A Poker Life: George Danzer

Given the massive fields that make up today’s tournaments at the World Series of Poker, it may seem unreasonable to expect one player to win multiple bracelets in a given summer. But it happens often. In fact, at least one player has won two bracelets every year since 2000.

This year, that honor belonged to longtime tournament regular George Danzer. The 31-year-old German poker pro may not have been on anyone’s radar entering the summer, but after 10 years of attending the WSOP, he finally got the monkey off his back in a big way.

Danzer, who had many near wins throughout his career, not only won two bracelets, but he also cashed seven times and put himself in the running for WSOP Player of the Year honors. In total, he has earned more than $2 million during his career.

Poker Beginnings

Danzer was born on July 17, 1983 in Sao Paulo, Brazil, but settled down in Austria. As a child, he was a chess prodigy and competed in international championship events. As a 15 year old, he achieved an Elo rating of 2,310, which was enough to name him a FIDE Master, which is just a step below International Master and Grand Master in the chess world.

It was at these chess tournaments where Danzer was introduced to the game of poker.

“I was around 16 or 17 and playing chess tournaments in Germany,” he recalled. “I would go to these tournaments with some of my chess buddies and at night, we would play some German card games. One day, poker got into the rotation of games and 14 years later, I’ve been playing it ever since.”

At first, Danzer was good enough to beat his chess companions in various Bavarian card games, but poker was a different story. Frustrated by his lack of success, he studied the game until he could beat his fellow chess players.

With his newfound passion, Danzer began to explore ways to play the game on his own, but he wasn’t yet old enough to enter a casino.

“I got started in 2000, before the Moneymaker boom,” he said. “In fact, I even played online poker before Moneymaker. Back then I was playing free money online poker, just to score points. The site I was on didn’t have a real money client. It was very basic.”

Turning Pro

Danzer had no plans to make poker into a career, but while he was in college, poker exploded in popularity. Sensing an opportunity to make quite a bit of money, he made the difficult choice to put his educational pursuits on hold.

“I studied micro engineering at University, but by the end of 2005, the poker boom had really taken off. I felt that I needed to give it a shot. Luckily it worked out for me.”

Danzer’s first WSOP was a bust, but his second trip in 2006 included a deep run in the main event, where he finished in 305th place for $38,759. He returned the next year and made his first final table, taking ninth place in the $1,500 pot-limit Omaha eight-or-better event for $13,597. It was through mixed games where he saw the best opportunity at picking up a bracelet.

“I started playing mixed games really early,” he recalled. “Of course it started with hold’em, but I was playing pot-limit Omaha right away. Then I changed to Omaha eight-or-better. In 2005, I learned how to play deuce-to-seven draw. I recognized early on that I needed to be good at all of the games, not just no-limit hold’em.”

While most players would start at the micro-stakes to learn a new game, Danzer didn’t want to wait before diving head first into the toughest games he could find.

“I haven’t always had the best bankroll management,” he admitted. “I used to learn games by playing the best players I could find. If I had enough money to take on the best player, then let’s try it out. Maybe I could beat him, but probably not. Either way, I’ll learn a lot. That’s the way I approached it.”

A Series of Close Calls

Danzer continued to find success online and in European tournaments and even signed a contract to make him a member of Team PokerStars Pro Germany. Every summer, he continued to visit Las Vegas for the WSOP and, every trip, he got a little closer to his goal of winning a bracelet.

“From the first year I came to the WSOP in 2005, I made it a goal to win a bracelet. I thought I was a great player and that it would happen for me. I found out quickly that I wasn’t as good as I thought I was, but that just made me want it more.”

In 2010, he finished third in the $10,000 deuce-to-seven single draw event for $115,295. In 2012, he took second in the $2,500 Omaha and stud eight-or-better event for $140,825. He followed that up by once again finishing third in the $10,000 deuce-to-seven single draw event for, you guessed it, $115,295.

In 2013, he final tabled the $2,500 Omaha and stud eight-or-better event again, busting in sixth place for $34,348. Then he took fifth in the $50,000 Poker Players Championship, banking his largest payday ever of $388,523.

“I wouldn’t say that I was frustrated. I knew I was getting close and that each experience would help me to eventually win a bracelet.”

Getting His Gold

Danzer’s 2014 campaign was his best yet. After finishing fifth in the $10,000 deuce-to-seven triple draw event for $70,308, he won the $10,000 razz event for $294,792. He then followed that up by winning his second bracelet in the $10,000 stud eight-or-better event for $352,696.

In total, Danzer cashed seven times this summer at the WSOP for $782,240, but it was never about the cash.

“The bracelets are much more important to me than the money. It took 10 years for everything to come together, but it was worth it.”

When asked what he believes allowed him to come out on top this summer, Danzer credited his strong work ethic, not his natural abilities.

“You have to stay sharp and continue studying,” he said. “You can’t just show up at the WSOP every summer, expecting to do well if you haven’t put in the hours to practice. The great players adapt to new playing styles in order to stay ahead.”

Danzer’s humble approach to poker is refreshing in a time where many poker players believe they deserve to have wins handed to them.

“If you ask any poker player, they’ll tell you that they are the best or perhaps one of the top two players at their table,” he explained. “Well, the average poker player should be ranked somewhere around 4.5 at their table, so there’s clearly a mathematical difference between actual skill level and what a player thinks their skill level is. I guess I’m just more realistic about my abilities.”

“I also think it’s better for my mindset to be a little more humble about my game. If you think you are the best and you don’t win, then all of a sudden you are focusing on your bad luck rather than finding a way to improve and make the best decision you can in every situation.”

Moving Forward

Danzer is German, but he isn’t really part of the new wave of German pros who are regularly putting up six-figure buy-ins and dominating the high roller tournament circuit. At 31, he says he feels like the elder of the group.

“A lot of my friends in poker are much younger than me,” he said. “These young poker players who are just now becoming well known are extremely motivated. I am also very motivated, but I don’t feel the need to talk about every poker hand I play every day. Now a tournament goes on break and I take some time to relax, but they want to analyze each hand and can talk about them for hours. I guess that where the age difference is felt the most.”

Danzer also likes to take a break when he’s at home. He finds that computer games give him the mental distraction he needs to get away from poker for a while. He also hasn’t ruled out an early retirement from the game entirely.

“Poker is just like any other sport, except you aren’t wearing down your body physically. Maybe when I’m 35 or 36, the age that athletes retire, I’ll leave poker and find something else to do. People may think it would be crazy to leave poker after having a summer like I have had, but it’s not about the results. Right now, I’m still enjoying the challenge of getting better and being the best poker player I can. If one day I wake up and I don’t enjoy it anymore, then I’ll move on to the next challenge, even if I’m winning.”