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Player Profile

Erik Seidel

Erik didn't start out to become one of the world's best poker professionals, but the fact that he's reached the pinnacle of his profession doesn't surprise other players who came up through the ranks with him.

A story from Erik's past highlights why players like Howard Lederer believe Erik is not to be trifled with when it comes to games – or family. Back when Howard and Erik were both starting their poker careers in New York, Erik - who was then one of the world's top ranked backgammon players – went to a games club to find that a backgammon hustler had taken his mother for $200. While the money wasn't going to break his mother's bank, Erik couldn't stand the thought of someone taking advantage of his family.

So Erik sat down at the backgammon table with the hustler, and promptly won the money back. However, he wasn't done. Even though the hustler had no money left, Erik offered him another match. The stakes: the hustler's boots. Unfortunately for the hustler, Erik won handily, walking away with both the hustler's bankroll and boots – leaving the man to trudge his way home barefoot on a New York winter's night.

Since then, Erik has used that same determination to become one of the most dominant players in the World Series of Poker (WSOP). He reached the Main Event's final table on his first try in 1988, only to suffer a heartbreaking loss to Johnny Chan, which was memorably replayed in the move Rounders.

Erik has found much more success since then, winning seven WSOP gold bracelets and raking in career earnings of nearly $6 million. His most recent first-place finish was in the 2005 WSOP, where he bested a field of 1,403 people to take in the $612,000 grand prize. And, while it's been awhile since he's played someone out of their shoes, you can bet your boots that Erik will continue to do everything he can to make sure no one ever outplays him – or his family.