Ken Cheng

Feb 27, 2026

Ken Cheng, stand-up comedian, writer and professional poker player known for viral LinkedIn satire and TV writing. He talks about how parody posts reshaped his career. He compares poker strategy with comedy thinking. He recalls early gigs, the Fringe learning curve, board game fame, and why his LinkedIn style hits so hard.

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INSIGHT

Comedy Success Can Be Designed

Ken realized comedy success can be strategized rather than purely following emotional honesty.
He shifted from believing sincerity alone wins to acknowledging algorithmic and audience tactics can be applied deliberately.

ANECDOTE

From Cambridge Open Mic To Standup By Accident

Ken stumbled into comedy after seeing a Cambridge student gig and impulsively signed up for an open mic.
A nervous poker-related first joke got a big laugh and redirected him from poker to gigging.

ADVICE

Get Better By Saying Yes To Difficult Gigs

Do take hard, challenging gigs and say yes to opportunities that force growth.
Ken credits relentless gigging and tough Edinburgh runs for accelerating his craft despite frequent early bombs.

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Ken Cheng is a stand-up comedian, writer and professional poker player, but is probably best known for being the master of going viral on LinkedIn with over 200,000 followers!

Outside of poking the corporate world, Ken has written for Have I Got News For You, Mock the Week and even created a Doctor Who audio episode. We discuss:

how LinkedIn satire accidentally became the biggest career pivot of his life
is poker psychology the same as being a stand-up
how signing up for an open mic with Ed Gamble changed everything
becoming a minor celebrity in the board game world
the realisation that the Fringe isn't your audience
and we find out if Ken Cheng is happy...

Join the Insiders Club at Patreon.com/ComComPod where you can instantly WATCH the full episode and get access to 20 minutes of exclusive extras including:

turning LinkedIn satire into corporate gigs and serious money
the temptation to tour again and refusing to rip off an audience
and being commissioned to write for companies that don't even publish the work

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Catch Up with Ken: You can obviously connect with Ken professionally on LinkedIn, search “Ken Cheng”. For everything else, you can visit linktr.ee/kencheng.

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Everything I'm up to: Come and see me LIVE including dates in Bristol, London, Manchester, Stoke, Marlborough and Mach! Find out all the info and more at stuartgoldsmith.com/comedy.

Discover my comedy about the climate crisis, for everyone from activists to CEOs, at stuartgoldsmith.com/climate.

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