As an up-and-comer in the game, Noah "fouruhaters" Schwartz didn't get much respect. As he came up through PartyPoker, all he heard from friends and opponents was that he would never make it in poker. They said that he couldn't win: He didn't have the skills or the patience.... more

As an up-and-comer in the game, Noah “fouruhaters” Schwartz didn’t get much respect. As he came up through PartyPoker, all he heard from friends and opponents was that he would never make it in poker. They said that he couldn’t win: He didn’t have the skills or the patience. The 23-year-old Miami, Florida, native told Card Player, “Everyone was hating on me. Everyone hated. That’s where the name came from.” 

Those same people seem awfully quiet now. Early success on PartyPoker included a win in the $200,000-guaranteed tournament, for $43,800, and two first-place finishes in nightly tournaments, both for more than $30,000. Two first-place finishes on PokerStars – in the Sunday Million, for $291,473, and the Sunday Million Second Chance, for $46,612 – have established Schwartz as one of the top young online players.

The early going was hard for Schwartz, especially with fiscal responsibilities. He began playing the big tournaments on PartyPoker using credit card debt; a move Schwartz admitted was dangerous. Things worked out, however, and his first big win was for first place in a weekday tournament for $54,000. After getting out of debt, he did what came naturally, “I blew a lot of my winnings, especially the ones from PartyPoker.” As Schwartz developed as a poker player, his bankroll management skills improved as well. He graduated from Florida International University with a degree in finance and entrepreneurship, and money management was a top priority. He has curtailed the spending and invested portions of his winnings in real estate in the Miami area. He also has plans to open a nightclub.

Currently, Schwartz is focused on playing live tournaments and made the final table of a Bellagio Five-Star World Poker Classic $5,000-buy-in no-limit hold'em event. You can find him refining his game in large-buy-in tournaments at the Seminole Hard Rock Casino, but he doesn’t plan on giving up online play just yet. “I’m focused on live play, but I still play in all of the big Sunday tournaments on PokerStars.” close bio