playing poker

Andy Bloch: Academician and Pro Poker Player

Andy Bloch grew up in New Haven, Connecticut in the suburb of Orange. He graduated in 1992 from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology with a double degree in electrical engineering; the same year were he seriously started playing poker. In 1993 he was fired due to an argument with his employer. Poker has always been on Bloch's mind and it is on top of his list. He even joked to his parents that he'll go into poker if he won't make it as and engineer.

Bloch has always applied his engineering and analytical skills when playing poker. He is into the mathematical and psychological aspects of the game and he's quite a fierce player when at the tables. He is also active in playing online poker and is recognized by many online communities as well.

The 1992 World Poker Finals was Andy Bloch's first No-Limit Texas Hold'em game where he won at the $ 100 tournament. He made two final tables in the 2001 World Series of Poker; took off 1st place at the 7-card Stud Poker event in 2002 at Foxwoods; and finished 3rd in both 2 final tables during the first season of the World Poker Tour. Bloch also won the $ 2,500 No-Limit Hold'em tournament at the Ultimate Poker Challenge season two.

Bloch continued on studying and pursued a degree in Harvard's Law School. The 1997 World Series of Poker made him skip his last week classes at law school so he could play in the main event. He even volunteered to sweat and record Tom Sims' hole cards for a low-tech hole card cam experiment. Bloch's records were featured in a two-part article of the Card Player Magazine.

Bloch passed the 1999 bar exam but decided to delay his career in law and pursue his career as a pro poker player. Realizing that his poker career was becoming more and more successful, his career as a lawyer was yet again put aside. He remained an activist and come 2003, Bloch joined the anti-war demonstration in front of the White House, and he was arrested. Being a licensed lawyer, he practiced his rights and defended himself in court.

In his journal on his official website, Bloch announced he's boycotting the World Series of Poker until the tournament organizers have made up their minds on how the players' identities and names are being exploited. Bloch is also a member of Team Full Tilt and plays in Fulltiltpoker.com. He also manages an unofficial World Poker Tour Fan Site, which has a huge following and popularity.