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Professional Poker Players and Celebrities |
Andrew Black
Andrew Black, born July 20th, 1965 was born in Belfast, Northern Ireland. He was raised during a violent time in Ireland referred to as “The Troubles.” In order to shelter her son from the violence, Black’s mother taught him poker. Poker was a hobby for Black throughout his early years. It was so enamoring for him, that even though he graduated law school, Black instead decided to play poker professionally.
“I was submerged in poker: I would bring conversations around to it and hone my skills by trying to outwit people in daily interactions.” Black said.
[2005, The Buddhist Review, Vishvapani, Raising the Stakes, http://www.tricycle.com/issues/editors_pick/1334-2.html]
The name Andrew Black probably sounds familiar to you. He was one of nine at the final table of the 2005 World Series of Poker. Black came into that final table with a gigantic chip lead, only to blow it all and finish fifth behind eventual winner Joe Hachem. But some of you may recognize him somewhere else.
In the 1997 WSOP, the first major tournament Black had ever entered, he ended up on one of the last two tables with arguably the greatest poker player that ever lived; Stu Ungar. Defeating Ungar would launch him into poker stardom. Instead, he suffered a brutal defeat, simply getting outplayed by the master.
Distressed by his defeat, Black sought the help of meditation to improve his game and help him deal with his loss. A year later Black returned to the WSOP, with a film crew that was supposed to document his triumphant return, only to find Black on the losing end again. That was it for Black, he decided to give up everything and move to England to become a Buddhist. He began to realize that poker wasn’t doing it for him.
“One day I looked around a poker table and thought, 'We're all hungry ghosts.'”
[2005, The Buddhist Review, Vishvapani, Raising the Stakes, [2005, The Buddhist Review, Vishvapani, Raising the Stakes, http://www.tricycle.com/issues/editors_pick/1334-2.html]
He lived his life as a Buddhist for five years, but poker was still calling for him. He loved poker too much to stop playing all together. He felt his spirituality and Buddhist techniques could help him take his game to the next level.
When Black returned to poker in 2005, he came back to a poker craze sweeping across America. In 1997, there were mere hundreds of people entered in the WSOP, now there were several thousand. Black made a splash back onto the poker scene. The newly nicknamed “Monk” finished in 5th, cashing over a million dollars. This time, Black wasn’t torn apart by the loss.
The next couple of years have gone just as well. In the 2007 Aussie Millions, Black’s tournament winnings reached almost another million dollars. At the European Poker Tour Grand Final, he finished 7th for 320,000 dollars. His live tournament winnings now exceed three million dollars.
Common Misspellings: Andruw Black, Androw Black
Learn more about Andrew Black at Full Tilt Poker.
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