WSOP Phenomenon Andy Frankenberger

Andy Frankenberger has enjoyed one of the most incredible starts to his poker career since leaving his job as a New York City equity derivatives trader and turning poker pro less than two years ago.
Over that short space of time, the 39 year old has already managed to amass an impressive $2,527,007 in live tournament winnings, including 2 prestigious WSOP bracelets. As top US pro Matt Glantz explains:
“Andy’s starting to be recognized as one of the best players around. He’s pretty new to poker and this kind of thing doesn’t happen too often. He’s sort of a phenomenon.”
Andy Frankenberger’s first WSOP bracelet came last year at the $1,500 NLHE event which he won for a $599,153. This year, he followed up his success with a victory over Phil Ivey heads-up at the $10,000 Pot Limit Hold’em event for $445,899. The fact that Phil Ivey, 36, is widely considered to be the best poker player on the planet added further to Frankenberger’s growing mystique, although many poker fans concluded that the New Yorker was fortunate to beat Ivey.
One person who seems less surprised by Andy Frankenberger’s stellar success is the former BNP Paribas head of derivatives trading Pascal Leyo, who was also responsible for recruiting Andy away from J.P. Morgan back in 2007. As he explains:
“He would take as much information as he needed before trading, which is what he does with poker. He wasn’t an ego trader.”
Giving further insight into his equity trading mentality, Frankenberger elaborated by saying: “A lot of people think that I just get lucky. It’s all about risk management. If the market goes against you and you’re wrong, you get out. A lot of poker players don’t know how to do that because it looks weak. I can fold a hand that makes me look weak. I don’t care about my image. I care about winning.”
One thing for sure is that after two years of play and 2 WSOP titles, as well as a WPT title to his credit, most players in the poker community would love to have his enviable record. Being voted in the top 10 of Woman Poker Player’s 2011 Hottest Men in Poker doesn’t hurt, either.