Harrington's back to back Main Event final table appearances (3rd and 4th place) in 2003 and 2004 is considered one of the greatest accomplishments in World Series of Poker history. Behind Doyle Brunson's Super/System, Harrington is considered the most influential poker author for his series of books Harrington on Hold'em. Harrington was born December 6, 1945 in Cambridge, Massachusetts and currently resides in Santa Monica, California.
Things you might not know:
- Harrington was a champion backgammon player and US chess master before becoming a poker player.
- While Harrington was at Suffolk Law School in Boston, he was a member of an MIT team that gained an advantage over casinos at roulette, and then part of a later team that specialized in blackjack.
- Harrington played poker against Bill Gates and Paul Allen when they were at Harvard.
- Harrington was an established member of the vaunted Mayfair Club in New York City that included Howard Lederer, Erik Seidel, and Steve Zolotow.
- Harrington worked for many years as a bankruptcy lawyer.
- Harrington chose his own nickname "Action Dan" even though he is known for being a tight conservative player.
- Harrington's early backgammon teacher and mentor was champion Bill Robertie who would go on to co-author his Harrington on Hold'em books introducing the concept of "M" and Poker Zone theory.
- Harrington is distant cousins to both professional golfer Padraig Harrington and former NFL quarterback Joey Harrington.
- Harrington has admitted that age has affected his play and stamina in long events like the 7 day WSOP Main Event.
- Harrington considers himself a part time player, currently running his own successful Anchor Loan company in California.
"Action" Dan Harrington has always shied away from the public spotlight. He considers himself a businessman first and a poker player second, playing a very limited schedule of events. He plays for the money, not the fame. Although known as a tight conservative player, he has been known to pull off some big bluffs at opportune times playing off his table image.
Videos of Dan Harrington pulling off a squeeze, winning a cash hand and an Irish interview:
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