Ben Lamb
Benjamin “Ben” Lamb is an American professional poker player, two-time World Series of Poker bracelet winner and the 2011 WSOP Player of the Year. He is particularly associated with pot-limit Omaha and high-stakes cash games, while his tournament record includes two WSOP Main Event final tables.
Lamb finished third in the 2011 Main Event for 4.021.138 $ and returned to the final table in 2017, when he placed ninth for 1.000.000 $. His first bracelet came in the 2011 Pot-Limit Omaha Championship, followed by a second in the 2023 Omaha Hi-Lo Championship.
As of October 2026, The Hendon Mob records 20.588.528 $ in live tournament earnings. That total places him first on Oklahoma’s all-time money list and reflects results spanning two decades of professional play.
Early Life and Date of Birth
Lamb was born on March 31, 1985, in Tulsa, Oklahoma. He attended Jenks High School and later spent a year at college before committing to poker professionally.
His poker career developed during the online boom of the 2000s. By the time he won his first WSOP bracelet in 2011, the series described him as a professional of approximately five years and an established pot-limit Omaha cash-game player.
Although Tulsa remains central to his background, his later career became closely connected to Las Vegas, where his tournament profile lists his residence.
Early WSOP Results
Lamb had already produced substantial WSOP results before his celebrated 2011 season. He finished 156th in the 2007 Main Event and reached 14th place in 2009 for 633.022 $.
The 2009 run brought him close to the final table two years before he joined the November Nine. It also helped establish a record in the Main Event that would eventually include three top-14 finishes.
His earlier results were not limited to hold’em. He also reached a pot-limit Omaha hi-lo final table in 2009, foreshadowing the Omaha achievements that became a defining part of his career.
The First Bracelet in 2011
Lamb won the 2011 10.000 $ Pot-Limit Omaha Championship, defeating a field of 361 entries. He overcame Sami Kelopuro heads-up and received 814.436 $.
The victory followed his runner-up finish to Sam Stein in the 3.000 $ Pot-Limit Omaha event for 259.918 $. Those two performances alone gave him more than 1.000.000 $ in PLO cashes during the series.
The championship was his first WSOP bracelet. It also confirmed his reputation in the format he identified as his strongest game, while moving him into contention for the season’s Player of the Year award.
The 2011 Main Event and November Nine
The 2011 WSOP Main Event attracted 6.865 entries. Lamb reached the nine-player final table, which was paused during the summer and resumed in November under the November Nine format.
He advanced to the final three alongside Pius Heinz and Martin Staszko. Early in that last session, Lamb lost a major preflop confrontation with king-jack against Staszko’s pocket sevens, leaving him severely short-stacked.
Lamb was eliminated in third place for 4.021.138 $. Heinz went on to defeat Staszko heads-up, while Lamb’s payout remains the largest individual live tournament cash of his career.
WSOP Player of the Year 2011
Lamb’s 2011 season combined a bracelet, a runner-up finish, a Main Event third place and further deep runs in championship events. The results secured the WSOP Player of the Year title ahead of Phil Hellmuth.
He also finished eighth in the 50.000 $ Poker Players Championship and 12th in the 10.000 $ No-Limit Hold’em Six-Handed Championship. His five cashes at the series totalled 5.352.970 $.
The award recognised a concentrated run of high finishes rather than a schedule built around entering every available event. His season remains the central chapter of his public tournament career.
Cash Games and a Selective Tournament Schedule
After 2011, Lamb devoted much of his time to high-stakes cash games rather than a full tournament schedule. In a later interview, he explained that bracelets were not his main priority for several years.
Pot-limit Omaha remained a major part of that professional life. Golf also occupied time away from the tables, and his lower tournament visibility did not mean he had stopped playing poker.
This background matters when reading his results: a tournament database captures his public cashes, but it cannot describe the full activity of a player whose career also includes private and televised cash games.
A Second Main Event Final Table in 2017
Lamb returned to the WSOP Main Event final table in 2017. He finished ninth and collected 1.000.000 $, becoming one of the players to reach that stage twice in the modern large-field era.
His final table ended on its fourth hand. Lamb’s ace-nine failed to improve against Jack Sinclair’s ace-queen in an all-in preflop confrontation.
The short final-table appearance did not diminish the scale of the achievement. Together with his 14th place in 2009 and third place in 2011, it forms a particularly strong sequence of deep Main Event runs.
International High Rollers and Other Formats
Lamb’s results beyond Las Vegas include victory in the 2018 Aussie Millions 25.000 A$ Challenge. He and Jan-Eric Schwippert agreed a heads-up deal before completing the event, with contemporary reporting listing Lamb’s payout as 647.114 A$.
In London in 2019, he finished second in a Triton-associated 100.000 £ short-deck private event for 1.350.000 £, recorded by The Hendon Mob as 1.640.261 $.
