Allen Cunningham
Encyclopedia
Allen Cunningham is an American
professional poker
player.
Cunningham studied civil engineering
at UCLA before dropping out of school to play poker professionally. At the age of 18, he began playing at in Indian casinos. Previously a Full Tilt sponsored pro, he became a full member of Team Full Tilt in October 2006.
Cunningham earned the title 2005 ESPN/Toyota Player of the Year and came close to winning it again in 2006. He was also voted by fellow professional poker players the Best All Around Player under 35.
Cunningham's single largest tournament payout occurred at the 2006 World Series of Poker
when he finished in fourth place in the Main Event earning $3,628,513. Frequently during the tournament, when other players tried to take on Cunningham, ESPN
's Norman Chad
would respond with comments such as: "What are they thinking of? This is Allen Cunningham!"
Cunningham joined a short list of players who have won a World Series of Poker Bracelet in three consecutive years after winning his fifth bracelet in 2007
. Others to accomplish this include Johnny Moss
, Bill Boyd, Doyle Brunson
, Gary Berland
and Erik Seidel
.
Cunningham won the $300,000 'Mega Match' on Poker After Dark
that aired the week of October 8, 2007. On December 7, 2007, Allen Cunningham won the 15,000 buy-in inaugural National Poker League Vegas Open Championship Main Event after defeating David Singer
during heads-up play, winning over $325,000.
On May 1, 2008, Cunningham won the 2008 World Series of Poker Circuit event at Caesars Palace
, Las Vegas, earning $499,162. In the 2008 World Series of Poker
Cunningham made another deep run in the Main Event finishing 117th place out of 6844 players, earning $41,816.
As of 2011, his total live tournament winnings exceed $11,200,000, tenth on the all time winnings list, behind only Jamie Gold
, Daniel Negreanu
, Phil Hellmuth
, Joe Hachem
, Scotty Nguyen
, Peter Eastgate
, John Juanda
and Phil Ivey
. As of 2010, his 44 cashes including his five bracelets have netted him $6,858,680 in WSOP earnings.
He resides in Las Vegas with girlfriend Melissa Hayden
and their dog, Muffin.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
professional poker
Poker
Poker is a family of card games that share betting rules and usually hand rankings. Poker games differ in how the cards are dealt, how hands may be formed, whether the high or low hand wins the pot in a showdown , limits on bet sizes, and how many rounds of betting are allowed.In most modern poker...
player.
Cunningham studied civil engineering
Civil engineering
Civil engineering is a professional engineering discipline that deals with the design, construction, and maintenance of the physical and naturally built environment, including works like roads, bridges, canals, dams, and buildings...
at UCLA before dropping out of school to play poker professionally. At the age of 18, he began playing at in Indian casinos. Previously a Full Tilt sponsored pro, he became a full member of Team Full Tilt in October 2006.
Cunningham earned the title 2005 ESPN/Toyota Player of the Year and came close to winning it again in 2006. He was also voted by fellow professional poker players the Best All Around Player under 35.
Cunningham's single largest tournament payout occurred at the 2006 World Series of Poker
2006 World Series of Poker
The 2006 World Series of Poker began on June 25, 2006 with "satellite" events, with regular play commencing on June 26 with the annual Casino Employee event, and the Tournament of Champions held on June 28 and 29...
when he finished in fourth place in the Main Event earning $3,628,513. Frequently during the tournament, when other players tried to take on Cunningham, ESPN
ESPN
Entertainment and Sports Programming Network, commonly known as ESPN, is an American global cable television network focusing on sports-related programming including live and pre-taped event telecasts, sports talk shows, and other original programming....
's Norman Chad
Norman Chad
Norman Chad is an American sportswriter and syndicated columnist who is seen on the sports channel ESPN. He also was an occasional guest host on the ESPN show Pardon the Interruption and has appeared as both host and movie critic on the ESPN Classic series Reel Classics.He writes a weekly...
would respond with comments such as: "What are they thinking of? This is Allen Cunningham!"
