 Born in 1969 in Connecticut, Andy Bloch, who claims he grew up with a deck of cards in his crip, is best known for his skills in the game of Texas Hold ‘em. But did you know that he has a law degree from Harvard and two electrical
engineering degrees from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology? You may or may not know that he was part of the infamous MIT blackjack team, for which the movie 24 was made. But even that, by far, was not his best accomplishment. Since his days as a card counter, he’s had quite the exciting life with quite the résumé. He’s been a stock trader, a computer chip designer, and even a crew member on a yacht, sailing from New York to St. Petersburg, Russia.
When it comes to gambling though, he does his best work at the poker tables. He’s experienced nine major tourney victories and around 80 major tournament cash finishes. His career earnings total more than $4 million. Bloch’s skill comes from the art of gaming theory, specifically in the game of Roshambo, also known as Rock, Paper, Scissors, for which he is the World Champion.
Bloch began playing poker before he joined the MIT team. He really got into gambling though, between MIT and Harvard. He paid his way through law school playing blackjack. The same year he skipped out on his law classes to buy into the 1997 WSOP, he passed the bar exam, but continued playing poker, as he considers himself more of a math guy than a law guy. Coverage of live poker on ESPN and the WPT have garnered Bloch a great deal of attention making him a “minor celebrity” as he calls himself.
Bloch’s words of wisdom: “To be a ‘world class’ poker player, you need intelligence and self-control combined with a willingness to gamble.”
When it comes to first place finishes though, Bloch is always the bridesmaid and never the bride. His cash finishes includes multiple WSOP final tables and two WPT final tables. He placed 2nd to Chip Reese in the 2006 WSOP at the $50K HORSE event and another 2nd place in 2008’s NBC National Heads Up Poker Championship, this time to Chris Ferguson. Also in 2008, he took 2nd in another WSOP event and placed in the money four additional times.
In the 2009 WSOP, he placed in the money three times. He did win the Pro-Am Equalizer Tournament back in 2006, for which he took home half a million dollars. There is little doubt that this poker great in the making will eventually prove himself with another first place win.
Bloch has also appeared on NBC’s Poker After Dark four times.
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