Brian Hastings is undoubtedly one of the greatest contemporary poker players, considering his amazing achievements both off- and online. However, the 28-year-old player has recently announced that it intended to quit poker as a full-time activity after spending a decade in the world of professional poker game.
Hastings revealed his decision to quit professional poker in a blog post on his website, saying that he planned to concentrate his efforts in a tea startup called UniTea.
His three World Series of Poker (WSOP) bracelets are probably the best the American player is known for. His online cash game sessions against Victor Blom from Sweden are also one of his greatest accomplishments to date, considering the fact that they have been extremely profitable for Hastings. He won his first WSOP bracelet in the 2012th edition of the tournament, followed by two other bracelets in 2015.
Brian Hastings started his professional poker career in 2006 and over the years turned into one of the most successful young players on a global scale. Currently, his total live earnings amount to about $2.5 million, while his best live cash is estimated to $371,498. The player has also managed to generate massive online earnings over the years. As mentioned above, he owns three WSOP bracelets, and he has event ended as a runner-up to Mike Gorodinsky in last year’s Player of the Year competition of WSOP.
And still, what is Hastings best known for? The massive winnings generated by the player over the years are not the only thing his name is to be remembered for.
The young American player has survived a number of epic battles in his career, literally making history. In December 2009, he entered a fierce and yet controversial online poker battle with Swedish player Victor Blom, known under his nickname Isildur1, and managed to generate an enormous winning of $4.18 million in a single session. Then, in a later session, Hastings won another $1.5 million. Due to the fact that Hastings have shared hand histories with a couple of other poker players over the first gaming session with Blom, he was alleged in impropriety. These allegations were cleared on December 21st, 2009 by Full Tilt Poker, which ruled that it was absolutely acceptable for poker players to discuss their strategies.
On the next year, in September 2010, Brian Hastings and Cole South entered a three-way battle with the famous poker player from Finland Ilari Sahamies in a $500/$1,000 Pot Limit Omaha game. Over the session, lasting for 662 hands, Hastings lost $195,000, while Cole South left the table after 300 hands, losing a total of $621,000.
Brian Hastings is also known for him taking part in the first Pot Limit Omaha Cash session in the 7th Season of Poker After Dark. He participated in the tournament along with other poker professionals such as Phil Ivey, Phil Galfond, Patrik Antonius and Tom Dwan.
- Author
Harry Evans
