Brian Rast
Encyclopedia
Brian Rast is a professional poker player from Las Vegas, Nevada who won the 2011 World Series of Poker
$1,500 Pot Limit Hold'em event and the $50,000 Player's Championship.
Rast was born in Denver, Colorado
but raised in Poway, California
, where he graduated as valedictorian
from Poway High School
in 2000. He attended Stanford University
before dropping out in order to pursue a career as a full time poker professional. He began playing poker in 2003 after being inspired by John Dahl
's 1998 film Rounders
.
and PokerStars
. Some of his online tournament results include finishing 3rd in PokerStars Sunday Million for $73,490 and 3rd in Full Tilt Poker's FTOPS III Main Event for $114,203.50.
Rast is one of the pros from the online poker
training site Poker VT and he is also a Victory Poker Pro Team member.
bracelets
, both of them he won at the 2011 World Series of Poker
.
His first was in the $1,500 Pot-Limit Hold'em event where he earned $227,232 after he defeated poker professional Allen Kessler heads-up,
His second was in the $50,000 Player's Championship, the highest buy-in event that awards second highest prize money of $1,720,328 (behind the Main Event), also award is the David "Chip" Reese
memorial trophy and what was described by Andrew Feldman of ESPN
as "the most prestigious bracelet of the Series".
The Player's Championship started out with a field of 128 players and after four days of play in a mixed game format known as 8-Game, the format was switch to No-Limit Texas Hold'em on the fifth day when the final table of eight was set with following noted poker professionals and where they finished: Ben Lamb
(8th), Scott Seiver
(7th), PokerStars Pro and SuperNova Elite George Lind (6th), Matt Glantz (5th), Owais Ahmed
(4th) and Minh Ly
(3rd).
When heads-up play began, Rast was up against 11-time bracelet winner Phil Hellmuth
, who was trying to capture his 12th bracelet in his third heads-up match of the 2011 series. As the match progressed, Hellmuth established a 5-1 chip lead on Rast; however, Rast gained the lead after a series of draws that failed to improve Hellmuth's hands. Rast captured the bracelet when Hellmuth's flush draw failed to improve against Rast's King high straight.
His other results at the WSOP include a 9th place finish in the 2008 WSOP $5,000 Pot-Limit Omaha with Rebuys event for $84,863, 14th at the 2009 WSOP in the $40,000 No-Limit Hold'em event for $128,665 and at the 2010 WSOP he finished in the money, coming in 537th place out of 7,319 player for $24,079.
(WPT) Rast finished 7th place at the $25,000 WPT Championship Event earning $204,275.
As of 2011, his total live tournament winnings exceed $2,700,000.
2011 World Series of Poker
The 2011 World Series of Poker was the 42nd annual World Series of Poker . The WSOP is the most prestigious poker tournament in the world with the winner of the Main Event considered to be the World Champion. It was held at the Rio All Suite Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada between May...
$1,500 Pot Limit Hold'em event and the $50,000 Player's Championship.
Rast was born in Denver, Colorado
Denver, Colorado
The City and County of Denver is the capital and the most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Denver is a consolidated city-county, located in the South Platte River Valley on the western edge of the High Plains just east of the Front Range of the Rocky Mountains...
but raised in Poway, California
Poway, California
Poway is a city in San Diego County, California. Originally an unincorporated community in San Diego County, Poway officially became a city in December 1980. Even though Poway lies geographically in the middle of San Diego County, most consider its relative location as north county inland...
, where he graduated as valedictorian
Valedictorian
Valedictorian is an academic title conferred upon the student who delivers the closing or farewell statement at a graduation ceremony. Usually, the valedictorian is the highest ranked student among those graduating from an educational institution...
from Poway High School
Poway High School
Poway High School is a public, comprehensive high school located in the city of Poway, California. Established in 1961, it serves ninth through twelfth grade students from the communities of Poway and Rancho Bernardo. The school mascot is the Titan...
in 2000. He attended Stanford University
Stanford University
The Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University or Stanford, is a private research university on an campus located near Palo Alto, California. It is situated in the northwestern Santa Clara Valley on the San Francisco Peninsula, approximately northwest of San...
before dropping out in order to pursue a career as a full time poker professional. He began playing poker in 2003 after being inspired by John Dahl
John Dahl
John Dahl is an American film director and screenwriter, best known for his work in the neo-noir genre.-Life and career:John Dahl was born in Billings, Montana, the second of four children . Dahl spent his young life in and around Montana all the way up through his college years...
's 1998 film Rounders
Rounders (film)
Rounders is a 1998 film about the underground world of high-stakes poker. Directed by John Dahl and starring Matt Damon and Edward Norton, the movie follows two friends who need to quickly earn enough cash playing poker to pay off a large debt...
.
Online poker
Online, Rast is known as tsarrast on both Full Tilt PokerFull Tilt Poker
Full Tilt Poker is an online poker card room that opened in June 2004 with the involvement of poker professionals Howard Lederer, Phil Ivey, Andy Bloch, Mike Matusow, Jennifer Harman and Chris Ferguson...
and PokerStars
PokerStars
PokerStars is the largest online poker cardroom in the world. PokerStars' satellite tournaments produced the 2003 World Series of Poker champion, Chris Moneymaker. 1983 champion Tom McEvoy, 2005 champion Joe Hachem, 2009 champion Joe Cada and 2010 champion Jonathan Duhamel and others also represent...
