Erik Seidel came close to winning the WSOP Main Event in one of his first tournaments, finishing in second place behind Johnny Chan. He became famous for the film Rounders, in which Mike MacDermott, played by Matt Damon, replayed the final hand between Johnny Chan and Erik Seidel several times. 

After this first feat of arms, Erik Seidel, former skilled backgammon player, managed to win 9 WSOP bracelets from 1992 to 2021, where he won the $10,000 Super Millions High-Roller for $538,835, despite not having won a bracelet since 2007. He ranks 5th in the number of paid places at WSOP events, with 119 times in the money. 

A regular at the circuit's High-Roller and Super High-Roller tournaments, he ranks 4th on the All-Time Money List behind Bryn Kenney, Justin Bonomo and Daniel Negreanu, and has been a member of the Poker Hall of Fame since 2010. He topped the list for a brief period in 2011, before being overtaken by Daniel Negreanu. 

He has distinguished himself on all the major international circuits, from the World Poker Tour, with his victory at the WPT Foxwoods in 2008, to the European Poker Tour, where he triumphed in the €100,000 Super High-Roller for €2,015,000 ahead of Dzmitry Urbanovich.