Quiet Erik Seidel Makes Loud Impact
The low key demeanor carried by poker pro Erik Seidel doesn’t mean that his presence doesn’t speak volumes. The number two ranked player in the world according to the Global Poker Index had cruised to the final table once again at Epic Poker’s second tournament of the season. Heading into the tournament’s final day second in chips at the Palms Casino in Las Vegas, Seidel continues to consistently battle the oppositions.
While the world of poker has its fair share of boisterous and colorful personalities, Seidel has been a veteran of the game and has always let his play do the speaking. Most may remember the scene from the poker movie Rounders when Matt Damon’s character watched Johnny Chan’s 1988 championship winning move against Seidel. Perhaps that was one of the most mainstream public moments of Seidel’s career, albeit, most likely not at his urging.
Playing in his hometown of Las Vegas, Seidel looks to become a regular at Epic Poker tournaments. At the inaugural Epic Poker tournament in August, Seidel made it to final heads-up play against the eventual champion David “Chino” Rheem. Unlike Rheem, however, Seidel had once again made it to the final table.
The 2011 year has been good to Seidel. He has been enjoying much success across multiple continents which had earned him an Epic Poker five year league card that is based on a specified criteria of consistent placements within tournaments. In an effort to standardize some kind of qualification process to its league tournaments, Epic Poker awards players on card levels that range from two-years to five-years. Once a player’s card expires, the player is again reevaluated for their card qualification.
Seidel, a poker hall of fame inductee, has enjoyed dual careers before. As a Wall Street trader, Seidel was guaranteed a steady paycheck. However, the stock market crash of 1987 prompted Seidel’s return to poker on a full time basis. To date, he has earned over $16,616,082.
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