Cunningham joined a short list of players who have won a World Series of Poker Bracelet in three consecutive years after winning his fifth bracelet in 2007
2007 World Series of Poker
The 2007 World Series of Poker began on June 1, 2007. The $10,000 no-limit Texas hold 'em Main Event began on July 6 and was completed on the morning of July 18...
. Others to accomplish this include Johnny Moss
Johnny Moss
Johnny Moss was a gambler and professional poker player. He was the first winner of the World Series of Poker Main Event, at the time a cash game event in which he was awarded the title by the vote of his peers in 1970, He also twice won the current tournament format of the WSOP Main Event in...
, Bill Boyd, Doyle Brunson
Doyle Brunson
Doyle F. Brunson is an American professional poker player who has played professionally for over 50 years. He is the first two-time World Series of Poker main event champion to win consecutively, a Poker Hall of Fame inductee, and the author of several books on poker.Brunson is the first player to...
, Gary Berland
Gary Berland
Gary "Bones" Berland was an American professional poker player who won five World Series of Poker bracelets.-Early Life:...
and Erik Seidel
Erik Seidel
Erik Seidel is an American professional poker player from Las Vegas, Nevada who has won eight World Series of Poker bracelets and a World Poker Tour title.In 2010, he was inducted as a member of the Poker Hall of Fame.-Early life:...
.
Cunningham won the $300,000 'Mega Match' on Poker After Dark
Poker After Dark
Poker After Dark was an hour-long poker television program on NBC. The show made its debut on January 1, 2007, and was cancelled as another victim of the "Black Friday" criminal case due to the show's sponsorship by Full Tilt Poker, one of that case's defendants. on September 23, 2011 For its first...
that aired the week of October 8, 2007. On December 7, 2007, Allen Cunningham won the 15,000 buy-in inaugural National Poker League Vegas Open Championship Main Event after defeating David Singer
David Singer (poker player)
David Singer is an American professional poker player and former attorney.-Law career:Singer is a former environmental lawyer who worked on issues and lawsuits related to cleaning up the Long Island Sound for a non-profit organization.-Poker career:He has been playing poker professionally since...
during heads-up play, winning over $325,000.
On May 1, 2008, Cunningham won the 2008 World Series of Poker Circuit event at Caesars Palace
Caesars Palace
Caesars Palace is a luxury hotel and casino located on the Las Vegas Strip in Paradise, Nevada, an unincorporated township in Clark County, Nevada, United States in the Las Vegas metropolitan area. Caesars Palace is owned and operated by Caesars Entertainment Corp....
, Las Vegas, earning $499,162. In the 2008 World Series of Poker
2008 World Series of Poker
The 2008 World Series of Poker was the 39th annual World Series of Poker . Held in Las Vegas, Nevada at the Rio All Suite Hotel and Casino, the series began on May 30, 2008, and featured 55 poker championships in several variants. All events but the $10,000 World Championship No Limit Texas hold...
Cunningham made another deep run in the Main Event finishing 117th place out of 6844 players, earning $41,816.
As of 2011, his total live tournament winnings exceed $11,200,000, tenth on the all time winnings list, behind only Jamie Gold
Jamie Gold
Jamie M. Gold is an American television producer, a talent agent, and poker player, based in Malibu, California. He is known for winning the 2006 World Series of Poker Main Event and currently divides his time between his activities as president of production for the entertainment company,...
, Daniel Negreanu
Daniel Negreanu
Daniel Negreanu is a Canadian professional poker player. He has won four World Series of Poker bracelets and two World Poker Tour Championship titles. He is currently ranked second in the all-time career earnings list and is the star of poker game show Million Dollar Challenge. He plays a big...
, Phil Hellmuth
Phil Hellmuth
Phil Hellmuth is an American professional poker player. He is best known for holding a record 11 World Series of Poker bracelets, for winning the Main Event of the 1989 World Series of Poker and for his temperamental, "poker brat" personality...
