The Poker Career of Hollywood Actor Ben Affleck

Not a lot of people know that Hollywood celebrity Ben Affleck is not only a very good actor but is also a very good poker player. He plays well but poker enthusiasts watch his matches not because of the poker skills he possesses, but because of the fact that he is considered as the "Sexiest Man Alive."

It is not clear as to when Ben Affleck started to become interested in playing the game of poker. Perhaps, it was because of the participation of his good friend and equally good actor Matt Damon in the poker motion picture titled "Rounders." This celebrity poker player did not have that much knowledge as to how poker is played, which was why he decided to hire a poker instructor. The first professional player who taught him how to play poker was Amir Vahedy, who was then replaced by poker professional Annie Duke after Ben Affleck participated and lost in a poker tournament.

Under the coaching of Duke, Ben Affleck augmented his skills and even won at the California State Poker Championship that was held in 2004. He took home a total of US$356,400 and became the very first actor to win in a major open tournament. Such success allowed him to participate at the final tournament of the 2004 World Poker Tour. This celebrity poker player has been exerting his effort to further improve his poker skills.

Aside from being a good poker player and a well-respected member of the poker elite, this celebrity poker player is also a famous Hollywood actor.

Ben Affleck started acting at the age of eight. However, this celebrity poker player and his childhood friend Damon were not being offered good roles, which was why they both decided to write their own script and star in their own film. This was the birth of the motion picture "Good Will Hunting" in 1997. Both Ben Affleck and Damon were recognized as the best screenwriters, having received an Oscar award for Best Original Screenplay.

The success of "Good Will Hunting" resulted to numerous film offers, including Armageddon, Daredevil, The Sum of All Fears, Changing Lanes, Pearl Harbor, and Forces of Nature. These motion pictures were all successful, allowing this celebrity poker player to become recognized as one of the best Hollywood leading men in the 2000s.

This celebrity poker player was also romantically linked with several Hollywood actresses. In 1998, he dated actress Gwyneth Paltrow and in 2002, he started going out with actress-singer Jennifer Lopez. Ben Affleck and Lopez got engaged but also broke up in 2004.

Hollywood actress Jennifer Garner was the last celebrity that Ben Affleck dated. They married in June 2005 and in December of the same year, Garner gave birth to their daughter named Violet Anne Affleck.

The couple has several houses in various parts of the United States.