Poker Profiles: Andy Black

Andy Black is an Irish Poker player who was born and bred in Belfast but is currently residing in Dublin. He started at Poker at a very young age. It was Andy's mother who introduced him to it. Then, when he is of legal age, at 21, he started playing cards more seriously. Andy was a Law student at that time at Trinity College. In school, he became part of the infamous Junior Card Room which churned out notable players Padraig Parkinson and Donnacha O'Dea. Alongside playing with a club of Junior Poker players, Andy also actively participated at casino games. He frequented Griffin Casino in Dublin for the main reason that there was free food and drinks on offer there.

After school, Andy turned pro officially but had not seen the light until 1997 when he entered the World Series of Poker main event. He was knocked out of contention by the eventual winner, Stu Ungar. In 1998, Andy suffered another painful loss, which was even documented for Million Dollar Deal. That loss made him turn around and take another road. He quit playing altogether, traveled to England, and entered a semi-monastic Buddhism environment. Andy stayed there for five years.

In 2004, Andy rekindled his Poker career by joining Irish tournaments here and there. The following year, in 2005, he made his best finish ever at the WSOP. He came out at the final table but was still short of opportunity to actually shove the stake. The fifth place finish was not bad at all only, a championship win could have been a lot more interesting. That same year, Andy was invited to appear at Heads Up with Richard Herring to talk about not only his Poker career but his faith as well.

Aside from the WSOP, Andy also made several cash ins from other prestigious tournaments namely, the World Poker Tour, the European Poker Tour, and the Aussie Millions. Although his appearances are yet to deliver a title, they already made Andy millions of dollars richer. To date his total Poker earnings are close to hitting the $4 million mark. Andy is also a significant player at FullTiltPoker.com.

Andy is a living proof that no matter how many bad beats you get, you will still come back to the things you love doing. At second try at success, he is now more inclined in reaching his goals in no time. That is just about the fruit of his perseverance. There are many great players around but only a few are able to survive tough competition. Andy chose to survive that is why he is still around playing the circuit.