Aries – March 28, 1977
Allen Cunningham is one of the leading professional poker players, and joined Team Full Tilt when he was sponsored by Full Tilt Poker in 2006. He has earned more than $10,000,000 in live tournament winnings, which makes him one of the top earning professional players to date.
Attending UCLA, he studied civil engineering but eventually dropped out of school to play poker at the age of 18. His first major win was back in 2006 when he entered the World Series of Poker main event and finished in 4th place and received over $3.5 million.
His success in the World Series of Poker has been nothing short of impressive, winning five WSOP bracelets with all five won back to back from 2004 – 2007, as well as cashing in more tournaments during the 2008 series than any other player. He has received Player of the Year awards from ESPN and Toyota during 2005, as well as the Best All Around Player under 35 award.
During the 2007 “Poker After Dark” Mega Match, Cunningham outplayed the other 4 players till he was heads up against Eli Elezra. Cunningham pushed pre-flop with A10 suited and was called only to hit a 10 on the turn and taking down the $300,000 prize pool.
Other big wins for Cunningham include the $15,000 National Poker League Vegas Open Championship and the 2008 WSOP Circuit Event which earned him close to $1,000,000 combined.
Cunningham’s total live winnings exceed $10,200,000 making him one of the top 5 earners next to Negreanu, Hachem, Hellmuth and of course Jamie Gold.
Cunningham’s victory in the $5,000 Pot-Limit Hold-em event, makes him one of just 16 players who have won five or more bracelets throughout their careers. He is also only the fifth player to win bracelets in three consecutive years.
The tri-fecta is becoming more and more difficult to accomplish in the “modern” era of the WSOP and its ever expanding fields as evidenced by the fact that Cunningham is the first to win three bracelets in three years since Team Full Tilt’s own Erik Seidel did it from 1992 to 1994. Other notable players who have accomplished this remarkable feat include Johnny Moss, Doyle Brunson, Gary “Bones” Berland.
As a five-time bracelet winner, Cunningham is now tied with some of the game’s best-known pros, including Team Full Tilt’s Phil Ivey and Chris Ferguson, Full Tilt Poker’s Layne Flack and Berry Johnston, and poker legends Stu Ungar and Ted Forrest.
In 2005, Cunningham was named the WSOP’s Player of the Year after reaching four final tables and winning the $1,500 No-Limit Hold-em event. In 2006, he followed up that performance by winning his fourth bracelet in the $1,000 No-Limit Hold-em event and posting an impressive fourth-place finish in the biggest Main Event in history.
Allen Cunningham Live Tournament Standings in 2008
