Who is Andrew Beal?
Andrew Beal is an entrepreneur, banker, high stakes poker player and so much more. It is hard to believe, but he started his first job when he was a teenager. That’s right, while the other teenagers were being busy fooling around, he was already making money. Read on to see how his life took turns and how the poker games made him famous around the world.
In this article, you will read what makes Beal a great poker player and what his gambling strategy is. You will learn about the poker games of Andy Beal vs The Corporation. We will also tell you about the greatest triumphs and losses Beal faced as a poker player. But first, let us tell you who is Andrew Beal and how he became a major name into the poker world.
Science Achievements, Work, and Charity
Andy Beal grew up in Lansing, Michigan, USA. He attended the local high school and became a great orator at the school debate team. Later on, he decided to turn his attention to mathematics. If you are inspired to follow his steps, then here are the institutions Beal attended to:
- Lansing Sexton High School: Joined the high school debate team
- Lansing MI: dropped out
- Michigan State University: Major Mathematics, also dropped out
- Attended Baylor University in Waco, TX
Even though he missed to graduate from some of the schools he attended, this did not stop his thirst for knowledge. Beal’s self-thought mathematics skills reached highest levels. This helped him greatly when the Andrew Beal poker career began. In 1993 he created the Beal Conjecture on Fermat’s Last Theorem.
Since this theorem presents a problem that is close to a conundrum, he decided to leave it open to the world. Andrew Beal left the Beal Conjecture open for proving and disproving. Even more, he set a prize of $1 million to encourage the geniuses in solving the math problem. The prize still stands, so you can try to get it.
Beal’s Professional Growth
Before the Andy Beal poker interest, he was busy making money with hard work. Beal started his first job while he was in high school. Working at such a young age is proven to be a great teacher. Beal quickly learned how to deliver quality work and get along with different types of people. In the table, we gave a short description of the career advancement and path to a net worth of billions.
| Careers | Achievements |
|---|---|
| High School Job | Repairing and re-selling old TVs |
| House Movers & Property Rental Services | When he turned 19, he started managing house moving services and rental properties |
| Real Estate Tycoon | In the period the 1980s-1990s Andy purchases, renovates, and re-sells properties |
| Banker | Andrew Beal opened his first bank in Dallas in 1988, and a second one in 2004 in Las Vegas. Now, he owns 37+ branches all over the USA. |
| Owner of Finance-Related Businesses | His companies are associated with funding, loaning, and other banking services. |
| Space Exploration Enthusiast | One of Andy Beal’s side businesses was a company for construction and assembly of rockets. This was one of his unsuccessful business ventures because NASA proved to be an incredibly strong competitor. |
Charity, Philanthropy & Support
Making money is good only when you spend it after that. Andy Beal is not the only expert at multiplying his fortune. He has proven time and time again that he is a person who likes to make money move. Through the years he has given away to charities, art, science, and supported multiple organisations. Here are just a few of his philanthropical acts:
- He is sponsoring the Science and Engineering fairs of both the University of Nevada and the Southern Methodist University.
- Donates to museums like the Perot Museum of Nature & Science in Dallas.
- Donates to charitable organisations.
- Andrew Beal supported Donald Trump at the presidential elections in 2016.
Now that you know who the businessman and banker called Andy Beal is, it is time to turn your attention to the Andrew Beal poker player character. In the next part of this article, we will tell you what made him a solid poker player and how he faced the biggest competition there was at that time.
Andy Belal Poker Triumphs and Losses
Beal started playing blackjack in his youth and invested the profits into his business. As time went by, his interest turned to poker. He obsessively studied the psychology of gambling, the game rules, and used mathematical approach in the games. Beal’s secret weapon was that the other players could not read him. This, combined with a simple and ultra-aggressive strategy, is the key to the Andy Beal poker success.
Beal started like every other player – at the low stakes poker table. Andy got the hand of the game and quickly moved to higher stakes. Eventually, he reached the high stakes heads-up limit Hold’em Poker tables and perfected his strategy. He played nearly every hand and raised almost every pot he entered.
In addition to that, Andy check-called down to the river whenever he had any A-high hand. The thing he was most cautious about was preventing tells. All this, combined with his close to unlimited resources, took him through the games with the Corporation and to the Andy Beal vs Phil Ivey game.
