Andy Bloch joins us from the Ante Up For Africa tournament at the 2010 World Series of Poker. During this red carpet event, we caught up with several big names from poker as well as television, movie and sports celebrities that participated to raise awareness and money for the needy in Africa.
Bloch is known as one of the more highly educated and intelligent poker players in the world, holding two electrical engineering degrees from MIT and a JD from Harvard Law School. He started playing poker in 1992 and had a background as part of the famed MIT blackjack team. In 1997 he skipped out on law classes to play in the WSOP Main Event. At the 2006 World Series of Poker, Bloch finished 2nd place in the $50,000 HORSE event against David “Chip” Reese. The heads-up battle lasted 286 hands and is the longest recorded heads-up session in WSOP history.
Unfortunately for Bloch, he’s considered one of the best poker players never to win either a WSOP bracelet or a WPT crown. He has 24 in the money finishes at the WSOP and two final tables on the World Poker Tour. However, don’t feel too sorry for him, as his estimated live tournament earnings exceed $4.2 million.
Bloch is a sponsored pro at Full Tilt Poker. He has pledged to donate 100% of his winnings when he plays online to various charities around the world. Back in 2006 he beat Phil Laak in the Pro-Am Poker Equalizer for $500,000 and donated $100,000 of that prize money to charities working in Darfur.
Bloch penned “The Pocket Idiot’s Guide to Poker Tells” which can be found on various internet books stores to this day. He was also one of the first volunteers to try out a low-tech version of the modern day “hole cam” during the 1997 WSOP. He is also a Rock, Paper, Scissors champion, which falls in line with his “nice guy” image at the table.
