Thayer was born in Summit, New Jersey and later moved to St. Petersburg, Florida where he went on to graduate from the University of Central Florida in April, 2006. Thayer majored in legal studies and has said that he might continue his education at Law School, but currently finds poker too profitable to give up. In fact, while Rasmussen studied he would play poker with his roommate to see who had to do the chores and would play Yahtzee for lunch money,

Thayer likes to excel in his hobbies so he read poker books written by David Sklansky and Doyle Brunson and played poker online under the name “THAY3R.” He’s been at it since he was a college freshman and can now handle playing twenty online tables at once. Thayer says that he posts on a lot of poker forums and has made a lot of friends online and that he’s met some of them while playing in tournaments. Rasmussen’s theory is that online play leads people to play live.

While he enjoys playing live, he prefers the anonymity of online poker. He believes himself to be a strong, aggressive player who has above average skills in reading his opponents, but he stays quiet at the tables hoping that no one will pick up any of his tells. Thayer considers poker to be a combination of luck and skill, but feels that his skill will win out on over the long run. He may be right. He has cashed in three WSOP events and a number of online tournaments playing H.O.R.S.E. and Hold‘Em. Rasmussen is looking forward to winning a World Poker Tour title and his parents are sharing his excitement about his popularity and success. Look for Thayer at a final table this season!