Frankie O'Dell

A poker biography of Frankie O'Dell.

Quick Information Name - Frankie O'Dell Born - September 1971, Denver, Colorado, United States  Poker Room - Not Available

Biography

To be called an Omaha giant does not simply happen, because reaching this level takes training and dedication. Frankie O'Dell deserves this title well not because his size is literally a juggernaut but his devotion to poker games is incomparable.

Hailing from an Irish family, the adopted O'Dell was originally born in Denver, Colorado in 1971 to Mexican-American parents. All these years, O'Dell cares nothing at all about his real identity because what matters most to him is his poker career, which became his profession when he was still a teenager. Like other poker players, O'Dell started to play poker when he was young, with his loving father as the main reason behind his passion for card games. His dad used to be an employee in a casino, and indirectly, this job introduced O'Dell to the poker world at the age of eleven. But, of course, at such a young age, he was not allowed to play then, so he just watched as poker players did their thing.

Even during his younger years, O'Dell had many inspirations and people to look up to in the world of poker. One of the most pivotal instances he considers in his life was a wink from Johnny Moss, who was among the pillars of the poker profession, according to his father. O'Dell thought at the moment about that wink as symbolic---a sign, maybe, that he was going to create a name in the poker community someday.

He was not wrong in that respect. According to O'Dell, he started to play in Las Vegas when he was 19, but the casinos kicked him out when they discovered his age. But those casino expulsions did not hinder O'Dell to continue his poker passion, specifically in Omaha. He participated in many games and eventually, found himself under the wing of one of Omaha's legends, Mike Matsuow.

Not long after, O'Dell's training and partnership with the said personality bore fruits.  In 2003, the Card Player Magazine ranked O'Dell as number one in Omaha Hi-Lo poker because he brought home the crowns of some Omaha big events such as the WPO Omaha/Hi/Lo Split, the Legends of Poker No Limit Hold'em Event, and the 2003 WSOP Omaha/Hi/Lo championship. As a matter of fact, he even got a gold bracelet in the last event.

During the 2003 WSOP Omaha/Hi/Lo championship, O'Dell started as a buy-in player with $1,000 worth of chips in his hands. He began playing on the second day already, so many players were intimidated by his advantage of having so much chips at hand. In the next hours, O'Dell made some of his opponents go home and maintained his poker poise until the end by winning first place with a diamond and gold bracelet and $31,816 cash prize. Although the cash prize of that event was not as significant as other poker prizes, O'Dell treated his winnings as symbols of his success. The prize did not really matter because what he gained was more worth it, and that was respect.