Jeff “Happy” Shulman was born in Seattle, Washington, on February 18, 1975, and roots in poker are deep. His poker pro father, Barry Shulman, is the CEO and Media Chairman for Card Player Media LLC. Jeff has been playing the sport since his youth during stints at summer camp where he managed to win near $10 a day. Jeff went on to graduate from the University of Washington and he is now Card Player Magazine’s Media President , Chief Operating Officer, and regular features contributor. Jeff and his father have turned Card Player Magazine into a hugely successful magazine that no longer interests just poker professionals. Aside from his business exploits - Jeff is a gifted poker player.
Jeff’s formal entrance into the professional world of poker was in 1999. He placed 7th in the 2000 WSOP No Limit Holdem Main Event – and it was his first major tournament. It was here that he suffered a painful last minute pot loss to Chris Ferguson - but Shulman still left with $146,700.
The year 2000 was also when he placed second in the Legends of Poker event. He has ten WSOP and seven World Poker Tour cash finishes. In 2003, he earned first place and $83,990 at the 2003 L.A. Poker Classic and later placed in the money in the No Limit Holdem event at the Plaza Ultimate Poker Challenge in 2004.
Despite the demands of running a widely respected poker magazine - Jeff squeezes in time for poker - and living in Las Vegas makes that a much easier task. He has earned over $900,000 playing a sport that makes him much like his nickname indicates - “happy.” Shulman is a regular player featured on Poker Superstarts III. He speaks at corporate poker events, and is an advocate for televised poker.
