Gavin Smith is a Canadian professional player best known for winning the most prestigious poker trophy, the World Series of Poker bracelet in 2010 as well as the World Poker Tour Championship event in 2005. That same year Smith collected the WPT Season IV Player of the Year honors. With $6 million in lifetime tournament winnings Smith ranks among the most winningest Canadian players alongside Daniel Negreanu, Jonathan Duhamel, Michael Watson and others.
Intro
Smith was born in 1968 in Guelph, Ontario. He started playing poker in 1994, but it wasn't until 1999 that Smith won his first tournament. His first victory came in December of that year when Smith took down the $500 No-Limit Hold'em event at the World Poker Finals in Mashantucket. He took home just over $14,000 for his win. Then a year later he won another World Poker Finals event and tournament earning started to slowly pile up for Smith. His first major win, however, came only five years later when Smith came out victorious in a WPT Mirage Poker Showdown $10,000 Championship event for more than $1.1 million in cash.
Background
Gavin Smith grew up playing cards with his father. They mostly played cribbage and rummy which got Gavin accustomed to gaming. He discovered poker with the help of his co-workers at the age of 26 and got hooked to the game. Before that Smith used to work in a golf course and drive a cab, but poker changed his life forever. He soon started working as a dealer in a casino and in 1998 established his own poker club. Smith started traveling the American tournament circuit in the early 2000's and has been doing it ever since.
World Series of Poker
Smith made his World Series of Poker debut in 2003 by cashing more than $3,000 for the 16th place at the $2,500 Seven Card Stud Hi-Lo Split event. The next year he made a deep run in the 2005 WSOP Main Event eventually finishing the tournament in 52nd place and taking home $45,000 in prize money. Then in 2006 Smith was rewarded with a cash prize of more than $200,000 after he placed 11th in the $50,000 H.O.R.S.E. championship. However, his true moment of World Series glory came in 2010 when Smith outplayed the field of 506 players in the $2,500 Limit/No-Limit Hold'em event. Not only did Smith collect almost $270,000 in prize money, but also took home the prestigious WSOP bracelet.
Gavin Smith's Top 6 WSOP Results
| Year | Event | Place | Prize |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | $2,500 Limit/No-Limit Hold'em | 1st | $268,238 |
| 2007 | $1,500 Pot-Limit Hold'em | 2nd | $155,446 |
| 2005 | $1,500 Pot-Limit Hold'em | 10th | $16,260 |
| 2005 | $5,000 No-Limit Hold'em | 10th | $24,090 |
| 2009 | $3,000 H.O.R.S.E. | 10th | $23,777 |
| 2006 | $50,000 H.O.R.S.E. | 11th | $205,920 |
World Poker Tour
Next to the World Series bracelet, in Smith's poker trophy collection lies the WPT Championship trophy which he won back in 2005 at the Mirage Poker Showdown. In the final battle for the WPT title Smith outplayed none other than the five-time WSOP bracelet winner and a WPT champion Ted Forest. That same year Smith made another final table at the WPT championship event. He did the same in 2006 and 2008 increasing his WPT record to one title and four final tables.
Gavin Smith's Top 5 WPT Results
| 2005 | Mirage Poker Showdown $10,000 Championship | 1st | $1,128,278 |
| 2008 | North American Poker Championship C$10,000 No-Limit Hold'em | 2nd | C$612,427 ($542,129) |
| 2005 | Bellagio Festa Al Lago IV $10,000 Doyle Brunson North American Poker Championship | 3rd | $327,610 |
| 2006 | Gold Strike World Poker Open $10,000 Championship | 4th | $173,052 |
| 2007 | Gold Strike World Poker Open $10,000 Main Event | 19th | $17,137 |
Other Achievements
In May, 2005 Smith won the $2,000 No-Limit Hold'em event at the Mirage Poker Showdown in Las Vegas for $155,880. Then one year later he lost the heads-up play to Peter Feldman at the WSOP Circuit Harrah's New Orleans Championship event for a cash prize of almost $300,000. Just two months after, in July 2006 Smith took down the World Pro-Am Challenge event at the Poker Dome Challenge in Las Vegas for half a million dollars. In 2008 and 2009 Smith won three televised Poker After Dark events collecting $120,000 for each win. Then in January, 2010 he bested the C$2,500 No-Limit Hold'em tournament at the Canadian Poker Tour Fallsview, Ontario for more than $180,000.
Sponsorship
Smith used to represent the Full Tilt Poker online poker site and was a member of Team Full Tilt.
Did you know?
- Smith is known for making numerous crazy prop bets with his friend and colleague Joe Sebok with whom he co-hosted the PokerRoad Radio.
- Another well-known poker pro Erick Lindgren used to stake Smith in the early stages of his career.
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