Retired high stakes poker pro Haseeb ‘DOGISHEAD’ Qureshi has made headlines this week in the poker world with the launch of his new e-book How To Be A Poker Player: The Philosophy of Poker, and an ambitious claim to give away all of his remaining money to his family and various charities.
According to his new website, www.haseebq.com, Qureshi will be giving away $75,000 to charity, retaining $10,000 for himself to live on and the rest will be donated to his parents to help them prepare for retirement. The obvious question is why? Why is Qureshi giving away all this money that he earned playing $25/$50 cash games online a few years ago? Luckily, the American’s website provides the answer;
‘I wanted a fresh start. I wanted to use what I’ve been given to help people who have been less fortunate. I also wanted to support my parents, who have done so much for me throughout the tough times in my life. I’ve been lucky in so many ways, it’s only right that I do what I can to pay it forward.
On the whole, poker was an amazing (and surreal) experience. It taught me a lot; it was very generous to me. But I don’t want to live in the shadow of it. I want to prove to myself that I didn’t need poker. That my career as a poker player was not my apex, but just another stepping stone toward the rest of my life.’
Qureshi has always been highly regarded as both a writer and coach – he used to provide videos for CardRunners – and his new book is getting great reviews already. [PokerPlayer magazine will be running an extract from it in the near future, you can get a digital subscription here].
However, despite these recent good intentions Qureshi’s reputation has been harmed by a series of incidents in 2011. Along with fellow nosebleeds star Dan ‘Jungleman’ Cates and Spanish player Jose ‘Girah’ Macedo, the three admitted chip dumping to the tune of $30,000 and playing on each other’s accounts.
Now that Qureshi is back in the poker spotlight it will be interesting to see how he is received by the community. By making a fresh start with his charitable efforts he is clearly trying to put the past behind him and move on. PokerPlayer.co.uk will be keeping a close eye on the story and update you with any developments.
For more poker content like this, buy PokerPlayer magazine on iTunes now!
Photo courtesy of www.Haseebq.com.
