Andy Bloch Might be the Best Poker Player You've Never Heard Of

Long haunted by the moniker “the best player to never win a bracelet”, Andy Bloch is under that shadow no more. Finally, after 18 years participating in WSOP events, Bloch secured his first bracelet by winning Event 7 $1,500 Seven Card Stud ON June 2nd in Las Vegas.

According to an article on Carbon Poker’s blog, Bloch wasn’t exactly flagellating himself over his previous failures to capture a bracelet, saying, “It’s only been 18 years. Looking back on those events, I felt like I played pretty well, and I had a chance to win and the cards just didn’t come. It’s much easier to deal with coming in second when you did everything you pretty much could do.”

Andy Bloch Losses in the WSOP may have been easier for Bloch to stomach considering that overall he has been a huge winner at the game, holding countless tournament titles. He also possesses an impressive educational background including two electrical engineering degrees from MIT in addition to a JD from Harvard.

It would seem that people will have a lot to say about Andy Bloch now, and it won’t be about losing. For a full listing of Event 7 Stud tournament results – and to play some stud poker yourself – check out www.carbonpoker.ag.

According to his Wikipedia, Bloch also was a member of the famed MIT blackjack team, which relied on card counting to win millions from casinos around the country. After a movie was released in 2008 profiling the accomplishments of the legendary team, Bloch told the Las Vegas Review-Journal that he was done with playing blackjack, so as not to get into trouble that might interfere with his ability to play poker, remarking, “I get recognized pretty easily. The first time I went to Wynn Las Vegas after the casino opened, one of the managers saw me and said, ‘Andy, the poker room is that way. You’re welcome to play here, just not blackjack.’”

Bloch’s focus on poker has clearly paid off. In the 2012 WSOP alone, he has cashed 26 times since 1996, bringing home more than $2 million from WSOP events. His win in Event 7 was by far his largest WSOP windfall so far, fattening his purses by $126,363, though Bloch claimed he was more pleased with the title and bracelet than the cash. It looked as if Bloch had a shot for the bracelet twice before – in 2006 in the $50,000 HORSE and in 2008 in the $10,000 Pot Limit Hold ‘Em, but both times he lost in heads-up play.

As ESPN reports, after winning Event 7, Bloch said, “Now, no one can say, ‘Andy Bloch is the best player to never win a gold bracelet. That is really annoying because there are so many great other players too, who have not won. I’ve been coming here for 18 years now. I never thought it would have taken so long.”

Photo Credit: Wikipedia