Barry Greenstein

Name: Barry Greenstein
Nickname: Robin Hood of Poker
Residence: Rancho Palo Verde, CA, United States
In the Money: 70
Tournament Winnings: $4,847,934
Tournament Victories: 9
WSOP Bracelets: 2

Born on the 30^th of December 1954 in Chicago, Barry had his first contact with poker very early at the age of 4 when he asked his father about the meaning of the "plastic chips" on the dining room table. His father, Jack Greenstein, was a successful poker player in the army during World War II and explained to his son about poker - laying the first stone of a long career.

Greenstein played in his first organized poker game at the age of 12. The stakes were only measured in cents, but he was still able to win $24. By the time he was 18 he had played in many games and worked up a bankroll of $1500 - a lot of money at that time. He was also successful in life outside of cards: after graduating from Bogan High School he got a B.S. in informatics at the University of Illinois and studied math for a further 10 years. Until finally deciding to be a full-time poker pro, Barry worked for the firm Symantec.

Barry is a family man and regularly volunteers for charitable organizations, especially "Children Inc." This group gives aid to children under the poverty line around the world. For many it's enough to spend a few euros or dollars to quiet their conscience, but Greenstein goes all-in and donates all of his tournament winnings to charity - by now this is more than $4.6 million! So it's no wonder that his nickname is "the Robin Hood of poker." The deciding impetus for this marathon of donation came from his own kids:

"It really started a result of my bad parenting. I had spoiled my kids and I was trying to show them that other kids aren't as fortunate as they are. I wanted to sponsor a boy and a girl the same ages as my two youngest children."

This noteworthy sum doesn't come from just anywhere - you can find 2 WSOP bracelets and 2 titles of the World Poker Tour in his successful career as a tournament player. Since he and his family have to live from something themselves, his repertoire also includes profitable cash games, which he gets a chance to prove in the TV show "High Stakes Poker."


Some selected tournament victories:

• 2006 WPT Invitational Season 4 NL Holdém Event
• 2005 World Series of Poker $1,500 Buy-in Pot-Limit Omaha Event
• 2004 World Series of Poker No-limit Deuce to Seven Draw Event
• 2004 World Poker Tour Jack Binion World Poker Open $10,000 No Limit Hold'em Main Event
• 2003 Larry Flynt's $1 Million Huster Casino Stud Event

Except for a few TV appearances, Barry Greenstein has seldom been in the limelight in comparison to other players of his class. He's made a name for himself as the author of "Ace on the River" and a chapter in Doyle Brunson's famous Super System II. His thoughts and estimates of other poker players like Gus Hansen, Johnny Chan, or Mimi Tran are also very interesting. You can find them on his homepage. The latter was trained in poker by Barry himself, asking only that she teach him Vietnamese in return.

Barry, now nearly 52, lives in sunny California and is one of the best poker players in the world. His life is exciting and exclusive because of this, but he gives a part of it to those who aren't doing so well - a life that he can already look back on with pride and joy.