Thomas Keller (card game player)

Last updated

Thomas Keller
Nickname(s)Thunder
Residence Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S.
BornOctober 14, 1980 (1980-10-14) (age 43)
Ann Arbor, Michigan, U.S.
World Series of Poker
Bracelet(s) 1
Money finish(es)5
Highest ITM
Main Event finish		61st, 2008
World Poker Tour
Title(s)None
Final table(s)None
Money finish(es)2
Information accurate as of January 30, 2010.

Thomas Keller (born October 14, 1980, in Ann Arbor, Michigan) is an American professional poker player, residing in Scottsdale, Arizona and Las Vegas, Nevada. He is the brother of Shawn "Lightning" Keller.

Keller graduated from Stanford University with a degree in economics in 2002. He began playing poker while at Stanford, having been influenced by the movie Rounders. Like David Williams and Noah Boeken, Keller credits his experience of playing Magic: The Gathering as a helpful factor in his poker career.

In Phoenix, his jump from playing low limits to the biggest high-stakes games happened quickly. One local story is that Keller won so many $100 chips at Casino Arizona that the casino ran out, forcing high limit players to buy chips from him, which he sold from the trunk of his car. [1] Keller has said the story is absurd, but the fact it persists attests to how well Keller did in high limit games during the era.

In December 2003, Keller won the $281,525 first prize in the $2,500 no limit hold'em event of the Five Diamond World Poker Classic, defeating Allen Cunningham in the final heads-up confrontation. [2]

He went on to defeat Martin de Knijff to win a World Series of Poker bracelet in 2004 in the $5,000 no limit hold'em event. [3]

Keller also appeared on the World Poker Tour (WPT) Young Guns of Poker invitational, where he finished 4th. [4] He is also a part of Robert Williamson III's Team America in the Poker Nations Cup. [5]

Keller has been a primary columnist for Card Player since 2004. [6]

He married his wife Andra on April 24, 2004. Andra gave birth to their first child, Kaylee Keller, in September 2006. They had their second child, Alexander, in late February 2009.

Keller lost over 200 pounds after having gastric bypass surgery.

Keller cashed twice at the 2008 World Series of Poker including finishing in 61st place out of 6,844 entries in the $10,000 buy-in Main Event, earning $115,800. [7]

As of 2017, his total live tournament winnings exceed $1,400,000. [5] His 5 cashes as the WSOP account for $789,127 of those winnings. [8]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gus Hansen</span> Danish poker player (born 1974)

Gustav Hansen is a Danish professional poker player from Copenhagen, Denmark who has lived in Monaco since 2003. In his poker career, Hansen has won three World Poker Tour open titles, one WSOP bracelet and the 2007 Aussie Millions main event, and was the season one winner of the Poker Superstars Invitational Tournament. Before turning to playing poker professionally in 1997, Hansen was already a world class backgammon player and a youth tennis champion.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tuan Le</span> Vietnamese-American poker player (born 1978)

Tuan Le is a Vietnamese-American professional poker player.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Scott Fischman</span> American poker player (born 1980)

Scott Fischman is an American professional poker player based in Las Vegas, Nevada.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hasan Habib</span> Pakistani American poker player (born 1962)

Hasan Habib is a Pakistani American professional poker player.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tony Ma</span> Vietnamese-born American poker player

Tony Ma is an American professional poker player.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Phan</span> Vietnamese-American poker player (born 1974)

Bon "John" Phan is a Vietnamese-American professional poker player based in Stockton, California, who is a two-time World Series of Poker bracelet winner and is a winner and four-time final tablist of World Poker Tour Championships.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">James Van Alstyne</span> American poker player (born 1966)

James Gibson Van Alstyne is an American professional poker player based in Las Vegas, Nevada.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Farzad Bonyadi</span> Iranian poker player

Farzad "Freddy" Bonyadi is an Iranian professional poker player based in Aliso Viejo, California, who has won four World Series of Poker bracelets.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Hennigan (poker player)</span> American poker player (born 1970)

