Allen Cunningham

Allen Cunningham is one of the most successful tournament poker players in the world. Through August 2011, he had over 160 cashes, more than 25 wins, and career earnings exceeding $11 million.

Allen was born on March 28, 1977 in Riverside, California. After high school, he received a scholarship and went to the University of California Los Angeles to study engineering. While attending UCLA he discovered poker, but he was only 19 and too young to play in the poker rooms of LA. Allen found a tribal casino where he was legal to play and it wasn’t long before he dropped out of school to pursue a career in poker.

In 1996, Allen began playing tournaments and cashed twice: 6th for $540 in the $100 Hold ‘Em Holiday Classic in Lake Elsinore and 9th in the $100 LHE event at the Inland Empire Holiday Classic in Highland for $370. In 1997, he made 5 final tables at small events in Lake Elsinore.

When Allen turned 21 in 1998, he cashed 8 times, with all but one being a final table finish. That one miss was at his first WSOP, where he placed 25th in the $2,000 PLHE. His first victory came at the National Championship of Poker in Inglewood, CA, where he earned $31,125.

In 1999, Allen would win 6 events, cash 19 times, and make 18 final tables. For the second year in a row, he made the final table nearly every time he cashed. It was again at the WSOP where he came up short, finishing 15th in the $2,500 Omaha-8 event. At the Legends of Poker, he cashed in 6 events and won 3: the $1,000 NLHE, the $500 NLHE, and the $300 Stud-8. For his excellent showing that year, Allen was named Best All-Around Player.

In 2000, Allen made his first WSOP final table, finishing 2nd in the $5,000 Omaha-8. He went on to cash 5 times, bringing his yearly total to 11 final table appearances and 17 cashes. At the 2001 WSOP, Allen made 3 final tables and took home his first gold bracelet along with $201,760 for winning the $5,000 Stud Championship. For the year he had 19 cashes, made 15 final tables, and had 3 wins.

The next year Allen would cash 9 times and make 6 final tables. He won his second bracelet at the 2002 WSOP, in the $5,000 NL Deuce-to-Seven, earning $160,200. He also cashed in 5 other WSOP events, making 3 final tables. For 2003, he had cashed 8 times and made 6 final tables including cashing twice in WPT events. He also cashed twice at the WSOP, one being a runner-up finish in the $5,000 NL Deuce-to-Seven.

The highlight of 2004 for Allen was winning the $5,000 NLHE Bellagio Five-Star World Poker Classic. That year, he would cash 17 times (including 3 WPT events) and make 11 final tables. Then in 2005, he cashed 13 times and made 9 final tables, winning 4. At the WSOP he made the money in 4 tournaments and he earned $725,405 along with his 3rd bracelet, winning the $1,500 NLHE. For his achievements that year, Allen was awarded the ESPN 2005 Toyota World Series of Poker Player of the Year award.

At the 2006 WSOP, Allen cashed in 6 events, made 3 final tables, and collected his 4th bracelet, along with a $625,830 paycheck when he won the $1,000-rebuy NLHE. He cashed in 13 events and made 5 final tables in 2006.

In 2007, Allen made 10 money finishes, 4 final tables, and won 3 events. At the WSOP he cashed 4 times, collecting his 5th bracelet and $487,287 when he won the $5,000 PLHE World Championship. This made the 3rd year in a row that Allen won a bracelet.

From 2008 through June of 2011, Allen continued racking up great results. During those 4 years, he cashed 28 times including 11 WSOP events and 3 WPT events. He made 15 final tables and won 4 tournaments, including the $5,150 NLHE 2008 WSOP Circuit Championship Event at Caesars Palace.

Allen Cunningham is famous for being a soft-spoken, unassuming, and always calm gentleman at the poker table. Held in very high esteem by his peers, he believes it has been necessary to continue improving to succeed in poker, though he has been frank in admitting there have been periods when he was not a winning player. Allen is an avid reader who enjoys traveling and spending time with his girlfriend, professional poker player and photographer Melissa Hayden.