Dusty Schmidt

Dusty Schmidt has had a long and illustrious run as a sports figure long before he even hit the poker tables. A top-ranked golfer from an early age, he managed to beat two records set by another golf phenomenon, Tiger Woods, while he was still in his teens. Unfortunately, this run would prove to be short lived, and Schmidt would suffer a heart attack at the unlikely age of 23, an event that for most people would mean the end of a career. Schmidt wasn’t–and still isn’t–one to give up so easily however, and he bounced back to the scene in 2009, and promptly won a medal at the Oregon Amateur Championship.

Schmidt was just as famous in the courtroom as in the golf course and poker tables, and one of his most infamous appearances was to defend himself against the United States Golf Association, which removed him from the amateur ranks due to his involvement with poker. Schmidt has since gone on to work as a volunteer assistant coach for golf team of the University of Oregon.

Schmidt parlayed his success on the golf course and on the poker tables into various lucrative entrepreneurial pursuits. A part-owner of Stoxpoker.com, Schmidt was also the key figure behind the establishment of 10thGreen.com, which is by all accounts the first social networking site that caters exclusively to golfers. More recently, Schmidt established the House of Cards Project, which aims to provide food and shelter to impoverished families.

Career Highlights

As a poker player, Schmidt has a career that is nothing less than extraordinary. After five years in the game, he has racked up almost 7 million hands and logged in over 10,000 hours of playing time. And his wins have been suitably impressive, with as much as $3 million racked up in cash games alone. During that time he has never had what can be considered a losing month, and he has consistently racked up win after win.

In 2007, Schmidt was one of the players qualified to join the ranks of the Poker Stars’ SuperNova Elite members, a status that he achieved in only eight months of playing high-stakes cash games. More wins were forthcoming for Schmidt, such as his strong showing in the 5/10 NL and 10/20 NL in 2007 and 2008 respectively. In a particularly favorable four-month span between November 2007 and February 2008, Schmidt won over $600,000 also playing high-stakes cash games.

Playing Style

Known to many in the business as “Leatherass”, Schmidt has built up a formidable reputation as a “grinder,” due mainly to his ability to maintain sharp focus during grueling marathon poker sessions. Displaying the same aggressiveness on the poker table as he does on the golf course and in the business world, Schmidt nevertheless attributes his impressive victories to his dedication and focus, and his application of tried and proven business strategies to the game of poker.