Finished second at the 2006 WSOP $50,000 buy-in HORSE tournament
Andy "The Rock" Bloch says that he started playing poker seriously in 1992. By "seriously," he means that he entered a $35 weekly tournament once a month.
Don't think this sounds serious? Well, we beg to differ.
By the end of the year, Andy had won a World Poker Finals tournament, $100 entry No-Limit Texas Hold 'em event. It was the first time that Andy ever played No-Limit Texas Hold 'em.
However, Andy was hardly new to the intricacies of card playing. Andy started playing various card games from an early age with his family. He was very competitive and very good at math, so he had a natural gift with cards from very early on.
Andy used his impressive math skills to obtain two electrical engineering degrees from MIT. Then, not satisfied with "just" two degrees, Andy continued applying his analytical skills, obtaining a law degree from Harvard Law School. However, cards were starting to play a big part in his life by this point. Andy Bloch joined the legendary MIT blackjack team that displayed phenomenal success in the casinos, sometimes raking in thousands of dollars in a weekend. Then, during his last week of law school, Andy actually skipped classes to enter the 1997 World Series of Poker. However, he didn't leave his college education behind; Andy continued training in law, going on to pass the bar in 1999.
Although he qualified as a lawyer, for now Andy has made the decision to postpone his legal profession and play poker full time. It's a decision he hasn't regretted so far; as of 2006, his live tournament winnings exceed $2.7 million. If his tournament success is any indication, we expect to see great things from Andy Bloch on Poker After Dark.