Michael McClain has always had an interest in gaming, though he took a traditional route after college and began working for AT&T as a computer engineer. After putting in some years with the company, he began to use his spare time on the job to run computer simulations for blackjack, a choice that eventually got his fired. It was in a time of career transition that he began to take his poker hobby more seriously and put more effort into learning the nuances of the game.

Though McClain doesn’t like to call himself a professional poker player, he hasn’t worked in any other industry for more than twelve years. Poker has allowed him to support his wife, son who attends college, and two young daughters, and this particular life choice has allowed him to be home more, travel less, and spend more quality time with his family. Through the years, he has played in the Bay area – Oaks Club and Bay 101 – and online, but he has recently started playing more tournaments throughout California and Nevada.

McClain’s first major tournament finish was at the 2004 World Series of Poker. He made the final table of the $10,000 World Championship main event but got his aces cracked by Greg Raymer in the first fifteen minutes of ten-handed action. There are several other WSOP cashes on his resume, along with a remarkable record on the World Poker Tour. For a relative unknown in the poker world, the finishes are significant ones. At the 2006 WPT L.A. Poker Classic, he placed ninth and barely missed the TV table, and later that year he finished 11^th in the Legends of Poker main event. And in 2007, he earned his seat at the TV final table and finished fifth for the biggest payday of his career - $182,900. All in all, over $650,000 in total tournament earnings over the last several years is quite the reputable feat.