Alexander Kravchenko Profile - Russian Poker Player Alex Kravchenko

Following some of today’s most successful poker pros, you might get the impression that dedicating your entire life to the game is the best way to gain wealth and notoriety in this increasingly competitive industry. So many modern players saturate their lives with the game and are careful to never compromise their focus. Alexander Kravchenko thinks differently. A quick look at his tournament results over the past decade will show you that while he takes the game seriously and plays it hard, he remains a businessman and self-proclaimed “semi pro” player - a status that perhaps has allowed him to continue putting up consistent results for so long, and propelled him into the elite poker ranks.

Alexander Kravchenko was born April 21, 1971 in the former Soviet Union. Before ever playing any casino games, he was a businessman in Russia who made a decent living off of his investments. However, after learning blackjack and Oasis poker (a variation of Caribbean Stud), Kravchenko started making more money in the casinos around Moscow. In 1997, he played his first hand of poker and taught himself the basics by trial and error. It wasn’t long before Kravchenko began earning consistent money in cash games and began regularly entering tournaments around Russia.

From his first tournament cash in 1999, Kravchenko has not looked back. His results have been unbelievably consistent, as he has continued to put up results every single year since. Although the young Russian started travelling around Europe during his poker infancy and would always return home with cash in his pockets, it wasn’t until 2007 that he had his breakout year and became an internationally known name. After finding relatively minor success at the 2006 World Series of Poker, where he cashed for over $12,000, Kravchenko returned to Vegas the following year with one goal in mind: to win a major event and make his mark on the poker world. His determination quickly paid off when he defeated Bryan Devonshire heads up to win the $1,500 Omaha Hi/Lo event and pocket over $225,000. While he has said that Omaha is not his best game (he prefers Stud and Hold’em), he was happy to take the bracelet and become the first Russian to ever win a WSOP event. "I can say that I wanted to win it, but I wanted to win any big tournament," Kravchenko said. "It was my dream."

His first place accomplishment was just the start of an amazing 2007 WSOP, as Kravchenko went on to cash an astounding five more times that year, including a final table appearance in the $5,000 H.O.R.S.E. event and a fourth place finish in the prestigious $10,000 Main Event for over $1.8 million. With his amazing run in Vegas that year, Kravchenko passed Kirill Gerasimov to become the highest earning Russian poker player in history at the time. He continued his amazing break out year after returning home and taking 5th in the European World Series of Poker $2500 H.O.R.S.E event, followed by a European Poker Tour deep cash in Austria, and finally an impressive 3rd place finish in the $10,500 Moscow Millions Main Event for $77,000. After all was said and done, Kravchenko had won well over $2 million in 2007 and established himself as a dominating force in the poker world.

Alex Kravchenko Image

After joining poker’s most elite group of players as a member of Team PokerStars Pro, Kravchenko continues to travel the world and consistently challenge his opponents with his aggressive moves and psychological games at the tables. He has numerous WSOP and World Poker Tour cashes under his belt, and his accomplishments in various games prove that he is not just a Stud or Hold’em specialist; he can do it all. In fact, in an interview during the $1,500 2-7 Draw Lowball event at the 2010 WSOP, Kravchenko admitted that it was his first time playing that particular game. He commented that $1,500 was a cheap price to get a lesson in 2-7, and that he was just observing how his opponents played. “It’s not a very complicated game,” said Kravchenko. Apparently, it wasn’t for him; he took 7th in that event and took home over $9,500 (along with a 2-7 education).

Alexander Kravchencko resides in Moscow where he remains a businessman and a father to two children. Despite constantly travelling the world to compete in the largest tournaments, he insists that he is only a semi professional and first and foremost an investor – an attitude that might provide him with more financial freedom and less stress on the felt. When he isn’t working on his investments or playing tournaments, Kravchenko enjoys fine dining, spending time with his family, playing sports, travelling and hanging out on the beach. You can play with him at PokerStars.com under the name “Kravchenko.”

