Andy Bloch: Professional Poker Player Profile

Andy Bloch specializes in game analysis, and is mostly interested in the mathematical and psychological aspect of poker. A perennial student, forever learning, he is known as a formidable player at the tables. He is also recognized as an active participant in online poker communities.

In 1992, Andy Bloch won one of the World Poker Finals events, a $100 No-Limit Texas Hold'Em tournament. It was his first time playing no-limit Texas Hold'em. Later, he made two final tables at the WSOP in 2001, won first place at the Seven-Card Stud Event at Foxwoods in 2002, and made two World Poker Tour (WPT) final tables the first season, finishing 3rd both times. He is also the second season winner of the Ultimate Poker Challenge's $2,500 No-Limit Hold'em tournament.

Bloch grew up in Orange, a small suburb of New Haven, Connecticut. He started playing poker seriously in 1992, the same year he got his two electrical engineering degrees from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). In 1993 he had an argument with an employer and was fired. He told his parents jokingly that if he couldn't make it as an engineer, he could always go into poker. As a matter of fact, poker stayed high on his list of interests.

He proceeded to get his JD from Harvard Law School. He skipped the last week of law school classes so he could play in the 1997 WSOP Main Event. Tom Sims was looking for a volunteer to "sweat" and record all his hole cards in a low-tech hole card cam trial, and Bloch presented himself. His records were made into a 2-part article in the prestigious Card Player Magazine.

He passed the bar exam in 1999. But he decided to delay his law career and pursued poker professionally instead. This career was further delayed when he realized his poker career was picking up. He stayed an activist at heart. In 2003, he was arrested at an anti-war protest in front of the White House. He defended himself as a licensed lawyer.

In the journal portion of his official website, Andy Bloch has announced that he has chosen to boycott the World Poker Tour (WPT) until the tournament body has decided to change the way the players' names and identities are being used. When he has the time, he also runs a vastly popular unofficial World Poker Tour Fan Site. He also plays in Fulltiltpoker.com as part of Team Full Tilt.