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Dan Harrington is an American poker player and author, born in Cambridge, Massachusetts, in 1945, who won the 1995 World Series of Poker Main Event and was inducted into the Poker Hall of Fame in 2010. Known as “Action Dan”, he reached four WSOP Main Event final tables, including third place in 2003 and fourth in 2004, won a World Poker Tour title in 2007 and co-wrote the Harrington on Hold’em book series. [1][3]
Dan Harrington: key facts
| Full name | Dan Harrington |
|---|---|
| Nickname | “Action Dan” [3] |
| Country | United States [1] |
| Born | December 6, 1945, Cambridge, Massachusetts [1] |
| Known for | 1995 WSOP Main Event title; four Main Event final tables; Harrington on Hold’em books |
| Poker Hall of Fame | Inducted 2010 [3] |
| WSOP bracelets | 2 (both in 1995) [2] |
| Major titles | WSOP Main Event 1995; WPT Legends of Poker 2007 [1][2] |
| Live tournament earnings | $6,653,820 as of October 5, 2026 [1] |
Early life: chess, backgammon and the law
Harrington was born in Cambridge, Massachusetts, on December 6, 1945. Both of his parents were born in Ireland: his mother came from Waterford and his father from the Cork area. [1][4]
Games came first. He won the 1971 Massachusetts State Chess Championship and also excelled at backgammon. [3] “Yes, chess was my first love,” he told PokerListings in 2015, adding that he later played backgammon for a couple of years and won a major tournament before moving on to poker. [4]
He learned poker while studying at Suffolk University and, according to PokerNews, often travelled to Harvard to play against Microsoft co-founders Bill Gates and Paul Allen. He graduated with a degree in government and history and worked as a bankruptcy lawyer for about ten years before switching to poker. [1]
Beginning in poker: the Mayfair Club
In the mid-1980s Harrington made poker his main game at the Mayfair Club, an underground card club in New York where Howard Lederer, Steve Zolotow and Erik Seidel also played. [3] He cashed at the WSOP for the first time in 1986 and reached his first Main Event final table in 1987, finishing sixth. [1]
His breakthrough came at the 1995 WSOP. He first won the $2,500 No-Limit Hold’em event for $249,000, then beat a Main Event field of 273 players. Barbara Enright finished fifth and 1992 champion Hamid Dastmalchi fourth at that final table, and Harrington defeated Howard Goldfarb heads-up to win $1,000,000. [1][2]
Soon afterwards he stepped away from the game. “I dropped out of poker in 1996 to do formal business. I stayed away until 2003, when it exploded on TV,” he said in 2015. He explained that he had started a company with partners that did bridge financing and real estate deals, and that he came back when the money in poker was getting better again. [4]
Playing style
Harrington’s results came mostly in No-Limit Texas Hold’em tournaments. Card Player described his nickname as sarcastic: he is “sarcastically known as ‘Action Dan’ for his tight image at the tables.” The same article called him “a bottom-line type of guy” who “has always insisted that he competes for the money, not the fame or glory.” [3] Asked in 2015 whether he was immune to tilt, he answered: “I’d say I have less of a tilt factor compared to other people but I’m not insensitive.” [4]
Greatest achievements
Tournament results
| Year | Event | Result | Prize | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2007 | WPT Legends of Poker, Bicycle Casino (485 entries) | 1st | $1,635,365 | [2] |
| 2004 | WSOP $10,000 Main Event (2,576 entries) | 4th | $1,500,000 | [1] |
| 1995 | WSOP $10,000 Main Event (273 entries) | 1st | $1,000,000 | [2] |
| 2003 | WSOP $10,000 Main Event (839 entries) | 3rd | $650,000 | [1] |
| 2005 | WPT Doyle Brunson North American Poker Championship | 2nd | $620,730 | [1] |
| 1995 | WSOP $2,500 No-Limit Hold’em (249 entries) | 1st | $249,000 | [2] |
| 1987 | WSOP Main Event | 6th | not published by our sources | [1] |
Back-to-back Main Event final tables, 2003 and 2004
Harrington returned to the WSOP Main Event in the year Chris Moneymaker won it. He came to the 2003 final table with more bracelets (2) and more career earnings than any other finalist, and finished third out of 839 players when Moneymaker eliminated him: Harrington had flopped a pair and a flush draw, and Moneymaker’s top pair held. [5]
A year later, with the field grown to 2,576 players, he made the final table again and finished fourth for $1,500,000. PokerNews notes that many have called the two final tables the greatest accomplishment in WSOP history. [1]
World Poker Tour title, 2007
