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Barry Greenstein: Player Profile
Barry Greenstein is a professional poker player from the US who has won a number of major tournaments, including three events at the World Series of Poker and two events at the World Poker Tour. He is widely known as the “Robin Hood of Poker” due to his philanthropic activities. Greenstein has been known to use a big part of his winnings from various tournaments to support charities, mainly Children, Incorporated. In 2011, he was inducted into the Poker Hall of Fame.
Barry Greenstein Net Worth
How much is the Barry Greenstein worth? If you take a look at the stats from The Hendon Mob Poker Database, you will see that Greenstein has live earnings worth around $8,138,298. In California, he ranks 11th on the All Time Money List. In the Americas, Barry Greenstein winnings are estimated at around $7,664,448. In his tournaments in Europe, he has won around $254,764. He also competed in other parts of the world and has won around $219,086.
Aside from joining tournaments, Greenstein is also an ambassador for online poker site PokerStars. As of this writing, the Barry Greenstein net worth is estimated to be around $10 million to $15 million.
Barry Greenstein Before Becoming a Professional Poker Player
Greenstein obtained a degree in Computer Science from the University of Illinois. Greenstein reportedly learned how to play poker from his father and that he used to play poker as a hobby while taking up his PhD in Mathematics. He went on to work as a software developer for Symantec, a tech company known for creating the Norton Anti-Virus brand. On the side, he continued to play poker leisurely.
However, after years of playing poker as a hobby, he realised that the Barry Greenstein net worth could grow significantly and that he could make a good fortune by playing poker professionally. When he started winning big from poker, he decided to quit his day job and become a full-fledged professional poker player. Greenstein uses his intelligence and strong analytical skills to create a highly calculated approach when competing at the tables. He may seem unassuming, but poker players who have known his gameplay fear him whenever he joins a table.
Barry Greenstein’s Poker Career
Greenstein’s notable poker feats included reaching six final tables at the World Poker Tour. Out of the six, he won two titles. In 2004, he claimed his first title when he joined the Fifth Annual Jack Binion World Poker Open. In the said tournament, he earned a total of $1,278,370. In 2006, he claimed his second victory when he joined the L.A. Poker Classic at the Commerce Casino and won $100,000.
Greenstein has also won two other World Poker titles in special events like the WPT Father and Sons Tournament, the 2006 World Poker Finals and the WPT Poker by the Book: Chapter 2. By 2008, he began to support charities by donating his net winnings. In the same year, Greenstein joined the World Series of Poker and cashed in six events and won a total of $768,461. He also ranked second, behind Erick Lindgren in the 2008 WSOP Player of the Year standings. In 2011, he joined the World Series of Poker again and cashed in five times. He placed third at the $10,000 Limit Hold'em Championship event and took home $169,512. He also placed 15th in the $50,000 Player’s Championship event.
Greenstein graced the first three season of Poker Superstars Invitational Tournament. Additionally, he appeared in all seven seasons of the GSN Series High Stakes Poker. He is also one of the professional poker players who appeared on the NBC late-night series Poker After Dark.
Barry Greenstein Outside Poker Tournaments
Off the felt, Barry is also known as an author. In 2005, he published a poker strategy book titled Ace on the River. World Poker Tour Season 3 champion Tuan Le expressed that he read the book and it was instrumental in his success on the poker circuit. When a player eliminates Greenstein in a tournament, the pro poker player would give his opponent a free copy of his book along with an autograph and details of the poker hand.
Greenstein was also the one who taught high-stakes specialist Mimi Tran how to play poker. In exchange, he asked Tran to teach him the Vietnamese language. Greenstein even convinced Tran to compete in tournaments. Aside from being a member of Team PokerStars, he also plays casually at the site under the alias “barryg1.”
There was also a time when Greenstein accepted a bet from 2+2 Poker Forums. In exchange for a $10,000 donation to his charity, the poker player was challenged to say “lol donkaments” on one of the episodes of High Stakes Poker. “Donkament” is a poker slang used to describe tournaments with bad players. Greenstein did say the phrase after he won a hand against Erick Lindgren. So aside from Barry Greenstein winnings on the felt, he also received $10,000 which he gave to charities. Moreover, other poker players who found the bet amusing donated around $45,000 to his cause.
