Poker Player - Andy Bloch
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Andy Bloch was born in Tacoma Park, California, and started playing poker from a very early age. "I practically grew up with a deck of cards in my crib" he has said, and an aptitude for the game was also apparent. He graduated in 1992 from MIT with a degree in electrical engineering, and it was after this that he started to play poker with a little more determination. He started to play casino poker at the Foxwoods Casino, which had just opened, inspired by the notice board proclaiming the names of the World Poker Tour winners. Andy Bloch wanted his name on that board, and by the end of the year, his name was on it as a winner of the $100 No Limit Hold'em tournament.
As a poker player with 2 degrees from MIT and a JD from Harvard Law School, it comes as no surprise that Andy's approach to poker is mathematical and analytical. He is an expert in poker "Game Theory" which has a psychological approach to poker. He also has a history in analysing and applying methods to not only poker, but blackjack as well. In 1993, Andy came into the company of the MIT Blackjack team. He managed to write a computer program that would present a 6% advantage to players playing Hicock 6-Card Poker at Foxwoods, so he and some other students from MIT began to play at the casino and, more importantly, began to consistently win. Eventually the casino became aware of the strategy and changed the rules. This experience was significant for Andy Bloch, not because of the winnings (in fact, these totalled only $30 per hour of play) but because it was his first real step into the world of professional gambling. By 1995, Andy had quit his job and began to play poker full time.
In 1996, Andy got a place at Harvard Law School, all the while financing his studies by playing poker and blackjack. Studying meant that he had to reduce the number of poker games he was now playing in Las Vegas, but in 1997 and 1998, not even the importance of the last week of law school could prevent him from playing in the World Series of Poker. In 1999, it was reasonable to note that graduating from Harvard took precedence, and he did not play in the WSOP that year!
Graduating in law did not lead to a law career however. Even up to today, Andy tells his parents that he is "still looking"! The fact is that Andy Bloch found his passion in poker and this is where his directs his capabilities and focus. He has won over $1,000,000 paying in poker tournaments, with wins in the $10,000 buy in Ultimate Poker Challenge II, two World Poker Tour Final Tables and eight money finishes in the World Poker Tour 2005 alone. He has also won the 2002 Seven Card stud event at the World Poker Finals, and the 2004 $1000 No Limit Hold'em Hot Tex! Tournament at the Hard Rock Casino, Las Vegas.
Aside from live poker tournaments, Andy Bloch also works to represent the online poker site Full Tilt Poker, along side other new generation poker professionals like Phil Gordon and Howard Lederer. He plays online an average of 10 hours a week, and donates all the money he makes from low limit games to charity.
Andy Bloch has progressed from a highly successful academic, to a true poker star. A player with methodology and mathematics behind him, but who also has a heart. He says "Poker is a godless game, full of random pain" but continues to love the game, support the industry through online sites like Full Tilt Poker and the unofficial WPT Fan Site, and hopes to use his multiple skills to make the world a better place!
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