Turned a $160 satellite win into $5 million at the Main Event
Raymer was born into an Air Force family, but they didn't really start moving around until his father left the service. For more than a decade, they put down and pulled up roots from North Dakota to Florida. His family finally settled down outside Saint Louis, Missouri, but all the time spent on the road probably helped Raymer's future poker career. The other thing that might've helped was his 10 years spent in college. There are few things that can prepare a person for poker's sometimes tedious nature more than getting multiple degrees in chemistry, biochemistry, and the law.
Despite his intense work load in college, Raymer made sure he fed his wild side. He played blackjack, worked as a DJ, and even found time to be a stand-up comic. His first job in the real world was as a patent attorney for a big Chicago litigation firm. After a few years, he found that opposing attorneys were even less fun than the hecklers at open mic night, so he left. Raymer was back on the road. He took a job in San Diego then moved to Connecticut three years later.
When still living in Chicago, Raymer re-discovered poker. He had played in college, but those were games that included acey-deucy. Approaching poker now, he decided it was more important to make money than to have fun. So, Raymer set out to educate himself. He read and re-read David Sklansky's book, The Theory of Poker, then put what he learned to practice in increasingly tougher games. He went from $3/$6 games in the Windy City to $20/$40 in San Diego. By the time he was living on the east coast, Raymer had graduated to $150/$300 games.
In 2004, Raymer famously turned a $160 satellite win into a seat at the Main Event. He played David Williams heads-up at the final table, where his eights over deuces full house busted Williams' fours over deuces. He won a gold bracelet and $5 million.
Unlike the fossils he uses as card protectors, Raymer continues to evolve his game. He's made it to a final table at the last two World Series, as well as winning over $300,000 at the 2005 Main Event.
