Martin De Knijff
Encyclopedia
Martin de Knijff is a professional sports bettor and high-stakes poker
player from Gothenburg
, Sweden
.
His last name is from his Dutch
father. His mother is Swedish. The family moved to Falkenberg
when Martin was 5 and in 1992 Martin left to go to Stockholm
and from there to Las Vegas where he currently lives.
Martin started playing poker aged 15 (mostly 5-card draw) but became fond of Omaha and Hold-Em when introduced to them. He considers Doyle Brunson
's book Super System to be the best poker book ever written.
He first made a name for himself in the poker world with a 13th place finish in the 2002 World Series of Poker
Main Event, earning himself $60,000.
Entering into the World Poker Tour
, he finished 15th in the series 1 championship, winning $26,664; and went on to win the same tournament the following year, earning a then-record-breaking $2,728,356.
Less than a month later his success continued with a 2nd place finish in the $5,000 No Limit Hold-Em event at the 2004 World Series of Poker
.
Martin wrote an article for Card Player magazine in 2005 encouraging tournament backers to reveal themselves. It was met with mixed reactions from poker professionals.
As of his last tournament cash in 2008, his total live tournament winnings exceed $3,370,000.
Outside of poker, Martin is an avid bridge
player, having finished second in the 2008 Blue Ribbon Pairs
, one of the two major North American
pair bridge championships.
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 from Gothenburg
Gothenburg
Gothenburg is the second-largest city in Sweden and the fifth-largest in the Nordic countries. Situated on the west coast of Sweden, the city proper has a population of 519,399, with 549,839 in the urban area and total of 937,015 inhabitants in the metropolitan area...
, Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
.
His last name is from his Dutch
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
father. His mother is Swedish. The family moved to Falkenberg
Falkenberg Municipality
Falkenberg Municipality is a municipality in Halland County on the Swedish west coast. The town Falkenberg is the municipal seat....
when Martin was 5 and in 1992 Martin left to go to Stockholm
Stockholm
Stockholm is the capital and the largest city of Sweden and constitutes the most populated urban area in Scandinavia. Stockholm is the most populous city in Sweden, with a population of 851,155 in the municipality , 1.37 million in the urban area , and around 2.1 million in the metropolitan area...
and from there to Las Vegas where he currently lives.
Martin started playing poker aged 15 (mostly 5-card draw) but became fond of Omaha and Hold-Em when introduced to them. He considers 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...
's book Super System to be the best poker book ever written.
He first made a name for himself in the poker world with a 13th place finish in the 2002 World Series of Poker
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...
Main Event, earning himself $60,000.
Entering into the World Poker Tour
World 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...
, he finished 15th in the series 1 championship, winning $26,664; and went on to win the same tournament the following year, earning a then-record-breaking $2,728,356.
Less than a month later his success continued with a 2nd place finish in the $5,000 No Limit Hold-Em event at the 2004 World Series of Poker
2004 World Series of Poker
The 2004 World Series of Poker was held at Binion's Horseshoe after Harrah's Entertainment purchased the casino and the rights to the tournament in January...
.
Martin wrote an article for Card Player magazine in 2005 encouraging tournament backers to reveal themselves. It was met with mixed reactions from poker professionals.
As of his last tournament cash in 2008, his total live tournament winnings exceed $3,370,000.
Outside of poker, Martin is an avid bridge
Contract bridge
Contract bridge, usually known simply as bridge, is a trick-taking card game using a standard deck of 52 playing cards played by four players in two competing partnerships with partners sitting opposite each other around a small table...
player, having finished second in the 2008 Blue Ribbon Pairs
Blue Ribbon Pairs
The Edgar Kaplan Blue Ribbon Pairs national bridge championship is held at the fall American Contract Bridge League North American Bridge Championship ....
, one of the two major North American
North American Bridge Championships
North American Bridge Championships are three annual bridge conventions sponsored by the American Contract Bridge League . The "Spring", "Summer", and "Fall" NABCs are usually scheduled in March, July, and November for about eleven days. They comprise both championship and side contests of...
pair bridge championships.