If you haven’t heard of this rising poker star, chances are good that you will hear of him soon. Allen Cunningham, recently voted one of the best poker players under the age of 35, started playing poker at age 18 in Southern California casinos. Opting for a full-time career as a pro poker player, Cunningham dropped out of his engineering program at UCLA to pursue playing cards. He is a recognized seven-card stud champion and has a proven ability to play with the best of them.
His first big win in poker occurred when he was only 22. He won “Best All-Around Player” at the Bicycle Casino’s Legend of Poker in southern California. Since that time, Cunningham has ranked in the following sizable tournaments: First place in the $3,000 No Limit Hold'em Tournament in the 2005 Five Diamond World Poker Classic; first place in the $3,000 No Limit Hold'em Tournament in the 2005 Ultimate Poker Challenge and first place in the $1,500 No Limit Hold'em Tournament at the 2005 WSOP. Though he very much enjoys playing face-to-face tournament poker, like many of his contemporaries, Cunningham plays online poker as well. He is part of the online Full Tilt Poker team and plays poker online to hone his gaming strategies. Though he’s 30, Cunningham is quite mature for his age and either online or on-ground, he does not come across and loud or brash like some younger players. This may be because he started playing in casinos and then went to online play rather than the other way around. In fact, Cunningham is one of the calmest, most in-control players in the game regardless of age. He believes that having control over one’s emotions and reactions is the key to having success at the game of poker. For some reason, Cunningham has stayed off the radar of those looking to find the next poker superstar. Expect Cunningham to step into the spotlight more and more with the big wins he’s accumulating and a growing fan base.Related Articles:WSOP 2005: Tran, Cunningham and Huff06.03 - WSOP 2005 Event #2 - No Limit Hold'em
