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Wall Street trader turned poker pro wins WSOP bracelet, nearly $600K19 June 2011Andy Frankenberger won the latest $1,500 buy-in No-Limit Hold’em championship at the World Series of Poker, overcoming a massive field size of exactly 2,500 entrants to claim $599,153 in prize money. The 38-year-old professional poker player from New York City is one of this year’s most fascinating new poker champions. A native New Yorker, Frankenberger actually grew up in Massachusetts and later lived in Siberia for one year, as an exchange student. He learned to speak Russian and remains fluent in the language. Frankenberger attended and graduated from Duke University, earning his degree in economics. Following graduation, Frankenberger took his ambition and energy to Wall Street and succeeded as an equity derivatives trader. He made a lot of money. He loved his job. Then, during the absolute pinnacle of his success as a trader, Frankenberger did the unthinkable. He quit. Frankenberger's decision to leave a highly-successful and lucrative career on Wall Street reveals a lot about the man he is, and what he most values in life. "I absolutely loved my job," said Frankenberger. "I loved what I was doing. That’s what made it tough to leave. The thing that made it easier for me was that I loved what I was doing, but I did not think I was growing as a person, in other ways. I did not want to go on and do another year of the same thing. And that’s why I made the decision." After taking some time off, Frankenberger began playing tournament poker. He played in several mid-grade tournaments around the country. Much to his surprise and delight, he quickly discovered an affinity for the game. Indeed, the lessons he had learned from his previous life served him well at the poker table. "It’s all about risk management," said Frankenberger. "When you are trading in the market, you are dealing with the uncertainty of what can happen with the market. You have your opinion about what will happen. And you have to weigh that and determine how strongly you want to place your investment. Similarly, at the poker table, you know what your two cards are. But you do not know what the other guy’s got. It’s all about risk management, not letting your ego get the best of you when you are wrong. Being beat up on Wall Street was great training. I did very well at it, but you’re never smarter than the market. You have to keep your ego in check. It does not matter if you are right. The same is true in poker. It’s a similar type of mindset and a similar type of thinking." Last year, Frankenberger started playing full-time on the tournament circuit. He traveled around to major tournaments. He won two major events in 2010, in the process earning an honor as the World Poker Tour player of the year. But as impressive as Frankenberger’s rapid ascent seemed, he had yet to prove himself on poker’s grandest stage. That all changed on when Frankenberger was dealt Ace-King and called an all-in bet by eventual runner-up Joshua Evans, who tabled A-10. The better hand won, giving Frankenberger his first WSOP title. Evans, a 26-year-old poker pro from Plano, Texas, claimed $372,498 for his second-place finish. Robert Shortway, a 26-year-old Captain in the U.S. Marine Corps from St. Petersburg, Fla., finished third for $263,655. Remarkably, Shortway just returned three weeks ago from an eight-month deployment in Afghanistan. He is a graduate of Ohio State University. Owen Crowe, from Halifax, N.S., was fourth for $190,147, and Tyler Kenney, a 22-year-old poker pro from Long Beach, N.Y., was fifth for $138,847. Steve Merrifield, a 26-year-old poker pro from Las Vegas, Nev., was sixth for $102,600. Thao Nguyen, a 42-year-old businessman from Birmingham, Ala., was seventh, Sidney Hasson, a 30-year-old financier from London, was eighth, and Bret Hruby, a 21-year-old student at the University of Iowa, was ninth. The top 270 finishers collected prize money. Former gold bracelet winners who cashed in this tournament included: Matt Graham (19th) and David “Dragon” Pham (259th). Tournament summary provided by Nolan Dalla, WSOP Media Director, reprinted by permission. |