Alan Goehring was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Before he became a tournament poker player, Goehring was a successful bond trader on Wall Street. He was retired by the age of 37, and his new hobby was similar to his career. Both revolved around money and risk. He would eventually make a lot of money in the poker world, but it's still not a full-time job for him. "I still view it as a hobby," he said. "You know, I'm basically looking to play fifty days a year, not five days a week."

Goehring's first big poker win came at the 1997 World Series of Poker. He finished third in the $3,000 No-Limit Hold 'em event. In 1999, he finished second in the main event at the World Series. He took home $768,625 for that effort. Goehring went on to make a number of major final tables, but he had a tendency to come in second, not first. Despite not winning a major tournament, Goehring had made a lot of money playing poker, but it was still something he did only for fun.

He finally shook the second place curse during the first season of the World Poker Tour. He won the WPT World Championship at the Bellagio for a cash of more than $1 million. In Season Four of the WPT, Goehring made two final tables. He finished sixth at the Grand Prix de Paris at the Aviation Club de France, taking home more than $93,000. He then won the LA Poker Classic at the Commerce Casino, for a prize of more than $2.3 million. As of 2006, Goehring's live tournament winnings had surpassed $5 million, but he still considers poker a hobby, not a profession.