Connor Steinbrook joined Sean Kelly on the Digital Social Hour to talk about a topic that shows up less often than it should: what competitive poker actually teaches about running a business. Connor Steinbrook built one of the top-performing real estate teams under EXP Realty, and he traces much of that success back to lessons learned at the table.
The conversation treats poker strictly as a backstory and a mindset lesson — pattern recognition, emotional control, reading people — rather than anything resembling a pitch for gambling. From there, it moves into how those lessons translate into building a real estate brokerage and an investing community from the ground up.
About Connor Steinbrook
Connor Steinbrook leads one of the top-ranked real estate teams operating under EXP Realty, a global real estate brokerage, and he founded Investor Army, a community focused on real estate investing education. Before real estate, he spent time as a competitive online poker player.
By his account, the discipline required to play poker at a high level — reading opponents, managing emotion, and recognizing patterns over long stretches of play — became a foundation for how he approaches sales, team building, and decision-making in business.
What Connor Steinbrook and Sean Kelly Talked About
- How Connor Steinbrook's background as a competitive poker player shaped his approach to reading people in business
- Lessons in emotional control and mental toughness he says carried over from poker into real estate
- Building one of the top-performing teams under EXP Realty and what he prioritizes in team culture
- Why he believes studying successful people's patterns matters as much as raw talent or luck
- His perspective on passive income and what "passive" really requires behind the scenes
- Thoughts on why he believes most businesses fail and what separates the ones that last
- Reflections on the isolation that can come with entrepreneurial success
- How his real estate and mindset work led to founding the Investor Army community
Why This Conversation Matters
Connor Steinbrook's conversation with Sean Kelly uses his poker background purely as a lens on mindset and discipline, not as an endorsement of gambling. For anyone building a sales team or a business from scratch, his account of translating table discipline into real estate leadership offers a grounded, mindset-first perspective on what it takes to compete and last.
▶ Watch the full episode on YouTube
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About Sean Kelly & the Digital Social Hour
Sean Kelly is an entrepreneur and the host of the Digital Social Hour, one of the fastest-growing interview podcasts in the world, where he sits down with entrepreneurs, athletes, creators, and cultural voices for candid, long-form conversations. The show draws over 100 million views a month across platforms. Explore more guest features on SeanKelly.io.
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