Greg Raymer Biography

1 WSOP Bracelet
Over $7.1 Million in Career Tournament Earnings

Originally from North Dakota, Greg Raymer worked as a patent lawyer before giving it up to play poker full time. In the early days of his career, he would add to his bankroll by buying fossil card protectors and selling them at the table. It was this that led to him being called ‘FossilMan’, a nickname that has stuck to this day. Greg would soon find that he didn’t have to worry about the size of his bankroll for much longer.

After finding success in tournaments across the country, Greg played at the World Series for the first time in 2001. He almost made the final table of the $1,500 Omaha Hi-Lo Split event, finishing 12th for a small cash of $5,345. He returned to Las Vegas every year and in 2004 won a far bigger amount of cash. Ever since fellow Team PokerStars Pro member Chris Moneymaker had won the previous year, the World Series had seen huge growth, and the 2004 Main Event attracted a massive 2,576 players. Greg played a solid game and emerged as the winner, earning prize money of $5,000,000.

Since that historic victory, Greg has achieved tremendous success in other World Series events, including four final table appearances and cash finishes that have added well over $650,000 to his total career earnings. He even came close to winning the Main Event again in 2005, eventually finishing 25th for over $300,000. Greg was also a member of the five-man Team USA that triumphed at the 4th annual PokerStars World Cup of Poker in 2007. In the same year, he won a major event in the PokerStars World Championship of Online Poker. Greg beat 771 players in the $320 (with rebuys) Pot Limit Omaha event, earning $168,362 and his first WCOOP bracelet. He’s even finished 2nd in the PokerStars Sunday Million on two separate occasions. At the 2009 World Series, Greg finished 3rd in the prestigious $40,000 No Limit Hold’em event, good for a cash of $774,927.

Like many poker players, Greg spends much of his spare time on the golf course. He also enjoys advanced Sudoku-type puzzles and playing tennis and bowling on his Wii games console.

With a track record that includes one of the biggest ever live tournament cashes and a host of other final table appearances, Greg Raymer has already secured his place in the poker history books. He is a member of Team PokerStars Pro and plays online using the screen name ‘fossilMan’.