Dan Harrington
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Dan Harrington (born December 6, 1945) is a 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, best known for winning the Main Event at the 1995
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 ...
. He has earned one
World Poker Tour The World Poker Tour (WPT) is an internationally televised gaming and entertainment brand. Since 2002, the World Poker Tour has operated a series of international poker tournaments and associated television series broadcasting playdown and the ...
title, two WSOP bracelets, and over six million dollars in tournament cashes in his poker career. He is also a member of the Poker Hall of Fame. Harrington chose his own nickname "Action Dan" even though he is known for being a tight conservative player. He is a distant cousin to both professional golfer
Pádraig Harrington Pádraig Peter Harrington (born 31 August 1971) is an Irish professional golfer who plays on the European Tour, PGA Tour and the PGA Tour Champions. He has won three men's major golf championships, major championships: The Open Championship in 2 ...
and former NFL quarterback Joey Harrington.


Early life and business career

Harrington was born in
Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a List of cities in the United Kingdom, city and non-metropolitan district in the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It is the county town of Cambridgeshire and is located on the River Cam, north of London. As of the 2021 Unit ...
,
Massachusetts Massachusetts ( ; ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Maine to its east, Connecticut and Rhode ...
. Currently residing in
Santa Monica Santa Monica (; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Santa Mónica'') is a city in Los Angeles County, California, Los Angeles County, situated along Santa Monica Bay on California's South Coast (California), South Coast. Santa Monica's 2020 United Sta ...
,
California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...
, Harrington is a former champion
backgammon Backgammon is a two-player board game played with counters and dice on tables boards. It is the most widespread Western member of the large family of tables games, whose ancestors date back at least 1,600 years. The earliest record of backgammo ...
player and U.S.
chess master A chess title is a title regulated by a chess governing body and bestowed upon players based on their performance and rank. Such titles are usually granted for life. The international chess governing body FIDE grants several titles, the most pres ...
(he won the 1971 Massachusetts State Chess Championship). Before becoming a poker professional and businessman, Harrington worked for many years as a bankruptcy lawyer. He also played poker against
Bill Gates William Henry Gates III (born October 28, 1955) is an American businessman and philanthropist. A pioneer of the microcomputer revolution of the 1970s and 1980s, he co-founded the software company Microsoft in 1975 with his childhood friend ...
while Gates was at
Harvard Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher lear ...
. Some of his earlier poker experience came from the
Mayfair Club The Mayfair Club was a cardroom in New York City. Originally starting as a contract bridge, bridge and backgammon club, it eventually became "the most touted cardroom, card club in New York" until its abrupt closing by authorities in 2000.Wendeen ...
in the mid-1980s, where he played with Howard Lederer,
Steve Zolotow Steve Zolotow (born March 30, 1945) is an American businessman and professional poker player from Las Vegas, Nevada. He has won two bracelets at the World Series of Poker. He was one of the regulars at the famed Mayfair Club while he lived in ...
, and
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 ...
. In addition to being a successful professional poker player, Harrington also works in real estate and the stock market. Mr. Harrington is a co-founder and former member of the Board of Directors of Anchor Loans, a hard money lender to fix-and-flip and rental property investors that is headquartered in Calabasas, CA. Harrington co-founded the company in 1998 with two poker buddies, Jeff Lipton and Stephen Pollack, and served as its first
Chief executive officer A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a chief executive or managing director, is the top-ranking corporate officer charged with the management of an organization, usually a company or a nonprofit organization. CEOs find roles in variou ...
. The trio used their poker winnings to provide quick bridge funding to real estate rehabbers. Anchor Loans has since funded more than 5.3 billion in loans and has been profitable every year since its inception. Harrington retired from Anchor Loans in 2010, but remains a shareholder. He has also stated during interviews about his poker career, that he is there for the money, not the fame or glory. Also unlike many professional poker players, Dan considers himself only a part-time player due to the fact that he spends a large amount of his time on his business interests. He usually only plays a few events at the World Series of Poker each year and plays in occasional World Poker Tour events and a few other tournaments.


