Bobby Baldwin Poker Profile

Bobby Baldwin has nicknamed The Owl in the poker community due to the large glasses he wore, typical of 1970s fashion. He got his first taste of poker in 1963 at the age of twelve, but lost every hand he played. He enjoyed the rush of the game, but was not compelled to play it at every turn. He played pool instead and became a formidable opponent by the time he was in high school. Poker and pool came to Baldwin naturally and he didnít believe in ëhustling'. The money he won he won fair and square based on his talents alone.

He quickly became known as both a gracious winner and loser and his calm temperament and congenial personality is one his trademarks. He has an even demeanour at the table and many have said that he learned the trait based on his competitiveness alone. His first taste of real gambling came when he was 19 and took his life savings of $5,000 with him on a road trip to Las Vegas. Before he left to go home, he had lost all of the money, secured a line a credit at the Aladdin, and left the city with over $180,000 in winnings. He smartly invested some of the money and returned to Vegas only to become broke again in less than three months.

Baldwin is a self-professed gambler and even he worked towards building up his bankroll playing poker, he lost it betting on other things, like NFL football games. He married and divorced his high school sweetheart and then met and married Shirley who stuck with him until her death in 1996. He supported his family of three. Shirley was a single mom and by playing on the Southern Circuit of poker games and learning from players like Amarillo Slim and Puggy Pearson. He also stopped betting on football games in 1973 and concentrated on poker solely for the next ten years.

Poker professional Doyle Brunson lost numerous games to Baldwin over the years, including the 1977 WSOP Seven Card Stud and Deuce to Seven Lowball games. It was enough to convince the older player to ask Baldwin to write the limit HoldíEm section of the poker book he was working on. Baldwin was 26. He went on to win the 1978 WSOP $10,000 Buy-In HoldíEm Championship in additions to other poker tournaments he played in.

In 1982, Baldwin ëretired' from active competition to work with Steve Wynn in Las Vegas. Heís been a fixture on the Vegas scene since working in many of the different casinos over the years. He still enjoys playing a friendly game with Brunson in live cash games usually at the Bellagio. Baldwin's poker bankroll when last measured in 2000 was over $7 million dollars. He was elected into the Poker Hall of Fame in 2003.