World Poker Tour

David Baker

Birthplace
New Haven, CT

Hometown
Katey, TX

Birthday
July 14

Total Winnings
$249,339

Some people said David Baker was crazy when he quit his sales job. The sales job provided security, a regular paycheck, and a way to support his family in suburban Houston. Baker, however, had some business sense. What's more, he knew how to do multiplication. He started looking at the money he was making playing semi-serious poker. Then he looked at the number of hours he was playing. A little multiplication proved he stood a good chance to make more money playing poker than he did working in the dog-eat-dog world of sales. And so, he quit.

Baker made most of his money in the limit hold'em poker world. To wit: In early 2006, he took down a $2,500 limit hold'em event at the L.A. Poker Classic for more than $70,000. At that point, it was his biggest tournament win. However, as a guy who knew how to look for the cash, he knew that the real money in poker was in no-limit hold'em. So, Baker set out to turn himself into a no-limit player. It didn't take long before he was routinely scoring five figure wins with smaller four-figure buy-ins. He found himself easily supporting his family. Still, there were people who raised their eyebrows at is career choice.

Validation came in late 2006. Baker entered the $10,000 buy-in World Poker Tour Festa al Lago event. Over the course of a few days, Baker worked his way to the final six and made his first WPT final table. In just a few years, Baker made more than half a million dollars in tournament winnings alone, proof that life as a professional poker player can be just as profitable-or more-than a life in a "real job."