John Hennigan is an American professional poker player from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, who, in his career, has won six World Series of Poker bracelets and a World Poker Tour (WPT) title.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chris Bigler</span> Swiss poker player (born 1949)

Chris Bigler is a Swiss retired businessman and poker player.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">J. C. Tran</span> Vietnamese-American poker player (born 1977)

J. C. Tran is a Vietnamese-American professional poker player, based in Sacramento, California.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Blair Rodman</span> American poker player (born 1954)

Blair Rodman is an American professional poker player, based in Las Vegas, Nevada.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Joe Awada</span> Lebanese poker player (born 1959)

Joe Awada is a professional poker player, based in Las Vegas, Nevada.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bill Edler</span> American poker player (born 1964)

William Edler is an American professional poker player from Las Vegas, Nevada. He has a J.D. degree from the University of California, Berkeley.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kenny Tran</span> Vietnamese American poker player

Phuong "Kenny" Tran is a Vietnamese American professional poker player from Arcadia, California who won the 2008 World Series of Poker $10,000 Heads-Up No-Limit Hold'em World Championship. Tran was born in Vietnam and gives 10% of his winnings to his extended family there. He is married and has 3 children. He first began playing poker in 1992 at a bowling alley while working at McDonald's.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Matt Keikoan</span> American poker player

Matt Keikoan is an American professional poker player who has won two World Series of Poker bracelets; his first was in the 2008 World Series of Poker $2,000 No-Limit Hold'em event and his second was in the 2010 World Series of Poker $10,000 Limit Hold'em Championship.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Vinny Vinh</span> Vietnamese-American poker player

Quoc Al "Vinny" Vinh is a Vietnamese American professional poker player with over $2.4 million in tournament winnings, who became well known at the 2007 World Series of Poker while playing in the $1,000 buy-in No Limit Hold'em event, when he failed to return on the second day of play as the chip leader with enough chips that even after blinding out he finished in the money in 20th place for $16,212.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Steve Sung</span> South Korean poker player (born 1985)

Suk-Min "Steve" Sung is a South Korean professional poker player residing in Torrance, California who is a two time World Series of Poker bracelet winner and a three time final tablist of World Poker Tour Championships.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Faraz Jaka</span> American poker player and businessman (born 1985)

Faraz Jaka is an American professional poker player and businessman who was World Poker Tour (WPT) Player of the Year for Season VIII (2009–2010). He has reached two WPT final tables, six WSOP final tables and his lifetime tournament winnings exceed $10 million. Jaka is also behind Checkraise, a new poker site to be launched in the Brazilian market in 2017.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mohsin Charania</span> American poker player (born 1985)

Mohsin Charania is a professional poker player from Chicago, Illinois who has won titles at the World Series of Poker, the World Poker Tour, and the European Poker Tour.

References

  1. ↑ Told by Norman Chad during ESPN coverage of Tom's 2004 NLHE final table
  2. ↑ "2003 Bellagio Five-Diamond World Poker Classic, No Limit Hold'em". The Hendon Mob. Retrieved April 6, 2024.
  3. ↑ "Capture the Flag: Thomas Keller". CardPlayer. September 3, 2011. Retrieved December 11, 2023.
  4. ↑ "World Poker Tour Young Guns of Poker Invitational, No Limit Hold'em". The Hendon Mob. Retrieved April 6, 2024.
  5. 1 2 "Thomas Keller's profile on The Hendon Mob". The Hendon Mob Poker Database. Retrieved December 11, 2023.
  6. ↑ "Articles by Thomas Keller". CardPlayer.com. Retrieved April 14, 2024.
  7. ↑ "39th World Series of Poker - WSOP 2008, World Championship No Limit Hold'em". The Hendon Mob. Retrieved April 6, 2024.
  8. ↑ "Thomas Keller". WSOP.com. Retrieved March 27, 2024.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.