Dan Harrington
Dan Harrington, the 1995
WSOP Champion, is perhaps best known to the new
generation of poker players for his 3 best-selling
strategy books, his now-famous green Red Sox cap, and
back-to-back WSOP final table appearances this decade.
Besides poker, Harrington has been a master at various
skill games for over 35 years. Ironically nicknamed
"Action Dan" because of his tight-aggressive style,
Harrington has also excelled as a top backgammon and
chess player. His background in law and finance has also
allowed him to be monetarily successful outside of the
poker world.
Harrington learned the ropes
professional poker at the now-legendary Mayfair Club in
New York. In the 1980s, Harrington competed at the club
against future poker stars like Howard Lederer, Steve
Zolotow, and Erik Seidel. Taking his time to make it to
the big games in Las Vegas, Harrington made the trek to
the annual World Series of Poker in 1987 and came in 6th
place in the Main Event.
After another 8 years, he
truly made his mark on the poker world in 1995. That
year, he won the WSOP Main Event for $1,000,000 and
another preliminary no-limit event for another $250,000.
As ESPN had begun to air the final table by that time,
you can occasionally find the dated footage being aired
on ESPN Classic. Apparently, Harrington tried to
convince everyone at the final table to split up the
prize money and take his investment counseling. There
were objections by some of the players and, without a
deal, Dan Harrington ended up taking the first-place
money anyway.
The combination of not
competing in many poker tournaments and his other
investments kept Dan Harrington out of the poker
limelight for nearly a decade. That is, until poker
exploded into the mainstream with ESPN's extensive
coverage of the 2003 WSOP Main Event. Harrington managed
to exit in 3rd place that year, earning $650,000 and
leaving Sammy Farha and Chris Moneymaker to battle it
out for the title. With over 800 participants, that
finish alone was an accomplishment. However, he managed
to defy the odds and returned to the final table in 2004
in a then-record field of 2,500 players. He finished 4th
and earned another $1,500,000 - more money than his win
netted him 9 years earlier. Playing a conservative style
against such a huge number of wild internet amateurs,
back-to-back Main Event final tables in this era is
close to impossible to achieve. Many consider this to be
one of the best WSOP accomplishments to date.
Following his WSOP
performances, Harrington co-authored 3 best-selling
tournament strategy books titled
Harrington on Hold'em 1,
2, and 3. These are extremely detailed manuals and
are widely considered to be the best books written on
no-limit tournament strategy. Other top tournament
finishes include 2nd place in 2005's Doyle Brunson North
American Championship - a stop on the World Poker Tour.
Dan Harrington's overall tournament winnings total
almost $5,000,000.
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