Erica Shoenberg Biography

Erica Shoenberg

Name: Erica Shoenberg
Nickname: Poker Babe; aka Black Jack Babe
DOB: 3/25/1978
Home: Las Vegas, NV, USA
Erica Shoenberg was born to gambling loving parents in Akron, Ohio. Raised with the pastime as a daily part of her life, she learned that many benefits come for living near a race track. As she grew up she found that the time she spent with her father at the track enabled her to develop a love of numbers, and she found she could excel consistently at anything using mathematics. In 1991 she had her first encounter with a competitive win. She competed in and won the Knox County Math Championship. Taking that win, she moved into college with the confidence to excel. She sought a degree in Theater and acting. During her 4 years in college she maintained card skills, originally introduced to her by her family and friends in Ohio. Eventually it was this that lured her to play cards on a professional level, but she didn’t start her career there.

After graduation she tinkered in several career options, finding some success in each one. First she was a model, and then she found tournament volleyball. After not finding her comfort there she continued into personal training, and kickboxing instruction. Both of which she excelled in, but did not settle with. She found a longing for the card tables.
In 2004 she entered her first Black Jack tournament with a 25 dollar entry fee. She cashed with 2000 dollars by the conclusion of the event. She found her competitive edge, and desire satisfied by the tournament format. Soon a member of the MIT Blackjack Team, perhaps multiple members, found time to train her in the same techniques used to bring home millions from Las Vegas casinos. Without delay, her ability and skill grew alongside the blackjack celebrity. Soon she was in the top 40 players, and was invited to play in the World Series of Blackjack hosted by the Game Show Network (GSN), later in 2006 she was also a part of the Ultimate Blackjack Tour on CBS.
Soon the Blackjack Babe found a draw to Texas Hold Em. She played some home games in Akron, at least one that included professional poker player Phil Hellmuth. In late 2005, applying the same principles and competitive spirit, she soon began to develop a name for herself in poker. In the World Poker Tour, season 4, she found the 25k dollar championship both entertaining and worth her time, as she cashed in at 16th. Although she did not remain as the last woman standing til the final table, she did find that her nickname was changing to Poker Babe. She was invited to the World Poker Tour (WPT) Ladies Night Out, where she placed fourth.

The WPT finishes landed her a sponsorship with Mansion Poker. She turned heads both with her good looks, and her poker skill. She was the first member of Team Mansion Poker, which has left her a solid position to play poker professionally. She is now an active sponsored member of team Full Tilt Poker. She views the competition like any other job, by limiting herself to only playing poker 8hrs a day, 5 days a week. Her only exception to this is during the WSOP, where she plays competitively and aggressively in every hand. This formula enables her to be charged and refreshed for the tables, online and off. She is also open to pursue her other pleasures, such as beach volleyball, college basketball, and Ultimate Fighting. She also opens her time to fiancé and fellow poker professional David Benyamine.