Allen Cunningham: Biography, Career and Poker Results

November 9, 2026

Table of Contents

Allen Cunningham is an American professional poker player from California, born in 1977, who has won five World Series of Poker bracelets in four different formats. He was the 2005 WSOP Player of the Year, finished fourth in the 2006 Main Event for $3,628,513, and in 2007 became the fifth player to win a bracelet in at least three consecutive years. ^[1][9][10]

Allen Cunningham at a World Poker Tour table — Photo: World Poker Tour, licensed under CC BY-ND 2.0.

Allen Cunningham: key facts

Full name	Allen Cunningham
Nickname	Clever Piggy ^[1]
Country	United States ^[1]
Born	March 1977 (age 49), Riverside, California ^[4]
Known for	Five WSOP bracelets; 2005 WSOP Player of the Year; fourth in the 2006 WSOP Main Event ^[1][10]
WSOP bracelets	5 (95 WSOP cashes, 24 final tables, 2 WSOP Circuit rings) ^[2]
Bracelet events	$5,000 Seven Card Stud 2001; $5,000 Deuce to Seven No-Limit 2002; $1,500 No-Limit Hold’em 2005; $1,000 No-Limit Hold’em 2006; $5,000 Pot-Limit Hold’em 2007 ^{[5][6][7][8][9]}
Live tournament earnings	$11,918,293 as of October 27, 2026 ^[1]

Early life and first steps in poker

Cunningham was born in March 1977 in Riverside, California. ^[4] He first played poker at the kitchen table with his family, and by the age of about 11 he had the idea that the game was in his future. ^[3] He began playing in a local Indian casino at 18 while studying civil engineering at UCLA. ^[1] After his first year of college he used money from a summer job delivering pizzas to play at Southern California tribal casinos, where a daily freeroll with a $500 prize pool helped him build his first bankroll. He left college at 19 to concentrate on poker. ^[3]

Being under 21 kept him out of most casino tournaments. When he turned 21 he went straight onto the tournament circuit, travelling with a group that included Daniel Negreanu, John Juanda and Phil Ivey, and played for a year without a tournament cash while doing well in live cash games. ^[3] His breakthrough came in 1999, at 22, when he won six major tournaments and was named Best All-Around Player at The Bicycle Casino’s Legends of Poker. In 2000 he had his first $100,000 payday, finishing second in the $5,000 Omaha eight-or-better event at the World Series of Poker. ^[3]

Playing style

Cunningham is known as an all-round player who has won bracelets in Seven Card Stud, Deuce to Seven draw, Pot-Limit and No-Limit Hold’em. ^[11] Card Player described him in 2005 as “soft-spoken and unassuming”, adding that “his calm, calculated demeanor is contrary to the tenacious attack he will throw at you from behind a fortress of chips”. ^[3] In the same interview he said he relies mostly on textbook plays (“I play by rote”) and was working on what he called “stereotyping”, getting a line on how different types of players play in large fields. ^[3] WSOP.com called him “introverted and often media-shy” in 2009. ^[11]

Greatest achievements

Five WSOP bracelets

His first bracelet came on May 9, 2001, in the $5,000 Seven Card Stud event, where he topped a field of 104 for $201,760. ^[5] A year later he won the $5,000 Deuce to Seven No-Limit event with rebuys, beating O’Neil Longson heads-up in a 32-player field for $160,200. ^[6]

At the 2005 WSOP he won Event #2, the $1,500 No-Limit Hold’em, which drew 2,305 players. He beat Scott Fischman after only two hands of heads-up play and collected $725,405, at the time the largest first prize for a WSOP preliminary event. ^[7] He also finished fourth in the $5,000 Pot-Limit Hold’em and the $5,000 Pot-Limit Omaha that summer, and his $1,007,115 in WSOP cashes made him the 2005 WSOP Player of the Year. ^[1]

In July 2006 he won Event #14, the $1,000 No-Limit Hold’em with rebuys, from a field of 752, beating David “Chino” Rheem heads-up for $625,830. ^[8] In June 2007 he won Event #13, the $5,000 Pot-Limit Hold’em, from 398 runners. The heads-up match against Jeff Lisandro lasted about eighty hands before Cunningham’s K-9 caught a king on the turn against pocket queens, worth $487,287. With that fifth bracelet he joined Johnny Moss, Doyle Brunson, Gary Berland and Erik Seidel as the only players to win a bracelet in at least three consecutive years. ^[9]

The 2006 Main Event and a record number of cashes

Cunningham’s largest cash came in the 2006 WSOP Main Event, which drew 8,773 players. He reached the final table second in chips to Jamie Gold and finished fourth for $3,628,513; Gold won $12,000,000. ^[10][11] WSOP.com later wrote that “only a player like Cunningham could view the fourth place finish and $3.6 million payday in the largest live tournament in history as a disappointment”. ^[11]

