Noah Schwartz grew up in the Miami Beach, Florida area in a baseball family. In the footsteps of his father and brother, he played baseball for all four years of high school and went to college on a scholastic baseball scholarship. However, he tore the ligaments in his elbow during his freshman year, and his days as a pitcher were put on hold. It was during that time of recovery that he began to focus on poker – a game that he discovered as a high school senior at the age of 17. Unlike baseball, poker didn’t come naturally at first, and it took some credit card debts before he actually became a winning player.

Once online poker became a focus for Noah, he learned to trust his intuition and reads on other players to improve his game. Though he never read a poker book, he used his common sense to hone his skills and learn to properly manage his bankroll, especially after losing all of the $45,000 he made in his first tournament win. After winning another tournament for about $90,000, he took it slow, played smaller games, and only moved up when his bankroll allowed. Playing as “4UHaters” online – a name derived from all those in his life who told him he couldn’t be successful as a poker player – he has built a reputation as one of the most prominent and respected players in the online community. Even so, there was a something about live tournaments that lured him in.

For the past year, Noah has been playing a great deal on the live tournament circuit. Though continuing to win online, he has made quite an impression on live players. As a respectful and typically quiet 24-year old, it is his way with the cards that garners attention. Since his first cash on the World Poker Tour at the December 2007 Five Diamond World Poker Classic, he has three additional money finishes on the WPT. But it was the Borgata Poker Classic in January of 2008 where he made his mark. He made the final table of the event, alongside players like Lee Watkinson and Gavin Griffin, and though he finished fourth, it was his biggest live cash of over $330,000 and a message to the poker world that he is ready for a win. With a supportive family at his side and an ever-growing bankroll, poker has yet to see the best of Noah.