Few world-class poker players show the same level of modesty as Erik Seidel.

Then again, it’s easy to be modest when millions of people have watched you get beaten on the big screen. In the 1998 film Rounders, footage is shown from Seidel’s final table appearance at the 1988 World Series of Poker.

Unfortunately for Seidel, he ran into a buzzsaw by the name of Johnny Chan, who defeated Sediel to win the tournament’s main event.

Seidel got the short end of the stick that day, but he did fairly well for someone in his first major tournament. Following up on that result, Seidel collected six WSOP gold bracelets heading into the 2005 event, then added a seventh in $2000 No Limit Hold’em.

Not bad for someone who came to poker relatively late. Born in 1959 in New York City and educated at Brooklyn College, Seidel spent eight years playing backgammon tournaments, frequenting the famous Mayfair Club in New York, then settled into a job as a Wall Street stockbroker before the gambling bug paid him a return visit.

In 1985, Seidel was at a backgammon event in Las Vegas when he discovered poker.

It’s been quite a career. Seidel is the only player ranked in the Top 10 on the money lists for both Bellagio’s and the WSOP. He’s a regular at high-stakes poker games in Las Vegas, where he currently lives, and also plays online.

Seidel is married with children.