Like other poker pros Anthony Gregg and Justin Bonomo, Florida native Darryll Fish was a competitive Magic: The Gathering player before finding poker in 2003. Inspired by Chris Moneymaker’s success, Darryll’s poker journey had modest beginnings as he started out playing $1 sit ‘n’ go’s online. Over the next few years, he ran up his bankroll playing cash games, but his real success began after he transitioned over to the tournament format. Playing under the screenname ‘DF1986’ on PokerStars, Fish has put together more than $1,400,000 in online MTT earnings. Notable wins include a $207,142 score for winning the 2009 WCOOP-33 $1,050 No Limit Hold’em event, along with a Super Tuesday win two years earlier for $87,000.
Darryll slowly shifted his attention over to the live tournament circuit and has never looked back since. He has picked up seven six-figure live cashes since 2011, with his biggest coming in 2017 at the $3,500 No Limit Hold’em WPT Showdown Championship event. Although Darryll managed to get past the likes of big all-time money earner Daniel Colman and four-time WSOP bracelet winner Robert Mizrachi, he lost out on the trophy but still earned $453,185 for an impressive runner-up finish.
Another near-win for Darryll came in 2015, when he finished runner-up once again in a major WPT event. This time it was at the C$3,500 No Limit Hold’em Main Event in Montreal. On this occasion, $229,258 was his consolation prize.
Fish has also had some very close WSOP finishes, making four final tables to date. The closest he has come to the gold was in 2013, when he finished third in the $5,000 No Limit Hold’em 8-handed event for $215,286. While the bracelet continues to elude him, he has racked up over 35 WSOP cashes for a total that is near to the $1 million mark.
It’s not all been runner-up finishes for Darryll though. He does have a WSOP circuit title, a victory at the Aussie Millions and a minor WPT win to his name – these contribute to his $3,000,000+ won in live earnings over the last decade. Clearly, Fish is not an appropriate surname for a poker player of Darryll’s calibre.
