Cory Carroll was born and raised in Halifax, Nova Scotia. Without much of a plan for his life and not enjoying high school, he dropped out to take some time off and figure out what he wanted to do. In that spare time, he wandered into a casino in his small town – where the minimum age to play is 19 – and played for the entire night. He says he was hooked from there and began playing three or four times each week, putting in 12 hours per day, always increasing his stakes and improving his skills.

Without having read more than a portion of one poker book or watching much of the game on television, Carroll simply gained experience and improved by playing and challenging himself. He also discovered internet poker and played regularly online. With the moral support of his family, he began traveling outside the confines of Canada and to some of the larger tournament series in the United States. By the end of 2005, he was at the Bellagio in Las Vegas and had placed fifteenth at a Five Diamond $2000 no-limit hold’em, and he made the final table of the $2500 no-limit event less than one week later.

Though it was more than a year before Carroll showed more results, but he then did so with a splash that the poker community could not ignore. In April of 2007, he won the $5000 no-limit hold’em WSOP Circuit event at Caesars Palace for $515,176. It was then that pro Shane Schleger called him the “greatest player you’ve never heard of.” Several weeks later, he played the main event of the WPT Mirage Poker Showdown, made it to the final table, and finished in second place for $561,369. Since then, he has had several impressive cashes, and his grand total of earnings already exceeds $1.2 million. It seems that Carroll now has a path to follow in life that suits him well.