Allen Cunningham

Introduction

Born in 1977 in Riverside, California, Allen Cunningham is considered to be one of the best poker players in the world with total live tournament winnings exceeding 10 million dollars as of 2009, 41 WSOP cashes and five bracelets. He was introduced to poker by playing around the kitchen table with family members. He began playing real poker at Indian casinos when he was 18 and eventually dropped out of college while studying civil engineering at UCLA to play poker professionally. He now lives in Las Vegas with his girlfriend and fellow poker player Melissa Hayden. Cunningham plays online poker at Full Tilt Poker where he became a member of Team Full Tilt in October 2006.

Early professional years (1999-2001)

Allen burst onto the poker scene back in the late 90's along with many of the day's younger superstars like Ivey, Negreanu, Juanda, and others. In 1999, he got his first taste of success as a professional player by placing 1st in the $300 7-Card Stud Hi/Lo tournament at the Legends of Poker Main Event at the Bicycle Casino, winning $22,000.

Next year, at the 2000 WSOP, Allen cashed in five events and made it to the final table in the $5,000 Limit Omaha Hi/Lo tournament where he finished in 2nd place with $113,850 in winnings.

Next year, at the 2001 WSOP, Allen cashed in four more events and made it to three more final tables, including a 1st place finish in the $5,000 Limit 7-Card Stud event, winning his first World Series of Poker bracelet and $201,760 in earnings.

Reaching new heights (2005-2007)

After making consistent cashes in various WSOP events during 2002-2004 and a second bracelet and $160,200 in winnings in the 2002 $5,000 Deuce-to-Seven Lowball tournament, Cunningham reached new heights over the next few years and solidified his reputation as one of the best in the world.

At the 2005 WSOP he reached 4 final tables, earned his third bracelet and $725,405 in earnings for beating 2,305 entrants in his first place finish in the $1,500 No-Limit Hold-Em event, and became the first player to win more than a million dollars at the WSOP before the Main Event began. He also won the 2005 WSOP Player of the Year.

In 2006 he won his 4th bracelet at the $1,000 No-Limit Hold 'em tournament earning $625,830, made 3 final tables, and placed 4th in the main event for a $3,628,513 prize.

Then in 2007 he earned his 3rd bracelet at the $5,000 Pot-Limit Hold-Em event earning $487,287.

Traits

One of Cunningham's defining traits is his consistency. After winning his fifth bracelet in 2007, Cunningham joined a short list of players who have won a WSOP Bracelet in three consecutive years. Others to accomplish this include Johnny Moss, Bill Boyd, Doyle Brunson, Gary Berland and Erik Seidel.

Even though his lifetime tournament winnings exceed 8 figures, he is still one of the relatively lesser-known world-class poker players. This is partly due to his quiet and analytical approach to poker that is similar to other "thinking players" like Erik Seidel.

The thing that is most impressive about his poker accomplishments is that - like Dan Harrington - much of his success has come after the poker boom got underway and the fields had gotten much larger. You see many poker veterans like Seidel and Chan who racked up many bracelets in the older days but seemed to have stalled as soon as the games got much bigger.

COMMENTS:

the donk hasnt won shiit since the main, tick tick tick tock. the donk wont win a block

DonkeySlayer on October 2, 2008

the dude can play,,but there has been a weiner in that mouth,,what a feminine pussy

headlessman1964 on December 31, 2006

This guy is fucking good! I wouldn't want him at my table

bad_dog76 on December 20, 2006

gee, I guess I made it to 2 wsop final tables this year with the short stack, lol, but somehow that was enough. good retort there jr. once again you have been owned, beeotch

DonkeySlayer on November 14, 2006

You never had a big stack, so how do you know what to do with it.

????? on November 10, 2006

you call me a moron but list how many WSOP final tables youve played at, tool. amuse me. thats what i thought.
ANd I stand by the fact that Gold is a donke and will never win another tourny with a buy in of 1k or more. you dont play a big stack by being a calling station and calling all ins with 6 7, you dumb ametuer. Id bet 5959594084 dollars that you play, at the HIGHEST, a 1-2 nl game at your local indian casino, and you call out odds and percentages and think you know the game, LOL, you low limit, new, think u know the game donkeys bust me up. I OWN you tards time and time again.
One thing for sure, we'll never see ????? at a final table, of that, theres no dispute lololololol

DonkeySlayer on November 9, 2006

That's exactly how your suppose to play a monster stack, you ingnorant moron, you can virtualy play any pair or big ace, and make the small stacks beat you.....You can back up if your
hit three times.

