He was introduced to poker during school days but he took it up seriously in 1985 and played in the famous Mayfair Club at Manhattan which was spreading Poker game weekly and brought in many regulars like Mikey Appleman, Jay Heimowitz, Steve Zolotow, Howard Lederer, Paul Magriel, Roger Low and Jason Lester, who later became world class players.

Even after his early success in Poker, he did not start playing professionally but continued with the stock trading. He became an independent options market maker in AMEX and only turned to Poker when he visited Las Vegas to play in tournaments with high stakes.

He played his first major tournament - World Series of Poker Championship Event (1988) and was awarded the second place. The final hand that he played in the 1988 World series of Poker against Johnny Chan was featured in the movie “Rounders”.

Erik Seidel won the first bracelet in 1994 in the $5K Limit Hold 'em event and 1999 saw him back at the final table in the World series of Poker Championship event.

Today Erik Seidel has had the highest WSOP, winning one event and has been placed high in all others.His total winnings have been calculated as $6,500,000 with 7 WSOP bracelets credited in his name. The most recent has been the WSOP 2005, No Limit Hold’Em $2000 event which he won.

His major cash winning achievements have been listed as:

1992 $2,500 Limit Hold’em won $168,000

1993 42,500 Omaha 8 won $94,000

1994 $5,000 Limit hold’em won $210,000

1998 $5000 Deuce to Seven Draw won $132,700

2001 $3000 No Limit Hold’em $411,300

2003 $1,500 Pot Limit Omaha $146,100

2005 $2000 No Limit Hold’em $611,795

Erik has had a lot of success playing in Las Vegas, where he shifted when he turned Pro. His major finishes have been at Bellagio or at World Series of Poker and he is the only player whose name comes in the Top 10 All Time money lists in these two places. Glancing at the his records of First Place Finishes:13, Cashes:107 , Pro Rank position : 457 while WSOP bracelets has been 7 till date.

He plays exclusively for FullTiltPoker.com and is on the design board also. Full Tilt Poker has been named the best online Poker room by bluff Magazine in 2006.Full Tilt poker room has also been awarded six prizes for the Top software, Top cash games, Top Online Tournaments by the Bluff readers choice awards. Robert Mizrachi, Erik Lindgren, Andy Black, John Juanda and Phil Ivey are some of the top players who play exclusively for Full Tilt Poker.

Although Erik is not one of the flashy players on the Poker circuit, he has his own analytical style which gives him an edge over his rivals. He has drawn a lot of criticism for being ‘very tight’. He likes to stick to his own game without being very aggressive on the table. His style and winning streak is due to the right blend of patience, focus and infinite analytical ability that comes from experience as a former stock broker.

Starting out as a backgammon player then a stock broker, moving on to become one of the leading Poker players in the world is an achievement in itself. His winnings in millions have been an achievement of tactical moves, strategic planning and patience.

When he is not busy with Poker tournaments, he enjoys playing backgammon, dabbling in the stock market and listening to music.He lets his play speak out for him, being a modest and a reserved individual, who never brags about his winnings. This trait of his makes him one of the most respected Poker players today.

Personal Quote

“One of the great challenges of poker is to think well through all situations. When you can do that, there’s an extra thrill involved here you are, things have gone badly, and yet you’re still sitting there as tough as you were when you came in. And that can be very discouraging to other players… Let them tilt because you’re not!”