In 2005 he finished second in the WPT Doyle Brunson North American Poker Championship at Bellagio for $620,730. [1] In August 2007 he won the WPT Legends of Poker at the Bicycle Casino, a $9,500 plus $200 event with 485 entries, for $1,635,365, the largest cash of his career. [1][2]
World Series of Poker record
Harrington has two WSOP bracelets, both won in 1995. His WSOP.com profile lists 24 cashes, 8 final tables and $6,056,396 in earnings, a total that includes the WPT and PokerGO Tour events shown on that profile. He still plays occasionally: at the 2024 WSOP he cashed in the $5,000 Champions Reunion event and in the $1,000 Super Seniors event. [2]
Poker Hall of Fame, 2010
Harrington and his longtime Mayfair Club friend Erik Seidel were elected to the Poker Hall of Fame as the class of 2010, becoming its 39th and 40th members. “I’m very honored to be elected to the Poker Hall of Fame this year and it’s an extra bonus for me to be going in with Dan Harrington,” Seidel said at the time. [3]
Books
Harrington is best known away from the table for Harrington on Hold’em, a three-volume series published between 2004 and 2006: Volume I: Strategic Play, Volume II: The Endgame and Volume III: The Workbook. He followed it with two volumes of Harrington on Cash Games, Harrington on Online Cash Games (2010) and Harrington on Modern Tournament Poker (2014). [1]
The books were co-written with Bill Robertie. In a PokerNews ranking of the most important poker strategy books, former WSOP Media Director Nolan Dalla placed Harrington on Hold’em third and described it as “the best-selling poker book in history, having now surpassed 300,000 copies sold.” [6] Harrington has said there will be no fourth volume: “I was involved in six poker books that sold very well.” [4]
In his own words
- “Yes, chess was my first love.” PokerListings, 2015. [4]
- “I dropped out of poker in 1996 to do formal business. I stayed away until 2003, when it exploded on TV.” PokerListings, 2015. [4]
- “I’d say I have less of a tilt factor compared to other people but I’m not insensitive.” PokerListings, 2015. [4]
Iconic hands and moments
The 2004 WSOP Main Event final table
PokerGO’s broadcast of the 2004 Main Event final table, won by Greg Raymer, where Harrington finished fourth. [7]
Legends of Poker champion (World Poker Tour)
The World Poker Tour’s video on his 2007 Legends of Poker win. [8]
FAQ about Dan Harrington
How old is Dan Harrington?
Dan Harrington was born on December 6, 1945, so he is 80 years old as of October 5, 2026. [1]
What is Dan Harrington’s net worth?
There is no reliable public figure for his net worth. What can be verified is his live tournament record: $6,653,820 in earnings as of October 5, 2026, according to PokerNews. He has also had a business career outside poker, whose results are not public. [1][4]
Why is Dan Harrington called “Action Dan”?
The nickname is ironic. Card Player wrote that he is “sarcastically known as ‘Action Dan’ for his tight image at the tables.” [3]
How many WSOP bracelets does Dan Harrington have?
Two, both from 1995: the $2,500 No-Limit Hold’em event ($249,000) and the $10,000 Main Event ($1,000,000). [2]
When did Dan Harrington win the WSOP Main Event?
In 1995, when he beat a field of 273 players and defeated Howard Goldfarb heads-up. He also finished sixth in 1987, third in 2003 and fourth in 2004. [1]
Is Dan Harrington in the Poker Hall of Fame?
Yes. He was inducted in 2010, together with Erik Seidel. [3]
Who wrote Harrington on Hold’em?
Dan Harrington, with co-author Bill Robertie. [6]
Does Dan Harrington still play poker?
Occasionally. His most recent results on WSOP.com are two cashes at the 2024 World Series of Poker. [2]
Related Poker Legends
Read more about Erik Seidel, his Mayfair Club friend and fellow Hall of Fame inductee, Chris Moneymaker, who eliminated him at the 2003 Main Event final table, and Barbara Enright, who sat at his 1995 Main Event final table.
Sources
- PokerNews, Dan Harrington player profile, accessed October 5, 2026.
- WSOP.com, Dan Harrington player profile, accessed October 5, 2026.
- Card Player, Dan Harrington and Erik Seidel Inducted Into 2010 Poker Hall of Fame, October 19, 2010.
- PokerListings, Harrington on Hold’em in 2015: “It’s at a Stalling Point Again”, 2015.
- PokerNews, Is Chris Moneymaker’s Win STILL the Biggest WSOP Upset Ever?, November 22, 2022.
- PokerNews (Nolan Dalla), The 10 Most Important Poker Strategy Books Ever Written and Why They’re Special, November 10, 2023.
- PokerGO on YouTube, World Series of Poker Main Event 2004 Final Table with Greg Raymer & Dan Harrington
- World Poker Tour on YouTube, Legends of Poker Champion Dan Harrington
Last verified: October 5, 2026. Figures that change over time, such as career earnings, are given with the date they were checked.
