Erik Seidel

Last updated August 2008

Eric Seidel Profile
Erik Seidel
Nickname: Sly
Full Tilt Username: Eric Seidel
Web: EX FULL TILT POKER
Birthdate: November 6th, 1959
Birthplace: New York
Lives: Las Vegas, Neveda
Tournaments Won: 18
WSOP Bracelets: 8
Total Winnings: $8,447,943

In 1988, when he was 28 and in his first major tournament, Erik Seidel found himself in heads up play against the defending champion, Johnny Chan, in the final of the World Series of Poker main event. He was wearing a garish red sun visor and dressed in black, which accentuated his long limbs and gave him an air of awkwardness against Chan’s calm demeanour. When the flop of Q 8 10 was laid on the table, Seidel bet aggressively, raising $50,000. Seidel was holding Q 7 but looked nervous as his long fingers fiddled with his chips, awaiting Chan’s decision. Chan thought for a long time before eventually calling and the turn was a 2, which both players checked. 6 came on the river and Seidel, with the top pair of queens, went ‘All in.’ Chan immediately followed suit and turned over J 9. With both players standing, it was apparent that Seidel towered over Chan in height but it was Chan who had come up with the giant hand. He had had the nut straight since the flop and had slow-played Seidel perfectly to take his second title in a row. Despite taking second place, it was a hand that Seidel would want to forget. However, ten years later, this moment would be immortalised in the film ‘Rounders’ and though it boosted Seidel’s profile, he was the young man ‘owned’ by Chan, ‘the kid’ who ‘doesn’t know what hit him.’  

Born and raised in New York City, Erik loved playing games as a child and even made a TV appearance on the game show ‘To Tell the Truth,’ at the age of 12. But backgammon was his game and in the 1970s he dropped out of Brooklyn College to start a different kind of education at the Mayfair Club where he earned a living in cash games and tournaments. As it became more popular, he tried poker too but as a sideline to backgammon.

Eight years later, having seen his fortunes yo-yo, Seidel decided to seek the stability that a steady job would afford him and became a stockbroker on Wall Street though he kept visiting the Mayfair club in his spare time. With the Stock Market crash of 1987, Erik, along with many others, had to re-evaluate what was meant by a ‘steady’ job and the parallels between the financial world and the gambling one would not have been lost on Seidel. Better to lose all your money doing something you enjoy than something you don’t and so Seidel went back to gaming at the Mayfair Club full time. His return coincided in a poker renaissance for the club with Howard Lederer and Dan Harrington frequenting the tables at the time and Erik found himself unable to resist the allure of this fast-growing game. By playing the best, his game improved rapidly and the following year he persuaded his friends to bankroll him for an attempt at the WSOP in Vegas. Ten attempts in fact but he went out in the first nine before reaching the money finishes and his friends must have been ruing their decision. But that was before the Main Event and his second place finish though despite this, the final hand is one Seidel has attempted to erase from his memory. However, it continues live on, courtesy of the silver screen. 

After this, Erik went back to Wall Street and though he continued to play poker, it was three years before he returned to play in a WSOP tournament. Again he had to be content with a second place finish, this time in a Limit Hold’em tournament. However in the following year, 1992, he cracked it and won his first bracelet at the WSOP in another Limit Hold’em tournament. 1993 and 1994 saw him repeat the achievement with wins in Limit Omaha Hi/Lo and Hold’em tournaments respectively and he remains among a select few to have taken home WSOP bracelets in three successive years. In 1995, he quit the East coast and gambling with his clients’ money to move with his wife to Nevada and professionally gamble with his own. Despite several final table finishes, it was in 1998, the year ‘Rounders’ was released, that he won another WSOP tournament. For cinemagoers, he was the stooge slow-played to perfection by Johnny Chan but for the poker community in the know, his solid, un-showy performances won him a lot of respect and by the halfway through the first decade of the new century he had surpassed Chan in winnings. In 2007, he secured his eighth WSOP bracelet and in April 2008 took home his biggest prize to date, almost $1million dollars by beating Robert Richardson in the World Poker Tour Foxwoods Poker Classic.

