From ultra-humble beginnings in poker, Ted Forrest has moved to the very top of the pro ranks. At the age of 20, he was working in a hotel near the Grand Canyon, commuting to Vegas to play in modest games.
Eventually, he moved to Las Vegas. During his early years there, he won enough money to pay for a college education and indeed attended Lemoine College where his father had taught English. Ted explains what became of his academic aspirations: "I ended up dropping out just nine credits short of graduation and it's probably one of the better choices I've made in my life. If I'd graduated from college, I might have taken some job making $36,000 a year. I'm happy with the alternative route I've taken."
Forrest has a reputation for being a smash success in the world's biggest cash games. He has both won and lost over one million bucks in single sessions of poker, as he has in craps. He also has a history of going in for dare bets. Somebody once bet that he could not do a standing back flip at the World Series of Poker. He won $10,000. On another occasion, Ted took a bet to run a marathon in Las Vegas on a 115-degree day. He crossed the finish line $7,000 richer. As of late, Ted has been playing more and more in tournaments because the large field at each event makes for walloping payoffs.
Ted Forrest likes prop bets
Forrest is very well liked among poker players, not in the least because he financially backs a lot of worthy players. He is known for showing down hands when others likely would not; it is said he has simulated umpteen hands and knows the odds of playing each hand against all the different kinds of players.
Forrest has a list of extremely prestigious poker victories to his name. In 1993, he won three gold bracelets at the World Series of Poker for Seven-Card Stud, Omaha Hi-Lo and Razz. In 2004, he won two events, Seven-Card Stud and No-Limit Hold'em, giving him a total of five gold bracelets.
In addition to his renewed vigor in playing tournaments, Ted continues to do very well in high stakes cash games. People say he can play almost any hand against his opponents.
Player Analysis
Most people consider him to be a Stud specialist, but he did win a WSOP bracelet in No-Limit Hold’em against a field of over 800 players. Ted is a very tricky player and is known for making great reads. If you want to know how it feels to be in the eye of a hurricane, play short-handed Seven-Card Stud Eight-or-Better with Ted.
Amusing Anecdote
Ted has made some unusual side bets. Here are a few with results.
| Bet | Against | Result |
| Had to run a marathon in under six hours on the outdoor heat-radiating, rubber-urethane track at UNLV, at temperatures of almost 120 degrees. | Mike Svobodny | Won $7,000, but suffered serious heat exhaustion. |
| Bet that Howard Lederer, starting at 310 lbs., wouldn’t weigh less than Huck Seed, initially at 180 lbs., in less than a year. | Howard & Huck | Won $50,000 |
| Had to bench press 225 lbs. fifty times in 24 hours. | David Oppenheim | Lost $10,000 and permanently injured his right arm. |
| Laid 6-1 that Mark Weisman, 43 years old, 5’5” tall, and 230 lbs., couldn’t run a mile in under six minutes, with 18 months to train. | Mark Weisman | Lost $60,000 |
| Bet that Huck Seed’s brother Lief couldn’t run the 280 miles from L.A. to Las Vegas, only sleeping twice. | John Hennigan | Won $10,000 because Lief hurt his Achilles’ tendon after 70 miles. |
