Dan Harrington is a very talented poker player, who owns two World Series of Poker bracelets and a World Poker Tour title. Although he takes a more conservative approach to the game, he has still been able to find a great deal of success over the years.

Throughout his career, Dan has managed to win a combined total of 6.6 million dollars for live cash tournaments alone, which places him as number two on Massachusetts’ All Time Money List.

Dan Harrington has written several exceptional books on a tight-aggressive style of poker. In this book, Harrington updates his earlier work on how to be successful in 2014 and beyond. He addresses a wide array of topics including how to play different hands preflop, analyzing the flop, turn, and river. About Dan Harrington. Dan Harrington began playing poker professionally in 1982. On the circuit he is known as 'Action Dan,' an ironic reference to his solid, but effective style. He has won several major no-limit hold 'em tournaments, including the European Poker Championships (1995), the $2,500. Harrington Raceway launched online gambling and poker in 2013 with the blessing of the Delaware Lottery. Harrington Online Casino offers a small collection of slots and table games in addition to an online poker room.

Dan Harrington was born on December 6^th, 1945 in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Both of his parents were born in Ireland; his mother was from Waterford, while his father was from Cork. Very little is known about Dan’s childhood other than the fact that he spent a great deal of time honing his chess and backgammon skills. His hard work paid off when he was able to take first place in the 1971 Massachusetts State Chess Championship. He competed in and won many backgammon games as well.

While he was attending Suffolk University, he learned how to play poker. Although he didn’t compete in actual tournaments right away, he would travel to other universities and play against the students there. He would often travel to Harvard, where he once got the opportunity to play against Bill Gates and Paul Allen, who are better known today as the co-founders of Microsoft.

After Dan gained a little more experience, he started travelling to New York City on the weekends to play at the Mayfair Club. The core group of players that were often there besides Dan were Jay Heimowitz, Al Krux, Erik Seidel, and Steve Zolotow. Most of these men decided to dedicate their lives to a career in poker, but Dan wasn’t so quick to jump on that band wagon.

Dan graduated from Suffolk University with a Degree in Government and History; he continued his education and earned a Juris Doctorate. Dan spent the next ten years of his life working as a Bankruptcy Lawyer in Boston, Massachusetts. The job excited him at first, but he quickly grew tired of all the paperwork he had to fill out and he felt completely drained every day of his life. He found himself searching for more, so he started doing the one thing he always enjoyed doing: playing poker.

Dan first entered the World Series of Poker in 1986. Although this would be his first exposure to such a huge tournament, he still managed to place twenty-fourth at the $1500 Limit Hold’em event. The following year, he entered the WSOP again, but this time he was able to place sixth on the No Limit Hold’em Championship. During that tournament, he had the opportunity to play against very accomplished players such as Johnny Chan and Howard Lederer.

Over the next decade, Dan would continue to enter these tournaments and he would continue to land cash finishes. It wouldn’t be until 1995 that he finally caught the break he was looking for, when he won his first gold bracelet on the $2500 No Limit Hold‘em tournament game. Dan used the $250,000 cash prize he won from his tournament to enter that year’s championship event. He knew the competition would be fierce, so he wasn’t expecting to go very far.

However, when he made it to the final table, things started to look promising. He wasn’t the chip leader, but he did have a good understanding of the playing styles of the other competitors. He offered the players a nine-way split of the winnings, but they refused. He was going to have to win this money the hard way. So he continued on with the competition, and slowly but surely the other players started to get eliminated.

Finally it came down to him and Howard Goldfarb, who had twice as many chips as him. Despite being the underdog, Dan won the championship that year through safe plays and strategic planning. He was ironically given the nickname “Action Dan,” even though he’s actually a very tight player.

Winning the WSOP main event gave Dan the confidence he needed to enter other tournaments he was afraid to try before. Just a few months after winning, he travelled to London to compete in the Festival of Poker. Dan was surprised to find he was capable of taking home the first place prize of over $100,000. He would eventually go on to enter other tournaments as well including the World Poker Tour and the Carnivale of Poker.

Dan Harrington took several years off from playing poker to venture into the business world, which we explain in more detail in the section below. When Dan came back, it was like he had never left. He made the final table of the World Series of Poker Tournament in 2003, taking third place out of 839 entrants and $650,000 in prize money. The following year he made it to the final table again, but this time he placed fourth out of 2,576 entrants, earning himself $1.5 million.

Dan didn’t just do well at the World Series of Poker after he returned, but he actually landed several cash finishes at the World Poker Tour as well. In 2007, he accomplished what only few people before him have done. He won the WPT’s No Limit Hold’em Championship Event for the grand prize of $1.6 million dollars, making him the proud owner of both a World Poker Tour title and a World Series of Poker bracelet.

