Paul Darden is an American professional poker player, who was born on 27th October, 1968 in New Haven, Connecticut. He is married and lives with his four children in Hamdem, Connecticut, United States. Before becoming a professional poker player, Paul Darden owned a nightclub called Platinum 2000 in his hometown, where he promoted Rap, Hip Hop, and Rhythm and Blues (R&B). Since his father had a pool hall, he was exposed to poker at a very early age and his father taught him strategies of Five and Seven Card Stud games.
Paul Darden started playing serious poker at Foxwoods, a large casino in southeastern Connecticut. He, then, went to Atlantic City where he met Phil Ivey, who is the winner of five WSOP bracelets. Phil Ivey and Paul Darden became close friends and it was Phil Ivey, who taught him the nuances of No-Limit Hold’em games.
In 2000, Paul Darden entered the World Poker Finals by participating in Event 11 - Limit Seven Card Stud. He outlasted 98 entrants and finished second in the final table to take home prize money worth $20,200. In the same year, he made another second-place finish in Event #14 - Limit Seven Card Stud of the U.S. Poker Championship. For his outstanding performance at the final table, he earned tournament prize money worth $81,880.
Paul Darden made his maiden appearance in World Series of Poker (WSOP) in 2001, when he participated in the 32nd Annual World Series of Poker. He took part in Event 11 - WSOP Limit Seven Card Stud, outlasted 152 event entrants, and played heads-up game against Captain Tom Franklin. Paul Darden won his maiden WSOP bracelet by finishing first in the event and gained tournament earnings worth $147,440. Later that year, he took part in the Limit Seven Card Stud event of the United States Poker Championship held at the Trump Taj Mahal, New Jersey. He entered the final and finished second to take home the runner-up title and prize money worth $74,520.
In 2002, Paul Darden took part in New England Poker Classic Tournament and his first-place finish in Event #12 - No Limit Hold'em earned him $72,590 cash prize. He maintained his winning momentum in the $500,000 Guaranteed Gold Rush World Poker Tours (WPT) Season 1 tournament. He participated in the WPT Main Event – No-Limit Hold'em and competed with 152 entrants of the game. Paul Darden made an impressive first-place finish at the final table to walk away with $146,000 in prize money and an additional $25000 WPT Seat. His winning streak continued, and he finished first in the Limit Seven Card Stud at the 2003 United States Poker Championship. In the next edition of the United States Poker Championship, Paul Darden made another impressive first-place finish in the Limit Hold'em event.
In March 2005, Paul Darden entered the PartyPoker Million IV - WPT Season 3 and made it to the final table of the WPT Limit Hold'em event. For his commendable performance at the final table, he earned handsome prize money worth $300,000. Later the same year, he finished first in the Limit Omaha Hi/Lo event of the Mirage Poker Showdown/WPT Event Season 4. His first-place finish earned him cash prize worth $52,962.
In 2007, he entered the LA Poker Classic/WPT Event Season 5 and made it to the final table in Event #27 - No-Limit Hold'em. He finished in the second place and walked away with cash prize worth $57,460. Then in 2008, he entered the LA Poker Classic/WPT Event Season 6 and took part in Event #12 - Omaha Hi/Lo held at the Commerce Casino. He collected prize money worth $41,580 for finishing first in the event.
Apart from playing poker, Paul Darden loves to spend time with his family and started teaching the strategies of the game to his wife. He has featured in a WPT commercial and has appeared in episodes of Hollywood Home Game and Bad Boys of Poker. As of 2008, Paul Darden has made total live tournament winnings that exceed $2,000,000 in 98 cashes with nine first-place finishes and one WSOP bracelet.