Humberto Brenes Poker Information

Humberto Brenes Costa Rican Poker

I first saw Humberto Brenes in the WSOP 2003 greatest bluffs of the tournament. 83 vs A10 and guess who had the 83, yup you guessed it Scotty Nguyen. That guy is mad but you have to hand it to him Scotty took down Humberto Brenes in a preflop bluff. Personally I think the guy is on some sort of intoxicating mixture but he did pull one of the best bluffs of the tournament off.

The reason I'm actually writing this article is because I had a look the the leader board today of the WSOP 2006 series and I saw Humberto Brenes name appearing. It was the only name I actually recognised in the top 30 chip leaders.

Humberto Brenes has been called the "godfather of the Costa Rican players." Appartently Humberto is very chatting at the tables and is known for his Latin charm and grace. While I wouldn't call Brenes the best poker player of all time he has been estimated to have won over $4,000,000 in live tournament winnings. Along with Jose Rosenkrantz, and his brother, Brenes is a member of the "Costa Rica Connection."

Brenes was born in 1951, and earned a degree in industrial engineering from the University of Costa Rica, he has children and lives in Costa Rica with his wife, Patricia. They also have a home in Miami Lakes, Florida. Brenes owns a Univision TV channel in Costa Rica, a construction company, and restaurants.

Brenes began a career in gambling by playing baccarat but later made his way into poker, starting to play tournaments from 1974 onwards and became a regular tournament player and a professional in 1988.

Humberto is flamboyant at the poker table because he often wears a head set so that he can listen to music. Humberto's English is not fluent but the linguistic barriers don't seem to gotten in the way: "In poker I know all of the important words ... raise, re-raise. When I began playing tournaments, I didn't know any English at all, but now I can understand it . . . although sometimes I don't understand what they are saying. But I always smile back and say, "Yes ... yes." Then later on, I ask Alex what they were talking about.

He now a member of Team PokerStars.

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

As of 2006, his total live tournament winnings exceed $4,000,000.