Dan Shak

Daniel Shak (born May 7, 1959) is an American semi-professional poker player and hedge fund manager known for his accomplishments in high buy-in poker events.

Poker career

Prior to poker, Shak was a trader on the New York Mercantile and Commodities Exchange (COMEX). In 2002, Shak established SHK Asset Management, a hedge fund focused on gold futures.

He began seriously focusing on poker in 2004. In 2005, he had his first World Series of Poker cash totaling $45,000. He has been active on the circuit since and came close to winning his first WSOP bracelet in 2010 when he came in second to Chris Bell at the $5,000 Pot-Limit Omaha Hi-Low Split-8 or Better event.

Shak has participated in the World Poker Tour, though he has been less successful. He cashed for $70,000 at the 2007 North American Poker Championships in Ontario. Shak has been most successful at the Aussie Millions where he scored his biggest cash of $1,107,553 in the 2010 $100,000 buy-in event.

In March 2013, Shak won the $125,000 Party Poker Premier League Poker VI in London winning $528,000, defeating Sam Trickett heads-up.

Shak has always considered poker a hobby and turned down any business offers related to it. However, in 2013, at the request of his friend Phil Ivey, Shak made an exception and joined Ivey Poker.

, his total live tournament winnings exceeded $7,400,000 of which $709,290 came from cashes at the WSOP.

Personal life Shak is the son of Paula J. Felmeister (née Cohen). He was married to poker player and model Beth Shak; the two divorced in 2009. In 2012, Dan Shak sued Beth over a shoe collection containing 1,200 shoes worth approximately $1 million, but then subsequently dropped the lawsuit. In 2014, Dan Shak married former model Anna Shak. He was recently charged with manipulating the gold and silver markets.