MarcoTraniello

I sat down at my first World Series in 2005 and cashed seven times. Twenty years later I'm still at the table, and building businesses on the side.

My World Series of Poker record
Cashes	47
Final tables	5
Earnings	$713K+
Cashes in my 2005 debut	7

Get The High Limit Playbook

Marco Traniello in a leather armchair with a cigar

The story

A life of second acts

Hairdresser, ship captain, real estate agent, poker pro, founder. Every chapter started with a bet on myself.

"It's better to write in a blank book than to correct other people's mistakes."

When I started with Aldo Coppola, he asked me what I knew how to do. I said "nothing", even though deep down I thought I already knew something. That was his answer, and it changed my life.

1973
Born in Gaeta, Italy
Raised on the coast of Lazio, between the sea and a family that still calls Gaeta home.
1990s
Hair, the sea and real estate
Built a name as a professional hairdresser, captained an oil ship and earned a real estate license before poker took over.
1990s
Under the Golden Gate
On the oil tankers I saw America for the first time, sailing under the Golden Gate Bridge into San Francisco. I fell in love on the spot, and from that day all I could think about was living there.
2005
A breakout WSOP debut
In my first year I cashed in seven World Series of Poker events, tied for the most of the series, and reached the final table of the $2,000 Pot-Limit Hold'em. The real wow moment came at the table: pros who had been in the game for years already knew my name, and I didn't know theirs. That's when I understood something special was in the air.
2005–2011
Sponsored pro and TV regular
Played as a sponsored pro on Full Tilt Poker, appeared on Poker After Dark, the National Heads-Up Poker Championship and WSOP broadcasts, and wrote for Card Player Magazine.
2026
Author
Publishes The High Limit Playbook, a practical guide for players who want to climb to the high-limit games.
Today
Builder in Las Vegas
Still at the tables, now also building companies: from PokerWar, a live game finder for Las Vegas, to faith, travel and media projects.

Marco during his hairdressing years — Before poker: the salon years

Poker

Legends of poker

Two decades at the felt, in the same rooms as the players who built the modern game.

Poker After DarkNBC · 2007–2008

National Heads-Up Poker ChampionshipNBC · 2005

World Series of PokerESPN · 2009

For Love or Money?Documentary · 2019

New book · 2026

The High Limit Playbook

The road from your first $1/$2 seat to the big game

Everything I learned in twenty years at the tables, in one practical guide for players who want to move up the right way.

The climb: six levels from $1/$2 to the nosebleeds, and when to move up or down
Bankroll rules with real dollar tables for every stake
Fundamentals, reading the live game and the mental game
A weekly study system, a 90-day plan and a printable toolkit

$9.99 eBook · PDF · paperback

Get the PDF Kindle Paperback

PDF, Kindle and paperback in English and Italian: choose your language after buying the PDF. For adults of legal gambling age. Educational content only: no book can guarantee results.

Second edition · 2026

Five Timeless Laws for a Modern World

Murphy, Kidlin, Gilbert, Wilson and Falkland: five simple rules for better decisions

Five sentences, five old rules, and a clearer way to face a fast, confusing world. A short, practical book you can read one chapter at a time, with your morning coffee.