg, and Jonathan Jaffe.

“I wanted a team that was both talented and marketable,” Jaka said of his draft strategy. “It was also very important that I had a team that would have good chemistry with each other. I didn’t want to draft anyone who might be difficult to work with. Our team is full of players who are all very positive and are very happy to be working with each other.”

“The GPL is in Season 1 and there are a lot of unknowns, changes, and mistakes that will happen. Having overbearing personalities who aren’t flexible or open-minded and forgiving could be detrimental to the success and chemistry. I wanted people who would be personable and represent the San Francisco Rush well,” said Jaka. “I was discussing draft strategy with my wild card, Jonathan Jaffe, and I think he said it perfectly: ‘Let’s not draft anyone who isn’t capable of having a conversation with their opponent while the turn card is being flipped over.'”

Despite the fact that team poker initiatives have existed before, and largely been duds, the GPL appears revolutionary, drawing its inspiration from the eSports market.

“It seems insane to me that the customers in the poker industry are becoming younger and younger and yet there aren’t people working in the businesses who understand optimal ways to communicate with Generation Y,” Jaka said.

“That’s an area where I think Alex Dreyfus really excels,” he continued. “I’ve had some limited experience in the startup world and, more importantly, I’m surrounded by a lot of friends who are in the forefront of the Silicon Valley tech startup scene. Working with Alex, I can tell he knows what he’s doing. He thinks and operates just like the guys and girls I know who are running some of the most cutting-edge technology companies and startups in Silicon Valley. I think this industry has lacked innovation for some time and it’s about time we start to see it.”

Aside from being part of the GPL, Jaka continues to play online poker. Although he doesn’t put in nearly the volume he used to due to his other obligations and his busy live schedule, he still remains an elite and notable player.

“I’m happy I can still be part of the online poker scene even though I’m playing on the live felt the majority of the time,” Jaka said. “The poker industry wouldn’t be what it is without the online community and being able to play online poker, so I’m happy that I’m still able to be part of it and continue to have success.”

Jaka has logged three six-figure scores online, including a massive $417,000 haul for final tabling the WCOOP Main Event in 2014. Over his career, he has taken down the Super Tuesday (while grinding in a shared Airbnb), Sunday 500, $1K Monday, Sunday Second Chance, and a SCOOP title, just to name a few. As such, he knows about the importance of the online poker world and tries to preach it to others.

“Online communities are what offer the spread of information and transparency,” Jaka said. “Our generation knows it’s absolutely necessary and going to make the world a better place because of the power of spreading information and the ability for people to connect and share their experiences. Once you understand online communities, you know how to filter information, you know who the reputable people are, and you know how to differentiate reliable information from information that is false and biased.”

“Online poker also gives easier access to more people to play,” Jaka said. “It makes the game of poker more popular and, at the end of the day, will bring more people into the live realm as well, whether it’s the GPL, tournament circuits, or cash games at casinos.”