Known as Ashman103 online, Ashton Griffin is one of the most recognizable and fierce online cash game players around. He found the game playing small stakes with his mother and sister, but eventually began playing $60 Sit-and-Gos online. After some moderate success, Ashton took a few shots and found himself with only $200 remaining in his account. In less than a month, he turned that into $10K, at which point he decided to quit school to focus on poker.
For all his skill and competitiveness at the tables, Ashton Griffin has never been known for bankroll management or tilt control. At one point in August of 2008, he ran his account up over $1 million, but it was all gone just a week later. Whereas most players would blame bad luck, Griffin knows why he lost his money. In an interview with PokerListings, Griffin said that game selection and ego were his main problems. “I was playing a mix of $500/$1,000, $200/$400, $300/$600, and $2,000/$4,000 Limit O8. Most of my losses were to [Phil] Ivey and [Hac] trex [Dang].”
After battling back to about $500K, Griffin made a public prop bet on the 2+2 forums that he could make $500K in a year playing no higher than $25/$50. He promptly lost the bet when he dumped $400K in one sitting. He then played on a stake to scrape together $10K, and once he was back on his own feet he won $600K in less than a month. The incredible run also won him $23K in a second prop bet, which he used to buy in to a Full Tilt Online Poker Series $25K heads-up event. He won the tournament for $551K and just like that, he was back on top.
Due to his age, Griffin has limited experience on the live tournament circuit. In 2008, he made the final table at the Latin American Poker Tour, taking seventh in Costa Rica for $28K. More recently, he notched his first big score, taking down the 2010 North American Poker Tour $25K Invitational High Roller Bounty Shootout for $560K.
While his volatile nature and his extremely public swings are often what put him under the spotlight, Ashton Griffin is also an incredible poker talent who will be a force at the tables for years to come.
