Brian Hastings is an American poker player. During his career he has won five World Series of Poker bracelets and amassed over $4.3 million in live earnings as of December 2021.
Poker Achievements
In 2012, Hastings won his first WSOP bracelet in Event #12: $10,000 Heads-Up after defeating Jason Mo heads-up. This victory earned him $371,498.
Three years later, and after loading up on bracelet prop bets, Hastings won his second bracelet in Event #27: $10,000 Seven-Card Stud Championship for $239,518.
“I came into the summer with high expectations, obviously,” he said at the time. “I worked on my game a lot in the last year, and I also have a great girlfriend who I started dating six months ago. I just thought I was in a really good place where I could come here every day and play my A-game.”
His A-Game continued, with Hastings picking up a second bracelet of the year in what was a remarkable 2015. He won Event #39: $1,500 Six-Max 10-Game for $133,403, topping a field of 380.
Despite his stellar 2015, the following year Hastings announced that he would be quitting poker as a full-time profession.
Despite this, a fourth bracelet soon followed in 2018 in Event #76: $3,000 H.O.R.S.E., and a fifth in 2021 in Event #73: $10,000 Stud Hi-Lo Championship cemented his status as one of the all-round greats with five bracelets.
“It definitely matters to me," he told PokerNews. "I think it’s cool to compete on that level. There are some great players on the list of those with a bunch of bracelets. It’s certainly a goal of mine and I’m happy to be in that company.”
Playing Against Isildur
In December 2009, Hastings won $4.2 million in a single session playing against Viktor Blom aka Isildur1. He regularly tussled with the online poker legend, winning another $1.5 million in early 2010.