Here’s a young guy working his way through the world as a professional poker player. Born in 1977 in Riverside California, Allen Cunningham now lives in Marina Del Rey and is now a World Champion 7 Card Stud player. Just because he’s young, doesn’t mean that he hasn’t put in the time or earned his spot in the growing lists of poker greats.

Allen plays live online at Full Tilt Poker
Allen began playing poker with his family and soon moved on to bigger challenges at Indian casinos as soon as he turned 18, and then on to Las Vegas he went. He didn’t win at every table straight off. He began as most honest poker players will tell you, loosing more than he won. In the mean time, Allen enrolled in UCLA to study engineering, while still working on his poker game.

By 1999, he had begun winning more than loosing, and had also left UCLA in his dust. To this day, he says that’s not a decision he’s ever regretted. That year, he won six major tournaments and was named the “Best All-Around Player” at Legends of Poker. More recently—in 2005 alone, he placed fourth at the 2005 Foxwoods World Poker Finals and won his third WSOP bracelet. He also earned the ESPN/Toyota Player of the year title for 2005.

More than ten “quiet” years into his professional poker career, Allen has some impressive titles to his name. Even before his wildly successful year in 2005, he has won a total of three World Series of Poker bracelets. He has made it to the final table of the World Series of Poker three times. He won the Bellagio Five-Star World Poker Championship in the $5,000 No Limit Hold’em Event.

How does a player get through ten years, finish in the money in too many events to list, and still have the reputation of being a quiet, private guy? And how does this guy find success in the poker world characterized by flamboyant personalities, drama and theatrics?

The answer is probably found in his style of play. He’s an analytical one. He makes his moves based on his strategy and his experience. He’s not relying on gut, instinct or bravado. A controlled, steady player, he poses a real challenge to those who would probably prefer to play the emotions of the game. His peers like him saying he’s an easy guy to be around. Having begun as a professional player before the mainstream world got a taste of it on TV may be a help too.

You’ll find Allen playing in cash games as well as in tournaments. He prefers No-Limit Hold’em, Pot-Limit Omaha and $300-$600 Mixed Games. Online, you’ll find him at Full Tilt. He’s listed as a Friend of FTP.

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This page was last updated on May 9th, 2006.