Daniel Shak (born May 7, 1959) is an American semi-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 and

hedge fund A hedge fund is a Pooling (resource management), pooled investment fund that holds Market liquidity, liquid assets and that makes use of complex trader (finance), trading and risk management techniques to aim to improve investment performance and ...

manager known for his accomplishments in high buy-in poker events.

Poker career

Prior to poker, Shak was a trader on the New York Mercantile and Commodities Exchange (COMEX). In 2002, Shak established SHK Asset Management, a hedge fund focused on gold futures. He began seriously focusing on poker in 2004. In 2005, he had his first

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 ...

cash totaling $45,000. He has been active on the circuit since and came close to winning his first WSOP bracelet in 2010 when he came in second to Chris Bell at the $5,000 Pot-Limit Omaha Hi-Low Split-8 or Better event. Shak has participated in 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 ...

, though he has been less successful. He cashed for $70,000 at the 2007 North American Poker Championships in

Ontario Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...

. Shak has been most successful at the

Aussie Millions The Australian Poker Championship, commonly known as Aussie Millions, is a series of poker tournaments held at the Crown Casino, in Melbourne, Australia. The Main Event of the series is the Southern Hemisphere's richest poker tournament with ...

where he scored his biggest cash of $1,107,553 in the 2010 $100,000 buy-in event. In March 2013, Shak won the $125,000

Party Poker A party is a gathering of people who have been invited by a host for the purposes of socializing, conversation, recreation, or as part of a festival or other commemoration or celebration of a special occasion. A party will often feature fo ...

Premier League Poker VI in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

winning $528,000, defeating Sam Trickett heads-up. Shak has always considered poker a hobby and turned down any business offers related to it. However, in 2013, at the request of his friend

Phil Ivey Phillip Dennis Ivey Jr. (born February 1, 1977) is an American professional poker player who has won eleven World Series of Poker bracelets, one World Poker Tour title, and appeared at nine World Poker Tour final tables. Ivey is regarded by num ...

, Shak made an exception and joined Ivey Poker. , his total live tournament winnings exceeded $7,400,000 of which $709,290 came from cashes at the WSOP.

Personal life

Shak is the son of Paula J. Felmeister (née Cohen). He was married to poker player and model Beth Shak; the two divorced in 2009. In 2012, Dan Shak sued Beth over a shoe collection containing 1,200 shoes worth approximately $1 million, but then subsequently dropped the lawsuit. In 2014, Dan Shak married former model Anna Shak. He was recently charged with manipulating the gold and silver markets.

References

External links

Card Player profile

Hendon Mob profileWPT profileWSOP profile
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Shak, Daniel Living people 1959 births 20th-century American Jews 21st-century American Jews American poker players Amateur poker players