Andy Bloch: WSOP Bracelet Winner, MIT Blackjack Team Veteran and Mixed-Game Pro

Andy Bloch is an American professional poker player whose career combines high-level tournament poker with an unusually strong academic and mathematical background. A World Series of Poker bracelet winner and WSOP Circuit ring winner, Bloch is also remembered for finishing runner-up to David "Chip" Reese in the inaugural $50,000 H.O.R.S.E. Championship at the 2006 WSOP.

Bloch's career has extended across no-limit hold'em, seven-card stud and mixed games, with major results dating from the 1990s through the modern online WSOP era. As of September 8, 2026, The Hendon Mob lists Bloch with $5,385,416 in live tournament earnings and a career-best live cash of $1,029,600.

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Who Is Andy Bloch?

Andrew "Andy" Bloch was born June 1, 1969, in New Haven, Connecticut. His path into professional gambling was notably different from that of most poker players.

Bloch graduated from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology with undergraduate and graduate degrees in electrical engineering before later earning a law degree from Harvard Law School. According to Bloch's official website, he began taking casino poker more seriously after graduating from MIT in 1992.

His mathematical background also led him into advantage gambling. Bloch became involved with the well-known MIT Blackjack Team after initially working with other MIT graduates on strategies for casino games. He later balanced blackjack, poker and law school before deciding that professional poker would remain a major part of his career.

That background helps explain one of the defining characteristics of Bloch's poker reputation: an analytical approach grounded in mathematics, game theory and experience across multiple forms of poker.

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Andy Bloch's Early Poker Career

Bloch began playing small tournaments at Foxwoods after graduating from MIT. On his official website, he recalls entering low-buy-in weekly tournaments and eventually winning a $100 no-limit hold'em tournament during his first period of serious casino play.

He started appearing at the World Series of Poker during the 1990s. His early WSOP career included a distinctive role in the 1997 Main Event, when he agreed to have his hole cards recorded throughout his play. The resulting hand-by-hand record became known as the Andy Bloch Project and provided an unusually detailed look at tournament decision-making before hole-card cameras became a standard feature of televised poker.

His tournament results continued to build during the following years. Bloch reached multiple WSOP final tables and established himself as a player capable of competing in different variants rather than concentrating entirely on no-limit hold'em.

The arrival of the World Poker Tour also gave Bloch another national tournament stage. The World Poker Tour lists him with nine Main Tour cashes, two final tables and $434,595 in WPT earnings. Both of his WPT final-table appearances resulted in third-place finishes during the tour's first season.

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The 2006 WSOP $50,000 H.O.R.S.E. Runner-Up Finish

Bloch's largest live tournament score came at the 2006 World Series of Poker in one of the most historically significant mixed-game tournaments of its era.

The inaugural $50,000 H.O.R.S.E. Championship attracted 143 entries and assembled a final table loaded with established champions. Bloch reached heads-up play against David "Chip" Reese after a final table that also included Phil Ivey, Doyle Brunson, T.J. Cloutier and other accomplished professionals.

Reese and Bloch then played heads-up for more than seven hours. Reese eventually won the tournament, while Bloch earned $1,029,600 for second place. That remains Bloch's largest recorded live tournament cash according to The Hendon Mob.

The result was important for more than the seven-figure payout. The $50,000 H.O.R.S.E. tournament was created as a test of all-around poker skill, requiring competitors to navigate multiple variants against an elite field. Bloch's runner-up finish strengthened his reputation as a versatile player capable of succeeding far beyond a single form of poker.

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Andy Bloch's WSOP Bracelet

Bloch finally captured his first World Series of Poker bracelet in 2012.

He won the $1,500 Seven-Card Stud event at the 2012 WSOP, defeating a 367-entry field and earning $126,363. His final opponent was Barry Greenstein, another highly accomplished stud and mixed-game player.

The victory came after years of close calls. Bloch had already finished second in the 2006 $50,000 H.O.R.S.E. Championship and second again in the 2008 $10,000 Pot-Limit Hold'em World Championship, where he earned $488,048.

The World Series of Poker currently credits Bloch with one bracelet, one Circuit ring, 97 WSOP cashes, 19 final tables and $3,542,821 in earnings across WSOP-branded competition.

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Andy Bloch's WSOP Circuit Ring

Bloch also owns an official WSOP Circuit ring.

He won a WSOP Circuit event at the Rio in March 2005, earning $25,495. The result came during the early years of the Circuit and preceded his bracelet victory by seven years.

As of September 2026, the WSOP's current player database lists Bloch with one bracelet and one ring, giving him championship victories in both major branches of the WSOP tournament system.

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Other Major Poker Results

Bloch's career includes several notable results beyond his bracelet, Circuit ring and 2006 H.O.R.S.E. runner-up finish.