In 2010, Dan Harrington was inducted into the Poker Hall of Fame alongside eight time WSOP gold bracelet winner, Erik Seidel. At the time of induction, there were only forty members and only a few people get selected each year. This is a very exclusive group of poker enthusiasts, and being a part of it means that you are one of the best. After the induction ceremony, Dan received a signature glass trophy, which he’ll always have to cherish.

Although Dan would consider himself to be retired, he still makes time to travel to some of the major tournaments. Most recently, he has been travelling to Ireland to compete in PaddyPower’s Irish Open. Dan hasn’t made any significant wins at the tournament, but he just enjoys visiting the area his parents grew up in. He also enjoys exploring the city of Dublin in between poker sessions. In an interview with PokerListings in 2015, Dan said,

Dan didn’t want to just pour all of his winnings back into poker, but he instead wanted to start investing with it. He started his own business called, Anchor Loans, which serves as a mediator for both borrowers and lenders. On average, this company has over 1000 active loans that consistently amount to over $500 million.

Dan would use the profits from this business to invest in the stock market and to buy real-estate. He officially retired from the company in 2010, giving his ownership over to Jeffery Lipton and Steve Pollack. He’s still a majority shareholder to this day, and can give credit to this business for the majority of his wealth.

With the help of Bill Robertie, Dan has written a plethora of poker themed books over the years. These books are packed full of valuable advice from two men who are extremely knowledgeable on the subject. They are known to have set the standard for poker strategy books in the future. Each of these books were published by Two Plus Two Publishing, and they are listed for you below.

Harrington on Hold’em: Expert Strategy for No-Limit Tournaments (Volume I: Strategic Play)

~By Dan Harrington and Bill Robertie (2004)

Harrington on Hold ’em: Expert Strategy for No-Limit Tournaments (Volume II: The Endgame)

~By Dan Harrington and Bill Robertie (2005)

Harrington on Hold ’em: Expert Strategy for No-Limit Tournaments (Volume III: The Workbook)

~By Dan Harrington and Bill Robertie (2006)

Harrington on Cash Games: How to Win at No-Limit Hold ’em Money Games (Volume I)

~By Dan Harrington and Bill Robertie (2008)

Harrington on Cash Games: How to Win at No-Limit Hold ’em Money Games (Volume II)

~By Dan Harrington and Bill Robertie (2008)

Harrington on Online Cash Games: 6-Max No Limit Hold ‘em

~By Dan Harrington and Bill Robertie (2010)

Harrington on Modern Tournament Poker: How to Play No-Limit Hold ’em Multi-Table Tournaments

~By Dan Harrington and Bill Robertie (2014)

All of these books come highly recommended. Poker News released an article about these series in 2008, saying this in regards to the book series,

Dan Harrington (born December 6, 1945) is a professional poker player, best known for winning the Main Event at the 1995 World Series of Poker. He has earned one World Poker Tour title, two WSOP bracelets, and over six million dollars in tournament cashes in his poker career. He is also a member of the Poker Hall of Fame.^[1]

Harrington chose his own nickname 'Action Dan' even though he is known for being a tight conservative player.^[2] He is a distant cousin to both professional golfer Pádraig Harrington and former NFL quarterback Joey Harrington.^[3]

Early life and business career[edit]

Harrington was born in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Currently residing in Santa Monica, California, Harrington is a former champion backgammon player and U.S. chess master^[4] (he won the 1971 Massachusetts State Chess Championship). Before becoming a poker professional and businessman, Harrington worked for many years as a bankruptcy lawyer. He also played poker against Bill Gates while Gates was at Harvard. Some of his earlier poker experience came from the Mayfair Club in the mid-1980s, where he played with Howard Lederer, Steve Zolotow, and Erik Seidel.

In addition to being a successful professional poker player, Harrington also works in real estate and the stock market. Mr. Harrington is a co-founder and former member of the Board of Directors of Anchor Loans, a hard money lender to fix-and-flip and rental property investors that is headquartered in Calabasas, CA.^[5] Harrington co-founded the company in 1998 with two poker buddies, Jeff Lipton and Stephen Pollack, and served as its first Chief executive officer. The trio used their poker winnings to provide quick bridge funding to real estate rehabbers.^[6] Anchor Loans has since funded more than 5.3 billion in loans and has been profitable every year since its inception.^[7] Harrington retired from Anchor Loans in 2010, but remains a shareholder.^[8] He has also stated during interviews about his poker career, that he is there for the money, not the fame or glory. Also unlike many professional poker players, Dan considers himself only a part-time player due to the fact that he spends a large amount of his time on his business interests. He usually only plays a few events at the World Series of Poker each year and plays in occasional World Poker Tour events and a few other tournaments.

Poker career[edit]

Harrington first cashed in the World Series of Poker in 1986. The next year, in only his second WSOP cash, Harrington made the final table of the Main Event; he finished in sixth place in the event, which was won by Johnny Chan. Harrington's friend and fellow Mayfair Club member, Howard Lederer was also at this final table, finishing fifth.

