Steve O’Dwyer is a renowned high-stakes poker pro who has won almost every high roller title, from Triton to Aussie Millions. The Irish-American professional poker player is also known for his accomplishments on the European Poker Tour & World Poker Tour. While you might know him as a player who is lucky and crushing at high-stakes poker, you surely haven’t known the struggle behind it. In 2011, Dwyer was on the verge of bankruptcy during Black Friday, but made a remarkable comeback, starting his high-stakes poker career. In this report, we will delve into Steve O’Dwyer’s early career, poker journey, struggle, success, and personal life.
Steve O’Dwyer’s Early Career and Introduction to Poker
Born on April 6th, 1982, in Colorado Springs, Colorado, Dwyer was in college when Chris Moneymaker won the World Series of Poker Main Event, inspiring him to play poker.
A few months later, in December 2003, Dwyer played his first poker game. It was a $5 private poker tournament hosted by one of his college friends.
Talking about his passion for poker, Dwyer revealed to CardPlayer, “I knew what poker was, but I didn’t know that there was such a heavy skill needed for it. I certainly didn’t realize that people were playing it for high stakes and making good money from it,” he said. “I just figured I liked games, and I was pretty good at them, so maybe I could do the same with poker.”
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He started his online poker journey in February 2004, after seeing an advertisement for Full Tilt Poker, which needed a beta tester. Following that, he joined their $5,000 freeroll, making $7.50, but lost it all in a cash game during the site’s initial launch.
He soon finds out about deposit bonuses and uses it to max his income from online poker. He spent a lot of his time grinding in online poker to meet certain conditions. As of now, he has made over $7 million from online poker. Despite grinding on online poker, he graduated from East Carolina University with a BSc degree in communications.
Steve O’Dwyer’s Struggle – From Borrowing Money to Eat to Becoming The High Stakes Pro
After graduating, he followed his passion for poker and relocated to Las Vegas, kicking off his professional poker journey. Transitioning to a live poker player wasn’t very pleasant for Dwyer. He could pay his bills but couldn’t make a big score to boost his bankroll.
Dwyer made his first live tournament appearance in Jan 2007 at the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure in the $8k WPT Championship Event, finishing 38th for $17,787.
In his earlier days in Las Vegas, Dwyer made some great friends who believed him in and supported him throughout the difficult situations. One of his friends was Indian poker pro Vivek Rajkumar, who backed Dwyer financially, putting him in high-stakes games, which he couldn’t afford.
Issac Haxton and Scott Seiver motivated Dwyer to play low-stakes heads-up cash games online. Which was enough for Dwyer to pay his bill for two years. Haxton and Seiver also put him at several $5k and $10k events.
After two years of grinding on online poker and playing a few live poker games, Dwyer made his first big score in 2009. World Series of Poker $10k heads-up, earning $92,580. That same year, he earned a six-figure score of $202,362 in the $15,400 NLH Main Event at Doyle Brunson Five Diamond World Poker Classic for a 6th place finish.
In 2011, Dwyer was one of the players to get hit by the Black Friday poker scandal, which left him completely broke. But Haxton and Seiver supported him. His situation was so bad that he borrowed money to eat.
That same year, he made a big comeback when he finished 2nd place in the £5k EPT London Main Event for a staggering prize of $726,789. Which boosted his bankroll as well as helped him financially.
In 2013, Dwyer took down the €10k EPT Monte Carlo Main Event, earning his first seven-figure score of $1,604,972. He went on to score another seven-figure in November 2014, when he won the HK$500,000 Super High Roller at the APPT for $1,811,638.
In 2015, he scored his second biggest top prize of $1,872,580 after winning the $100k NLHE Super High Roller at the PCA 2015.
In 2018, he won the $25,500 Powerfest Super High Roller event for $896,610. That is his biggest single online tournament cash to date.
Despite Steve O’Dwyer’s dominating run in High Roller events, the player is yet to win a WSOP gold bracelet. He hasn’t played any WSOP events since 2020. As of now, he has made 19 cashes and earned over $711,592 in the World Series of Poker. His first WSOP cash in 2007 and he made his first final table in 2009 when finishing eighth in the $10,000 World Championship Heads-Up event for more than $90,000
Talking about his recent cashes in 2024, he made a 2nd place finish to score his biggest ever top prize of $2,157,000 in the $200k NLHE event at the Triton Poker Super High Roller Series Montenegro. He has won no major tournaments this year but has made over $5 million in live tournament earnings this year.
Steve O’Dwyer’s Net Worth 2024
As of 2024, Steve O’Dwyer’s net worth is estimated to be more than $43 million, which he amassed through his 17-year-old professional poker career. Dwyer doesn’t endorse any online poker sites due to the Black Friday hit. He doesn’t want other players to face what he faced during that time.
He has over $43 million from live tournament earnings and currently sits at 13th place in Hendon Mob’s all-time money list.
Steve O’Dwyer’s Personal Life
Dwyer is very private about his personal life but is very vocal about his friendships with Isaac Haxton, Scott Seiver, and Dan Smith. Dwyer doesn’t stick around in one place as he wanders around the world playing high-stakes poker in offshore tournaments. He is currently in Japan, participating in the Japan Open Poker Tour.
Disclaimer: The information provided in this article is for informational purposes only. While we strive to present accurate and up-to-date information, we do not guarantee the accuracy, completeness, or reliability of any data, facts, or figures mentioned. Readers are advised to verify any information and use their discretion before making any decisions or judgments based on the content of this article.
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