Originally hailing from Kansas City, Samantha Ryan is an adult film star and avid poker player. After attending the University of Kansas, Ryan picked up poker when she was in real estate. A few of her co-workers were blackjack players who frequented Las Vegas, and after tagging along with them numerous times, she eventually discovered poker.
In an interview she did with us, Ryan discussed her initial foray into poker: “Four years ago, I started playing online. Without playing higher stakes online, I had success here and there and final tabled a few things. I started getting back into it about a year and a half ago and am definitely looking forward to it now.”
For the 2010 World Series of Poker, UB.com sponsored Samantha for all her events. In the same interview, we asked Ryan what it’s like playing in the male dominated WSOP. She responded: “I’ve been playing more live poker recently and have a bigger history online. I’m definitely starting to see the dynamic at the table and it’s almost a challenge to me. Everyone wants to immediately judge me, but I can probably out-talk anyone in about five minutes on any topic. People quietly underestimate me. In cards, there’s always that luck factor.”
Away from the tables, Ryan enjoys singing and playing the piano; she writes her own music and hopes to record it one day. She also loves to read on various topics, including history, politics, psychology, economics, poker, and healthy living and eating. She is a sports fanatic who has been to multiple hockey, basketball, baseball, and football games. Additionally, she loves to be adventurous and is an avid skydiver and rock climber.
When she’s not traveling the live tournament circuit, Samantha Ryan plays poker online at Full Tilt Poker, PokerStars, and UB.com as SamRyan69.
