Aidan Hildebrandt

Aidan Hildebrandt's poker career began with live tournaments, where he recorded two in-the-money finishes in WSOP Circuit events at The Star Sydney: on December 10, 2017, he placed 18th in Event #7 (A$1,200 6-max) for A$4,313; on December 18 of the same year, he placed 32nd in Event #13 (A$660 Bounty) for A$914. Both events took place at The Star Sydney, with total winnings of approximately A$5,227 (~US$3,550).

Hildebrandt is best known not for his tournament results but for a poker staking dispute. In January 2018, Hildebrandt and his brother Dylan jointly provided A$40,000 in staking to poker player James Hopkins to play at Crown Casino in Melbourne, with an agreement that Hopkins would repay the principal plus A$14,000 in interest after three months. Over the following year, the Hildebrandt family (including his mother Cristina and her partner Sarah Newton) made a total of twelve additional loans, restructurings, and debt consolidations to Hopkins.

However, Hopkins only partially repaid, and the Hildebrandt family filed a lawsuit in 2019, seeking repayment of A$400,450 (including late fees and interest) from Hopkins and his company Pocket Punting Pty Ltd. Hopkins argued that he suffered from gambling addiction, anxiety, depression, and ADHD, lacked the legal capacity to enter into contracts, and claimed that Hildebrandt had witnessed him losing A$100,000 in a single night.

The case was heard in Australian courts and sparked discussion about the legal validity of poker staking agreements. Several poker media outlets covered the case, including Flushdraw.net and PokerTube.

Due to a lack of publicly available hand histories, Hildebrandt's playing style is difficult to accurately describe. However, based on his family's staking of Hopkins, he may be an amateur or semi-professional player focused on bankroll management. Community commentary about him centers mostly on the legal dispute rather than his technical skills.