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Most people that drop out of college only one semester short of graduation never call it one of their best life decisions, but Ted Forrest is not most people. Forrest has worked his way from a Grand Canyon hotel employee and a prop player at the Palace Station to one of the top cash game players in the world. Forrest left the tournament circuit in the mid 90s to primarily focus on his cash game play after winning three bracelets in one year.

Forrest won his first three bracelets all in 1993, only Phil Ivey and Phil Hellmuth have won 3 bracelets in one year.  He picked a bracelet in three different games in 93; Limit Omaha HiLo, Razz, and Seven Card Stud. He played sparingly in tournaments during the mid 90s but did make six final tables at the WSOP in those years. He returned to the tournament circuit in 2004 to take advantage of the gigantic boom in tournament poker.  He announced his presence as force in the WSOP in 2004, returning to win two bracelets that year. He won a Seven Card Stud event and a No Limit Hold’em event.

Forrest won the NBC Heads Up Championship in 2006. He beat a who’s who of poker en route to the championship match. He faced Eric Seidel, Chad Brown, Sammy Farha, Sean Sheikhan, and Chris Ferguson  Forrest also made two final tables in 2008.

Off the felt Forrest is known as one of the biggest prop bettors in Las Vegas and has won some outrageous bets. He once ran a marathon in the searing 115 degree Las Vegas heat, did a standing backflip at the WSOP for $10,000, and drank ten beers in 30 minutes. He’s lost a few as well. He tried to bench press 225 lbs fifty times in 24 hours, resulting in a torn perctoral muscle. He also bet that Huck Seed’s brother, Leif, couldn’t run from Las Vegas to L.A. with only sleeping twice, he did.

Forrest has been called “Professor Backwards” by his peers because of his seemingly backwards play. He has been known to play any two cards because he feels he can outplay his opponents after the flop. Forrest has also been one of the biggest backers in the poker world, bankrolling many successful players. He was also a part of “The Corporation” that played Andy Beal in the legendary high stakes Heads Up matches chronicled by Michael Craig’s “The Professor, the Banker, and the Suicide King.” Although Craig has never confirmed it, Forrest is believed to be the Suicide King in the book.