With the addition of a wife and four children, Buff’s responsibilities at home took precedence and card playing took a backseat. However, even as he became a highly respected trainer in the high risk liability industry, he could be found traveling the country playing NL Hold’em. After years of financial success at the tables, Buff was approached to become apart of Team DeepStacks and has since become an integral part of the company’s growth. However, the transition for Buff from cash games to tournaments was not easy. He had made so much money in live action that he had to be coaxed to focus more on tournaments. And what a decision it was.

Over the course of a single six month period, Buff made the final table in 12 of the 13 tournaments he entered. In those tournaments, Buff won over 60% of them and had a streak of 11 consecutive final table appearances in casinos and card rooms around the country. Buff plays in cash game limits up to $20-$40 NL and $100-$200 limit in places such as Las Vegas (NV), Atlantic City (NJ), Foxwoods (CT), Albuquerque (NM), Deadwood (SD), Tampa (FL) and Miami (FL). During his busy schedule and when he isn’t killing live action, Buff finds the time to play major events with his most recent being the 2008 World Series of Poker bracelet events.

Buff’s biggest strength is his ability to read his opponents and his knack of determining their range of hands. He is also a highly analytical player and is advanced in Game Theory applications. His skills apply to small and major buy-in tournaments and cash game limits ranging from $1-$2 to $25-$50 NL and beyond.

Buff is the company’s senior instructor and President of Training. His focus is to insure the proper delivery of the training curriculum as well as its application within the learning environment. He ensures that every student is taken care of both in the classroom and beyond and is invaluable to his students and the company.

Favorite quote: "To become truly successful, you must be completely prepared"