Allen Cunningham is an American poker player. He is a five-time World Series of Poker bracelet winner with over $11 million in lifetime earnings.

In 2005, he was named WSOP Player of the Year. One year later, he finished fourth in the 2006 WSOP Main Event for $3.6 million.

He holds the record for most WSOP Main Event cashes (10) along with Berry Johnston.

Biography

Cunningham began playing poker at the age of 18 in a local Indian casino while studying civil engineering at UCLA. After juggling the grind of being a student and playing poker on the side, Allen was able to successfully build his bankroll and move up in limits. By the time he was 19, Cunningham decided to take on poker full time instead of continuing studying at UCLA. The only thing really holding Cunningham back was the fact that he couldn’t play in most casinos until he was 21.

When Cunningham turned 21, he took to the tournament trail along side fellow young guns like Phil Ivey, Daniel Negreanu, John Juanda, and Layne Flack. The group built an extensive catalog of poker knowledge together, getting better and better each day. It wasn’t until 1999 though that Allen would really make a name for himself.

Allen Cunningham at the World Series of Poker

In 2000, Cunningham took on the competition in Vegas at the World Series and cashed in five events. His best finish that year came when he placed second in the Limit Omaha Hi/Lo Event for over $110,000. Proving that it was no fluke, Allen returned the following year to cash in another four WSOP events and even win his first bracelet in the $5,000 Seven-Card Stud Event. Then in 2002, Cunningham scored first place in another bracelet event.

After being unsuccessful in winning bracelets in both 2003 and 2004, Cunningham landed another piece of World Series glory in 2005 after he won the $1,500 No-Limit Hold’em Event. That same year, Cunningham final tabled three other events and cashed for over a million dollars at the WSOP, being named Player of the Year.

One more year later, Cunningham won another bracelet and made a few more final tables at the WSOP; the most notable of which may not be the one that he won. Cunningham rode his way through a field of over 8,700 entrants to reach the final table of the WSOP Main Event. He went on to finish fourth place earning over three and a half million dollars. Despite missing out his dream of the big one, Cunningham was able to return to the WSOP winners’ circle in 2007 when he won another bracelet to give him five in total.

Allen Cunningham Top Five Cashes

WSOP Player of the Year Winners