Al Ardebili is an American semi-professional poker player from New York City, New York in the United States of America. He is currently lives in New Jersey with his wife.
Education was his primary focus when he was growing up and he successfully finished schooling, after which he became a private investor in equity markets and real estate. Prior to his entry into the poker scene, Al Ardebili was trading on Wall Street for a couple of big banks, and he continues to trade stocks and futures, even now.
Al Ardebili learnt playing poker when he was a kid through family home games and used to play draw and other little games with friends. But he sharpened his game skills during college days by playing with his friends. Still, Al Ardebili did not spend too much time playing poker except on his weekend trips to Atlantic City. He started playing online poker because he had no clue where else to play Hold’em. He then saw a No-Limit game on the television which inspired him to start playing the game.
He played his first live tournament at the Sands Hotel and Casino on November 15, 2003. Al Ardebili took part in the No-Limit Hold’em event, which was part of the Showdown at the Sands Tournament and finished tenth among stiff competition. His next big outing was the Harrah’s Atlantic City Poker Tournament – World Series of Poker (WSOP) Circuit Event, where Al Ardebili finished twelfth in the $10,000 No-Limit Hold’em event and won $33,117.
Al Ardebili managed a final-table finish at the Mirage Poker Showdown/World Poker Tour (WPT) Event Season 4, when he finished seventh in the No-Limit Hold’em event. He earned $10,950 from a $448,140 prize pool for his performance in this event, which involved 307 other competitors. The 36th Annual World Series of Poker saw him cash-in at both the $2,500 No-Limit Hold’em and $2,500 Limit Hold’em events, making a total of $12,795 in cash.
Al Ardebili had his first taste of victory in his poker career at the No-Limit Hold’em Summer Series, held at Palms. Al Ardebili competed in the No-Limit Hold’em event and took away close to ten thousand dollars for his first-place finish. The biggest victory of his poker career, till date, happened on September 22, 2005 at the Borgata Poker Open – (WPT) Season 4. The Borgata Hotel Casino and Spa played host to 515 poker players who contributed to a prize pool of close to five million dollars in the No-Limit Hold’em event. Al Ardebili put on a sterling performance and reached the heads-up stage, where he played against Ricardo Q. Festejo and won convincingly, taking home close to a whopping $1.5 million.
At the Five-Star World Poker Classic - WPT Championship Season 4 tournament, Al Ardebili finished fourth in the No-Limit Hold’em event. In a field of 287 other competitors, he walked away with $40,385 from the $698,400 prize pool. Al Ardebili followed it up with a third-place finish at the Caesars Las Vegas Poker Tournament and bagged $32,500 in the WSOP Circuit H.O.S.E event.
Known as “T” in the poker world, Al Ardebili has, till date, 13 cashes, 2 first-place finishes and $1,664,071 in tournament winnings. Apart from playing poker, he also likes to play craps and blackjack.