Andy Bloch
Encyclopedia
Andrew Elliot Bloch is a professional poker
player. He holds two electrical engineering
degrees from MIT and a JD
from Harvard Law School
.
, entering some small $35 weekly tournaments once a month. By the end of the year, he had won one of the World Poker Finals tournaments, a $100(US) entry fee no-limit Texas hold'em tournament. That was the first time he ever played no-limit
Texas hold 'em.
In 1997
, he skipped the last week of law school classes to play in the World Series of Poker
(WSOP) Main Event. He was the guinea pig in a low-tech hole card cam trial. Tom Sims was looking for a volunteer to "sweat" and record all his hole cards, and he agreed. His records turned into a 2-part CardPlayer Magazine article. After passing the bar exam in 1999, he decided to delay his law career and went back to poker.
That career got delayed even further after making two WSOP final tables in 2001
, a first place finish back at Foxwoods
in 2002 (playing seven-card stud
), and two World Poker Tour
(WPT) final tables its first season
, finishing 3rd both times. In 2005 Bloch chose to boycott
the WPT in protest to its player release process. Bloch returned to the WPT after a lawsuit initiated by seven high-profile poker players, including Chris Ferguson
and Phil Gordon
, was settled in 2008.
Bloch was the second season winner of the Ultimate Poker Challenge
.
Bloch is also an accomplished blackjack
player and was featured in the blackjack documentary The Hot Shoe
, as well as starring in his own instructional blackjack DVD, Beating Blackjack, which explains card counting
. Andy Bloch was a member of the MIT Blackjack Team
featured in the book Bringing Down the House
. Bloch said he has made up to $100,000 in one session while playing blackjack.
He is a member of "Team Full Tilt" at Full Tilt Poker
.
At the 2006 World Series of Poker
, Bloch finished 2nd in the $50,000 H.O.R.S.E. event when his failed to improve against David "Chip" Reese
's in the final hand, on a board of . The heads-up battle lasted 286 hands and was the longest recorded in WSOP history.
In 2006, he defeated Phil Laak
heads up to win the Pro-Am Poker Equalizer
taking in the grand prize of $500,000. The tournament was broadcast in early 2007 on ESPN
.
In March 2008, Andy Bloch finished runner-up to Chris Ferguson
in the NBC National Heads-Up Poker Championship
.
Bloch finished runner-up to Nenad Medic
in the $10,000 Pot-Limit Hold'em World Championship at the 2008 World Series of Poker
, earning $488,048.
As of 2009, his total live tournament winnings exceed $4,200,000. His 24 cashes as the WSOP account for $2,149,821 of those winnings.
.
Poker
Poker is a family of card games that share betting rules and usually hand rankings. Poker games differ in how the cards are dealt, how hands may be formed, whether the high or low hand wins the pot in a showdown , limits on bet sizes, and how many rounds of betting are allowed.In most modern poker...
player. He holds two electrical engineering
Electrical engineering
Electrical engineering is a field of engineering that generally deals with the study and application of electricity, electronics and electromagnetism. The field first became an identifiable occupation in the late nineteenth century after commercialization of the electric telegraph and electrical...
degrees from MIT and a JD
Juris Doctor
Juris Doctor is a professional doctorate and first professional graduate degree in law.The degree was first awarded by Harvard University in the United States in the late 19th century and was created as a modern version of the old European doctor of law degree Juris Doctor (see etymology and...
from Harvard Law School
Harvard Law School
Harvard Law School is one of the professional graduate schools of Harvard University. Located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, it is the oldest continually-operating law school in the United States and is home to the largest academic law library in the world. The school is routinely ranked by the U.S...
.
Poker
Bloch started playing seriously in 1992, though he was part of the MIT blackjack teamMIT Blackjack Team
The MIT Blackjack Team was a group of students and ex-students from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Harvard Business School, Harvard University, and other leading colleges who used card-counting techniques and more sophisticated strategies to beat casinos at blackjack worldwide...
, entering some small $35 weekly tournaments once a month. By the end of the year, he had won one of the World Poker Finals tournaments, a $100(US) entry fee no-limit Texas hold'em tournament. That was the first time he ever played no-limit
Betting (poker)
In the game of poker, the play largely centers on the act of betting, and as such, a protocol has been developed to speed up play, lessen confusion, and increase security while playing...
Texas hold 'em.