. Some of his online tournament results include finishing 3rd in PokerStars Sunday Million for $73,490 and 3rd in Full Tilt Poker's FTOPS III Main Event for $114,203.50.
Rast is one of the pros from the online poker
Online poker
Online poker is the game of poker played over the Internet. It has been partly responsible for a dramatic increase in the number of poker players worldwide...
training site Poker VT and he is also a Victory Poker Pro Team member.
World Series of Poker
Rast has two World Series of PokerWorld Series of Poker
The World Series of Poker is a world-renowned series of poker tournaments held annually in Las Vegas and, since 2005, sponsored by Harrah's Entertainment...
bracelets
World Series of Poker bracelet
The World Series of Poker bracelet is considered the most coveted non-monetary prize a poker player can win. Since 1976, a bracelet has been awarded to the winner of every event at the annual WSOP. Even if the victory occurred before 1976, WSOP championships are now counted as "bracelets". ...
, both of them he won at the 2011 World Series of Poker
2011 World Series of Poker
The 2011 World Series of Poker was the 42nd annual World Series of Poker . The WSOP is the most prestigious poker tournament in the world with the winner of the Main Event considered to be the World Champion. It was held at the Rio All Suite Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada between May...
.
His first was in the $1,500 Pot-Limit Hold'em event where he earned $227,232 after he defeated poker professional Allen Kessler heads-up,
His second was in the $50,000 Player's Championship, the highest buy-in event that awards second highest prize money of $1,720,328 (behind the Main Event), also award is the David "Chip" Reese
Chip Reese
David Edward Reese , more commonly known as Chip Reese, was an American professional poker player and gambler from Centerville, Ohio...
memorial trophy and what was described by Andrew Feldman of 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....
as "the most prestigious bracelet of the Series".
The Player's Championship started out with a field of 128 players and after four days of play in a mixed game format known as 8-Game, the format was switch to No-Limit Texas Hold'em on the fifth day when the final table of eight was set with following noted poker professionals and where they finished: Ben Lamb
Ben Lamb
Benjamin "Ben" Lamb is an American professional poker player. Lamb is the 2011 World Series of Poker Player of the Year. He was also a member of the 2011 November Nine, finishing in third place. He currently has one World Series of Poker bracelet and four career World Series of Poker final...
(8th), Scott Seiver
Scott Seiver
Scott Seiver is a professional poker player from Cold Spring Harbor, New York now residing in Las Vegas, Nevada who won the 2008 World Series of Poker $5,000 No Limit Hold'em event and is the winner of the $25,100 buy-in High Roller event at the 2010 L.A...
(7th), PokerStars Pro and SuperNova Elite George Lind (6th), Matt Glantz (5th), Owais Ahmed
Owais Ahmed
Owais Ahmed is a Pakistani professional poker player from Anaheim, CA. He won his first World Series of Poker bracelet at the 2011 World Series of Poker where he finished in the money in five mixed game events.-World Series of Poker:...
(4th) and Minh Ly
Minh Ly
Minh Hoang Ly is a Vietnamese-American professional poker player based in Temple City, California. He is a regular in "The Big Game" and is married to Lu Binh....
(3rd).
When heads-up play began, Rast was up against 11-time bracelet winner 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...
, who was trying to capture his 12th bracelet in his third heads-up match of the 2011 series. As the match progressed, Hellmuth established a 5-1 chip lead on Rast; however, Rast gained the lead after a series of draws that failed to improve Hellmuth's hands. Rast captured the bracelet when Hellmuth's flush draw failed to improve against Rast's King high straight.
His other results at the WSOP include a 9th place finish in the 2008 WSOP $5,000 Pot-Limit Omaha with Rebuys event for $84,863, 14th at the 2009 WSOP in the $40,000 No-Limit Hold'em event for $128,665 and at the 2010 WSOP he finished in the money, coming in 537th place out of 7,319 player for $24,079.
Other poker tournament and cash games
At the World Poker TourWorld Poker Tour
The World Poker Tour is a series of international poker tournaments and associated television series broadcasting the final table of each tournament. It was started in the United States by attorney/television producer Steven Lipscomb, who served as CEO of WPT Enterprises , the firm that...
(WPT) Rast finished 7th place at the $25,000 WPT Championship Event earning $204,275.
As of 2011, his total live tournament winnings exceed $2,700,000.
World Series of Poker bracelets
| Year | Event | Prize Money |
|---|---|---|
| 2011 2011 World Series of Poker The 2011 World Series of Poker was the 42nd annual World Series of Poker . The WSOP is the most prestigious poker tournament in the world with the winner of the Main Event considered to be the World Champion. It was held at the Rio All Suite Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada between May... |
$1,500 Pot Limit Hold'em | $227,232 |
| 2011 2011 World Series of Poker The 2011 World Series of Poker was the 42nd annual World Series of Poker . The WSOP is the most prestigious poker tournament in the world with the winner of the Main Event considered to be the World Champion. It was held at the Rio All Suite Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada between May... |
$50,000 Poker Player's Championship | $1,720,328 |