The Genius behind Professional Poker Players

From Magic to Moola

There are also a handful of highly successful poker aficionados who have made the leap from magic to poker and if you keep in mind that poker is also all about bluffing and deception then you will understand that the transition is actually not all that far fetched.

Antonio Esfandiari, WSOP bracelet winner for pot limit Texas holdem event in 2004, was first and foremost a professional magician dubbed ‘Antonio’ and whilst out entrancing his audience with a bit of conjuring he was invited to a game of poker......and he was hooked. He tossed his top hat and disconsolate bunny aside with a flourish and headed for the tables in a big way. A couple of months later he had banked his first million dollars, a ‘gift’ from the Commerce Casino!

The Scientific Solution

Then there are a posse of players who are firmly entrenched in science and look to mathematical solutions to their poker problems. One of the unparalleled fundis of poker is without a doubt Chris ‘Jesus’ Ferguson. He has captured five elusive WSOP bracelets during his short tenure at pro poker and claimed the celebrated main event in 2000. The man is smart; he holds a PhD in Computer Science and taps into his dad’s prowess at Game Theory on a regular basis, which he teaches at UCLA, to benefit his poker game!

Another pro who has used his studies to further his career in poker is Barry Greenstein – two-time World Poker Tour champion and winner of three WSOP bracelets. Greenstein has already banked a formidable $6.4 million and can be very thankful for his Bachelors degree in Computer Science and his time at one of the leading computer software manufacturers, Symantec!

‘Action Dan’ Harrington, who used to play poker with the great Bill Gates at Harvard and went on to win 1 WPT title and 2 WSOP bracelets, is a former US Chess Master and was part of the notorious MIT team who peeved the casinos off big time by gaining the edge in roulette. He not only enjoys winning plenty of money on tour for his poker prowess, but his gambling nature has won him a small fortune on the stock market too!

Other poker pros who have used their tertiary education or other skills to boost their poker earnings include

• Sam Farha, who finished second to Chris Moneymaker at the 2003 WSOP main event. He holds a degree in Business Administration
• John Juanda, who won the inaugural PPT event at Foxwoods, the speed poker event at the Aussie Millions and a trio of Bracelets at the World Series of Poker, boasts an MBA from Seattle University
• Tony G was the Rubik’s Cube champion of Lithuania before moving to Australia and world poker success.

So, before you toss those chips down on the table, remember that your opponent may be a bit of a boffin!