• Humberto Brenes - Who Is He?
Humberto Brenes, born May 8, 1951 in San Jose, Costa Rica, is one of the most popular and well-liked poker players in the world. He learned how to play cards at the age of 7, while watching his father who was a social player and played for fun.
• Humberto Brenes - First Steps
Before entering the world of poker, Humberto Brenes began his career in gambling by playing baccarat and craps tournaments in the Bahamas. He managed very well and even earned over $300,000 in a craps tournament once.
Later on, he had a conversation with a friend of his, which pointed his attention towards poker. His friend told him that he was capable of beating the tourists in the casino, but hardly could he beat the pros. Humberto Brenes took it as a challenge and focused his efforts on poker.
• Humberto Brenes - Accomplishments
In 1988 Humberto Brenes achieved his first notable success– he finished 4th in the World Series Main Event and earned $77,000. His best accomplishments were in the year 1993 when he collected two World Series of Poker (WSOP) gold bracelets in the limit Texas Hold’em event and Pot limit Omaha event, and in the year 2002, when Humberto Brenes won at Jack Binion’s World Poker Open Championship. In the following years he continued his presence at the poker circuit. His preferable games are No-Limit Hold’em, Pot-Limit Hold’em, Pot Limit Omaha and Seven Card Stud.
Among the accomplishments of Humberto Brenes are the second-place finish at the L.A Invitational (2003), the Bellagio’s Five Diamond World Poker Classic where Humberto placed second again (2004), and the third-place finish at the Foxwood’s Poker Classic.
Humberto Brenes is a real pleasure to watch on the circuit – he tends to wear brightly colored tracksuits, two pairs of glasses on top of each other, a sun visor and a music headset. He thinks that being calm in the game is the key to the win, so he uses music to calm himself down. Humberto is also famous for his toy sharks that he uses in order to protect his cards and for his habit to sing old rock classics or a few Spanish ballads while at the table, much to his rivals’ irritation. Due to his wins and notable accomplishments, Humberto Brenes is best known as the “Godfather of the Costa Rican Poker”.
• Humberto Brenes - Other Interests
Humberto Brenes is talented not only in the sphere of poker. He has a degree in Industrial Engineering from the University of Costa Rica and successfully runs restaurants, a nut distribution company, and a construction company. He even owns hotels and a TV channel, and is also involved in the real estate business. Despite, his real money he owes to the poker.
• Humberto Brenes - Family And Siblings
Humberto Brenes lives in San Jose, Costa Rica. He is married to Patricia and they have three children: 2 boys (Jose Humberto & Roberto) and a daughter- Jessica. Two of his brothers, Alex and Eric, are also popular figures in poker - they have both won the World Poker Tour titles.
• Humberto Brenes Brief Facts
1. Age: 57
2. Marital Status: married
3. Children: 3
4. Location: San Jose, Costa Rica
5. Total winnings: near $5,000,000
6. First- place finishes:10
7. Favorite Poker game: No Limit Hold’em