Although playing in tournaments is Erik’s primary poker concern, he has embraced the internet revolution and is part of the Full Tilt Poker team. Along with Howard Lederer, he was involved at the site’s conception as part of the initial design team.  On his personal home page, he lists his current musical recommendations but he is not always so revealing. During tournaments, he can be quite cagey about revealing his hole cards even to the point of hiding them from the television cameras. However rather than being a tactical move, Seidel claims he does this because he is embarrassed about the all the good cards he gets dealt. Despite all his success, it is still the 1988 WSOP final defeat that remains Erik’s most famous moment in the eyes of the wider public. But since then, Seidel has been quietly raking in the chips and ploughing through tournament fields to rank as one of the top earning poker players of all time. The starry-eyed newcomer, who appears in the ‘Rounders’ movie, has matured into an experienced, accomplished and respected poker veteran.

Eric Seidel WSOP Tournaments & Top Ten Finishes

Event*

Date Position Winnings

Foxwoods Poker Classic / WPT Event Season 6
WPT Championship

Apr 8th 2008

1st

$967,390

2008 Crown Aussie Millions Championship
Event 12 - Poker Pages Ranking Main Event

Jan 14th 2008

2nd

$759,340

Spanish Championship / WPT Event Season IV
WPT Championship

Oct 16th 2007

8th

$65,924

38th Annual WSOP Event 54
No Limit Deuce to Seven Lowball Championship

Jul 4th 2007

1st

$538,835

38th Annual WSOP
Event 51 - WSOP S.H.O.E

Jul 1st 2007

66th

$1,528

38th Annual WSOP
Event 30 - WSOP Short Handed

Jun 18th 2007

40th

$6,429

38th Annual WSOP
Event 21 - WSOP Shootout

Jun 12th 2007

34th

$6,757

38th Annual WSOP
Event 12 - WSOP Short Handed

Jun 7th 2007

40th

$5,844

2007 Crown Aussie Millions Championship
Event 8 - $100,000 Event

Jan 12th  2007

2nd

$417,637

Bellagio Five Diamond World Poker Classic
WPT Event Season 5 Event 10

Dec 10th 2006

7th

$29,795

37th Annual WSOP
Event 32 - WSOP Pot Limit Hold'em

Jul 22nd 2006

34th

$7,106

37th Annual WSOP
Event 22 - WSOP

Jul 14th 2006

128th

$2,874

37th Annual WSOP
Event 2 - WSOP

Jun 27th 2006

49th

$9,094

Caesars Las Vegas Poker Tournament
Event 12 - WSOP Circuit Main Event

May 11th 2006

12th

$27,504

Ultimate Poker Challenge

Jul 25th 2005

8th

$18,300

36th Annual WSOP
Event 43 - WSOP

Jul 11th 2005

6th

$59,545

36th Annual WSOP
Event 35 - WSOP Pot Limit Omaha

Jul 2nd 2005

8th

$46,530

36th Annual WSOP
Event 20 - WSOP Pot Limit Hold'em

Jun 20th 2005

16th

$11,235

36th Annual WSOP
Event 12 - WSOP Pot Limit Omaha

Jun 13th 2005

9th

$23,130

36th Annual WSOP
Event 9 - WSOP

Jun 10th 2005

1st

$611,795

