Richard Kirsch began playing poker ten years ago in the southern part of Florida near his home. He played in some casual cash games with players who are now well-known in the poker community – Fred Goldberg, Alex Jacob. He fell in love with the game, and as his skills improved, he continued to increase the stakes and turn to the occasional tournament for the excitement and challenge it provided.

Kirsch spends his days as the Director of Information Systems, or software engineer, at a Fort Lauderdale, Florida company. But about three or four times a week, he spends evenings playing poker with friends or at local card rooms or casinos. Though he admits he’d enjoy playing for a living, he enjoys the security and income from his job. And the vacation time provided by the employer allows him to travel to some WPT and WSOP tournaments to score a little extra spending money.

The first major tournament cash for Kirsch came at the WPT UltimateBet.com Poker Classic in 2004 when he barely squeezed into the money. But it was only uphill from there. At the 2005 World Series of Poker main event, he came in 67th place and earned nearly $125,000 for his efforts, a feat that is ranked among his personal bests and favorite poker accomplishments. He went on to place 20th in two WPT events in the coming months – the Borgata Poker Open and the Borgata Winter Open. In May of 2007, he would set another record for himself. Not only did he make the final table of the WPT’s Mirage Poker Showdown, but he came in fourth place for a $172,912 payday. So far, this recreational player has earned more than $370,000 in tournaments in his spare time.Richard Kirsch is a Director of Information Systems from Fort Lauderdale, Florida, and he is probably the least experienced player at this final table. That's not to say he's a lucky rookie; he's been playing poker for ten years. Kirsch must be doing something right -- this is just his sixth WPT event, and it's the third time he's finished in the top 20 (he took 20th at the 2005 Borgata Poker Open, and 20th at the 2006 Borgata Winter Poker Open). The previous highlight of his poker career was finishing 67th in the 2005 World Series Main Event. The fact that Kirsch is the least experienced player in this group should tell you the strength of these six players.