Rafe Furst
Rafe Furst | |
|---|---|
| Nationality | American |
| Occupation(s) | Poker player, entrepreneur |
| Website | http://www.rafefurst.com/ |
Rafe Furst is an American entrepreneur, writer, and world champion poker player.
Furst is known for winning the 2006 World Series of Poker Championship Bracelet in Pot Limit Hold-em, earning over $350,000 in prize money.[1]
He has written and spoken about the transformation of early-stage finance and cryptocurrency in articles and interviews, and has presented at consortiums and conferences that include TED.[2]
Furst's ideas pertaining to technology, cancer research, and investing have been featured in WIRED,[3] New York Times Magazine,[4] and Stephen J. Dubner and Steven D. Levitt's Freakonomics blog.[5]
Education and early career[edit]
He began his career in the 1990s as an artificial intelligence researcher at the Kestrel Institute.[6]
Entrepreneurship and investing[edit]
Furst left academia to co-found his first company, Pick'em Sports, in 1996, which was sold to a public company in 1999.[7]
Philanthropy and cancer work[edit]
Furst has served on the board of directors at the Prevent Cancer Foundation and the Conrad Foundation,[8] as well as on the Board of Advisors at the Decision Education Foundation[9] and Unreasonable Institute.[10]
He has additionally served as a Mentor at Sandbox,[11] StartingBloc,[12] and the Thiel Fellowship, created by PayPal co-founder and billionaire Peter Thiel.[13]
In 2003, Furst and his friend Phil Gordon launched the Bad Beat on Cancer initiative[14] which encourages poker players to pledge 1% of their winnings to prevent cancer. Since inception, Bad Beat on Cancer has raised over $3.4 million.[15]
In 2007, Furst received the award for Excellence in Cancer Awareness,[16] and in March 2010, he received the 2nd Annual Cancer Champion Award.[17]
In 2021, Furst published a peer-reviewed article in Progress in Biophysics and Molecular Biology titled "The Importance of Henry H. Heng's Genome Architecture Theory" and appeared the next year in Research Features alongside Henry Heng in a profile titled "Genome Architecture Theory Shakes Up Cancer Research," which is featured by the National Institutes of Health."[18]
Writing and media[edit]
In October 2009, Furst wrote about an experiment[19] that he and Phil Gordon undertook to invest in the lifetime future income of Furst's brother-in-law, filmmaker Jon Gunn.[20] The article went viral and was picked up by WIRED[21] and Reuters,[22] Shortly thereafter, additional individuals began selling portions of their future income streams.[23]
In 2010, Furst spoke at the TEDActive Conference about the experiment.[24]
Poker career[edit]
Furst began playing poker in middle school and started a home poker game while at Stanford that continues to this day. The group, calling themselves The Tiltboys,[25] became known for their gambling antics and published a book in 2005 titled Tales From the Tiltboys.[26]
In 2005, Furst won the Ultimate Poker Challenge.[27] One year later, he won a World Series of Poker event in Pot-Limit Hold'em.[28] All told, Furst has won or cashed in thirteen professional tournaments.[29]
Furst was an investor and founder of Full Tilt Poker, which eventually became the world's second largest online poker site.[30] Furst was a sponsored player on the site and could be seen sporting the Full Tilt Poker logo often in televised events and interviews between 2005 and 2010.
On September 20, 2011, Furst was named as a defendant in a complaint by the U.S. Department of Justice against Tiltware, LLC, the parent company of Full Tilt Poker. On November 28, 2012, Furst settled the case, and while the exact settlement amount is unknown, the agreement stipulates no liability for Furst, and the case was dismissed with prejudice.[31]
Beginning with the Bad Beat on Cancer initiative in 2003, Furst has hosted or appeared in many charity poker events benefiting causes that include Talk About Curing Autism, Ante Up for Africa,[32] and XPRIZE Foundation.
Furst is also a poker teacher and author, having coached celebrities for Celebrity Poker Showdown, written chapters in the Full Tilt Poker Strategy Guide,[33] and produced Expert Insight: Final Table Poker.[34]
Adventure travel[edit]
Furst is an extreme sports amateur enthusiast. An adventure travel guide features a chapter about backpacking in the High Sierras with Furst.[35]
References[edit]
- ^ "Rafe Furst Biography - Profiles of Famous Professional Poker Players". www.pokerteam.com. Retrieved November 16, 2023.