These performances added an international dimension to his record. They also demonstrate experience in short deck as well as the hold’em and Omaha formats most closely associated with his WSOP results.
The Second Bracelet in 2023
Twelve years after his first bracelet, Lamb won the 2023 10.000 $ Omaha Hi-Lo 8 or Better Championship. The event attracted 212 entries and generated a 1.971.600 $ prize pool.
Lamb defeated James Chen heads-up and earned 492.795 $. Luis Velador finished third, with Erik Seidel fourth.
The two bracelet victories came in different versions of Omaha. The 2011 title was in pot-limit Omaha, while the 2023 championship used the fixed-limit high-low split format, where qualifying low hands can share the pot.
| Year | WSOP bracelet event | Entries | Prize |
| 2011 | 10.000 $ Pot-Limit Omaha Championship | 361 | 814.436 $ |
| 2023 | 10.000 $ Omaha Hi-Lo 8 or Better Championship | 212 | 492.795 $ |
Mixed Games and Continued WSOP Near Misses
Lamb’s wider record includes victory in the 2023 PGT Mixed Games 10.300 $ Big Bet Mix for 186.300 $. He also finished second in the tour’s Dealer’s Choice event during that festival.
At the 2022 WSOP, he finished third in the 50.000 $ Pot-Limit Omaha High Roller for 622.861 $ and second in the 10.000 $ Short Deck event for 171.331 $. These results preceded his eventual second bracelet.
Another close finish followed in 2025, when he placed second in the 25.000 $ High Roller PLO/NLH Mixed event for 868.140 $. His record therefore includes significant results across several forms of poker, not only one specialist format.
PGT PLO Success in 2025 and Activity in 2026
In October 2025, Lamb won Event #4 of PGT PLO Series II, a 10.100 $ Pot-Limit Omaha tournament, for 292.500 $. He defeated Fernando Habegger heads-up after building a commanding lead during short-handed play.
Lamb continued to compete internationally in 2026. In Jeju, he finished ninth in the 100.000 $ Triton PLO Main Event for 185.000 $ and 31st in the 100.000 $ No-Limit Hold’em Main Event for 157.000 $.
His later results also include fifth place in a PGT PLO Quattro Bounty event in September 2026. The published payout separates the 25.700 $ finishing prize from 16.000 $ in bounties, an important distinction when comparing event reports with database totals.
Selected Major Tournament Results
The table highlights Lamb’s Main Event achievements, two bracelets and other substantial finishes. Original currencies are retained where applicable, and the Aussie Millions figure reflects the reported heads-up deal.
| Year | Tournament | Place | Prize |
| 2011 | WSOP: 10.000 $ Main Event | 3rd | 4.021.138 $ |
| 2019 | London: 100.000 £ Short Deck Private Event | 2nd | 1.350.000 £ |
| 2017 | WSOP: 10.000 $ Main Event | 9th | 1.000.000 $ |
| 2025 | WSOP: 25.000 $ PLO/NLH Mixed High Roller | 2nd | 868.140 $ |
| 2011 | WSOP: 10.000 $ Pot-Limit Omaha Championship | 1st | 814.436 $ |
| 2009 | WSOP: 10.000 $ Main Event | 14th | 633.022 $ |
| 2022 | WSOP: 50.000 $ Pot-Limit Omaha High Roller | 3rd | 622.861 $ |
| 2018 | Aussie Millions: 25.000 A$ Challenge | 1st | 647.114 A$ — heads-up deal |
| 2023 | WSOP: 10.000 $ Omaha Hi-Lo Championship | 1st | 492.795 $ |
| 2025 | PGT PLO Series II: 10.100 $ Pot-Limit Omaha | 1st | 292.500 $ |
Live Earnings and Personal Wealth
The Hendon Mob lists Lamb’s recorded live tournament earnings at 20.588.528 $ in the October 2026 snapshot checked for this article. The total places him first on Oklahoma’s all-time money list.
That figure records gross tournament cashes. It does not deduct buy-ins, expenses or shares held by backers, and it excludes a complete account of private cash-game results.
Lamb’s personal wealth and overall poker profit therefore cannot be established from the tournament total. This is particularly relevant to a player whose cash-game career has often taken priority over tournament volume.
Playing Style and Career Significance
Lamb’s professional reputation rests heavily on pot-limit Omaha, but his results show substantial versatility. He has won championships in both PLO and Omaha hi-lo, reached major mixed-game final tables and repeatedly gone deep in the no-limit hold’em Main Event.
The 2011 Player of the Year season introduced him to a broad poker audience. The return to the Main Event final table in 2017 and a second bracelet in 2023 extended that story well beyond one exceptional summer.
His career combines selective tournament participation with high-stakes cash games, making the public results an important but incomplete record of his work as a professional poker player.
Career figures checked on October 19, 2026. Recorded live tournament earnings are gross cashes and exclude private cash-game results. Image positions refer to three separately supplied AI-generated illustrations created in October 2026.