The number of professional poker players worldwide is on the rise. Yet, some people think that these players have played poker since their childhood and have never had other careers. In this post, we discuss four renowned poker players and their careers.
Bryn Kenney
Bryn competed in Magic: The Gathering before he started playing poker. He participated in the first live cash at the East Coast Poker Championships in 2007.
The poker player led in the 10-Game Mix Six-Handed Event worth $1,500 and earned $153,220. He later won the 2014 World Series of Poker (WSOP) bracelet. Bryn defeated Joe McKeehen, the 2015 WSOP Main Event champion, in 2016 at a $100K Super High Roller tournament and won $1,687,800.
Bryn was second in a £1,050,000 No-Limit Hold ’em- Triton Million for Charity Event and received £16,890,509, the biggest single payout in the history of live poker. Aaron Zang, who won the tournament, received £19,000,000.
Justin Bonomo
Justin Bonomo was born on September 30, 1985, and is a famous American high-stakes poker player. He was a tough competitor in Magic the Gathering before he transitioned to poker.
He took part in a February 19, 2005, televised final table as the youngest player. Justin was fourth in the European Poker Tour’s (EPT’s) inaugural year in Deauville, France, at the French Open at the age of 19.
The player’s live poker tournament winnings had reached $48,508,778 by August 9, 2019, thus making Justin the second-highest-paid live tournament professional in history after Bryn Kenney.
Daniel Negreanu
Daniel’s parents (Constantin and Annie) migrated to Toronto, Ontario from Romania, in 1967, seven years before his birth. He is fluent in Romanian.
The professional player stated in a 2009 interview that he dreamt of being rich at the age of four and urged his mother to relocate to California. Daniel learned how to play poker at the age of 15 while pondering about being a snooker player.
He spent a lot of time wagering on sports, playing cards, and in pool halls when he was 16 years old. Daniel left high school with a few credits left to graduate and started being a rounder at nearby charity casinos. He built his bankroll and moved to Las Vegas six years later to pursue his poker career.
Dan Smith
Dan is an American poker player who was born in Manalapan Township, New Jersey but currently lives in Las Vegas. He won titles like an Aussie Millions championship event and the World Poker Tour title.
The poker pro has been playing online poker since he was 16. Before then, he played chess in college after receiving a chess scholarship. Even so, he left school in 2007 at the age of 18 to focus on his poker career.
Some parents get agitated when their children inform them that they are planning to quit work or school to be professional poker players. Even so, Bryn Kenney, Justin Bonomo, Daniel Negreanu, and Dan Smith inspire many teenagers and poker amateurs.
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