Allen Cunningham (born March 28, 1977) is an American professional

poker Poker is a family of Card game#Comparing games, comparing card games in which Card player, players betting (poker), wager over which poker hand, hand is best according to that specific game's rules. It is played worldwide, with varying rules i ...

player who has won five

World Series of Poker The World Series of Poker (WSOP) is a series of poker tournaments held annually in Paradise, Nevada, and since 2004, sponsored by Eldorado Resorts, Caesars Entertainment. It dates its origins to 1970, when Benny Binion invited seven of the best ...

bracelets.

Career

Cunningham studied

civil engineering Civil engineering is a regulation and licensure in engineering, professional engineering discipline that deals with the design, construction, and maintenance of the physical and naturally built environment, including public works such as roads ...

UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Its academic roots were established in 1881 as a normal school then known as the southern branch of the C ...

before dropping out of school to play poker professionally. At the age of 18, he began playing at Indian casinos. Cunningham won his first verified tournament in September 1998 at the National Championship of Poker in Inglewood. Previously a Full Tilt sponsored pro, he became a full member of Team Full Tilt in October 2006. Cunningham earned the title 2005 ESPN/Toyota Player of the Year and came close to winning it again in 2006. Cunningham's single largest tournament payout occurred at the 2006 World Series of Poker when he finished in fourth place out of 8,773 players in the

Main Event In sports, a card lists the matches taking place in a title match combat-sport event. Cards include a main event match and the undercard listing the rest of the matches. The undercard may be divided into a midcard and a lower card, according to ...

, earning $3,628,513. Cunningham joined a short list of players who have won a World Series of Poker Bracelet in three consecutive years after winning his fifth bracelet in

2007 2007 was designated as the International Heliophysical Year and the International Polar Year. Events January * January 1 **Bulgaria and Romania 2007 enlargement of the European Union, join the European Union, while Slovenia joins the Eur ...

. Others to accomplish this include Johnny Moss, Bill Boyd,

Doyle Brunson Doyle Frank Brunson (August 10, 1933 – May 14, 2023) was an American poker player who played professionally for over 60 years. He was a two-time World Series of Poker (WSOP) List of World Series of Poker Main Event champions, Main Event champi ...

, Loren Klein, Gary Berland,

Erik Seidel Erik Seidel (born November 6, 1959) is an American professional poker player from Las Vegas, Nevada, Las Vegas, Nevada, who has won ten World Series of Poker bracelets and a World Poker Tour title. In 2010, he was inducted into the Poker Hall o ...

and Nick Schulman. Cunningham has won five bracelets in his WSOP career. Cunningham won the $300,000 'Mega Match' on '' Poker After Dark'' that aired the week of October 8, 2007. On December 7, 2007, Cunningham won the $15,000 buy-in inaugural National Poker League Vegas Open Championship Main Event after defeating David Singer during heads-up play, winning over $325,000. On May 1, 2008, Cunningham won the 2008 World Series of Poker Circuit event at

Caesars Palace Caesars Palace is a luxury hotel and casino in Paradise, Nevada, United States. The hotel is situated on the west side of the Las Vegas Strip between Bellagio and The Mirage. It is one of Las Vegas's largest and best known landmarks. Caesar ...

, Las Vegas, earning $499,069. In the

2008 World Series of Poker The 2008 World Series of Poker was the 39th annual World Series of Poker (WSOP). 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 List of poker variants, s ...

Cunningham made another deep run in the Main Event, finishing 117th place out of 6,844 players, earning $41,816. In November 2010, he, along with Huck Seed, won $500,000 for winning the Full Tilt Poker Doubles Poker Championship. As of 2023, his total live tournament winnings exceed $11,900,000, 90th on the all time winnings list. As of March 2023, his 84 cashes, including his five bracelets, have netted him $7,988,439 in WSOP earnings.

Awards

ALL IN Magazine 2006 Poker Player of the Year 2006 Poker Player of the Year
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References

External links

Card Player profileGlobal Poker Index profileHendon Mob profilePokerNews profileWPT profileWSOP profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cunningham, Allen 1977 births Living people American poker players World Series of Poker bracelet winners WSOP Player of the Year Award winners World Series of Poker Circuit event winners Poker After Dark tournament winners People from Riverside, California