Name: Andy Bloch
Birthday: June 1, 1969
Location: Tacoma Park, CA
Online Screen Names: JCBloch (Full Tilt Poker)
Endorses: Full Tilt Poker
Website: andybloch.com
Andy Bloch is one of the most prolific players in poker today and is currently a member of Team Full Tilt, thus making him one of the biggest stars in the world of online poker too! However, Bloch’s start in poker was nowhere near as prolific as his station in the game now.
Born into a family that loved playing cards, Bloch learned to play as soon as he was able. He often played with friends for fun, but didn’t take it up as a serious hobby until the early nineties, after graduating from MIT with an engineering degree. He pursued the hobby throughout his early engineering career with the support of his family.
Andy Bloch began playing poker in small tournaments held at the casino at Foxwoods. The year was 1992 and the entrance fee was just $35! He would enter a competition once a month and build up his own skills by watching the other players. It took him less than a year to win his first World Poker Finals tournament. It was the first time that he had played No-Limit Hold’em and was definitely not the last.
During this time, Bloch was enrolled in law school but was far from set on a career in law. Instead, he was more concerned with playing poker and often cut class to play in tournaments. It wasn’t until 1997 that he cut class to play in the World Series of Poker Main Event. He is actually a qualified lawyer now, having passed the bar in 1999, but decided to concentrate on poker instead!
Bloch continued playing in various tournaments after graduating from law school, but really made a name for himself in 2001 when he actually got to the final tables of two WSOP tournaments in 2001. His very first finish in first place came just a year later at Foxwoods, which was one for the nostalgia certainly! He ironically won for the first time in the casino that got him hooked! He was playing seven card stud at the time, but has turned his hand to no limit hold ‘em with great effect in the years since.
Bloch actually won the WSOP Circuit Limit Hold ‘em torunament at the Las Vegas Rio in 2005, which was followed bu the Ultimate Poker Challenge $10,000 Final Event. He actually made the final table in several other tournaments, including the Mirage Poker Showdown Pot-Limit Omaha tournament, in which he finished sixth.
His career has gone from strength to strength since and is one of the most popular players on the circuit. He is perhaps best known for the record he set in 2006, where he and Chip Reese had the longest heads up battle in recorded history! He eventually finsihed second in the HORSE tournament at the World Series of Poker and won over $1 million. No wonder his career continued to improve every day!