Mirage Poker Showdown
WPT Event Season 4

May 20th 2005

8th

$11,146

LA Poker Classic 
WPT Event Season 3 WPT Main Event

Feb 22nd 2005

9th

$77,498

Five-Diamond World Poker Classic II
WPT Event Season 3 Pot Limit Hold'em

Dec 9th 2004

4th

$24,444

2004 Doyle Brunson Poker Championship
Festa al Lago III WPT Season 3 WPT Main Event

Oct 22nd 2004

4th

$165,000

2004 Doyle Brunson Poker Championship
Festa al Lago III WPT Event Season 3

Oct 17th 2004

1st

$217,839

2004 Plaza Ultimate Poker Challenge

Sep 4th 2004

4th

$2,700

2004 Plaza Ultimate Poker Challenge

Aug 22nd 2004

1st

$8,000

Championship Poker at Turning Stone
Main Event

Jul 14th 2004

9th

$12,000

Festa al Lago II

Jun 30th 2004

1st

$175,347

35th Annual WSOP
Event 19 - WSOP Limit Omaha Hi/Lo

May 9th 2004

3rd

$38,740

35th Annual WSOP
Event 15 - WSOP Limit Hold'em

May 6th 2004

18th

$4,220

35th Annual WSOP
Event 9 - WSOP

Apr 30th 2004

20th

$5,740

35th Annual WSOP
Event 4 - WSOP Limit Hold'em

Apr 25th 2004

39th

$2,520

2003 Five Diamond - WPT Season 2
Pot Limit Omaha

Dec 13th 2003

1st

$95,059

2003 Five Diamond - WPT Season 2
Limit Hold'em

Dec 10th 2003

7th

$9,761

Four Queens Poker Classic

Oct 1st 2003

2nd

$22,450

2003 United States Poker Championship
Main Event

Sep 19th 2003

2nd

$223,146

34th Annual WSOP
Event 32 - WSOP

May 15th 2003

3rd

$105,480

34th Annual WSOP
Event 24 - WSOP Pot Limit Omaha

May 8th 2003

6th

$17,800

34th Annual WSOP
Event 8 - WSOP Pot Limit Omaha

Apr 22nd 2003

1st

$146,100

34th Annual WSOP
Event 5 - WSOP

Apr 19th 2003

11th

$9,080

Five-Star World Poker Classic - WPT Championship Season 1

Apr 7th 2003

3rd

$33,700

Euro Finals of Poker WPT Event Season 1
Pot Limit Omaha

Feb 8th 2003

2nd

$80,236

Jack Binion World Poker Open 4th Year
WPT Season 1 Event 11 - WPO Pot Limit Omaha

Jan 19th 2003

3rd

$38,024

Crown Australasian Poker Championship
Pot Limit Hold'em

Jan 9th 2003

2nd

$26,577

Crown Australasian Poker Championship
Limit Omaha Hi/Lo

Jan 8th 2003

4th

$6,986

2002 U.S. Poker Championship

Dec 19th 2002

2nd

$124,200

$500,000 Guaranteed Gold Rush WPT Season 1
WPT Main Event

Nov 11th 2002

9th

$9,000

Four Queens Poker Classic
Event 17

Oct 3rd 2002

10th

$1,310

Hall of Fame Poker Classic
Event 8

Sep 4th 2002

3rd

$14,340

Hall of Fame Poker Classic
Event 7 - Limit Omaha Hi/Lo

Sep 3rd 2002

5th

$2,250

Hall of Fame Poker Classic
Event 5 - Pot Limit Hold'em

Sep 1st 2002

1st

$20,300

Legends of Poker WPT Season 1
Event 26 - Limit Omaha Hi/Lo

Aug 26th 2002

9th

$1,120

Bellagio Pot Limit Hold 'Em
Pot Limit Hold'em

Aug 1st 2002

4th

$6,063

Grand Slam of Poker Tournament
Event 8

Jul 27th 2002

3rd

$6,985

Mixed Games Tournament
(3 Day Event)

