Matt Damon is one of the popular poker celebrities. Damon is not only a respected actor, known for his iconic James Bourne role, but is also an avid poker player. Damon pushed poker in the early 2000s, through his cult classic “Rounders” which went on to inspire Chris MoneyMaker to take part in the 2004 WSOP Main Event, and the rest is history.
Damon is widely considered a respected celebrity in Poker, not for his game but also for his contribution. Here is a report on his early life, poker journey, and cashes.
Matt Damon’s Early Life and Introduction to Poker
Matt Damon was born on October 8, 1970, in Cambridge, Massachusetts. He attended the Cambridge Alternative School and later Cambridge Rindge and Latin School, where his love for cinema began. He actively participated in theatre productions and took acting classes with his drama teacher, Gerry Speca, whom he deeply respected.
Around this time, he also met another future poker celebrity, Ben Affleck, who would go on to become his best friend. The two quickly bonded over their shared passion for acting and storytelling. After graduating high school, Damon enrolled at Harvard University as an English major but dropped out to pursue a career in acting.
While at Harvard, Damon wrote a screenplay for an English assignment that eventually evolved into the Academy Award-winning film Good Will Hunting. After entering the film industry and acting in several movies, he teamed up with Ben Affleck to refine the script. Both of them starred in the film and won the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay.
Like many Americans, Damon was introduced to poker at an early age through his family. However, he never took the game seriously until working on the film Rounders.
In 1998, he starred in the cult classic Rounders, a film that played a significant role in popularizing poker among the new generation of players. While promoting the film, Damon even appeared at the World Series of Poker (WSOP), where he played alongside the legendary Doyle Brunson.
Matt Damon’s Poker Career
In the 1998 WSOP Main Event, Damon was eliminated on Day 1 after going all-in against Doyle Brunson, who held pocket aces, enough to beat Damon’s pocket kings.
A decade later, in 2009, Damon participated in the WSOP again, playing in the Ante Up for Africa charity event. Unfortunately, he failed to cash in that event.
His only recorded live tournament cash came in 2011, when he finished 45th in the $250 No-Limit Hold’em DeepStack Bounty event at the World Poker Finals, earning $540.
Private Cash Games
While Damon has few public tournament results, he is known to have played in Molly Bloom’s infamous high-stakes private cash games, alongside his friend Ben Affleck.
According to Bloom, Damon was very different from his Rounders character. He was highly disciplined and only played in her game once, never returning, unlike Affleck, who became a regular.
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