Steve Badger

Steve Badger (born in Kaukauna, Wisconsin) is the alias of Steve Belling, a professional poker player and website entrepreneur.

Badger began playing casino poker in Santa Cruz, California in the 1980s. Following the introduction of flop games to California, Badger played ring games across Northern California, but after relocating to Los Angeles he began to focus primarily on the budding poker tournament scene there. Among his major tournament titles are the 1993 California State Lowball Championship and titles from the 1995, 1997 and 1999 Legends of Poker Omaha championships.

In 1999 he also won major Omaha tournaments at the Commerce Casino's Los Angeles Poker Classic and Hollywood Park Racetrack's National Championship of Poker. The most prestigious tournament he won that year was the Omaha championship at the World Series of Poker.

In 2000, Badger established his PlayWinningPoker.com website, which includes his Omaha, Texas hold 'em, other poker strategy articles, as well as his Winner's Guide to Online Poker, which was the first online poker-specific strategy guide on the internet when it was published in 2000. He continues to write for and update his website regularly.

As of 2008, his total live tournament winnings exceed $590,000.