- ^ The Dawn of Cryptocurrency | Rafe Furst | TEDxCharlottesville, retrieved November 16, 2023
- ^ Donahoo, Daniel (March 4, 2010). "Investing In Our Geeklets: A Methodology". Wired. ISSN 1059-1028. Retrieved November 16, 2023.
- ^ Dubner, Stephen J.; Levitt, Steven D. (March 9, 2008). "Bottom-Line Philanthropy". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved November 16, 2023.
- ^ Furst cited on Freakonomics blog
- ^ Publications by Furst while doing research at Kestrel, Kestrel Institute
- ^ "INTERNET SPORTS NETWORK INC, Form 10-12G/A, Filing Date Oct 25, 1999". secdatabase.com. Retrieved May 15, 2018.
- ^ "HOME". Conrad Challenge.
- ^ "Decision Education Foundation". Decision Education Foundation.
- ^ "Uncharted - Resources, Tools & Training for Social Entrepreneurs". Uncharted.
- ^ "Sandbox - Home". January 2017.
- ^ "The StartingBloc Fellowship". StartingBloc.
- ^ "Home - The Thiel Fellowship". The Thiel Fellowship.
- ^ From Prevent Cancer Foundation blog
- ^ https://www.cardplayer.com/poker-news/11438-phil-gordon-talks-about-bad-beat-on-cancer-at-2011-world-series-of-poker
- ^ "From Prevent Cancer Foundation Annual Report 2008" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on May 21, 2011.
- ^ "From Prevent Cancer Foundation Annual Report 2010" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on May 16, 2011.
- ^ Furst, Rafe (2021). "The Importance of Henry H. Heng's Genome Architecture Theory". Progress in Biophysics and Molecular Biology. 165: 153–156. doi:10.1016/j.pbiomolbio.2021.08.009. PMID 34481833.
- ^ "Investing in Superstars," Emergentfool.com
- ^ "Jon Gunn - Producer, Writer, Director". IMDb. Retrieved April 14, 2024.
- ^ "Investing In Our Geeklets: A Methodology," Wired.com
- ^ Salmon, Felix (March 20, 2012). "Buying equity in people". Archived from the original on March 22, 2012.
- ^ "ThrustFund.com may be for sale!". www.thrustfund.com.
- ^ YouTube "Investing in Superstars," YouTube
- ^ "Tiltboys Home Page". October 12, 1999. Archived from the original on October 12, 1999.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link) - ^ Tiltboys, The; Scheinberg, Kim; Gordon, Phil (July 1, 2005). Tales from the Tiltboys. Sports Publishing. ISBN 1596701404.
- ^ "Ultimate Poker Challenge, No Limit Hold'em". The Hendon Mob. Retrieved April 14, 2024.
- ^ "37th World Series of Poker - WSOP 2006, Pot Limit Hold'em". The Hendon Mob. Retrieved December 9, 2023.
- ^ "Rafe Furst's profile on The Hendon Mob". The Hendon Mob Poker Database.
- ^ Fisk, Geoffrey (October 14, 2019). "What Happened to Full Tilt Poker?". Upswing Poker. Retrieved November 16, 2023.
- ^ "Rafe Furst Settles with SDNY in Full Tilt Poker Black Friday Case after Lederer Files Motion to Dismiss, Ferguson Rides Along". Diamond Flush Poker. November 28, 2012. Archived from the original on December 2, 2012.
- ^ "Official website for Ante Up for Africa".
- ^ Bloch, Andy; Brodie, Richard; Ferguson, Chris; Forrest, Ted; Furst, Rafe; Gordon, Phil; Grey, David; Lederer, Howard; Matusow, Mike (June 1, 2007). Craig, Michael (ed.). "The Full Tilt Poker Strategy Guide: Tournament Edition". Grand Central Publishing – via Amazon.
- ^ "Expert Insight: Final Table Poker". October 1, 2005 – via www.imdb.com.
- ^ Mankin, Don; Stowell, Shannon; Branson, Richard (May 20, 2008). "Riding the Hulahula to the Arctic Ocean: A Guide to Fifty Extraordinary Adventures for the Seasoned Traveler". Amazon.com. National Geographic. Retrieved April 6, 2024.