World Poker Tour

Alex Balandin

Birthplace
St. Petersburg, Russia

Hometown
New York, NY

Birthday
March 26

Total Winnings
$556,703

Alexander Balandin came to the United States as a child and spent most of his life thus far on the East Coast. He picked up a hobby of cards young, and while spending time trading for himself on the American Stock Exchange was a job for him, he has made cards into a career through years of dabbling in various gaming endeavors, including a stint on a blackjack card counting team.

Alex calls himself a professional gambler, and though he might play a variety of games, his reputation in the poker world is growing with every tournament. With making money as his primary goal, he has accumulated enough skill match his determination and do the job.

In 2000, Alex had his first cash on record at the United States Poker Championships where he placed sixth in the $500 no-limit hold'em tournament. While there was a gap after that event until his next cash, the next time he made the list was a splash. At the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure in 2005, a World Poker Tour event, he made the final table and finished as the runner-up to take home close to $500,000 for his efforts. A few months later, he had two significant World Series of Poker cashes, including a final table in the $1,000 no-limit hold'em event for a $141,000 payday. Other important cashes for Alex include a number of WSOP finishes and an 11th place cash at the Borgata Winter Open in January of 2007. It seems that the poker world has only just begun to see what Alex is capable of.