Cada had been a regular online poker player for several years prior to winning the live WSOP event.

On June 18, 2012, he lost heads up in the 2,811-entrant $1,500 No Limit Texas hold 'em event at the 2012 World Series of Poker.

His agent dubbed him "The Kid" (although this is already Stu Ungar's nickname),[3] and he has also taken on the role as a statesman of the profession in the media and political circles, where he is a proponent of legalization of gambling.

[6] After a brief sabbatical from the game subsequent to losing his money, he began to play at a casino in Windsor, Ontario across the Canada–US border from his Detroit-area home.

[6] At the time of his WSOP success, he was playing approximately 2,000 hands per day online at PokerStars under the User ID jcada99.

Professional poker financiers Eric Haber and Cliff Josephy paid his entry fee in exchange for half of his winnings.

[15] Prior to his final table victory, Cada earned a $1 million contract with PokerStars that pays for all his hotels, travels, and some of his buy-ins.

[22] His winning hand was 9♣ 9♦, which he got all-in pre-flop against Moon's Q♦ J♦, which was a classic race situation prior to the flop.

[2] With the November 2009 victory, which occurred just over a week before his 22nd birthday, Cada supplanted Peter Eastgate, who won at age 22, as the youngest World Series of Poker Main Event champion.

[25] In the week following the WSOP win, Cada made numerous publicity appearances as a poker ambassador.

His media events included appearances on CNN, CBS News, CNBC, Late Show with David Letterman, numerous ESPN outlets including First Take, The Scott Van Pelt Show, ESPNU, ESPNews, ESPN Inside Deal, and ESPN.com as well as a taping for SportsCenter that was never aired plus a visit to WWE Raw.

Cada's father, Jerry, was affected by the late-2000s recession when his automobile industry job was eliminated in a layoff.

[8] In the Time interview, Cada expressed his thoughts on legislation related to the legality of gambling: "I support the right to play poker online.