Max Steinberg

Max Steinberg was born on July 9, 1988, in Fairfield, Iowa. He attended American University before dropping out in 2008 to pursue professional poker full-time. He has an identical twin brother, Daniel, who is also a professional poker player. Steinberg's first significant live cash came in 2008 when he finished as runner-up in a Latin American Poker Tour $2,500 No-Limit Hold'em event, earning $144,773. That early result helped establish him as a rising talent on the live tournament circuit.

Steinberg has had a notable World Series of Poker career, highlighted by a bracelet win in 2012. In Event #33: $1,000 No-Limit Hold'em, he topped a field of 2,795 players to win $440,238. That final table included notable players such as Ryan Laplante, David Nicholson, Dylan Hortin, and Matt Stout. Prior to the bracelet, he had already made a deep run at the WSOP, finishing as runner-up in 2010 Event #8: $1,500 No-Limit Hold'em for $352,916. In 2013, he finished second to Isaac Hagerling in Event #27: $3,000 No-Limit Hold'em Mixed Max, collecting $231,501. He also cashed in the 2013 WSOP Main Event, finishing 131st for $50,752.

Steinberg's biggest career score came in the 2015 WSOP Main Event, where he finished fourth for $2,615,361. That run was particularly notable because he had spent the better part of a year away from poker, focusing on daily fantasy sports. Ironically, daily fantasy sports led him back to the felt: he qualified for the Main Event by playing fantasy basketball on DraftKings. The tournament was won by Joe McKeehen, who took home $7.7 million. Steinberg's deep run was among the most covered stories of that summer's WSOP, and PokerNews later featured him in a "Throwback Thursday" video titled "Max Steinberg Losing his Mind" in July 2018.

Outside the WSOP, Steinberg has compiled an impressive list of results. He finished runner-up to Josh Hale in the 2012 World Poker Tour Legends of Poker Main Event, earning $293,490. He also took second place to Jonathan Hilton in the 2013 WSOP Circuit Southern Comfort 100 Proof National Championship, collecting $219,799. Earlier, in 2010, he cashed in the EPT London Main Event. With these accomplishments, his total live tournament earnings have grown to $4,648,842 across 33 recorded cashes. His most recent cash listed in live poker databases was $4,778 on June 13, 2025, showing that he continues to add results more than a decade after his biggest wins. He holds one WSOP bracelet and has been ranked by the Global Poker Index, with a GPI rank of 58,665 at the time of his profile.

Steinberg currently resides in Las Vegas, Nevada. He is known for his analytical approach to the game and maintains a relatively low public profile despite his tournament achievements. He is active on Twitter under the handle @MaxJSteinberg. In 2018, he was part of WSOP Main Event Day 1b coverage, with PokerNews noting big stacks including Alex Foxen. Steinberg's career has been a story of resilience, from dropping out of college to chase poker, reaching the sport's biggest stage, stepping away for daily fantasy sports, and then returning to score one of the largest paydays in WSOP Main Event history. He remains a respected presence in the poker community, remembered for both his bracelet and his remarkable fourth-place Main Event finish.