Poker Player - Warren Karp
Warren Karp was born in Queens, New York City on the 12th November 1956. 16 years later, he played his first game of poker in the Catskills. But despite a love for the game of poker, it is only in the past few years that poker has become a full time profession for him.
In 1990, Warren Karp got married, and moved to one of the leading Poker playing cities in the world: Las Vegas. He started out by playing $15.00 daily tournaments at the Gold Coast Casino (this was before it moved to New Orleans). He found a love for the game, and despite little experience, he won the sixth tournament he played in outright. This cemented his passion for poker despite following up his win with 6 months of defeats at the poker tables.
Poker was a draw for Warren Karp however, and he ended up working in the poker industry in Las Vegas, not only as a player, but as a dealer, a floor man, and a shift boss. While playing, he took the opportunity to enter the Tournament of Champions at the Gold Coast, as he had finished in first place in the daily Omaha Hi/Lo tournament. He finished in second place in the Texas Hold’em daily tournament. He felt ready to be a champion again, but failed.
In 1994, Warren Karp moved to New York where poker playing isn’t legal. Consequently his playing moved underground and he played in Italian Social Clubs, using a stripped deck – 7 handed, with the 2’s, 3’s and 4’s stripped out. Warren relearned how to play poker.
In 1998 though, Warren Karp moved back to California and it was from here that his “destiny” really started to take shape. He was holding down a regular job, and also playing poker on a more or less professional basis, although he was still in the habit of thinking that poker was just a hobby. His attention had changed though, moving from simple enjoyment of the game to a determined study of poker’s nuances, skills and strategies. He would watch and observe professional players, constantly asking them questions about the game of poker, learning from each game rather than treating it as a social event.
In 2000, his turning point came when he became redundant from his regular job. In the summer, he played in The Legends of Poker at the Bike, with some success, winning 3 events and making cash wins in 5 others. The hard work was paying off, and Warren Karp turned Professional. By the end of 2002 Warren Karp had finished in the Top 100 list of Card Players of the year. In 2003, he had moved up to the Top 50 Card Player of the Year list.
But outside of poker tournaments, Warren Karp is making quite a name for himself as a poker writer. In 2000, he submitted an article to Card Player Magazine, who were so impressed that he is now a full time columnist. He is a prolific writer both for the magazine, and also for his website www.pokermd.com which gives advice and tutoring for both experienced and new poker players. He sees encouraging and mentoring new players as a hobby, and respects players like Marcel Luske and David Shiu. He is married, with one child and and lives in Lake Forest, California.
Most of all though, Warren Karp has one singular motto that he continues to live by : “I’m better than I was yesterday and not as good as I hope to be tomorrow.”
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