Shawn Buchanan aka Bucky (born 1981) is an up-and-coming Canadian professional poker player. Following his victory at the $10,000 No Limit Hold'em Mandalay Bay Poker Championship, Buchanan became a well-known face on professional poker circles.
Shawn Buchanan is a native of the western Canadian province of British Columbia. His professional background - landscape gardening and house framing - hardly suggested a promising professional career in poker. Indeed, when Shawn Buchanan first took it up five years ago, poker was just a pass time he would induldge in with friends. He then moved to playing in online poker portals. Buchanan soon realized that online Texas Hold'em could be quite a substantial side income, albeit one which his parents were loudly opposed to at first. On the downside, playing annonymous faces over the internet made the transition into live playing difficult for him. Buchanan frankly admits that reading people when playing live was very hard for him at first. He soon accomodated himself to the change, and was ready to enter the professional arena.
Shawn Buchanan entered his first tournament at the 2004 World Poker Challenge. Playing $1,060 No Limit Hold'em, he came in third and netted $22,829. This achievement sparked up his interest, and he went on to play an assortment of pro events. Over 2005 and 2006 Shawn Buchanan had his ups and downs. A fifth-place finish at the LA Poker Classic was a good point, unlike his disappointing 74th-place finish at the Five Diamond World Poker Classic Championship at the Bellagio. The experience he gained, however, was far more important, and he soon earned a reputation for aggressive playing. This reputation, however, is not one to which Shawn Buchanan himself would attest. He likes to refer to himself as a patient player, who waits for the right moment to strike. And is it turned out, the Mandalay Bay Poker Championship was just one of those moments. Blazing his way through a 228-strong field, Shawn Buchanan left poker powerhouses like David Levi and Alan Goehring firmly behind. After defeating Full Tilt team member Jared Hamby heads up, Buchanan secured the first place, with $768,775 going straight into his pocket.
Shawn Buchanan did not rest on his laurels following the Mandalay Bay Triumph. He continued to play the professional circuit, and made several appearences at the WSOP. His performance at the 2008 event proved far better than his first foray in 2004. Playing his second-ever Pot Limit Omaha tournament, Buchanan made it a respectable eleventh and won $53,721.While he plans to enter the business world at some stage, the red-hot, soft-spoken Canadian (called Bucky for his husky frame) doesn't seem to be going anywhere at the moment. Beware of the quiet ones is an oft-heard advice - and there's hardly anyone better suited to exemplify it than Shawn Buchanan.
Shawn Buchanan - Landmark Victories:
2008 39 WSOP
$10,000 World Championship Pot Limit Omaha
06/29/2008 $53,721
2007 WPT Mandalay Bay Poker Championship
$9,700 No Limit Hold'em
06/08/2007 $768,775
2006 LA Poker Classic
$1,455 No Limit Hold'em
02/06/2008 $16,107