, Joe Hachem
Joe Hachem
Joseph Hachem is a Lebanese-Australian professional poker player known for winning the main event of the 2005 World Series of Poker. He was the first Australian to win the main event, which earned him $7.5 million, then a record for all-time biggest tournament prize.The next year, Hachem won his...
, Scotty Nguyen
Scotty Nguyen
Thuận B. "Scotty" Nguyễn is a Vietnamese American professional poker player who is a five time World Series of Poker bracelet winner, most notably as the winner of the 1998 World Series of Poker Main Event and the 2008 WSOP $50,000 H.O.R.S.E. World Championship...
, Peter Eastgate
Peter Eastgate
Peter Eastgate is a poker player from Denmark, best known as the winner of the Main Event at the 2008 World Series of Poker. At the time, he became the youngest player ever to win the event. He was consequently surpassed by Joe Cada in 2009.-Early life:Eastgate was raised in Dalum, a suburb of...
, John Juanda
John Juanda
Johnson "John" Juanda is a Chinese Indonesian professional poker player based in Marina del Rey, California. Juanda lives in Los Angeles.-Personal life:...
and Phil Ivey
Phil Ivey
Phillip Dennis "Phil" Ivey Jr. is an American professional poker player who has won eight World Series of Poker bracelets, one World Poker Tour title and appeared at nine World Poker Tour final tables...
. As of 2010, his 44 cashes including his five bracelets have netted him $6,858,680 in WSOP earnings.
He resides in Las Vegas with girlfriend Melissa Hayden
Melissa Hayden (poker player)
Melissa Hayden is a professional poker player.As of 2008, Hayden's live tournament winnings exceed $890,000. Her biggest return to date was the 2000 World Series of Poker limit Texas hold 'em event, where she finished in second place, winning $142,000. She placed fifth in the WPT Ladies' Night V...
and their dog, Muffin.
| Year | Tournament | Prize (US$) |
|---|---|---|
| 2001 2001 World Series of Poker -Preliminary events:-Main Event:There were 613 entrants to the main event. Each paid $10,000 to enter what was the largest poker tournament ever played in a non-online casino at the time.-Final table:-Other High Finishes:... |
$5,000 Seven-card stud Seven-card stud Seven-card stud is a variant of stud poker. Until the recent increase in popularity of Texas hold 'em, seven-card stud was the most popular poker variant in home games across the United States, and in casinos in the eastern part of the country. Two to eight players is common, though eight may... |
$201,760 |
| 2002 2002 World Series of Poker The 2002 World Series of Poker was held at Binion's Horseshoe.This edition was historically notable for two reasons. It was the first WSOP in which pocket cams were installed to allow broadcasters to show the players' hole cards, although only for the Main Event... |
$5,000 Deuce to Seven Draw Draw poker Draw poker is any poker variant in which each player is dealt a complete hand before the first betting round, and then develops the hand for later rounds by replacing, or "drawing", cards.... |
$160,200 |
| 2005 2005 World Series of Poker The 2005 World Series of Poker opened play on June 2, continuing through the Main Event No Limit World Championship starting on July 7. The conclusion of the Main Event on July 15 marked the close of play, and the largest prize in sports and/or television history at the time was awarded to the... |
$1,500 No Limit Hold 'em Texas hold 'em Texas Hold 'em is a variation of the standard card game of poker. The game consists of two cards being dealt face down to each player and then five community cards being placed face-up by the dealer—a series of three then two additional single cards , with... |
$725,405 |
| 2006 2006 World Series of Poker The 2006 World Series of Poker began on June 25, 2006 with "satellite" events, with regular play commencing on June 26 with the annual Casino Employee event, and the Tournament of Champions held on June 28 and 29... |
$1,000 No Limit Hold'em/w Rebuys | $625,830 |
| 2007 2007 World Series of Poker The 2007 World Series of Poker began on June 1, 2007. The $10,000 no-limit Texas hold 'em Main Event began on July 6 and was completed on the morning of July 18... |
$5,000 Pot Limit Hold'em | $487,287 |