In 1997
1997 World Series of Poker
The 1997 World Series of Poker was held at Binion's Horseshoe. Most notably, it was the only WSOP where the final table of the main event took place outdoors, at the Fremont Street Experience, just outside of Binions...
, he skipped the last week of law school classes to play in the World Series of Poker
World Series of Poker
The World Series of Poker is a world-renowned series of poker tournaments held annually in Las Vegas and, since 2005, sponsored by Harrah's Entertainment...
(WSOP) Main Event. He was the guinea pig in a low-tech hole card cam trial. Tom Sims was looking for a volunteer to "sweat" and record all his hole cards, and he agreed. His records turned into a 2-part CardPlayer Magazine article. After passing the bar exam in 1999, he decided to delay his law career and went back to poker.
That career got delayed even further after making two WSOP final tables in 2001
2001 World Series of Poker
-Preliminary events:-Main Event:There were 613 entrants to the main event. Each paid $10,000 to enter what was the largest poker tournament ever played in a non-online casino at the time.-Final table:-Other High Finishes:...
, a first place finish back at Foxwoods
Foxwoods Resort Casino
Foxwoods Resort Casino is a hotel-casino in Mashantucket, Connecticut, United States. Together with the MGM Grand at Foxwoods, it is one of the largest casino complexes in the world in terms of floor space for gaming. The entire resort comprises of space. The casino has over 380 gaming tables...
in 2002 (playing seven-card stud
Seven-card stud
Seven-card stud is a variant of stud poker. Until the recent increase in popularity of Texas hold 'em, seven-card stud was the most popular poker variant in home games across the United States, and in casinos in the eastern part of the country. Two to eight players is common, though eight may...
), and two World Poker Tour
World Poker Tour
The World Poker Tour is a series of international poker tournaments and associated television series broadcasting the final table of each tournament. It was started in the United States by attorney/television producer Steven Lipscomb, who served as CEO of WPT Enterprises , the firm that...
(WPT) final tables its first season
World Poker Tour season 1 results
- Five Diamond World Poker Classic:* Casino: Bellagio, Las Vegas * Buy-in: $10,000* 5-Day Event: May 27, 2002 to June 1, 2002* Number of Entries: 146* Total Prize Pool: $1,416,200* Number of Payouts: 18...
, finishing 3rd both times. In 2005 Bloch chose to boycott
Boycott
A boycott is an act of voluntarily abstaining from using, buying, or dealing with a person, organization, or country as an expression of protest, usually for political reasons...
the WPT in protest to its player release process. Bloch returned to the WPT after a lawsuit initiated by seven high-profile poker players, including Chris Ferguson
Chris Ferguson
Christopher Philip Ferguson is an American professional poker player. He has won five World Series of Poker events, including the 2000 WSOP Main Event, and the 2008 NBC National Heads-Up Poker Championship. On September 20, 2011, the U.S...
and Phil Gordon
Phil Gordon
Philip Stewart Gordon is an American professional poker player, commentator and author.-Personal life:Gordon was born in El Paso, Texas. He spent his formative years in Stone Mountain, Georgia. Gordon began attending Georgia Tech at the age of 15 while still attending high school...
, was settled in 2008.
Bloch was the second season winner of the Ultimate Poker Challenge
Ultimate Poker Challenge
The Ultimate Poker Challenge was a series of weekly poker tournaments acting as super-satellites into the series semi-finals.The first and second seasons are available on NTSC DVD...
.
Bloch is also an accomplished blackjack
Blackjack
Blackjack, also known as Twenty-one or Vingt-et-un , is the most widely played casino banking game in the world...
player and was featured in the blackjack documentary The Hot Shoe
The Hot Shoe
The Hot Shoe is a 2005 documentary film about card counting. Director David Layton interviewed current and former card counters, including members of the MIT Blackjack Team, casino employees and gambling authors and combined it with behind-the-scenes footage of casino surveillance rooms and the MIT...
, as well as starring in his own instructional blackjack DVD, Beating Blackjack, which explains card counting
Card counting
Card counting is a casino card game strategy used primarily in the blackjack family of casino games to determine whether the next hand is likely to give a probable advantage to the player or to the dealer. Card counters, also known as advantage players, attempt to decrease the inherent casino house...
