If you are a poker player or even a fan of the game, chances are you have heard of Eric Seidel. Erik Seidel is a college drop-out turned-poker phenomenon. He originally started out playing backgammon. He would spend much of his time playing in the well known Mayfair Club. A good number of successful poker players started out playing there. Seidel would transition from playing Backgammon to poker while playing in Las Vegas. Once he got the “bug” he started to play poker more often back at the Mayfair Club. Amongst those in his playing group, were Dan Harrington and Howard Lederer. Both of these men are major players in the game today.
Tired of the instability of gambling for cash, he entered the corporate workforce in 1985. He went to work on Wall Street. However, that would be short lived. The stock market would crash in 1987, forcing him out of the profession briefly. Shortly after leaving his job, he found himself playing in the World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event. He would have an excellent showing but was ousted in heads-up. His final play would be acted out in Rounders, the movie. Even with his success in the event, Seidel would go back to work on Wall Street. He continued to play poker, but only to supplement his income.
A move to Las Vegas would spur his foray into full time play. Once Seidel began to play full time, his career would eventually take off. To date, Seidel has won a whopping seven World Series of Poker (WSOP) bracelets. He won the $2500 Limit Holdem event in 1992, $2500 Omaha 8 or Better in 1993, $5000 Limit Holdem in 1994, $5000 2-7 Triple Draw in 1998, $3000 No Limit Holdem in 2001, $1500 Pot Limit Holdem in 2001 and the $2000 No Limit Holdem event in 2005. Today, Erik Seidel is a member of the Full Tilt Poker team and plays there exclusively.