Juan Carlos Mortensen, known better as Carlos, is an amazingly talented professional poker player, noted for his unusually artistic chip-stacking designs, frequently successful bluffing techniques a loose play at the tables. Read any Texas Hold’em poker strategy and you’ll find that a loose betting style is commonly associated with inexperienced players. Why? Because they lose a lot! Not Carlos Mortensen, though. He has turned loose poker play into an art, accumulating 65 major tournament cashes, 12 first place finishes, 2 WSOP Bracelets and a whopping $8,339,895 in career earnings.

Born April 13, 1972 in Ambato, Ecuador, Carlos grew up in a farming lifestyle with his 5 siblings. His father was an international diplomat, which gave Carlos the opportunity to study in Paris, where he also entered military school. At the age of 15, he moved to Madrid, Spain, shooting pool and playing chess in his spare time. Mortensen earned a degree in math and physics during his college years, where he met Cecilia Reyes, who he would marry soon after.

While holding a job as a bartender in the same club he often played poker, Mortensen came across a group of men who had recently visited America and learned the game of Texas Hold’em. They were playing poker at one of the tables, which piqued Mortensen’s interest. He decided to play, bringing $100 to the table. Carlos lost it all. That night he contemplated the events of the evening, analyzing how he had lost; so much so that he didn’t even sleep that night. He was so intrigued by the game that poker became his study, his life and his dream.

Carlos made the big move to the United States to enter the 1999 World Series of Poker. His friends from Spain had gathered enough money to pay the buy-in, and Mortensen wasn’t about to miss out on such an opportunity.

Although Carlos was ousted from the tournament about halfway through, too early to finish in the money, he did end up earning about $50,000 in cash games over the coming months. And thus, Carlos Mortensen began his career as a professional poker player. On top of his 2 WSOP Bracelets, Mortensen has claimed 3 World Poker Tour titles, plus the coveted title of World Poker Tour Champion, Season 5.

Carlos Mortensen and the WSOP
though his first appearance at the 1999 World Series of Poker (WSOP) was unsuccessful, Carlos Mortensen was not deterred. He came back the next year on May 12, 2000 to finish in the 7th position in Event #20 No Limit Hold’em for $22,575. Though not a substantial cash when compared to the highest WSOP purses, it was enough to keep Carlos coming back for more.

The 2001 WSOP saw Carlos Mortensen sending opponents, one after another, to the rails in Event #27 No Limit Hold’em until only he was remaining, claiming his first WSOP Bracelet and a prize of $1,500,000.

The following year was profitable, but less glamorous for Carlos, taking one cash in the 2002 WSOP for an 11th place purse of $40,940. In 2003, however, Mortensen once again made his name known, earning a total of 3 cashes that included another WSOP Bracelet, and $251,680, for taking down Event #34 Limit Hold’em.

The name Carlos Mortensen virtually dropped off the WSOP map for the next two years, earning nothing in 2004 and only 3 small cashes in 2005, totaling less than $19,000. Carlos splashed his way back onto the scene at the 2006 WSOP, as if to say “I’m here! Remember me?”

Carlos finished in the money 5 times during the 2006 WSOP, 4 of those at final tables (2nd, 9th, 9th and 10th) and the other just shy at 17th position. Mortensen earned a collective $221,887 for his skilled efforts, also showing his ranged ability for various poker games, taking the 2nd place victory in Razz.

Carlos made an impressive run at the 2007 WSOP, but fell quite short of the championship, finishing 217th overall in the No Limit Hold’em Championship for a prize of $51,398.

Carlos Mortensen and the WPT
Carlos Mortensen’s history with the World Poker Tour (WPT) is simply phenomenal, starting in 2002 with the opening Season of the WPT. Over this time, Carlos has accumulated an enormous WPT collective prize purse of more than $5.5 million; well over half of his current total career earnings.

Mortensen’s first WPT prize came in Season 1 at the Legend of Poker tournament, finishing a No Limit Hold’em event in 6th place for $3,180 in August of 2002. In November of that same year, Carlos cashed twice in the WPT World Poker Finals, the first being a 17th place finish for $1,050, and the second being a 1st place victory in Event #14, awarding a much nicer prize of $53,280.

February of 2003, still in it’s first season, the WPT hosted the annual LA Poker Classic, in which Carlos Mortensen made his way twice into the final table in Events #21 and #24, finishing 7th and 10th for $4,950 and $21,355 respectively. Two months later, Carlos entered the Five-Star World Poker Classic WPT Championship, finish 9th in an early No Limit Hold’em Event to pocket $7,820.

During the WPT off-season, Carlos claimed his second WSOP Bracelet, but turned his attention back to the WPT as Season 2 got underway. On September 22, 2003, the Borgata Poker Open saw Carlos finish at the final table in 4th position, earning $70,500. In December, Mortensen earned a small cash of $3,623 at the Five Diamond poker tournament, but it didn’t compare with what was to come in February of 2004. The LA Poker Classic kicked off again, and Carlos found himself the final man standing - or sitting as it may be - at Event #22 Pot Limit Hold’em. Mortensen was awarded his first WPT Title, along with $117,650.

The 3rd season of the WPT was another big success story for Carlos Mortensen, though it didn’t start out that way. He cashed a total of five times, the first four adding up to about $30,000 with no final table finishes. The fifth prize winning finish, however, delivered Mortensen’s second WPT Title and a massive purse of $1,000,000 - his largest single-cash victory up to this point - for taking down the entire Doyle Brunson North American Poker Championship Main Event on October 22, 2004.

WPT Season 4 did not offer any more titles to Carlos Mortensen, but he did manage to finish in the money 6 times spanning the 2005/2006 season, including 2nd place at the Mirage Poker Showdown for $72,844, and a final table 5th place finish in Event #9 No Limit Hold’em at the Bellagio Five Diamond World Poker Classic for $31,330.

Carlos Mortensen achieved his grandest victory in WPT Season 5, totalling 4 purses. The first was at the Mandalay Bay Poker Championships Main Event, ending in 12th position for $33,600. The second and third cashes came at the Festa al Lago tournament for 16th place in a No Limit Hold’em event and 14th place in the No Limit Hold’em Championship, earning $3,730 and $41,745 respectively.

Mortensen’s fourth and final WPT Season 5 victory, however, has carved his name into the history books. Carlos skillfully paved his way to victory, earning the title WPT World Champion by taking down the entire field at the WPT World Poker Championships on April 27, 2007, pocketing a massive prize of $3,970,415.

Carlos Mortensen’s Other Achievements
Carlos has cashed twice in the European Poker Tour (EPT), the most recent being a strong run for the EPT Grand Finals title. His first finish in the money came in September of 2004 at the Barcelona Open. Mortensen finished 3rd at the Heads-Up No Limit Hold’em final table for $19,659.

In March of 2007, Carlos Mortensen almost made the final table of the EPT Grand Final Main Event in Monte Carlo, but was derailed in 11th position by Joshua Prager. Carlos made a Straight on the turn, but Prager’s Flush came on the River, sending Mortensen home with an admirable prize of $86,973.

Carlos Mortensen Outside of Poker
Carlos Mortensen is 35 years old, residing in Las Vegas, Nevada. He often goes by the nickname “El Matador”. Carlos and his wife Cecilia Reyes Mortensen, also a poker player, were divorced in 2006.