Mihai Manole

Mihai Manole has emerged as one of the most successful players in Austrian poker tournaments. In a little more than 3 years, Manole has won 5 tournaments, 4 of them in Austria. He has also made several deep runs in other European tournaments and final tabled a pair of mammoth-field NLHE events at the World Series of Poker.  Mihai has made $1.6 million in only a few years live tournament play.

Mihai Manole was born in Targoviste, Romania. A serious student growing up, he pursued his higher education at University Politehnica in Bucharest to study computers. It was there that he found a computer game called Counter Strike to satisfy his competitive needs, but his hostel roommate in Regie then introduced him to poker after they completed some exams.

He immediately fell in love with poker. With some patience and the knowledge that he needed to study the game, he gained most of his skills through sheer experience of playing frequently via online poker websites. He also watched poker videos to gain an edge on opponents.

In 2006, inspired by the movie Rounders, Manole decided to give tournaments a try. His first cash was in a tournament at the Caribbean Poker classic in St. Kitts. His first final table came at an EPT Grand Final event in Monte Carlo in 2007, where he finished third in a €250 NLHE event for €8,280. He cashed once at the 2007 World Series of Poker in Las Vegas. He returned to St. Kitts in the fall and finished runner up in the $6,000 NLHE Main Event for $122,600.

Manole’s first victory came at the 2008 CAPT Innsbruck Open, where he won a €300 NLHE event for €15,820. Four days later, he won again, this time in the €2,000 NLHE for €55,650. Returning to the WSOP in 2008, he made the final table of a $2,000 NLHE event and finished fifth for $155,013.

Manole played solid poker throughout 2009. He started the year with final table finishes on 3 consecutive days in January at the CAPT Seefeld Open. His highlight for the year was his televised final-table appearance at the European Poker Tour Barcelona Main Event in 2009, finishing 4th for €250,000. He ended 2009 by winning the St. Maarten Open Championship.

Mihai’s hot streak continued into 2010 – his first cash of the year was another win in Seefeld, Austria. He finished runner-up in the High Roller event at the Romanian Poker Championship in Bucharest, taking home more than $33,000. At the World Series, he finished 3rd in $1,500 NLHE for $268,189. In October, in Baden, Austria, he won the Main Event of the CAPT European Poker Championship for €160,800.

Mahole holds the position of top poker money earner in Romania, along with the unofficial designation as a destroyer on the Austrian tournament poker circuit. Although Mihai considers poker to be his job, he enjoys the power and freedom it affords him.

When not playing poker, Manole competes at tennis and soccer and revels in his ability to travel the world.