Known in poker circles as “the Monk”, Andy Black was born in Belfast, Northern Ireland, in 1965. He had played poker as a child but only began seriously contemplating a career in poker in 1986.
It was during the time he spent studying law at Trinity College in Dublin that he became involved with a poker school, and it was then that he began playing at the Griffin Casino.
In 1997, he took part in the WSOP’s Main Event where he was sent to the rail by none other than poker legend, alleged best poker player of all times, Stu Ungar. For a while, there was a rumor circulating about how Ungar got lucky against him beating his A,K with an A,Q. As Black later admitted though, Ungar simply got the better of him through skill.
In 1998, Andy attempted another WSOP Main Event run, and he came up short yet again. Following that mishap, he got rid of all his worldly possessions and moved to England where he lived in a Buddhist environment until 2004.
In 2004 he returned to poker, and his new attitude soon began to pay dividends. He had had plenty of deep cash finishes in Irish tournaments before he returned to the WSOP Main Event to finish 5th in 2005.
In 2006, in the Tournament of Champions, Black made the final table and held a nice stack when he got crippled by Daniel Negreanu, and eventually sent to the rail in 5th place, having earned $100,000.
The 2007 Aussie Millions in Melbourne saw him finish 3rd in the Main Event, and 2nd in the PL Omaha event. That feat earned him about $850,000.
In the EPT’s Grand Final in Monte Carlo that same year, he finished in 7th place, which is – to date – his only EPT final table run.
Also in 2007, he took down first prize at an Irish Open PL Omaha side event. He finished in the money in 2 of the 2007 WSOP’s PL Omaha events, and was a provisional chip leader in the Main Event, but failed to take advantage of it and finished well out of the money.
All-in-all, Andy Black has 13 WSOP money finishes, no Main Event titles though, his highest Main Event finish being the 5th position mentioned above.
He has 2 WPT Money finishes, 5 EPT ones and an EPT final table. It is estimated that he’s won around $3.6 million in tournaments in his career.