He's got all the makings of a great matador - aggressive, quick, steady, and calm, but bull fighting isn't where he takes the bull by the horns. It's at the poker table. Charging opponents with a relentless, aggressive style, Carlos "The Matador" Mortensen was just 29 years old when he beat out 612 opponents to win $1.5 million and his first gold bracelet in the $10,000 Championship Holdem event at the 2001 World Series of Poker. In 2004, he won the Doyle Brunson North American Poker Championship earning $1 million. His standing by 2005 included 2 WSOP bracelets and a healthy $3.1 million in tournament winnings.
Juan Carlos Mortensen was born April 13, 1972, in Ambato, Ecuador to a Danish father and Spanish mother. He began playing poker at the age of 15 when his family moved to Madrid. He played chess and pool at neighborhood clubs with his friends. One of his buddies took a trip to America where he learned to play poker - upon his return, he convinced Mortensen to give poker a try and the rest is history.
His first game of poker resulted in a loss of $70 - an amount which he was very displeased with at the time. Like a matador - he dodged defeat, returning to the same club and ending up on a four-day winning streak. Mortensen's stroke of luck prompted him to consider playing poker professionally and he made the move to Las Vegas in the late 1990's to focus on his poker career after debuting in several European tournaments.
He and his wife, fellow poker professional Cecilia Reyes Mortensen, now live in Las Vegas ten months a year and satisfy their homesickness for Spain with a yearly two-month visit. Mortensen continues to travel the tournament circuits with his wife. He loves his life in America and pursues his love for poker with all the mastery of a matador.
Some of Carlos Mortensen's Wins
WSOP
1) 2001 – NL Holdem (Championship Event) – 1st place
2) 2002 – NL Holdem – 4th place
3) 2003 – Limit Holdem – 1st place
WPT
1) 2003 (21 Feb) – LA Poker Classic – NL Holdem – 10th
2) 2003 (20 Sep) – Borgata Poker Open – NL Holdem - 4th
3) 2004 (25 Feb) – Invitational – NL Holdem - 9th
4) 2004 (28 Aug) – Legends of Poker – NL Holdem – 55th
5) 2004 (19 Sep) – Borgata Poker Open – NL Holdem – 21st
6) 2004 (19 Oct) – Festa al Lago – 1st
