Born on July 20, 1965 in Belfast, Northern Ireland, Andy Black, nicknamed “The Monk,” is a famous poker player with a long and interesting career.  He is now a resident of Dublin, Ireland.

Andy Black began to seriously play poker in 1986, when he was studying law at Trinity College in Dublin.  Andy Black would make frequent trips to the Griffin Casino, although there are rumors he did this just for the free food and coffee.

Andy Black played in the 1997 World Series of Poker Main Event, where he became friends with Stu Ungar.  However, Stu Ungar was never serious about being friends and used Black’s trust against him, driving the knife into his back at the perfect moment to take Andy Black’s chips.  Stu Ungar went on to win the tournament, and Black was left to just walk away in defeat.

The next year, a documentary team decided to follow Andy Black on his return to the WSOP.  However, the documentary, Million Dollar Deal, was only able to chronicle another crushing defeat.

After the tournament, Andy Black gave away everything he had to live as a strict Buddhist.  He returned to poker five years later in peak physical, mental, and emotional condition, and became a force to be reckoned with.  He did extremely well in European tournaments and placed 5th in the WSOP Main Event where he was a final table chip leader with more than a 1/3 of the chips.  However, bad beats were dealed left and right by his opponents, and he only finished in 5th.

His power surge has continued since then, having nearly 20 money finishes in major tournaments in 2006 and the first four months of 2007.  Andy Black is one dangerous poker player.

Andy Black has his own website, andyblackpoker.com.