Like many high end poker players - Curt Kohlberg of Weston, Massachusetts started playing poker with friends just for fun. He still insists that he has no desire to be considered a true professional poker player. Kohlberg was introduced to the sport as a young, ambitious college student at the University of Massachusetts where he was a five-card draw and seven-card stud ace. Along with poker he played paddleball, racquetball, wrote a sports column for his college newspaper, and was an entrepreneur selling shirts at rock concerts.
Although he had an obviously high level of energy - once he went on to MIT, the work of graduate school drastically cut into his poker playing time. After graduation, he found work on Wall Street and it wasn't until 1997 that he was able to return to the game of poker. He played in a $500 buy-in seven-card stud tournament at Foxwoods during the World Poker Finals and won that tournament, getting $40,800. Then a few days later he played in another World Poker Finals event, with a $3,000 buy-in, and won again earning $63,600.
This married father of two sons and two daughters says that his playing style has progressed from aggressive to more conservative. He credits his mathematical abilities for his own version of a playing game theory. He also succeeds by capitalizing on the mistakes that others make.
After a string of tournament wins - Kohlberg placed 5th during WPT's €10,000 Grand Prix de Paris in July, 2005. Although he has played in some WSOP events he has not taken home a bracelet. With lifetime earnings topping $1 million - he has proven that time, patience, and solid mathematically based playing can be profitable. And while he does not prefer to be classified as a poker pro - he readily enjoys earning the respect of poker's best players.
