Barry Greenstein is a phenomenal poker expert, having won three World Series of Poker bracelets and two World Poker Tour championships throughout his professional career. He has amassed over $7,500,000 through tournaments alone.
Greenstein, who is often referred to as “The Robin Hood of Poker,” is constantly searching for new organizations to which he can donate a percentage of his winnings. In fact, 100% of his online tournament winnings are already donated to charity, and he occasionally donates his other poker tournament winnings as well.
Early Years
Barry Greenstein was born in Chicago, Illinois on December 30, 1964.
By observing his father play the game, he was introduced to poker at an early age.
Greenstein matriculated at the University of Illinois after high school and earned a Bachelor of Science in Computer Science. He pursued his education in pursuit of a PhD, but was never able to complete his dissertation. In the 1980s, he accepted a programming position with Symantec, but after nearly a decade, he retired to play poker full-time.
Poker Accomplishments
Greenstein’s first World Series of Poker victory occurred in 2004 when he won first place in the No Limit Deuce to Seven Draw event for $296,200. He went on to win two more WSOP gold bracelets; for more information on these events, please refer to the table below.
Bracelets that commemorate the World Series of Poker
In 2008, Greenstein triumphed in six separate WSOP tournaments for a total of $768,461. In the 2008 WSOP Player of the Year standings, he placed second, just behind Erick Lindgren. A few years later, at the 2011 World Series of Poker, Greenstein won an additional $170,000 by placing third in the $10,000 Limit Hold’em Championship.
Greenstein won the Fifth Annual Jack Binion World Poker Open for over $1.2 million and the 2006 WPT Invitational at the Commerce Casino for $100,000 to achieve two World Poker Tour championships.
He has also won the World Poker Tour Fathers & Son Tournament and the WPT Poker by the Book Chapter 2 tournaments. Both of these tournaments are regarded special WPT events and are distinct from his two major WPT titles.
Greenstein was recruited to become a member of Team PokerStars, where he frequently plays online under the alias “barryg1.” Greenstein appeared in the first three seasons of NBC’s Poker After Dark, all seven seasons of GSN’s High Stakes Poker, and the first three seasons of Pokerstars Invitational Tournament as a member of the team.
In addition to tournaments, Greenstein frequently participates in $4000/8000 Pot Limit and No Limit Texas Hold’em cash games, where he has been known to win and lose millions of dollars in a single session.
Personal Facts
Greenstein resides with his wife in Rancho Palos Verdes, California; they have two children together and he has adopted her four children from a previous relationship. Joe Sebok, his step-son, is also a professional poker player, and the two of them created the website PokerRoad, which is filled with excellent advice on various poker strategies.