David Benyamine (MR B 2 U SON)

He's a pioneer and a monument of French poker. In his thirty-year career, David Benyamine has experienced almost everything in poker. His persona, his longevity, his madcap swings and his science of variants have made the most American of Frenchmen one of the game's legends.

Born in Paris on July 5, 1972, David Benyamine discovered poker at the age of twelve. He was introduced to the game by members of his family, and quickly developed a taste for it and a rare aptitude for it. A competitor at heart, David was also gifted in tennis, to the point of considering a professional career. Unfortunately, a back injury compromised his plans. An excellent snooker as well as rummy player, it's finally on another green carpet, that of the poker tables, that David Benyamine begins his gambling career.

The ACF reg

At the age of 26, he walked through the doors of the ACF for the first time, an establishment that would become his new home. He sits down at the cash game tables and levels up as he increases his limits, quickly settling in at Aviation's highest tables. It was here, too, that he enjoyed his first tournament successes, including a first win at the Euro Finals of Poker 2000, a second at the Autumn tournament a few months later, and then at the Euro Finals 2001, where he won his biggest prize to date for 465,000 francs ($66,000). The Parisian tables soon became too small for this ogre of the game, whose appetite for chips and big games is never satiated. It was on the other side of the Atlantic that David Benyamine was to make a name for himself.

A Frenchman in Bobby's room

As Benyamine takes off for Nevada for the first time, he experiences his first downswing. Legend has it that the Frenchman arrived in Sin City with $4,000 in his pocket. This capital was to grow with each cash game he played, to the point of sitting at the Bellagio's most expensive tables, including the legendary Bobby's Room. He would go on to enjoy a string of successes and setbacks, not least due to his poor bankroll management.

Cash game player and Pot Limit Omaha specialist, it was nevertheless in Texas Limit Hold'em tournaments that David reloaded his bankroll. Returning to Paris in 2003, he won the Grand Prix Paris WPT at his home stomping grounds of the Aviation Club de France, beating Jan Boubli for €357,200. The following year, he put in another fine performance at the WPT LA Classic in Los Angeles, where David took 6th place, for $132,000.

After rebuilding his bankroll, Benyamine resumed his seat at the highest cash game tables in Las Vegas, where he found excitement, but also Value. He established himself as one of the most formidable grinders, to the point of being called up by Phil Ivey, just as the American prodigy was setting up the Corporation, the famous group of players who defeated billionaire Andy Beal in high-limit games. In 2005, he obtained a visa to settle permanently in Nevada.

Gambler High Stakes at heart

David Benyamine is an assertive gambler. He's capable of raising millions in a year and losing insane sums in the process, both live and online. He regularly appears on Full Tilt Poker's high stakes tables, where he plays against the world's best players under the pseudonym Magicpitch. Not much of a talker in the media, he makes numerous appearances on High Stakes Poker and Poker After Dark. He takes part in numerous seasons and forges a reputation as a respected player, as much for his friendly image as for his cards-in-hand talent.

Sometimes mocked for his somewhat light tournament record, David Benyamine rectifies this at the 2008 WSOP. A 3rd place finish in the $5,000 Pot Limit Omaha, and above all a bracelet in the $10,000 Omaha Hi-Lo, for $535,000 in winnings. David Benyamine thus becomes the 4th French player to win a bracelet, ten years after Patrick Bruel.

A title that confirms David Benyamine's talent for variants. A particularity that will ensure his longevity at the tables. Since 2005, the Frenchman hasn't missed an edition of the WSOP and continues to achieve good results, like his recent 3rd place at the $25,000 H.O.R.S.E or his final table in PLO High Roller at the 2021 edition.