. Andy Bloch was a member of the MIT Blackjack Team
MIT Blackjack Team
The MIT Blackjack Team was a group of students and ex-students from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Harvard Business School, Harvard University, and other leading colleges who used card-counting techniques and more sophisticated strategies to beat casinos at blackjack worldwide...
featured in the book Bringing Down the House
Bringing Down the House (book)
Bringing Down the House: The Inside Story of Six MIT Students Who Took Vegas for Millions is a book by Ben Mezrich about a group of MIT card counters commonly known as the MIT Blackjack Team. While represented as non-fiction by Mezrich and Free Press, the book contains significant fictional elements...
. Bloch said he has made up to $100,000 in one session while playing blackjack.
He is a member of "Team Full Tilt" at Full Tilt Poker
Full Tilt Poker
Full Tilt Poker is an online poker card room that opened in June 2004 with the involvement of poker professionals Howard Lederer, Phil Ivey, Andy Bloch, Mike Matusow, Jennifer Harman and Chris Ferguson...
.
At the 2006 World Series of Poker
2006 World Series of Poker
The 2006 World Series of Poker began on June 25, 2006 with "satellite" events, with regular play commencing on June 26 with the annual Casino Employee event, and the Tournament of Champions held on June 28 and 29...
, Bloch finished 2nd in the $50,000 H.O.R.S.E. event when his failed to improve against David "Chip" Reese
Chip Reese
David Edward Reese , more commonly known as Chip Reese, was an American professional poker player and gambler from Centerville, Ohio...
's in the final hand, on a board of . The heads-up battle lasted 286 hands and was the longest recorded in WSOP history.
In 2006, he defeated Phil Laak
Phil Laak
Philip "Phil" C. Laak is a professional poker player, now residing in Los Angeles, California. Laak holds a World Poker Tour title, a World Series of Poker bracelet and has appeared on numerous nationally-aired television shows.-Early life:...
heads up to win the Pro-Am Poker Equalizer
Pro-Am Poker Equalizer
The Pro-Am Poker Equalizer is a televised poker tournament in which professional poker players play Texas hold 'em against celebrities which began airing on ESPN in January 2007. In order to "equalize" the playing field, the celebrities start the tournament with 50% more chips than the...
taking in the grand prize of $500,000. The tournament was broadcast in early 2007 on ESPN
ESPN
Entertainment and Sports Programming Network, commonly known as ESPN, is an American global cable television network focusing on sports-related programming including live and pre-taped event telecasts, sports talk shows, and other original programming....
.
In March 2008, Andy Bloch finished runner-up to Chris Ferguson
Chris Ferguson
Christopher Philip Ferguson is an American professional poker player. He has won five World Series of Poker events, including the 2000 WSOP Main Event, and the 2008 NBC National Heads-Up Poker Championship. On September 20, 2011, the U.S...
in the NBC National Heads-Up Poker Championship
National Heads-Up Poker Championship
-2006:- 2007 :-2008:In additional to the poker professionals, several poker-playing celebrities from other fields were invited: Gabe Kaplan, Don Cheadle, Jennifer Tilly, Shannon Elizabeth, Jason Alexander and Orel Hershiser. Also invited was Alisha Kunze of Greensburg, Indiana, who won her seat...
.
Bloch finished runner-up to Nenad Medic
Nenad Medic
Nenad Medić is a Serbian-Canadian professional poker player with a World Series of Poker bracelet and World Poker Tour Championship title. He resides in Niagara Falls, Ontario...
in the $10,000 Pot-Limit Hold'em World Championship at the 2008 World Series of Poker
2008 World Series of Poker
The 2008 World Series of Poker was the 39th annual World Series of Poker . Held in Las Vegas, Nevada at the Rio All Suite Hotel and Casino, the series began on May 30, 2008, and featured 55 poker championships in several variants. All events but the $10,000 World Championship No Limit Texas hold...
, earning $488,048.
As of 2009, his total live tournament winnings exceed $4,200,000. His 24 cashes as the WSOP account for $2,149,821 of those winnings.
Charities
Bloch donates 100% of his winnings on Full Tilt Poker to various charities around the world. After qualifying for the 2006 World Series of Poker Main Event via a tournament on the website, Bloch decided that any money he won in the event would go directly to charity. He is also contributing $100,000 of his winnings from the Pro-Am Equalizer to charities working in DarfurDarfur
Darfur is a region in western Sudan. An independent sultanate for several hundred years, it was incorporated into Sudan by Anglo-Egyptian forces in 1916. The region is divided into three federal states: West Darfur, South Darfur, and North Darfur...
.