Gavin Griffin

Gavin Griffin Profile
	Nickname: Pokerstars Username: Web: www.pokerstars.com Birthdate: August 28th 1981 Birthplace: Darien, Illinois, U.S. Residence: Darien, Illinois, U.S. Tournaments Won: 3 WSOP Bracelets: 1 Total Winnings: $4,452,743

The 2004 World Series of Poker was Gavin Griffin’s first experience of tournament poker and that year’s Pot Limit event was the setting for what he describes as the best hand he ever played. He was one of the final three players along with Gabriel Thaler and Gary Bush and with pocket cards of 9♥ 8♠, he limped in to the pot from the dealer position. Since reaching short-handed play, it had been the first time that Griffin had only called from last position, a fact that was not lost to his opponents. ‘Wow, you’ve never done that before,’ Bush exclaimed. ‘What does that mean?’ Thaler quietly added. Griffin looked up and could afford a smile as he watched his opponents mumbling away to themselves. Their confusion had made up his mind to play the hand as though he had great cards. Thaler paid to see the flop, Bush checked and the cards came out 6♥ A♠ K♦. Thaler, with 7♦ 6♠ had hit the low pair but both he and Bush were clearly rattled and checked through to the turn card of J♦. Bush, holding J♠ 8♣ had paired his jacks but again both players checked round to Griffin. At this point, there was no river card that could win the hand for Griffin but he placed a bet, knowing his opponents were having trouble reading him. Immediately, Thaler folded while Bush, rubbing his temple, pondered what to do. Griffin, awaiting his opponent’s decision, looking unconcerned and eventually Bush folded his winning hand. He showed his jack to Griffin but if he was hoping for the reciprocal response, he didn’t get it. Griffin hadn’t taken a vast amount of chips with the pot but he had put doubt into his challengers’ minds. He had gained a psychological edge over them and it was enough to see him through to victory in the tournament. He had won a WSOP bracelet at his first attempt and then just 22 years old became the youngest player to win a WSOP event.

Gavin was born and raised in the small Illinois town of Darien. Growing up, cards and other table games were far from as his mind as his interest lay in the area of physical sports, especially baseball. He was talented too and competed twice weekly for various teams right up until being offered several college baseball scholarships. But Gavin was realistic about his ability and though he felt he could have made a reasonable living playing in the minor leagues, he didn’t think he would ever make it to become a Major league player. He was unsure what to do instead but finally decided to train in speech therapy, remembering how important it was to his grandfather’s recovery after he had suffered a stroke. It showed Gavin possessed an empathetic side and he signed up at Fort Worth’s Texas Christian University. He came to poker through a college friend’s home games and though the stakes were small, Griffin didn’t see the point of playing to lose which he invariably did. Self-study from books and internet poker forums was his way forward and his play began to develop. When took a part-time job as a dealer in a private poker room, he used the opportunity to hone his skills and build his bankroll before and after shifts. In 2003, he decided to go professional and dedicated his time to playing in online poker rooms before deciding to take the plunge into the bricks and mortar world at the highest stage, the WSOP.

After his 2004 bracelet win, Griffin said he felt ‘overwhelmed’ but he kept his sense of realism saying he ‘realized it was something that wouldn’t be happening every week.’ Despite making a few final tables in the next couple of years and respectable finishes in two World Poker Tour events, he hit a bit of a lull and saw his youngest WSOP winner record bettered in those years, first by Eric Froehlich and then Jeff Madsen. But Griffin wasn’t about to drift off the poker radar just yet and in March 2007 he went to Monte Carlo for the grand final of the European Poker Tour’s No Limit Hold’em event. Boasting the largest number of entrants in an EPT event, Griffin took down the title by beating Mark Karam heads-up after the other 703 competitors had fallen by the wayside. His prize was $2,391,895 and this time the critically acclaimed win was followed by another big win ten months later that put him back in the record books. When he paired his queen on the turn heads-up against David Tran, he won the World Poker Tour Borgata Open and became the first player to win events in the WSOP, EPT and WPT, also known as poker’s Triple Crown.  

Despite the penchant for breaking records Griffin remains well grounded and aware that there is more to life than cards, felt and chips. When his girlfriend Kristen Roberts successfully fought off breast cancer, Griffin started donating some of his winnings to cancer research projects to help those less fortunate. During his week at the EPT in Monte Carlo he went one further than wearing a pink ribbon and sported pink hair to highlight breast cancer awareness. This attitude has made him a well-liked player and he seems to have a wise head on young shoulders. He doesn’t suffer from delusions of grandeur saying that doesn’t want to be considered as the world’s best poker players just to make a living playing the game. But even though he could probably retire on his winnings so far don’t expect that to happen too soon. Griffin loves the intellectual and psychological challenge that poker offers saying, ‘I like pitting my brains against other people and seeing how it turns out.’ And for Griffin, things seem to be turning out fine.   

You can play online poker with Gavin Griffin at Pokerstars. Check out our Pokerstars Marketing Code for a sign-up bonus of $50 - or you can download Pokerstars here.

Gavin Griffin Tournament Wins
	Event* Date Position Winnings 39th WSOP 2008 Event 25 - WSOP Heads Up World Championship Jun 13th 2008 6th $54,144 39th WSOP 2008 Event 2 - WSOP May 31st 2008 251st $3,754 Borgata Winter Open WPT Event Season 6 Event 13 Jan 31st 2008 1st $1,375,609 38th Annual WSOP Event 31 - WSOP Heads Up World Championship Jun 19th 2007 56th $9,212 38th Annual WSOP Event 13 - WSOP Pot Limit Hold'em World Championship Jun 8th 2007 7th $58,924 38th Annual WSOP Event 8 - WSOP Jun 5th 2007 24th $16,212 EPT Grand Final EPT Mar 28th 2007 1st $2,391,895 Harrah's Rincon Poker Tournament Event 11 - WSOP Circuit Championship Feb 22nd 2007 3rd $86,685 Bellagio Five Diamond World Poker Classic WPT Event Season 5 Event 1 Dec 1st 2006 4th $41,855 Festa al Lago WPT Event Oct 10th 2006 5th $16,795 37th Annual WSOP Event 25 - WSOP Shootout Jul 16th 2006 55th $4,805 37th Annual WSOP Event 5 - WSOP Short Handed Jun 30th 2006 17th $12,319 Winnin 'O' The Green Event 4 Mar 4th 2006 4th $13,105 36th Annual WSOP Event 4 - WSOP Limit Hold'em Jun 5th 2005 95th $1,590 The 6th Jack Binion World Poker Open WPT Event Season 3 Event 15 Jan 20th 2005 7th $27,379 Hold 'Em At The Horseshoe Sep 24th 2004 3rd $9,975 Mid-America Poker Classic Event 10 - Limit Hold'em Aug 7th 2004 9th $4,860 35th Annual WSOP Event 30 - WSOP May 18th 2004 25th $8,980 35th Annual WSOP Event 25 - WSOP Pot Limit Hold'em May 14th 2004 1st $270,420

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