Michael Banducci is an American professional poker player, who was born in Toronto, Ontario (Canada) and now lives in Traverse City, Michigan. The 23-year-old boy, who attends Hope College in Michigan, personalizes the new breed poker players who have learned how to play the game by playing on their computers.
Michael Banducci first saw poker on TV about five years ago and started gaining interest in it ever since. He began playing poker on his computer during his first year in college, and the on-line playing helped him sharpen his skills. He also played at a local casino, mainly in $4-8 limit games, until he moved on to higher levels of game play. At that time he didn’t even dream of winning a gold bracelet, only hoped to get to the World Series of Poker and someday, maybe, play in a tournament.
His first major tournament cash was in the 2006 World Poker Tour PokerStars Caribbean Poker Adventure, where he placed 26th. The same year he cashed three times at the World Series of Poker and the next year, 2007, he improved his previous performance, cashing four times. Michael Banducci also made the final table in the $2000 No Limit Hold’em event at the 2007 WSOP.
His greatest achievement so far came a year later, on June 6, 2008 when he won his first WSOP gold bracelet and $636,736 in cash after defeating European Poker Tour Grand Champion Jeff Williams during heads-up play at the $1000 No Limit Hold’em event #5, shortly after midnight. Michael Banducci outlasted 766 entrants and it only took him one re-buy and a double add-on to win. He invested $4000 in this tournament and earned almost $640,000. For the time being, Michael Banducci has altogether 10 cashes at the World Series of Poker.
In an interview with the WSOP Public Relations Team Michael Banducci says that it takes a while to become a good poker player but if you often play the game, the time is reduced, so he plays a set number of hours per week. He also shares that he really enjoys doing what he is doing, although now he regards it more like a business. And through this business Michael Banducci made a fortune – as of 2008 his total winnings exceed $930,000.