![\"Eli](\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/Eli-Elezra-1.jpg\")
With the young generation of poker players,\ntheir stories of how they came across the game and became involved with it are\noften very similar. However, more seasoned pros often have very colorful and\nunique stories on how they ended up grinding away at the green felt.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Eli Elezra has one of the unique stories. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
He was born in Jerusalem, Israel, in 1960. Although he learned to play cards at a young age, a career as a professional gambler<\/a> couldn’t be further from Eli’s mind during his early years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n After graduating from high school, Elezra set his goal to become a professional soldier \u2013 and not just any soldier at that. Eli wanted to become a member of the elite Golani Brigade<\/a>, which was a serious challenge.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Despite having to overcome some serious\ndifficulties, young and stubborn Elezra eventually got his wish, joining one of\nIsraeli\u2019s most exclusive land units.<\/p>\n\n\n\n However, in 1982, his dreams of a future army\ncareer were shattered. <\/p>\n\n\n\n He suffered a serious leg injury during the\nLebanon War and was discharged from military service. He spent the time in the\nhospital learning more about poker and planning his future.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Once he was physically ready, Eli moved to\nAlaska as he heard there was a lot of money to be made there. It was a rough\nfresh start for Elezra, but his determination to succeed paid off again. <\/p>\n\n\n\n He took up a job as a taxi driver, eventually\nsaving enough money to open his own small store.<\/p>\n\n\n\n At one point, he got word from his brother\nabout a business opportunity in Las Vegas, and Eli, always up for a challenge,\npacked up his suitcases and arrived in Sin City in 1988.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In Vegas, he bought a small company that was in\nthe business of processing films and photos. The company quickly took off, and\nElezra started to earn serious money. <\/p>\n\n\n\n He used this initial capital to further his\nempire, investing in real estate and other business opportunities along the way.<\/p>\n\n\n\n With business going well and being in Las Vegas\nof all places, Eli started to play more poker as well. <\/p>\n\n\n\n He always loved the game, and now he was\nfinally in a position where he had enough time and money to take it seriously.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Initially, he focused more on cash games, and his lifetime earnings of almost $4 million in tournaments clearly show that Eli was never too big of a fan of MTTs. <\/p>\n\n\n\n For someone who\u2019s been around for that long, that number could have easily been much higher.<\/p>\n\n\n\n But, even with these limited efforts, Elezra\nhas had some notable results. He has four WSOP bracelets to his name, the most\nrecent one dating to 2019. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Interestingly enough, none of his bracelets\ncame from Hold’em events. Three came from Seven Card Stud tournaments, and one\nwas the result of his win in a 2-7 Triple Draw event.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It may seem strange, but it actually makes a\nlot of sense. <\/p>\n\n\n\n When Eli first took up poker, Hold’em wasn’t\nnearly as popular. Plus, high-stakes games like the ones in the Bellagio are\noften played in the mixed game format. So, mastering these different games is\nimperative for anyone looking to stick around and not go bust.<\/p>\n\n\n\n As for his individual tournament results,\nElezra’s biggest score came in 2004. <\/p>\n\n\n\n That year, he took down the Mirage Poker\nShowdown, banking $1,024,574 in the process. His second-best score was from his\nrunner-up finish in the 2018 WSOP Omaha 8 Championship, good for almost\n$260,000.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Considering the Israeli only had one massive score during his career, the total of $3.9 million is quite impressive. Eli has always been a real grinder, playing his heart out on the felt and loving every moment of it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Elezra has also been a regular in the highest\nstakes cash games in Las Vegas, and he spent much more time grinding these\ngames. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Unfortunately, no one can say for sure what his\nresults look like as there is no official tracking for that.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Had it not been for the poker boom<\/a>, Elezra would probably have remained relatively unknown to the wider poker audience. Since he was more focused on cash games, his name wouldn\u2019t have been out as much and would\u2019ve been overshadowed by those who won huge-field events.<\/p>\n\n\n\n But, with shows like Poker After Dark<\/em> and High Stakes Poker<\/em> featuring the cash game action and high buy-in sit and goes, Elezra quickly became a proper poker celebrity<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n While he wasn’t a “big name” like many others he shared the felt with (i.e., Doyle Brunson<\/a>, Ivey, Tom Dwan<\/a>, Patrik Antonius, etc.), it was clear to everyone that he belonged in the mix. <\/p>\n\n\n\n He knew all the players, he was friends with\nmany of them, and he was anything but an outsider.<\/p>\n\n\n\nElezra\u2019s Poker Career<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
![\"Eli](\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/eli-elezra-6-1024x857.jpeg\")
![\"Eli](\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/Eli_Elezra_Bracelet.jpg\")
A Big TV Personality<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n