Daniel 'Dan' Shak is an American semi-professional poker player and a hedge fund manager. He is a regular on the high stakes circuit, playing major poker events and occasional cash games.

The majority of Shak's net worth comes from his work in finance. Even so, Shak has won over $12 million in live poker tournament cashes over almost two decades of play. Dan Shak's biggest poker win came when he took second at the 2014 PCA $10,000 Super High Roller for $1,178,980. This topped Shak's poker victory at the Aussie Millions in 2010, where he won the $100,000 Challenge event for $1,107,553.

Shak's family life is largely private. However, he was married to poker player and model Beth Shak. They divorced in 2009 and Dan Shak remarried in 2014.

Dan Shak Background

Dan Shak was born in 1959 in the U.S.. Before he became known in the world of poker, Shak made a name for himself in a slightly different environment—Wall Street.

Shak started as a trader on the floor of the New York Mercantile and Commodities Exchange. Moving up from COMEX, in 2002 Shak established his own hedge fund under the name of SHK Asset Management.

Since then Shak's business has done well, allowing him to pursue a hobby in high-stakes poker.

Dan Shak Poker History

Dan Shak's tournament successes date back to a handful of mid-stakes cashes in 2004. Since then, his poker portfolio has grown substantially with over $12 million in live cashes.

For almost two decades, Shak has posted multiple major cashes every year. Not bad for a side-hustle.

Among Dan Shak's poker achievements are several first-place finishes in high roller events, two $1,000,000+ cashes, and two runner-up finishes in WSOP bracelet events (the 2023 WSOP $10,000 Seven Card Stud Championship and the 2010 $5,000 Pot Limit Omaha Hi/Lo event).

He also plays in high-stakes cash games, TV shows, and live streams like Poker Night In America and High Stakes Poker.

Dan Shak's Top Five Poker Cashes

Wealth—What is Dan Shak’s Net Worth?

Dan Shak's net worth is hard to estimate. However, given his willingness to play dozens of $100,000 no limit hold'em tournaments against some of the best players in the world, we can assume it is pretty high.

SHK Asset Management is a relatively small hedge fund with assets under management of around $10 million according to Business Insider. As a hedge fund manager Shak's income is tied to the fund's performance.

Some online estimates run from $1 million to $15 million. However, these are largely guesses, we may never know the real number. What we do know is that he has enough set aside to feel comfortable paying $100,000 just for "study."

Dan Shak Controversies

Dan Shak has been a fairly uncontroversial poker player. Well-liked in the poker community and

However, as a hedge fund manager, he has been in trouble multiple times.

Financial Controversies

In 2022, the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission made allegations that Shak had used his hedge fund to manipulate gold markets through a practice called spoofing.

He has also had multiple previous run-ins with authorities, including fines in 2008 for a commodities trading practice called "banging the close," in 2013 for manipulating oil prices, and in 2014 for violating a trading ban.

So far all Shak's financial violations so far have been civil, not criminal.

Frequently Asked Questions—FAQs