Notable Barry Greenstein Winnings / Career Highlights
DATE | EVENT | BUY-IN | PLACE | WINNINGS |
---|---|---|---|---|
Jan 29, '04 | No-Limit Hold'em Championship 2004 The Fifth Annual Jack Binion World Poker Open (WPT) | $10,000 | 1 | $1,278,370 |
Mar 09, '03 | Million Dollar Seven Card Stud Tournament Larry Flynt's Poker Challenge Cup - 2003 | $125,000 | 1 | $1,000,000 |
Jun 29, '08 | Event 45 - World Championship H.O.R.S.E. 2008 39th Annual World Series of Poker | $48,000 | 6 | $355,200 |
Nov 02, '07 | No-Limit Hold'em Championship 2007 North American Poker Championship (WPT) | $10,500 | 4 | $306,388 |
May 07, '04 | No-Limit Deuce to Seven Draw 2004 35th Annual World Series of Poker | $5,000 | 1 | $296,200 |
Jun 28, '07 | Event 39 - World Championship H.O.R.S.E. 2007 38th Annual World Series of Poker | $50,000 | 7 | $259,296 |
Jun 11, '08 | Event 18 - No-Limit 2-7 Draw Lowball w/ Rebuys 2008 39th Annual World Series of Poker | $4,700 | 3 | $225,552 |
Apr 16, '04 | No-Limit Hold'em 2004 Five-Star World Poker Classic (WPT) | $2,500 | 1 | $215,969 |
Apr 10, '06 | Event 5 - No-Limit Hold'em 2006 Five-Star World Poker Classic (WPT) | $5,000 | 2 | $210,990 |
Jul 15, '06 | Event 20 - H.O.R.S.E. 2006 37th Annual World Series of Poker | $50,000 | 12 | $205,920 |
Mar 18, '04 | Limit Hold'em Championship 2004 Party Poker Million III | $7,000 | 5 | $194,763 |
Jun 17, '11 | $10,000 Limit Hold'em Championship 2011 42nd Annual World Series of Poker | $10,000 | 3 | $169,512 |
Jun 15, '08 | Event 26 - Seven Card Razz 2008 39th Annual World Series of Poker | $1,365 | 1 | $157,643 |
Jun 20, '05 | Pot-Limit Omaha 2005 36th Annual World Series of Poker | $1,500 | 1 | $128,505 |
Jul 06, '11 | $50,000 Poker Player's Championship 2011 42nd Annual World Series of Poker | $50,000 | 15 | $108,503 |
Feb 11, '07 | No-Limit Hold'em Heads Up Championship 2007 1st Annual Heads-Up Championship | $10,000 | 2 | $107,500 |
Jun 12, '03 | No Limit Hold'em 2003 California State Poker Championship | $500 | 1 | $100,815 |
Feb 09, '05 | No-Limit Hold'em Main Event 2005 Poker Superstars Invitational | $400,000 | 8 | $100,000 |
Feb 24, '06 | No-Limit Hold'em Invitational 2006 L.A. Poker Classic (WPT) | $0 | 1 | $100,000 |
Jun 19, '13 | Event 31 - $1,500 Pot-Limit Omaha 8/OB 2013 44th Annual World Series of Poker | $1,500 | 3 | $99,091 |
Jul 05, '05 | No-Limit Hold'em 2005 36th Annual World Series of Poker | $1,000 | 7 | $94,000 |
Mar 30, '06 | Event 36 - No-Limit Hold'em Championship 2006 World Poker Challenge (WPT) | $5,000 | 6 | $85,370 |
Jun 22, '09 | Event 40 - $10,000 World Championship Pot-Limit Omaha 2009 40th Annual World Series of Poker | $10,000 | 9 | $82,746 |
Jun 02, '12 | Event 7 - $1,500 Seven-Card Stud 2012 43rd Annual World Series of Poker | $1,500 | 2 | $78,038 |
Mar 06, '06 | No-Limit Hold'em 2006 National Heads-Up Poker Championship | $23,438 | 5 | $75,000 |
Feb 09, '09 | No-Limit Hold'em - Event 20 2009 L.A. Poker Classic | $2,000 | 2 | $62,367 |
Apr 02, '03 | Limit Hold'em 2003 Five-Star World Poker Classic (WPT) | $1,500 | 2 | $59,073 |
Jun 26, '09 | Event 47 - $2,500 Mixed Hold'em 2009 40th Annual World Series of Poker | $2,500 | 5 | $57,671 |
Jun 02, '07 | No-Limit Hold'em Championship Event 5 2007 Mandalay Bay Poker Championship (WPT) | $10,000 | 7 | $54,655 |
Jan 13, '12 | PokerStars Caribbean Adventure Main Event 2012 PokerStars.com Caribbean Adventure | $10,000 | 25 | $46,000 |
May 20, '04 | Ace to Five Draw Lowball 2004 35th Annual World Series of Poker | $1,500 | 2 | $44,700 |
Apr 30, '02 | Limit Hold'em 33rd World Series of Poker (WSOP) 2002 | $3,000 | 3 | $43,700 |