Poker career

Harrington first cashed in the World Series of Poker in 1986. The next year, in only his second WSOP cash, Harrington made the final table of the Main Event; he finished in sixth place in the event, which was won by Johnny Chan. Harrington's friend and fellow Mayfair Club member, Howard Lederer was also at this final table, finishing fifth. Sporting his iconic green
Boston Red Sox The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East Division. Founded in as one of the Ameri ...
cap, Dan Harrington is known as a crafty,
tight Tight may refer to: Clothing * Skin-tight garment, a garment that is held to the skin by elastic tension * Tights, a type of leg coverings fabric extending from the waist to feet * Tightlacing, the practice of wearing a tightly-laced corset ...
- aggressive player, employing starting hand standards that are stricter than most professionals. When he reached the final table at the 1995 Main Event, he set the runner-up, Howard Goldfarb, to bluff for all his chips in the final hand. At the time of his Main event victory, Harrington lived in
Downey, California Downey is a city located in Southeast Los Angeles County, California, United States, southeast of Downtown Los Angeles. It is considered part of the Gateway Cities. The city is the birthplace of the Apollo space program and Taco Bell. It is ...
. He won $1,000,000 for his victory. Also, in 1995, he won a bracelet in the $2,500 No-Limit Hold'em event for $249,000 and the
Seven-card stud Seven-card stud, also known as Seven-Toed Pete or Down-The-River, is a variant of stud poker. Before the 2000s surge of popularity of Texas hold 'em, seven-card stud was one of the most widely played poker variants in home games across the Unite ...
event at European Poker Open in London. He made his first final table at the
World Poker Tour The World Poker Tour (WPT) is an internationally televised gaming and entertainment brand. Since 2002, the World Poker Tour has operated a series of international poker tournaments and associated television series broadcasting playdown and the ...
(WPT) in 2005, winning $620,730 for his second-place finish to Minh Ly in the Doyle Brunson North American Championship. In the early 2000s, he appeared on an obscure show called “Cash Poker”, where he played a session of $100/$200 No Limit Hold’em. In 2007, he won the WPT Legends of Poker for a prize of $1,634,865. In 2008, Harrington made his first appearance on the NBC show '' Poker After Dark'' in the episode titled "Mayfair Club." This tournament brought together poker players who had played at the legendary
Mayfair Club The Mayfair Club was a cardroom in New York City. Originally starting as a contract bridge, bridge and backgammon club, it eventually became "the most touted cardroom, card club in New York" until its abrupt closing by authorities in 2000.Wendeen ...
in New York City. The other players in the tournament with Harrington included professional poker players Lederer, Mickey Appleman,
Steve Zolotow Steve Zolotow (born March 30, 1945) is an American businessman and professional poker player from Las Vegas, Nevada. He has won two bracelets at the World Series of Poker. He was one of the regulars at the famed Mayfair Club while he lived in ...
,
Jay Heimowitz Jay B. Heimowitz (born December 26, 1937) is an American poker player from Bethel, New York, Bethel, New York (state), New York. Heimowitz was one of the original players to help establish the Mayfair Club as a premier poker house. Heimowitz st ...
, and Mike Shictman, the owner of the Mayfair Club for many years. Harrington busted out first, finishing in sixth place. The tournament was won by Heimowitz, who defeated Lederer in heads-up play. His solid play allows him to make it to many final tables at large events. He won the
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 ...
(WSOP) Main Event in
1995 1995 was designated as: * United Nations Year for Tolerance * World Year of Peoples' Commemoration of the Victims of the Second World War This was the first year that the Internet was entirely privatized, with the United States government ...
for $1,000,000. He has made three other Main Event final tables: placing sixth in 1987 for $43,750,
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(out of 839 players) in 2003 for $650,000, and fourth (out of 2,576 players) in 2004 for $1,500,000. Because of the increased number of participants, his run of back-to-back Main Event final tables in 2003-04 has been called the greatest accomplishment in World Series history, particularly by
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poker announcer Norman Chad. This feat was later matched by Mark Newhouse in 2013 and 2014. As defending champion in 1996, Harrington made another deep run in the Main Event, finishing in 17th place and earning $23,400. He cashed in the 2009 Main Event, finishing in 252nd place for a $32,963 payout. Harrington,
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 ...
, Carlos Mortensen, Scotty Nguyen, Joe Hachem and Ryan Riess are the only six people to have won the
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 ...
Main Event and a World Poker Tour title. As of 2014, his live tournament winnings exceed $6,600,000, which he accumulated over a period of 34 years, cashing in 52 events. More than half of his live tournament winnings ($3,524,476) have come at the WSOP. In 2010 Harrington was inducted in to the World Series of Poker Hall of Fame.


Books

He has written (co-authored with Bill Robertie) three popular books on tournament poker, two books on cash no-limit games and one book on online cash no-limit games, all published by Two Plus Two Publishing: * '' Harrington on Hold'em: Volume I: Strategic Play'' (2004) * ''Harrington on Hold'em: Volume II: The Endgame'' (2005) * ''Harrington on Hold'em: Volume III: The Workbook'' (2006) * ''Harrington on Cash Games, Volume I: How to Play No-Limit Hold 'em Cash Games '' (2008) * ''Harrington on Cash Games, Volume II: How to Play No-Limit Hold 'em Cash Games '' (2008) * ''Harrington on Online Cash Games; 6-Max No-Limit Hold 'em '' (2010) * ''Harrington on Modern Tournament Poker '' (2014)


World Series of Poker bracelets


References


External links

*
Fast Company articleCard Player profileHendon Mob profilePokerNews profileWPT profileWSOP profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Harrington, Dan 1945 births American lawyers American chess players American poker players American backgammon players Sportspeople from Cambridge, Massachusetts People from Boston People from Downey, California People from Santa Monica, California Suffolk University alumni Living people World Series of Poker bracelet winners World Series of Poker Main Event winners World Poker Tour winners American gambling writers American male non-fiction writers American financial businesspeople Poker Hall of Fame inductees