His first Main Event cash came in 2001, when he finished 27th of 613. In 2019 he finished 586th for $24,560, his tenth Main Event cash, which PokerNews reported tied Berry Johnston for the most in WSOP history. By then he had won nearly $4 million from the Main Event alone. ^[10] He cashed in the Main Event again in 2024, finishing 1,052nd of 10,112 for $17,500. ^[2]

Tournament results

Year	Event	Result	Prize	Source
2006	WSOP $10,000 Main Event (8,773 players)	4th	$3,628,513	[10]
2005	WSOP Event #2 $1,500 No-Limit Hold’em (2,305 players)	1st	$725,405	[7]
2006	WSOP Event #14 $1,000 No-Limit Hold’em with rebuys (752 players)	1st	$625,830	[8]
2008	WSOP Circuit Caesars Palace Las Vegas $5,000 Main Event (334 entrants)	1st	$499,069	[13]
2007	WSOP Event #13 $5,000 Pot-Limit Hold’em (398 runners)	1st	$487,287	[9]
2007	Vegas Open (NPL) $15,000 No-Limit Hold’em Championship (57 entrants)	1st	$325,105	[12]
2001	WSOP $5,000 Seven Card Stud (104 entrants)	1st	$201,760	[5]
2002	WSOP $5,000 Deuce to Seven No-Limit with rebuys (32 entrants)	1st	$160,200	[6]
2005	WSOP $5,000 Pot-Limit Omaha	4th	$141,245	[1]
2011	WSOP $10,000 Main Event	69th	$108,412	[10]
2013	WSOP Event #12 $1,500 Pot-Limit Hold’em	2nd	$102,819	[1]
2022	WSOP Event #75 $777 Lucky 7’s	7th	$66,777	[1]

Other titles and WSOP record

In December 2007 Cunningham won the $15,000 No-Limit Hold’em Championship of the National Poker League’s Vegas Open, beating David Singer heads-up for $325,105. ^[12] In May 2008 he won the $5,000 WSOP Circuit Main Event at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas from 334 entrants for $499,069. ^[13] WSOP.com credits him with five bracelets, two Circuit rings, 24 final tables, 95 cashes and $8,026,748 in WSOP earnings. ^[2]

In April 2009 WSOP.com ranked him 21st in its “40 Greatest Champions” series produced with BluffMagazine.com. The article noted that three of his bracelets came in $5,000 buy-in events and that he had then won more WSOP prize money than any other multiple bracelet winner, ahead of Phil Hellmuth by more than $1 million. ^[11]

Hall of Fame

As of October 2026 Cunningham is not among the Poker Hall of Fame inductees listed by WSOP.com; the most recent class, in 2026, was Jason Koon. Players must be at least 40 years old at the time of nomination. ^[14]

In his own words

“I thought (Fischman) either had top pair or an open-ended straight draw, both of which I could beat.” On the final hand of his 2005 bracelet win. ^[7]
“I wouldn’t call it extraordinary. Someone had to win.” On his 2005 World Series. ^[3]
“You need this innate consciousness that is hard to quantify. It takes more than card sense to beat the game.” On what it takes to reach the top level. ^[3]
“Allen Cunningham each year would beat the Allen Cunningham of the previous year, no question.” On how his game improved. ^[3]
“It does seem like it’s getting easier, doesn’t it?” After winning bracelets in back-to-back years, July 2006. ^[8]

Iconic hands and moments

Aces against kings on Poker After Dark (PokerGO)

A Poker After Dark clash with John Juanda (PokerGO)

FAQ about Allen Cunningham

How old is Allen Cunningham?

Allen Cunningham was born in March 1977, so he is 49 in 2026. ^[4]

Where is Allen Cunningham from?

He is American and was born in Riverside, California. He started playing poker in Southern California casinos while studying at UCLA. ^[4][1]

What is Allen Cunningham’s net worth?

There is no reliable public figure for his net worth. What can be verified is his live tournament record: $11,918,293 in earnings as of October 27, 2026, according to PokerNews. Prize totals do not show buy-ins, staking deals or cash game results. ^[1]

How many WSOP bracelets does Allen Cunningham have?

Five, won in 2001, 2002, 2005, 2006 and 2007. ^[2][9]

How did Allen Cunningham do in the WSOP Main Event?

His best finish is fourth of 8,773 players in 2006, for $3,628,513. His tenth Main Event cash, in 2019, tied Berry Johnston for the most in WSOP history, and he cashed again in 2024. ^[10][2]

Is Allen Cunningham in the Poker Hall of Fame?

No. As of October 2026 he is not among the inductees listed on WSOP.com. ^[14]

Was Allen Cunningham WSOP Player of the Year?

Yes, in 2005, when he won one bracelet and had $1,007,115 in WSOP cashes. ^[1]

What is Allen Cunningham’s nickname?

PokerNews lists him as “Clever Piggy”. ^[1]

Related Poker Legends

Read more about John Juanda, part of the group Cunningham travelled the tournament circuit with as a young player, Berry Johnston, who shared the record for WSOP Main Event cashes with him in 2019, and Erik Seidel, one of the few other players to win bracelets in three consecutive years.