Champion of Poker

“Captain” Tom Franklin has been a regular in the poker world for nearly 30 years. At some point during his life, he received training as a pilot, and that’s where he earned his nickname of “Captain.” He started playing poker in the 70’s, but from his tournament records, it looks like he focused primarily on cash game poker. This is not unusual as before the poker boom, the number of tournaments offered for players did not allow for a player to really make a living playing tournaments professionally.

Franklin cashed in his first major tournament when he finished 24th in the Main Event of the 1990 World Series of Poker. This would start a long string of cashes and strong finishes at the WSOP. Franklin won his only bracelet in 1999 when he took down the $2,500 Limit Omaha bracelet. Franklin would also make the final table of the WSOP Main Event in both 1995 and 2000 where he would finish 7th and 8th respectively. He just came short of his 2nd bracelet in 2001 when he finished runner-up in the $2,500 Seven Card Stud event.

Franklin has also had some mild success on the World Poker Tour. He has six cashes on the WPT, including one final table. That final table was at the Gulf Coast Poker Championship in 2007. He finished 6th at the final table to take home $116,814. In total, Franklin has won $297,507 on the World Poker Tour.

Outside of the WSOP and WPT, Franklin has many strong finishes at the poker tables. He finished 3rd at the Scotty Nguyen Poker Challenge Main Event in 2005. He later that year took the $5,000 No Limit Holdem Event at the World Poker Classic in Las Vegas. That win netted him $434,025. For his poker career, Franklin has over $2.48 Million in lifetime earnings.