Allen "Chainsaw" Kessler

Whether he’s known for his decades of poker play or the nickname “Chainsaw,” Allen Kessler has been a poker grinder longer than many of today’s players have been alive. It took awhile to gain the respect of said players, but he is showing that he has what it takes to keep up with an ever-changing game.

Allen Kessler was born in the 1960s and raised in Pennsylvania and Atlantic City. He pursued his early education and then attended Temple University, from which he graduated with a double degree in marketing and management. It was in college that he discovered poker through friends, and he was intrigued by the intricacies of the game.

As he moved into his career as a market research interviewer, where he worked for nearly a decade, he also played more poker with coworkers. He found weekends convenient for spending time in Atlantic City casinos, where he honed his Omaha and stud games and moved up in cash game limits alongside players like Cyndy Violette, John Hennigan, and Phil Ivey. He eventually took up hold’em as well and moved into the realm of tournaments.

After making a living for years at the $75/$150 and $100/$200 mixed games, as well as traveling to Las Vegas more frequently for tournaments, he was prepared to quit his day job. By 2005, poker had become an important part of his life, and he moved to Las Vegas to pursue it on a full-time basis.

Prior to that decision, Kessler had numerous final tables to his credit, from the World Poker Finals at Foxwoods to the California State Poker Championship in Los Angeles. He produced a 2004 win in a $500 7-Stud H/L event at the Winnin’ o’ the Green series, as well as in a Bellagio Weekly Tournament, making $45,784 for the $1,000 NLHE event.

The full-time pursuit brought more success. He final tabled a 2005 World Series of Poker $2,500 Omaha H/L event, finishing second for $132,110, and he won a $500 NLHE event at the Bellagio Festa al Lago later that year.

Kessler’s first major televised final table came on the World Poker Tour with their Invitational event, and he finished in third, but it was back at the WSOP where he made another final table, that one producing $76,986 for finishing fourth in the $5,000 7-Stud tournament. And more wins piled up, with one at Poker 101 in Las Vegas, a 7-Stud event at the U.S. Poker Championship, and on the WSOP Circuit in Las Vegas.

Some of his more well-known finishes include sixth place at the 2007 WPT Foxwoods Poker Classic for $136,452 and wins at the Wynn Classic in 2008 and the 2009 Winter Bayou Poker Challenge Main Event in New Orleans. He also made a serious run at the 2010 WSOP, with eight cashes, the highest one being second place in the $10,000 7-Stud H/L Championship for $276,485. He felt that he finally began to earn the respect of his peers and poker fans.

Nicknamed “Chainsaw” at the 2007 WPT Foxwoods event for some intimidating plays, he embraced the title because it contradicted his reputation as a nitty player. And with nearly $2.3 in live tournament earnings through the first half of 2011, his success is undeniable.