Denes Kalo plays online at Full Tilt Poker.

While working as Head of Trading for a brokerage firm in Budapest, Denes Kalo was introduced to No-Limit Hold’em by some friends. Having been playing Five Card Draw for a few years previously, Denes quickly took to the game.

Kalo made his first splash on the live tournament circuit after making the short trip to Vienna for the 2006 Austrian Classics. Denes battled his way through the 14-hour first day to make the final table, before making the two-hour drive back to Budapest at 4:30 am to put a few hours of work in at the stockbrokers where he worked. He returned later that day and despite the lack of sleep found himself in the final two, before finally succumbing when his A-9 didn’t improve against his opponent’s pocket 4s. His sleep-free weekend earned him just over €50K.

The following year, Kalo claimed his first six-figure tournament win at the Baden Classic, part of the European Poker Tour. A total of 282 players entered the €8,000 No Limit Hold’em Tournament, with Denes once again finding himself heads up for first prize. However, his opponent was always ahead and after putting in all his chips with A-5, he was dominated by his opponent’s A-8 and once again walked away with the runner-up check, this time for €375,000.

At the final event of the same season of the European Poker Tour, Kalo was once again back amongst the front runners. The €10,000 buy in event attracted a field of 842 players and after a grueling five days of competition, Kalo reached the final table. With just four players remaining, Kalo had the chip lead, but by the time he reached heads up play his opponent held a 10-to-1 chip lead. With just the second hand heads up, Kalo pushed all in with K-J to be met with A-5, and an ace on the flop was enough to once again leave the Hungarian agonizingly short of victory,

However, Denes had earned a mammoth prize of €1,179,000, which made him the highest earning Hungarian in live tournament poker.

Despite this tournament success, Denes still prefers the faster action of ring games. He professes that his first love is Pot Limit Omaha, but that hasn’t stopped him enjoying most of his success at No-Limit Hold’em and Omaha Hi/Lo.

Away from the poker tables, Denes likes to spend quality time with his family and dog. He also is a keen tennis player and an avid film fan.

Denes Kalo can be found playing online at Full Tilt Poker.