Poker Main Page
Poker Games My Journal	Alexander Kravchenko Profile by Halli Pinson
Poker Players Poker Tips How to Play Poker Basics Poker Hands Poker Terms Poker Tells Free Poker Games Online Texas Holdem Rules Texas Hold'em Games Omaha Poker Scooping Poker Tournaments World Poker Tour WSOP Poker Stats PokerTracker Sharkscope Calculatem ThePokerDb Official Poker Rankings Site Map	Following some of today’s most successful poker pros, you might get the impression that dedicating your entire life to the game is the best way to gain wealth and notoriety in this increasingly competitive industry. So many modern players saturate their lives with the game and are careful to never compromise their focus. Alexander Kravchenko thinks differently. A quick look at his tournament results over the past decade will show you that while he takes the game seriously and plays it hard, he remains a businessman and self-proclaimed “semi pro” player - a status that perhaps has allowed him to continue putting up consistent results for so long, and propelled him into the elite poker ranks. Alexander Kravchenko was born April 21, 1971 in the former Soviet Union. Before ever playing any casino games, he was a businessman in Russia who made a decent living off of his investments. However, after learning blackjack and Oasis poker (a variation of Caribbean Stud), Kravchenko started making more money in the casinos around Moscow. In 1997, he played his first hand of poker and taught himself the basics by trial and error. It wasn’t long before Kravchenko began earning consistent money in cash games and began regularly entering tournaments around Russia. From his first tournament cash in 1999, Kravchenko has not looked back. His results have been unbelievably consistent, as he has continued to put up results every single year since. Although the young Russian started travelling around Europe during his poker infancy and would always return home with cash in his pockets, it wasn’t until 2007 that he had his breakout year and became an internationally known name. After finding relatively minor success at the 2006 World Series of Poker, where he cashed for over $12,000, Kravchenko returned to Vegas the following year with one goal in mind: to win a major event and make his mark on the poker world. His determination quickly paid off when he defeated Bryan Devonshire heads up to win the $1,500 Omaha Hi/Lo event and pocket over $225,000. While he has said that Omaha is not his best game (he prefers Stud and Hold’em), he was happy to take the bracelet and become the first Russian to ever win a WSOP event. "I can say that I wanted to win it, but I wanted to win any big tournament," Kravchenko said. "It was my dream." Windows - Mac His first place accomplishment was just the start of an amazing 2007 WSOP, as Kravchenko went on to cash an astounding five more times that year, including a final table appearance in the $5,000 H.O.R.S.E. event and a fourth place finish in the prestigious $10,000 Main Event for over $1.8 million. With his amazing run in Vegas that year, Kravchenko passed Kirill Gerasimov to become the highest earning Russian poker player in history at the time. He continued his amazing break out year after returning home and taking 5th in the European World Series of Poker $2500 H.O.R.S.E event, followed by a European Poker Tour deep cash in Austria, and finally an impressive 3rd place finish in the $10,500 Moscow Millions Main Event for $77,000. After all was said and done, Kravchenko had won well over $2 million in 2007 and established himself as a dominating force in the poker world. After joining poker’s most elite group of players as a member of Team PokerStars Pro, Kravchenko continues to travel the world and consistently challenge his opponents with his aggressive moves and psychological games at the tables. He has numerous WSOP and World Poker Tour cashes under his belt, and his accomplishments in various games prove that he is not just a Stud or Hold’em specialist; he can do it all. In fact, in an interview during the $1,500 2-7 Draw Lowball event at the 2010 WSOP, Kravchenko admitted that it was his first time playing that particular game. He commented that $1,500 was a cheap price to get a lesson in 2-7, and that he was just observing how his opponents played. “It’s not a very complicated game,” said Kravchenko. Apparently, it wasn’t for him; he took 7th in that event and took home over $9,500 (along with a 2-7 education). Alexander Kravchencko resides in Moscow where he remains a businessman and a father to two children. Despite constantly travelling the world to compete in the largest tournaments, he insists that he is only a semi professional and first and foremost an investor – an attitude that might provide him with more financial freedom and less stress on the felt. When he isn’t working on his investments or playing tournaments, Kravchenko enjoys fine dining, spending time with his family, playing sports, travelling and hanging out on the beach. You can play with him at PokerStars.com under the name “Kravchenko.”
Play Online Poker Texas Hold'em Tournament Poker How to Play Poker Poker Bonus