Sam Greenwood: Poker Results & Memorable Hands

Self-titled “poker enthusiast” Sam Greenwood doesn’t consider himself a poker pro. With a resume that includes more than $22.5 million in career tournament earnings, however, Greenwood’s poker ability puts him among the elite level of poker’s top professional players.

Greenwood turned 32 years old in 2020 and is currently enjoying the peak of an impressive run on poker’s high-stakes tournament circuit. He ended 2020 at No. 22 on the Hendon Mob all-time tournament earnings list.

Here’s a glance at the poker accomplishments of Sam Greenwood, including one of the more intense pots we’ve seen in recent years at the World Series of Poker:

Sam Greenwood’s Tournament Results and Biggest Cashes

As of December 2020, Sam Greenwood’s career poker tournament earnings total $22,534,201. Greenwood’s five biggest tournament scores include:

1. 2018 EPT Monte Carlo €100,000 Super High Roller (1st – $1,853,387)
2. 2019 PokerStars Caribbean Adventure $100,000 Super High Roller (1st – $1,775,460)
3. 2018 Triton Poker Jeju Super High Roller (4th – $1,471,968)
4. 2018 partypoker MILLIONS Barcelona €50,000 Super High Roller (1st – $1,227,792)
5. 2019 Triton Poker London £100,000 Main Event (5th – $1,097,724)

Take a look at Greenwood’s entire history of tournament poker results at his Hendon Mob page.

Sam Greenwood’s Memorable Hands

Greenwood stood as one of the toughest players remaining in the field at the 2019 World Series of Poker Main Event when the following hand took place. Greenwood held the second-biggest stack at the table and went head-to-head against tournament chip leader Timothy Su:

With the blinds at 125,000/250,000, Timothy Su opens to 500,000 in the cutoff with T♣ 9♣. Greenwood, in the big blind, looks down at A♥ A♣. Greenwood three-bets to 2,500,000, and Su makes the call.

The flop comes J♦ Q♦ 4♣, and Greenwood fires a one-third pot continuation bet for 1,800,000. Su calls with his open-ended straight draw.

The turn brings the J♠, and Greenwood double barrels, putting 3,500,000 into the 8,975,000 pot. Su goes all-in, and Greenwood is faced with a huge decision for his remaining 7,800,000 chips.

Greenwood makes the call and sees his pocket aces are well ahead. Greenwood is one card away from taking a massive chip lead on Day 6 of the Main Event, but the K♣ hits on fifth street, completing the straight for Su.

This painful hand ended Greenwood’s 2019 Main Event run in 45th place, earning him a $211,945 payday. Su went on to finish eighth for a $1,250,000 score.

Battling Paul Phua for a $1.1 million pot

The Triton Poker High Roller cash games produce some of the biggest televised poker pots ever seen. Greenwood was part of such a pot at the 2018 Triton Jeju stop, taking on Paul Phua in a hand that saw more than $1.1 million go in the middle (hand begins at 35:00):

Greenwood opens under the gun with 5♠ 4♠, putting $12,600 in the pot. Phua calls in the cutoff with Q♠ T♠, Patrik Antonius calls on the button with 5♥ 4♦, Mikita Badziakouski calls in the small blind with J♦ T♥, and Dominik Nitsche calls in the big blind with Q♣ 9♠ .

The flop comes 7♣ 6♠ K♠, putting a spade flush draw on the board for both Greenwood and Phua. Action checks to Greenwood, who continuation bets for $19,800. Phua raises to $90,000, and action folds back around to Greenwood, who makes the call.

The flush completes on the turn, with the J♠ hitting the board. Greenwood checks, Phua bets $136,000, and Greenwood makes the call.

The river brings the 4♣, Greenwood checks again, and Phua bets $317,700. Greenwood snap calls but sees the bad news when Phua turns over the superior flush. The flush-over-flush cooler sends the $1,135,800 pot to Phua.

Stock Trader Turned Poker Enthusiast

Greenwood worked in stock trading prior to emerging in the online poker scene in the mid-2000s. Greenwood still doesn’t consider himself a poker pro according to a post-victory interview with PokerNews after his first WSOP bracelet win in 2015.

“I’m a poker enthusiast,” Greenwood told PokerNews. “I’m an entrepreneur. I’ve made some money with poker and I’m just looking for opportunities to invest it. I’m an entrepreneur.”

If not a poker pro in name, Greenwood can certainly be considered one of the world’s top tournament players based on his results. His Hendon Mob resume reveals five-figure tournament scores as far back as 2008.

Greenwood came up just short of his first six-figure cash in a €5,300 Pot-Limit Omaha event at the 2013 EPT Prague. Greenwood finished second in that event for a $99,076 payday (€72,300).

His breakthrough year came in 2015, with Greenwood posting six-figure scores in seven different tournaments that year. Greenwood posted more than $2 million in live tournament earnings in 2015.

Greenwood’s average buy-in, as well as his results, continued to escalate the following year. Since 2016, Greenwood has appeared a regular presence in tournaments with a $25,000 buy-in or higher.

The “poker enthusiast” posted his best career year in 2018, with more than $5.7 million in live tournament earnings. He far surpassed that benchmark with an even more impressive year in 2019, adding $8.37 million to his career earnings. All five of Greenwood’s best career finishes came in 2018 or later. 

Born in Toronto in 1988, Greenwood’s career accomplishments put him among the best modern-era tournament players in the world. Still in his early 30s, Greenwood will likely remain a force on the high-roller tournament circuit for years to come.