Erik Seidel is one of the most recognized professional poker players in the world. With numerous World Series of Poker bracelets and a large involvement with the poker site FullTiltPoker.com, Erik is extremely satisfied with his poker career.

Erik Seidel is a natural born gamer.  He gave up on college in order to become a professional backgammon player, becoming a part of the Mayfair club in New York, which featured many of the best game players in the world.  Erik Seidel first became interested in poker while visiting Las Vegas.  He was actually attending a backgammon tournament at the time, and found his way over to the low-limit tables a time or two, or considerably more than that.

Upon Erik Seidel’s return to New York, he got together with a few friends, and together this group began studying poker.  Several other professional poker players originated from this group, including Howard Lederer and Dan Harrington.

However, Erik Seidel decided that it would be better to have a dependable income, and so he began working on Wall Street.  His career change lasted all of two years, as the stock market crash of 1987 sent him back to poker.

Soon, Erik Seidel was in the 1988 World Series of Poker Main Event, playing heads-up against Johnny Chan.  He was subsequently eliminated by Johnny Chan, with the final hand being immortalized by the poker movie “Rounders.”  Now Erik will never be able to be rid of that piece of poker history.

After his strong showing in the Main Event, Erik Seidel returned to Wall Street until he and his wife moved to Las Vegas in order for Erik to play poker for a living.  Erik Seidel has been one of the best poker players in the world, winning seven World Series of Poker bracelets.

Erik Seidel World Series of Poker History

1988 World Series of Poker Final Hand