Dan Smith

Dan Smith is a well-known American professional poker player, born on February 23rd, 1989, in Manalapan Township, New Jersey. He has achieved great success in poker, taking home titles from The WPT, The WSOP, and The Aussie Millions championship.

Dan Smith: Early Life

Dan Smith began playing online poker at the age of 16. Although he was a college chess scholarship recipient he decided to focus fully on poker as soon as he finished high school and in doing so he earned a spot in the Bahamas’ Pokerstars Caribbean Adventure for his debut tournament.

As a teenager, Dan was able to use poker to add to his income. There was a time in his junior year when he won $30k twice in a row playing $3/$6 No Limit games. He experienced a losing streak, and his parents made him cash out his earnings to pay for his college tuition.

Dan Smith: Poker Career

Dan Smith’s first win came in 2008 when he cashed $101,960 in the Heartland Poker Tour Main Event at Turning Stone Resort & Casino in New York.

By the end of 2012, Dan’s skills were a hot topic. He kicked off the year by taking home $1,012,000 AUD from the Aussie Millions 100k Challenge event. In April at the EPT Monte Carlo Series, he won 3 different €5000 events over the course of 5 days, totaling €520,980. Also, he won the €962,925 first-place prize in the Season 9 EPT Barcelona €50,000 Super High Roller in August of that year. 

Dan Smith: World Series of Poker

In 2010, Smith achieved his first WSOP cash after placing 383rd in the $1,000 No-Limit Hold’em tournament for $1,877. He has since earned eleven more money finishes. The $5,000 No-Limit Hold’em competition was where he won his largest WSOP prize in the summer of 2012. Smith came in 3rd place and earned almost $370,000 in prize money for that competition.

From 2013 to 2021, Smith made nine WSOP final table appearances, finishing 3rd five times and placing second once. He earned $3,078,974 for his second-place finish in Event #67: High Roller for One Drop – $111,111 No-Limit Hold’em at the 2016 WSOP. Two years later, in Event #78: The Big One for One Drop – $1,000,000 No-Limit Hold’em, he earned $4,000,000 in winnings.

When Smith won the $25,000 Heads-Up Championship at the 2022 WSOP, he finally removed his name from the list of top players without a bracelet.

Top 5 World Series of Poker Results

Dan Smith’s Poker Career Highlights

• Dan Smith started his professional career in 2007 after leaving college at the age of 18.
• In 2012, he earned the first seven-figure win of his career when he took home $1,041,828 in a $100,000 No-Limit Hold’em Event at the Aussie Millions Poker Championship.
• Placed 1st for $1,183,100 at the 2012 European Poker Tour’s €50,000 No-Limit Hold’em Super High Roller Event in Barcelona.
• Won the 2012 GPI Player of the Year 
• Won the 2013 WPT Doyle Brunson Five Diamond World Poker Classic $10,000 + 300 No-Limit Hold’em Main Event for $1,161,135.
• Won $2,044,766 for taking first place in a $100,000 + 2,000 No-Limit Hold’em Super High Roller game at the Bellagio in June 2014.
• He placed second and earned $3,078,974 at the WSOP’s $111,111 No-Limit Hold’em High Roller for One Drop event in July 2016.
• Placed third for $4,000,000 at the 2018 World Series of Poker event for No-Limit Hold’em, “The Big One for One Drop.”
• He won the $8,765,628, the largest live cash of his career at the charity invitational Triton Million tournament in London with a £1,050,000 buy-in.

Conclusion

Dan Smith has shown himself to be a philanthropist, putting a lot of effort into collecting and donating money for charity. In 2014, he and other poker players started the Double Up Drive after realizing the ability of public giving to inspire more generous and effective donations.

He prefers to keep his personal life private, and little is known about him outside of what the poker pro shares on social media. He occasionally includes photos of himself as a proud pet owner and an uncle to a young boy amongst his numerous poker-related Instagram posts. Smith posts frequently on Twitter, where he promotes his charity as well as topics like chess, poker, and other interests of his. He is admired by many and will undoubtedly dominate the tables for many years to come thanks to his incredible mind for the game.