????? on November 8, 2006

where did Gold 'outplay' anyone at the final table? he was a calling station and got Extremely lucky. simple. he played well at times, but he purely lucky the whole tourney. i personally saw him call all ins with A Q when the other guy had AJ, he'd call all ins with 10 10 and the other guy had 9 9. this went on for days, at the final table he'd flop straights with 7 8. Ive played with him at the Bike several times, he plays good at times, but hes nothing great, and like i said, play that table 100 times Allen wins it 85. Shows what little you know about poker and how skilled real pro players actually are, go play a tourney sometime and lets see beat anyone, tool

DonkeySlayer on November 7, 2006

Just watched the WSOP final table on TV...and the comments
that some of them made about Gold..."He can't win"..."I'll
beat him if it comes down to the three of four of us.........
WELL GOLD TOOK THE BIG STACK AND OUT PLAYED ALL OF THEM..he
knocked all of them out himself, and along the way BLUFFED
"twitchie".....Cunningham and that ass from europe, had to
choke on their inflated ego's, as well as all the other moron "pro's" who were yelling and screaming support for Allen.

Their condensending arrogance makes me want to puke! These
ass-holes really think that only they should win these tour-
naments, and the rest of us are just lucky if we win.

I wonder if any of them learned the lesson of not speaking
poorly of your opponents....or THE POKER GODS WILL KICK
YOU IN THE ASS....same in baseball, same in football.
Cunningham blew it, and likely will never get another chance

????? on October 9, 2006

Play that final table 100 times and Allen wins it 85. THat GOld is a lucky guy, couldnt lose a race the whole week. Someone has KK he has AA, someone has AQ he has AK, someone has a set of 3's, he has a set of Q's/ and on and on. Least the California guy Gold knows how to play a big stack, unlike those east coast clowns with their chains and faggoty gym suits they wear, fucking homos, good job anyway Allen. Still the best player right now in tourneys, Cash is Negranue

DonkeySlayer on August 12, 2006

At The Final Table With 17 Mil In Chips, No Way In Hell Does Allen Not Win This, None. Only Way He Loses Is Aces Over Kings Or Set Over Set. Best Player In The World Right Now Bar None, Least In Tournament Play. Ive Played With Him Many Times, Im Better, But Hey, This Guy Is Pretty Good.

Yeah Hes The Carwash Dude Whos Racking Up Bracelets

DonkeySlayer on August 9, 2006

Just call him "Twitchie"

????? on February 9, 2006

Carwash didnt win 2 bracelets at WSOP this year, but your right carwash is a wang who doesnt deserve his own profile.

Unregistered on August 7, 2005

WHO IS ALLEN CUNNINGHAM - WHAT A JOKE? sAME WITH THE CAR WASH DUDE

Unregistered on August 6, 2005

truck is probably worth about 30k new. which is what you make in 10 years Mr. drive-off-in-my-ferrari-boy.

Unregistered on July 30, 2005

Well maybe not a Ferrari but something better than your piece of shit 83 Ford Escort.

To 99 on July 21, 2005

he's going real good at the WSOP 2005, he may win player of the year and win that lame truck that Negreanu drove for one day so they could film him driving it. Question: Winning the wsop player of the year award would undoubtedly come with a minimum payout of $1 Million, so why would anyone want to be caught dead in a $14,000 POS truck? I wouldn't. I'd give it away to that gold-painted street performer with his little dog. And I'd leave Vegas in a new Ferrari, littering money all over the freeway.

Allen CUNingham on July 10, 2005

yah well that will enver happen to you..sorry

99. on July 10, 2005

He just won another Wsop bracelet. Guess he is OK. 1500 No-Limit event

someguy on June 5, 2005

allen plays at fulltilt and tears shit up... it's redickulout

tommyz on April 5, 2005

Page will not be up its just to keep someone else from getting the site

ACHam on March 29, 2005

when is your website going to be up and running?I keep checking but nothing every changes.Could you please let your supporters know.

rufus on February 10, 2005

When is your web page getting completed?I keep checking on in it,wondered when it will be up and running.

frank skinner on December 29, 2004

Sort out the comb over you baldie twat!

virgil on December 8, 2004

Shave Your Head

Unregistered on August 25, 2004

Allen is a super nice guy and great player.

Unregistered on July 30, 2004

Allen...STOP SNEEZING at the poker table...its fucking gross!

Radiance on July 23, 2004

well..who isnt banging melissa hayden on the wpt

Big D on July 9, 2004

...He is a really young poker superstar. I'm glad they added him personally. He has a more conservative style for a younger guy which makes him unique IMO. He is well rounded in every game and has won (3?) gold bracelets in various games. I think he's a great player.

Gman on June 24, 2004

Who is this clown

Unregistered on June 22, 2004

and for some reason he's bangin melissa hayden the witch who is at least 30 years older than him - he has baaad judgement!

Unregistered on June 10, 2004

For some reason this guy is always sneezing.

JimmyDean on June 6, 2004

Worm

Allen Cunningham

Introduction

Early professional years (1999-2001)

Reaching new heights (2005-2007)

Traits

COMMENTS:

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