Andy Beal vs The Corporation
At first glance, Andy Beal’s money looked like a sweet candy ready to be taken. A poker “whale” is what a professional poker player may think when he sees an amateur player with piles of cash, an eye for gambling, and almost no idea what’s truly happening on the table. That is what the players of The Corporation saw and decided to take action.
The first Andy Beal vs The Corporation game happened in 2001 at the Las Vegas casinos. After playing at the low stakes tables, he moved to the high limits of $10,000-$20,000. This may seem like an unthinkable amount per stake, but later on Beal increased to $100,000-$200,000. On 13th May 2004, his aggressive strategy brought him $11.7 million (one of the largest single hands in poker history) during a game at the Las Vegas Bellagio.
The incredible game was recorded forever in the book “The Professor, the Banker, and the Suicide King: Inside the Richest Poker Game of All Time” by Michael Craig. Here, the Professor is Howard Lederer (a mathematical poker mind), the Banker is Andrew Beal, and Ted Forrest is the Suicide King.
The Corporation at that time consisted of the top professional poker players, including Ted Forrest, Jennifer Harman, Minh Ly, Doyle Brunson, Phil Ivey, Todd Brunson, Howard Lederer, David Grey, Gus Hansen, Barry Greenstein, Chip Reese, Lyle Berman, and more.
The greatest games of those professional players deserve its film, that undoubtedly will become one of the best poker movies.
From this point on, Andrew Beal continues facing the Corporation in crazy high stakes games. In 2004, the rivals were playing $100,000 – $200,000 heads-up limit Hold’em Poker. Unlike Beal, The Corporation players had to combine their funds and hope to win. The game started well, and at a certain point, there were more than $20 million on the table. Today, this game is known as the richest poker game of all time.
The rising challenge and the need to satisfy the player’s ego through victory pushed Beal and The Corporation members to keep playing. They set another game, and this time the professional poker players were ready to win no matter what. The epic battle that lasted for days was Andy Beal vs Phil Ivey, and it was so epic, that even years later, people still talk about it.
The Second Collision with The Corporation
The Andy Beal poker career continues with a new challenge towards The Corporation. The game took part on 5th February 2006 at the Wynn Las Vegas Casino. The Corporation’s representatives were Todd Brunson, Ted Forrest, Jennifer Harman, and more. The game was a Limit Hold’em match with $50,000-$100,000 stakes. They played, and Beal lost $3.3 million.
Andrew did not take this as a complete defeat. Instead of that, he returned to the Wynn Casino a week later. The third challenge lasted three days (12th to 15th February) and was held at daily poker sessions. This time The Corporation lost $13.6 million.
The Poker Game with Phil Ivey
The epic battle between Phil Ivey and Andrew Beal occurred between 21st and 23rd February 2006. This time The Corporation was represented by the world champion poker player Phil Ivey. The limits were set of $30,000-$60,000 and up to $50,000-$100,000. The daily events did not make it easy to tell who the winner will be. During these three days, the sides overpowered each other. In the end, the luck and the professional experience tilted the scales in favour of Phil Ivey. At the end of the game, Beal had lost $16.6 million.
Ever since this date, Beal has not met The Corporation in a game. Few years passed and this professional poker syndicate fell apart. Many of the professional players vanished, while others remain popular. You can see Phil Ivey playing at world-renowned tournaments and high stakes game.
Last Poker Games and Life Now
Andy Beal’s fascination with poker did not end with that defeat. In 2015 he returned to Vegas and played against Todd Brunson. It is known that Brunson won $5 million. After that, Andrew Beal continued to play poker for fun, but never at such high levels. Perhaps the era of the crazy high stakes, like the games between Andy Beal vs The Corporation, has ended.
The Andrew Beal poker career might be over, but his days are far from free. According to the latest data, Beal has a net worth of $12.2 billion. His companies are developing as good as ever, and no doubt, he is on the way to take advantage of a new idea in the business world. Who knows, maybe we will see him play another crazy high stakes poker game or turn his attention to Classic Roulette, baccarat, or blackjack.
Frequently Asked Questions about Andrew Beal
We dedicated our article to introduce to you Andrew Beal – the banker, poker player, entrepreneur, and philanthropist. Now, we will answer the most frequently asked questions about him and his poker glory.
