Titan Poker
Dario hails from Rome, Italy, and he became interested in poker at an early age. His early reputation was established online at Poker Stars. In fact, he racked up so many points at Poker Stars that he earned a Porsche Cayman. Recently, Dario made his mark on the professional poker tour, scoring a first place finish last June in the World Series of Poker Texas Hold’em tournament.
Love him, hate him or hope to be him, Minieri is a Poker play who won’t be ignored.
The Beginning: Minieri may have ascended the professional poker ranks at breakneck speed, but playing poker was not his originally intended career path. Rather, Minieri planned to study psychology in college. His interest in human behaviour is apparent in his playing style. Minieri approaches his opponents from a psychological standpoint, frequently outmanoeuvring them when he identifies a weakness. He’s also a fanatic when it comes to online poker tournaments and has been known to play as much as 16 hours a day in as many as 9 tournaments simultaneously.
In late 2007, Minieri extended his reputation to the “beyond belief” level when he won $50,000 in the High Stakes Showdown, $56,000 in the $215 rebuy $150,000 guaranteed tourney, and $50,000 in the Sunday $5,200 Freezeout on Poker Stars.
Career Highlights: While Minieri has been a prolific player online at Poker Stars, he has also made a reputation as a tough one-on-one opponent. His first big payday on the professional tour was October 10, 2006, when he placed third in the Big Double – the European 7-Card Stud Championship—and took home $164,850. In July of 2007, he took 96th in the World Series of Poker No Limit Hold’em Championship. In 2008, he continued to move up the professional ranks with a third place finish in April in the San Remo EPT Event No Limit Hold’em, and he won the World Series of Poker No Limit Hold’em six Hundred in June. He took home a combined total of $905,352.
Epilogue: Dario Minieri’s poker playing legacy has only begun to be written. Already an established online poker pheenom, it seems the sky’s the limit for young Minieri. But some experts wonder if he can get out of his own way. His penchant for big bling and pretty ladies combined with his current breakneck pace has insiders wondering if he’ll burn out before he peaks.
Whatever the future, Dario Minieri is currently a force to be reckoned with. He is undoubtedly one of the greatest Italian poker players of all-time and his live tournament totals top 1.3 million through October, 2008. That translates into a lot of fancy dinners with Miss Italy hopefuls on his arm.
