Daniel Shak (born May 7, 1959) is an American semi-professional

poker Poker is a family of comparing card games in which players wager over which hand is best according to that specific game's rules. It is played worldwide, however in some places the rules may vary. While the earliest known form of the game w ...

player and

hedge fund A hedge fund is a pooled investment fund that trades in relatively liquid assets and is able to make extensive use of more complex trading, portfolio-construction, and risk management techniques in an attempt to improve performance, such as sho ...

manager known for his accomplishments in high buy-in poker events.

Poker career

Prior to poker, Shak was a trader on the New York Mercantile and Commodities Exchange (COMEX). In 2002, Shak established SHK Asset Management, a hedge fund focused on gold futures. He began seriously focusing on poker in 2004. In 2005, he had his first

World Series of Poker The World Series of Poker (WSOP) is a series of poker tournaments held annually in Paradise, Nevada and, since 2004, sponsored by Caesars Entertainment. It dates its origins to 1970, when Benny Binion invited seven of the best-known poker pla ...

cash totaling $45,000. He has been active on the circuit since and came close to winning his first WSOP bracelet in 2010 when he came in second to Chris Bell at the $5,000 Pot-Limit Omaha Hi-low Split-8 or Better event. Shak has participated in the

World Poker Tour The World Poker Tour (WPT) is an internationally televised gaming and entertainment brand. Since 2002, the World Poker Tour has operated a series of international poker tournaments and associated television series broadcasting playdown and the fi ...

, though he has been less successful. He cashed for $70,000 at the 2007 North American Poker Championships in

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...

. Shak has been most successful at the

Aussie Millions The Australian Poker Championship, commonly known as Aussie Millions, is a series of poker tournaments held at the Crown Casino, in Melbourne, Australia. The Main Event of the series is the Southern Hemisphere's richest poker tournament with a ...

where he scored his biggest cash for $1,107,553 at 2010 $100,000 buy in event. In March 2013, Shak won the $125,000

Party Poker A party is a gathering of people who have been invited by a host for the purposes of socializing, conversation, recreation, or as part of a festival or other commemoration or celebration of a special occasion. A party will often feature ...

Premier League Poker VI in

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

winning $528,000, defeating

Sam Trickett Sam Trickett (born 2 July 1986 in East Retford, Nottinghamshire, England) is an English professional poker player. He is best known for finishing second, losing heads-up to Antonio Esfandiari in the Big One for One Drop - winning over $10 millio ...

heads-up. Shak has always considered poker a hobby and turned down any business offers related to it. However in 2013, at the request of friend

Phil Ivey Phillip Dennis Ivey Jr. (born February 1, 1977) is an American professional poker player who has won ten World Series of Poker bracelets, one World Poker Tour title, and appeared at nine World Poker Tour final tables. Ivey is regarded by numerou ...

, Shak made an exception and joined Ivey Poker. , his total live tournament winnings exceed $7,400,000 of which $709,290 have come from cashes at the WSOP.

Personal life

Shak is the son of Paula J. Felmeister (nee Cohen). He was married to poker player and model

Beth Shak Beth Shak (born November 8, 1969) is an American professional poker player, who has been playing professionally since 2004. She is also an entrepreneur and philanthropist as well as a shoe and handbag expert. Shak ran a private vintage designer ...

; the two divorced in 2009. In 2012, Dan Shak sued Beth over a shoe collection containing 1,200 shoes worth approximately $1 million, but then subsequently dropped the lawsuit. In 2014, Dan Shak married former model

Anna Shak Anna may refer to: People Surname and given name * Anna (name) Mononym * Anna the Prophetess, in the Gospel of Luke * Anna (wife of Artabasdos) (fl. 715–773) * Anna (daughter of Boris I) (9th–10th century) * Anna (Anisia) (fl. 1218 to 1221) ...

. He was recently charged with manipulating gold and silver markets.

References

External links

Daniel Shak Hendon Mob profile
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Shak, Daniel 20th-century American Jews American poker players Living people 1959 births 21st-century American Jews