Professional American poker player Eric Seidel
Poker is a fascinating card game that appeals not only to players but also to spectators. And history is littered with many successful poker players, with Eric Seidel being one of them. He’s grossed around $38 million in all tournaments. Currently, he is a nine-time World Series of Poker bracelet winner, a member of the Hall of Fame or one of the top 5 poker players in terms of the amount of prizes received. It should be noted that Eric won his last bracelet in 2021.
So how did he manage to achieve this result? Success story
Eric was born in 1959 in New York City. He comes from a simple, middle-income family. At an early age, the future poker player began to show talents in mathematics and was more interested than other children in games where winning was not all about luck.
Already on entering high school Saidel fell in love with backgammon and after a while dropped out in order to play professionally.
After a while Eric joined backgammon club – the Mayfair Club – and for 8 years was actively involved in backgammon tournaments. On some occasions, the prize fund was as high as $250,000.
And in between tournaments the entertainment was Texas Holdem, it just started while being in Las Vegas. Initially the game was as a pleasant pastime, but in the mid-80s the situation with backgammon began to deteriorate, and the decision was made to start playing poker.
Professional poker and Sidel
Of course, after switching to a new direction, Eric started to study more actively the strategies and theories of the game, constantly analyzing the game and his opponents. And by 1988 he was well on his way to playing the WSOP World Series of Poker. And with the financial support of friends, he was able to go to the tournament, where he won second place. The prize money totaled $280,000. And after that, he started to develop a lot.
In almost 20 years of professional activity Eric really achieved significant results and earned his place in the hall of fame. The maximum profit was in the Super High Roller tournament in Melbourne in 2011, where the amount was almost 2.5 million dollars. Of course, he came in first place. Over time, even at a more mature age, he managed to achieve serious success, beating younger and more promising opponents. It must be said that winning the WSOP Online 2021 tournament at the age of 61 is a striking confirmation of this.
Records
Sidel took nine straight WPT titles in 2011, becoming the series record holder. No other poker player has ever managed to do so well before. At the moment, however, Eric already has:
- 20 entries into the prize area.
- 5 final games.
- Winning the WPT.
But it was the gold at the WPT in 2008 that was one of the most significant achievements. The same year was also marked by winning one of the series championships with a prize fund of almost $1 million.
