(Featured image by Tambet Kask with Unibet Open)
Dan Harrington is one of the most iconic people in the poker industry. He has a great track record and is looked up to by poker enthusiasts because of his skills and personality.
Not only is he so good at the game, but he also got academic skills worth mentioning. Before transitioning to a full-time poker career, he was once a bankruptcy lawyer for several years.
Back then, he was also a good backgammon player and he even won the Massachusetts State Chess Championship in 1971, earning him the title of Chess Master in the US.
Aside from playing on felt, Dan is also busy being an entrepreneur and author at the same time. Right now, he is living in Santa Monica, California.
| Full Name: Dan Harrington | |
| DOB: December 6, 1945 | |
| Birthplace: Cambridge, Massachusetts | |
| Profession: Pro poker player, writer, lawyer, entrepreneur | |
| Wife: N/A | |
| WSOP Bracelets: 2 | |
| Net Worth & Career Earnings: $8+ Million |
Table of Contents
Dan Harrington Bio
Dan was born in Massachusetts on December 6, 1945. Although there isn’t much information about his childhood days and early life, we know for a fact that his parents came from Ireland and later moved to Cambridge, Massachusetts.
When he was still younger, it was evident that he loved playing chess. In fact, he became the champion for Massachusetts State Chess Championship when he was around 25 years old. He had a very successful career in chess during his 20’s.
Aside from chess, he was also fond of playing backgammon back then. Everybody else thought it was only a hobby, but his passion for the game was rather serious. He even won the World Cup of Backgammon in 1981 at Washington, D.C.
Before poker, he enjoyed working as a bankruptcy lawyer. He had a background in both finance and law, so this career was fit for him. Even then, he was already living comfortably with the earnings from his profession. But later on, he became more interested in poker and started playing regularly thereafter.
“Action Dan” Poker Career
Originally, Dan wasn’t planning on focusing on poker. In fact, it was only during his college years when he started playing some home games. There was even a time he went on the felt against Bill Gates at Harvard.
Not so many people get the chance to play with the now multi-billionaire icon, right?
When he started playing the card game, he regularly went to Mayfair Club during the 80’s. He got more and more interested in the game, so he decided to become a pro player and try playing in bigger leagues and national tournaments.
His first major accomplishment was winning 6th place during the 1987 WSOP main event.
He was able to cash out $43,750 from that game. Then, the next achievement was getting his first ever WSOP bracelet in 1995. He got a $1 Million prize money that time. Imagine how big that was during the 90’s.
And, just when we thought that was his largest single payout, he again won during the 2007 Legends of Poker series for the No-limit Hold’em championship game. This time, he stashed a total of $1.5+ million as a prize.
During his lifetime he’s competed against a bunch of players like Erik Seidel, Howard Lederer, Steve Zolotow, Sammy Farha, Chris Moneymaker, Doyle Brunson, Barry Greenstein, and other long term poker pros.
Other Ventures
Dan isn’t only about poker. He is also an entrepreneur and author.
In 2004, he released his first book entitled Harrington on Hold’em – Volume 1 Strategic play. Inside this material, he discusses different professional strategies, and even personal techniques, in winning the game.
Shortly after releasing the first part, he published the sequel in 2005, and then book 3 in 2006.
Many other poker players like Peter Traply claimed that his books are very inspiring and influential. Many pros still use it as a guide in becoming better at the game.
Dan also ventures in real estate, as well as the stock market.
He is a co-founder of a money lending company called Anchor Loans. They aim to provide assistance for real property investors. He built this company in 1998 together with poker friends Stephen Pollack and Jeff Lipton.
Dan Harrington Net Worth
There’s no telling as to the exact net worth of this fella, but it is estimated to be roughly at around $8+ million.
Judging from his total live winnings to date alone at $6.6+ million, that’s most likely a fair estimate. He still has earnings from book royalties, other business ventures, and stock market investments.
Here are his best cashes so far:
- 1st place 2007 Legends of Poker WPT – $1,599,865
- 4th place 2004 35th Annual WSOP – $1,500,000
- 1st place 1995 26th WSOP – $1,000,000
Do you know any other interesting facts about “Action Dan”? Share them in the comments section below!