David Benyamine

  • Name: David Benyamine

  • DOB: July 5th, 1972

  • Birth Place: Paris, France

  • WSOP Bracelets: 1

  • Total Winnings: $3,947,679 (March 2010)

  • Marital Status: Engaged to Erica Schoenberg

Who is David Benyamine?

David Benyamine is a French poker player who was aiming for a professional career in tennis until arthritis got in his way. Then, he decided to do something less physical: poker. David learnt how to play poker at the age of 12 but he only started taking it seriously when a friend who worked at a poker club brought him into the game. He rapidly went from amateur to top European player. His original hunting ground was the legendary Aviation Club In Paris, but nowadays he resides in Las Vegas with his fiancée Erica Schoenberg. He is definitely considered one of the toughest cash game players in the world and players like Patrik Antonius speak highly of his skills.

In 2004, David was deported from the United States in 2004 for a period of time. Originally the FBI wanted to question him as he shared the same name with a suspected terrorist! Also he carried $25,000 in cash, thus the suspicion increased. In the end, he was deported on the basis of not having a work permit to ply his trade in the USA, and he was banned from the country for one year. He went back to Paris and the Aviation Club, until he got a proper work permit and returned to Las Vegas once again.

Public Perception and Reputation

David Benyamine has a reputation for playing poker with intensity, with an aggressive style. Aggressive as he might be in his game, he has a "Parisian playboy" attitude on the poker table. He values politeness, and he'd like to see players behave in a proper manner to create a nice poker setting.  In addition, he'd like to have penalties for those who don't behave. 

He has recently left Full Tilt Poker where his daily matches against Phil Ivey, Patrik Antonius, Ilari Sahamies, and other pros attract high traffic numbers. It  is rumored that he has an agreement with another site, but no press release has been made by Full Tilt nor Benyamine.  He still plays at Full Tilt, though not as a sponsored player anymore and using the nick name MR B 2 U SON (his fiancée Erica calls him "Mr B"). David is legendary for the hours he puts in at online poker, sometimes playing for 16 hours a day.

David was a long time member on the list of "greatest players who have never won a WSOP bracelet", but he corrected that in the summer of 2008 when he won his first bracelet in the $10,000 Omaha Hi-Lo event.

Poker Techniques

You could say that David Benyamine is a natural gambler who has a bottomless appetite for poker. He has even stated that he doesn't really track his results and admits that he went broke a number of times early in his career. He says that he needs the excitement of high stakes games to keep his focus, and describes his attitude to poker: "I just play the hand the way I think it should be played. Sometimes I'll lose a big pot and win at the end of the day; sometimes I win a big pot and still end up losing at the end. You're trying to play good poker, not focusing on how you're doing for the day, the week, the month or the year."

Media Exposure