He’s regarded as one of the quieter poker players, yet is respected by his peers. Find out all about Erik Seidel, a poker pro legend.
Quite possibly the most unassuming professional poker player ever to be inducted into the Poker Hall of Fame, Erik Seidel is a man of few words, but many tournament wins. The 57-year old is a native of New York but now resides in Las Vegas, where he plays poker. Initially, he was a trader on the American stock exchange, until he discovered the card game, and he now has eight World Series of Poker bracelets.
Out Of The Spotlight
Perhaps there is a method in his quiet ways. Where other professional poker players like to have a presence at the table, Seidel is the opposite. He sits and watches, and plays. He doesn’t involve himself in idle chatter, preferring his cards to do his talking. The man who also possesses a World Poker Tour title and is second on the all-time tournament list, just keeps on winning. Already in 2017, he has had a great year when it comes to cashing in, with a second place in the Triton Super High Roller Series HK$10,000 No-Limit Hold’em, collecting HK$2,326,000. Then in April, he picked up 423,800 Euros for a third place in the 50,000 No-Limit Hold’em in Monte Carlo, and in September he came second in the Poker Masters, to win $576,000.
The Start Of Winning Ways
In 1988, Seidel played in the World Series of Poker Main Event, coming second to Johnny Chan, where the final hand became infamous after being shown in the movie Rounders. It wasn’t until 1992 that he picked up his very first World Series of Poker bracelet, and in 2007 he won his eighth. Seidel has actually won a bracelet in five different games, which includes Deuce to Seven Draw, Omaha and Hold’em. It was in 2008 that he won his first World Poker Tour title, and collected $992,890 for his troubles, while in 2011 he finished second.
Amazing Career That Keeps On Giving
So far, Seidel has won over $33 million playing poker, which puts him top of the United States all-time money list and second to Canadian legend Daniel Negreanu, who has won just over $1 million more than him. Fellow compatriot, Daniel Colman is $5 million behind Seidel in third place. He is the first to admit, despite his success, that he does not study the game of poker, and that “I don’t really have a whole lot of structure to my game.” One thing that his peers all agree on is Seidel’s capacity to adapt to the game better than those around him. His play structure is to play to what is occurring at the time, rather than imposing his own play onto another player.
There have been questions asked as to whether he would ever contemplate writing up his autobiography. As would be expected from this quiet, unassuming poker player from New York, he says, “I don’t think it’d be a very good read, I don’t really have much to say. I think it’d be a terrible book. If I ever do write one, nobody should buy it.”
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