Jul 25th 2002

1st

$45,832

33rd Annual WSOP
Event 19 - WSOP

May 6th 2002

11th

$8,180

33rd Annual WSOP
Event 11 - WSOP Pot Limit Hold'em

Apr 28th 2002

3rd

$38,580

LA Poker Classic
Event 20 - Pot Limit Hold'em

Feb 20th 2002

5th

$6,320

LA Poker Classic
Event 17

Feb 17th 2002

4th

$12,900

3rd Annual Jack Binion World Poker Open
Event 19 - WPO Main Event

Jan 26th 2002

2nd

$258,020

The Four Queens Poker Classic
Event 18 - Main Event

Sep 23rd 2001

8th

$9,094

The Four Queens Poker Classic
Event 6 - Pot Limit Hold'em

Sep 9th 2001

5th

$2,400

The Linda Johnson Celebrity Challenge

Aug 16th 2001

7th

$985

32nd Annual WSOP
Event 22 - WSOP

May 10th 2001

1st

$411,300

32nd Annual WSOP
Event 20 - WSOP Pot Limit Hold'em

May 8th 2001

4th

$39,460

32nd Annual WSOP
Event 8 - WSOP Pot Limit Omaha

Apr 27th 2001

10th

$5,010

Poker Million Hold 'em Tournament
Pot Limit Omaha Hi/Lo

Nov 17th 2000

8th

$2,508

Legends of Poker
Event 18 -

Aug 19th 2000

5th

$4,680

Global Pot Limit No Limit Open
Pot Limit Omaha

Jul 29th 2000

5th

$555

31st Annual WSOP
Event 6 - WSOP Pot Limit Omaha

Apr 29th 2000

17th

$4,485

Jack Binion World Poker Open
Event 19 - WPO Main Event

Apr 16th 2000

10th

$7,159

Jack Binion World Poker Open
Event 12 - WPO Pot Limit Omaha

Apr 9th 2000

3rd

$22,931

Jack Binion World Poker Open
Event 8 - WPO

Apr 5th 2000

10th

$1,222

30th Annual WSOP
Event 17 - WSOP World Championship

May 10th 1999

4th

$279,500

30th Annual WSOP
Event 13 - WSOP

May 8th 1999

17th

$5,500

29th Annual WSOP
Event 17 - WSOP

May 7th 1998

4th

$43,560

29th Annual WSOP
Event 16 - WSOP No Limit Deuce to Seven Lowball

May 6th 1998

1st

$132,750

29th Annual WSOP
Event 15 - WSOP Pot Limit Hold'em

May 5th 1998

17th

$5,160

29th Annual WSOP
Event 11 - WSOP Pot Limit Omaha

May 1st 1998

3rd

$40,800

International Pot Limit Rendezvous
Pot Limit Hold'em

Jan 4th 1998

1st

$16,000

28th Annual WSOP
Event 19 - WSOP Limit Hold'em

May 7th 1997

3rd

$56,000

28th Annual WSOP
Event 13 - WSOP Limit Hold'em

May 1st 1997

5th

$28,950

28th Annual WSOP
Event 1 - WSOP Limit Hold'em

Apr 19th 1997

4th

$70,720

Legends of Poker

Aug 24th 1996

4th

$10,750

27th Annual WSOP
Event 18 - WSOP Pot Limit Omaha

May 8th 1996

6th

$16,313

27th Annual WSOP
Event 9 - WSOP Pot Limit Omaha

Apr 30th 1996

14th

$4,215

Poker Classic
Pot Limit Omaha

Sep 23rd 1995

1st

$60,000

26th Annual WSOP
Event 16 - WSOP Limit Hold'em

May 10th 1995

7th

$11,625

Poker Classic

Sep 20th 1994

3rd

$32,000

Diamond Jim Brady

Aug 17th 1994

1st

$75,600

25th Annual WSOP
Event 10 - WSOP Pot Limit Hold'em

Apr 25th 1994

6th

$12,968

25th Annual WSOP
Event 9 - WSOP Limit Hold'em

Apr 24th 1994

14th

$5,300

25th Annual WSOP
Event 2 - WSOP Limit Hold'em

Apr 17th 1994

1st

$210,000

World Poker Finals
Limit Hold'em

Dec 19th 1993

5th

$4,400

24th Annual WSOP
Event 19 - WSOP Pot Limit Hold'em

May 8th 1993

15th

$3,060

24th Annual WSOP
Event 17 - WSOP Limit Hold'em

May 6th 1993

15th

$3,725

24th Annual WSOP
Event 3 - WSOP Limit Omaha Hi/Lo

Apr 22nd 1993

1st

$94,000

23rd Annual WSOP
Event 4 - WSOP Limit Hold'em

Apr 25th 1992

1st

$168,000

Poker Classic

Jan 22nd 1992

2nd

$100,000

22nd Annual WSOP
Event 2 - WSOP Limit Hold'em

Apr 27th 1991

2nd

$105,000

19th Annual WSOP
Event 12 - WSOP World Championship

May 16th 1988

2nd

$280,000

* All Events No Limit Hold'em except where stated.

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