The legendary high stakes poker player has been named on the Republican nominees team of economic advisors.

Andy Beal

Billionaire Andy Beal, the businessman who famously took on the poker elite in the world's biggest cash games, has been revealed as a Donald Trump advisor.

Beal joins a 13-strong team of economic advisors which also includes oil magnate Harold Hamm and billionaire hedge fund manager John Paulson.

Beal is also a donor to Trump's campaign.

Better known as 'the Banker' in poker circles, he is famous for taking on a team of elite poker players called 'The Corporation' which included Doyle Brunson, Todd Brunson, Phil Ivey, Jennifer Harman, Howard Lederer, Chip Reese and Ted Forrest.

The team pooled their money and took it in turns to play Beal heads-up for Limit Hold'em stakes as big as $100,000/$200,000. While he ultimately ended the battles down by tens of millions, he did also break the Corporation on a number of occasions.

He has largely avoided poker in recent years but famously lost $5 million to Todd Brunson last year and was rumoured to have lost tens of millions to Rick Salomon.

Whatever your politics, this may prove a small silver lining for poker as Trump's running mate is famously anti-poker, so there is a chance (however slim) that Beal might have a positive influence on Trump's stance on the game, should he get elected.

Barry Carter Barry Carter is the editor of PokerStrategy.com and the co-author of The Mental Game of Poker 1 & 2. Twitter

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