In 2006, he won the televised Pro-Am Equalizer final for $500,000. Two years later, he reached the championship match of the 2008 NBC National Heads-Up Poker Championship and finished runner-up for $250,000.

Later in 2008, Bloch finished second in the WSOP $10,000 Pot-Limit Hold'em World Championship for $488,048.

He returned to the $50,000 Poker Players Championship final table in 2012, finishing third for $561,738. That performance, coming only weeks after his first bracelet victory, further demonstrated his strength in tournaments requiring proficiency across several poker variants.

These results explain why Bloch's tournament résumé is better understood through versatility than through a single signature game.

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Andy Bloch's Playing Style and Mixed-Game Reputation

Bloch's poker background is strongly associated with analytical decision-making and mixed-game experience.

His education in electrical engineering, history of programming casino-game strategies and experience with the MIT Blackjack Team all contributed to a career built around mathematical problem-solving. Bloch has also competed successfully in hold'em, stud and multi-game formats over several decades.

When he won his bracelet in seven-card stud, Bloch explained to the WSOP that his casino poker career began at Foxwoods during a period when stud was a major part of the East Coast poker scene. His WSOP record subsequently expanded across numerous variants.

Rather than being defined exclusively as a no-limit hold'em tournament player, Bloch's most important results include seven-card stud, pot-limit hold'em and the H.O.R.S.E./Poker Players Championship format.

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Andy Bloch's Tournament Earnings

As of September 8, 2026, The Hendon Mob lists Andy Bloch with $5,385,416 in live tournament earnings.

His largest recorded live cash is the $1,029,600 he received for finishing second to Chip Reese in the 2006 WSOP $50,000 H.O.R.S.E. Championship.

Career earnings totals can differ among poker databases because some sources include different combinations of live events, online events and tournament series. For example, CardPlayer separately tracks confirmed real-name online results in addition to live tournament performances.

For live tournament earnings, The Hendon Mob figure provides the clearest current benchmark.

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Is Andy Bloch Still Playing Poker?

Bloch has continued recording tournament results well beyond the period when he first became a familiar figure in televised poker.

CardPlayer records multiple WSOP Online cashes for Bloch during the summer of 2025, including cashes on June 22, June 24, July 6 and July 8. His results also show significant online activity during the 2024 WSOP schedule, including a runner-up finish in a $1,000 online bounty event for $45,526.

Those results indicate that Bloch remained an active tournament participant into 2025. No reliable source reviewed for this profile supports describing him as retired.

His current WSOP record also reflects the longevity of his career: the official WSOP database lists 97 cashes and 19 final-table appearances across WSOP-branded competition as of September 2026.

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Why Andy Bloch Matters in Poker

Andy Bloch occupies an unusual place in modern poker history because his career connects several different parts of the gambling and poker worlds.

He emerged from the mathematical advantage-play environment associated with the MIT Blackjack Team, earned engineering degrees from MIT and a law degree from Harvard, and then built a multimillion-dollar tournament poker career.

His deepest legacy at the poker table comes from versatility. He reached the final two of the inaugural $50,000 H.O.R.S.E. Championship, won a bracelet in seven-card stud, captured a WSOP Circuit ring and produced major finishes in pot-limit hold'em, heads-up poker and the Poker Players Championship.

Bloch's career also stretches across different eras of the game, from pre-poker-boom tournament rooms to televised poker and modern online WSOP competition. That longevity, combined with more than $5.38 million in live tournament earnings, makes his record an enduring part of modern tournament poker history.

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Frequently Asked Questions

How many WSOP bracelets does Andy Bloch have?

Andy Bloch has one World Series of Poker bracelet. He won the 2012 WSOP $1,500 Seven-Card Stud event for $126,363.

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How many WSOP Circuit rings does Andy Bloch have?

Andy Bloch has one WSOP Circuit ring. The WSOP credits him with a Circuit victory from 2005.

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How much has Andy Bloch won in live poker tournaments?

As of September 8, 2026, The Hendon Mob lists Andy Bloch with $5,385,416 in live tournament earnings.

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What is Andy Bloch's biggest poker tournament cash?

Bloch's largest recorded live cash is $1,029,600. He earned it by finishing second to David "Chip" Reese in the 2006 WSOP $50,000 H.O.R.S.E. Championship.

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Was Andy Bloch on the MIT Blackjack Team?

Yes. Bloch's official biography and the WSOP both identify him as a former member of the MIT Blackjack Team. His involvement in advantage gambling came before and alongside the development of his professional poker career.

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Did Andy Bloch win a WPT title?

No. The World Poker Tour lists Bloch with zero Main Tour victories. He has nine WPT cashes and two final tables, both of which resulted in third-place finishes.

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Is Andy Bloch still active in poker?

Recent published tournament records show Bloch cashing in several WSOP Online events during 2025. No reliable source reviewed as of September 8, 2026, identifies him as retired.