Hasan Habib is one of the more recognizable names on the professional poker circuit, and the most successful Pakistani American in the world of poker, with more than $5 million in lifetime earning from poker tournaments. The World Series of Poker (WSOP) has been especially kind to him, with cashes in 18 different events and about $1.5 million in winnings, including numerous final table finishes in different events.

Habib came to the US at the age of 18, and had been a top junior tennis player in Pakistan before coming to the US to attend college at the University of Redlands in California. A former owner of a chain of video stores, he started playing poker in 1985 and got his first taste of poker tournament success in the 1990s, with numerous cashes in tournaments held in California at the Crystal Park Casino, Commerce Casino, and the Bike.

His first six figure payday was in 2000 at the WSOP Main Event, where he finished fourth for $326,000. He’d then go through a dry spell (not uncommon for poker pros who play a lot of live events) until another huge breakthrough in 2004, when he finished runner-up in the $25,000 World Poker Tour (WPT) Championship at the Bellagio, earning a huge payday of $1,372,223. The WPT Championship would continue to be kind to him the follow year, as he’d finish 3rd in 2005 for another monster payday of $896,375.

Unlike some players who solely play poker online, Habib has continued to make his money by playing tournaments and live cash games. Habib also comes from an older generation of players that got their start playing live poker in casinos before the poker boom of the 2000s occurred, with many of those players more comfortable playing the live game that they’re familiar with, instead of learning to adjust to the faster-paced nature of online play.