Chris Tryba

Chris Tryba is a professional poker player who made his first live-event cash in 2003. In the first 8 years, Chris cashed 89 times, made 49 final tables, won 7 events, won 2 WSOP Circuit rings, cashed in 7 WSOP events, and earned close to $1 million. During that time he was also a successful online poker player, earning over $500,000.

Born in 1968, Chris grew up in Sturbridge, Massachusetts. At a young age he played cards with friends and family, and when he was 10 years old, he beat a friend out of several record albums while playing poker. He dabbled at poker during his first year of college, but it was after college in 1998-1999 that he got serious about the game. On a trip to Foxwoods, he realized he lost much less at poker than at pit games, and started studying the game along with friends. Soon he was winning steadily in the cash games, and a professional poker player was born.

Chris made his first live-event cash of $1,767 when he finished 8th in the $500 Stud at the 2003 World Poker Finals at Foxwoods. His next cash was in 2005, when he was runner-up in the $291 LHE for $10,230 at the Heavenly Hold \\\\\\\’em in Los Angeles. Chris cashed 7 more times that year, including 3 cashes at the Fall Pot of Gold in Reno. After cashing at the WSOP Circuit Paris/Bally\\\\\\\’s, he finished 3rd for $10,800 in the $500 NLHE at the WSOP Circuit Atlantic City. This was the first of many WSOP Circuit event cashes Chris would have over the years.

In 2006, Chris cashed 11 times and made 5 final tables. His first and biggest cash of the year was at the WSOP Circuit Harrah\\\\\\\’s Atlantic City, where he finished 5th in the $500 NLHE for $12,090. He then cashed 7 times at the World Poker Challenge Reno, cashed twice at the America\\\\\\\’s Poker Classic, and took 3rd for $5,700 in the $500 Stud at the Legends of Poker, Los Angeles. In 2007, all 4 of his cashes were at the Deep Stack Extravaganza in Las Vegas.

Chris cashed 14 times in 2008, starting at the Borgata Winter Open. He followed by cashing 3 cashes at the Binion\\\\\\\’s Poker Classic where he won $3,650 for taking down the $135 NLHE, was runner-up for $8,900 in the $460 NLHE, and finished 3rd in the $225 NLHE to earn $3,550. At the WSOP, he cashed for the first time, finishing 14th place in the $1,500 Stud for $6,240. At the Deep Stack Extravaganza, Chris cashed 3 times, finishing runner-up in the $4,850 NLHE to collect $147,362. He also cashed at the Borgata Poker Open, had 3 final table finishes at the Fall Poker Classic Shakopee and won the Scotty Nguyen Poker Challenge in Tulsa.

In 2009, Chris cashed 21 times, made 15 final tables, and won 4 events. The highlights of Chris’s year came at the WSOP Circuit event at Harrah\\\\\\\’s Rincon, where he won the $400 NLHE for $14,844 and his first WSOP ring, and won the $200 NLHE for $12,707 and his 2nd ring.  While at the Rincon event, he also took 4th in the $5,000 NLHE Championship Event to earn $50,310.

His next win was at the California State Poker Championship, where he won the $1,000 LHE for $21,436.  He cashed once at the WSOP, and was runner-up in the $1,500 NLHE for $22,686 at the Hold\\\\\\\’em Series. At the WSOP Circuit Horseshoe that year, Chris was runner-up in the $5,150 NLHE Main Event to earn $51,350. He also cashed 5 times at the L.A. Poker Open, winning the $335 Stud-8 for $8,631.

Chris cashed 12 times in 2010, including twice at the WSOP, and 3 times in WSOP Circuit events. At the WSOP, his best result was in the $1,500 Stud-8 where he finished 7th for $22,926. He also cashed twice at the Venetian Deep Stack Extravaganza, 3 times at the L.A. Poker Classic, once the Borgata Poker Open, and once at the Detox Poker Series.

As of November, Chris had cashed 18 times in 2011 and won a WPT Regional event. His first 8 cashes were in WSOP circuit events, which included 3 cashes at the Choctaw Durant, cashing twice at the Palm Beach Kennel Club, a cash at Harrah’s Tunica, and Caesars Atlantic City.  At the Borgata Deep Stack Double Play Open, he won $131,257 for taking down the $1,500 NLHE.

Chris cashed 3 times at the 2011 WSOP, which included finishing 8th for $38,812 in the Stud Championship, and placing 16th in the Stud-8 Championship event to earn $27,888. In October, Chris made his first WPT cash when he won the $1,500 NLHE Regional Event at the Colorado Poker Showdown Lake Charles to collect $67,000. Later the same month at the Horseshoe Hammond, he had his 9th WSOP Circuit cash, making him the player with the most in the money finishes at circuit events in 2011.

Travel and poker are the things Chris enjoys most, which is good because he stays on the road for months at a time driving from one live event to the next. When he is home in Las Vegas, he enjoys having friends over for barbequed rib-eye steaks and maybe some Chinese Poker. He also likes watching sports, especially his favorite teams, the Boston Bruins and the Red Sox. Other interests include swimming, watching movies, and playing backgammon.