Sporting his iconic green Boston Red Sox cap, Dan Harrington is known as a crafty, tight-aggressive player, employing starting hand standards that are stricter than most professionals. When he reached the final table at the 1995 Main Event, he set the runner-up, Howard Goldfarb, to bluff for all his chips in the final hand. At the time of his Main event victory, Harrington lived in Downey, California.

Also, in 1995, he won a bracelet in the $2,500 No-Limit Hold'em event for $249,000 and the Seven-card stud event at European Poker Open in London. He made his first final table at the World Poker Tour (WPT) in 2005, winning $620,730 for his second-place finish to Minh Ly in the Doyle Brunson North American Championship.

In the early 2000’s, he appeared on an obscure show called “Cash Poker”, where he played a session of $100/$200 No Limit Hold’em.^[9]

In 2007, he won the Legends of Poker for a prize of $1,634,865.

In 2008, Harrington made his first appearance on the NBC show Poker After Dark in the episode titled 'Mayfair Club.' This tournament brought together poker players who had played at the legendary Mayfair Club in New York City. The other players in the tournament with Harrington included professional poker players Lederer, Mickey Appleman, Steve Zolotow, Jay Heimowitz, and Mike Shictman, the owner of the Mayfair Club for many years. Harrington busted out first, finishing in sixth place. The tournament was won by Heimowitz, who defeated Lederer in heads-up play.

His solid play allows him to make it to many final tables at large events. He won the World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event in 1995 for $1,000,000. He has made three other Main Event final tables: placing sixth in 1987 for $43,750, third (out of 839 players) in 2003 for $650,000, and fourth (out of 2,576 players) in 2004 for $1,500,000. Because of the increased number of participants, his run of back-to-back Main Event final tables in 2003-04 has been called the greatest accomplishment in World Series history, particularly by ESPN poker announcer Norman Chad. This feat was later matched by Mark Newhouse in 2013 and 2014. As defending champion in 1996, Harrington made another deep run in the Main Event, finishing in 17th place and earning $23,400. He also cashed in the 2009 Main Event, finishing in 252nd place for a $32,963 payout.

Harrington, Doyle Brunson, Carlos Mortensen, Scotty Nguyen, Joe Hachem and Ryan Riess are the only six people to have won the World Series of Poker Main Event and a World Poker Tour title.

As of 2014, his live tournament winnings exceed $6,600,000, which he accumulated over a period of 34 years, cashing in 52 events.^[10] More than half of his live tournament winnings ($3,524,476) have come at the WSOP.^[11]

In 2010 Harrington was inducted in to the World Series of Poker Hall of Fame.^[12]

Books[edit]

He has written (co-authored with Bill Robertie) three popular books on tournament poker, two books on cash no-limit games and one book on online cash no-limit games, all published by Two Plus Two Publishing:

• Harrington on Hold'em: Volume I: Strategic PlayISBN1-880685-33-7 (2004)
• Harrington on Hold'em: Volume II: The EndgameISBN1-880685-35-3 (2005)
• Harrington on Hold'em: Volume III: The WorkbookISBN1-880685-36-1 (2006)
• Harrington on Cash Games, Volume I: How to Play No-Limit Hold 'em Cash Games ISBN1-880685-42-6 (2008)
• Harrington on Cash Games, Volume II: How to Play No-Limit Hold 'em Cash Games ISBN1-880685-43-4 (2008)
• Harrington on Online Cash Games; 6-Max No-Limit Hold 'em ISBN1-880685-49-3 (2010)
• Harrington on Modern Tournament Poker ISBN1-880685-56-6 (2014)

World Series of Poker bracelets[edit]

Notes[edit]

1. ^Rodriguez, Julio (October 19, 2010). 'Dan Harrington and Erik Seidel Inducted Into 2010 Poker Hall of Fame'. Cardplayer Magazine. Retrieved October 19, 2010.
2. ^'Dan Harrington Vol. 17, No. 19 Card Player Magazine'. www.cardplayer.com.
3. ^Spousta, Tom (March 3, 2005). 'Padraig Harrington goes clubbin' in USA'. USA Today.
4. ^http://web.chessdailynews.com/disciplined-approach-paid-off-big/
5. ^https://www.anchorloans.com/about
6. ^https://www.anchorloans.com/blog/played-cards-right/
7. ^https://www.streetinsider.com/Press+Releases/Anchor+Loans+Surpasses+%241+Billion+in+Loan+Origination+Volume+for+2016/12309168.html
8. ^https://www.anchorloans.com/about
9. ^'Dan Harrington's Life: Net Worth, Biggest Profits, Losses and Private Life'.
10. ^'Dan Harrington's profile on The Hendon Mob'. The Hendon Mob Poker Database.
11. ^World Series of Poker Earnings, www.worldseriesofpoker.com
12. ^https://www.wsop.com/pokerhalloffame/

External links[edit]

Harrington Poker Room Schedule

Harrington Poker Player