Humberto "The Shark" Brenes

Humberto Brenes, originally uploaded by pokerwire.

Humberto Brenes is a professional poker player. Humberto Brenes resides in San José, Costa Rica with his wife and three children. He was born May 8, 1951. Humberto Brenes poker nickname is "The Shark".

Humberto Brenes began his career in gambling by playing baccarat, but later made his way into poker. He started to play tournaments in 1974 and became a regular tournament player in 1988. In his career, Humberto Brenes has collected two World Series of Poker (WSOP) bracelets, cashed over 40 times at the WSOP, and made three World Poker Tour final tables. Brenes's two bracelets came at the 1993 World Series of Poker in limit Texas hold 'em and pot limit Omaha. Humberto Brenes tied with Phil Hellmuth, Jr. for highest number of money finishes (eight) in the 2006 WSOP. Humberto Brenes also finished first, winning $502,460 at the Jack Binion 2002 World Poker Open, beating Erik Seidel heads up.

Humberto Brenes is one of the most charismatic and popular poker players in the world. Humberto Brenes unique dress sense makes him easy to spot at tournaments, as he tends to wear bright tracksuits, two pairs of glasses on top of each other, and a visor. Humberto Brenes is also famous for the toy sharks he uses as a card protector, the origin of his nickname. He also is a member of Team PokerStars.

Two of his brothers, Alex Brenes and Erick Brenes, have won World Poker Tour titles.

In 2007, Brenes cashed in the money in the $10,000 No Limit Hold'em Main Event Championship, placing 83rd out of a field of 6,358 players, winning $82,476. Brenes was eliminated by Hevad Khan. In the hand Brenes with approximately 1,500,000 in chips had raised to 85,000, Khan then re-raised to 205,000, Brenes in dramatic fashion then went all-in holding A♥ K♥ and was instantly called by Khan who held pocket Aces, one of which was a spade. The board came 3♠ 5♠ K♠ 4♦ 10♠ giving Khan the ace high flush.

As of 2008, his total live tournament winnings exceed $5,300,000.

World Series of Poker bracelets
Year Tournament Prize (US$)
1993 $2,500 Limit Hold'em $149,000
1993 $2,500 Pot Limit Omaha $128,000

World Poker Tour profile: Humberto Brenes
Team PokerStars profile

Visit www.humbertoshark.com