CardRunners is excited to announce the latest addition to its quickly growing stable of top instructors: David “Raptor” Benefield. David, who has won several million dollars since he started playing online poker in 2004, will be making mid- and high-stakes no-limit hold’em cash game videos exclusively for CardRunners subscribers. David is known by a variety of online handles, including “Raptor,” “bebop86,” and “Aeron73.”

In addition to David’s long history of beating the biggest games on the Internet, he brings to CardRunners an exceptional track record at a variety of mid-stakes games. David brings proven and up-to-date knowledge of the characteristics of these games and the techniques required to beat them. Subscribers will therefore benefit immediately as David expands CardRunners’ mid-stakes no-limit hold’em library with videos explaining these insights and strategies. David’s videos will also be some of the most intriguing ever released on CardRunners, as he has developed an unorthodox playing style in light of his creativity and deep knowledge of situational dynamics.

David says he started playing online poker “just like everyone else,” which means low-stakes sit-and-goes on Party Poker. Though he won the first two $10 sit-and-goes he ever played, he had difficulty with both concentration and bankroll management. After running a couple of $50 deposits up to $1500 before busting his account, he finally settled into a groove and never looked back.

It was only two years ago that David made the permanent switch to cash games. He began at the $2-$4 level, which he grinded for several hours a day. After a few months of consistent winning, he started taking shots at the $10-$20 no-limit games, which he knew he could beat. A 35,000-hand break-even stretch didn’t spoil his confidence, and after a couple tries he began winning at the level. From there, nothing would stop him from rising into the world of high-stakes poker.

David has since become a regular in the $25-$50 and $50-$100 no-limit games, and is often seen playing as high as $300-$600. He has also played in some of the biggest live games in the world, including a $500-$1000 NLHE/PLO mixed game in Bobby’s Room at the Bellagio. There, he played against Sammy Farha, Jeff Lisandro, John Hennigan, and Guy Laliberte. "It was by far the biggest stakes I'd ever played,” David said. “I was taking a pretty big shot, but it was a lot of fun. It's crazy how the game plays. It plays like a live $1-$2 game. There was a really relaxed atmosphere; it wasn’t tense at all given the amount of money flying around.”

The biggest pot of David’s life came in that game. After an early-position limp, David raised JT98 double-suited to $4500. Sammy decided to come along, as did Guy out of the big blind. David checked a Q84 flop, and raised Sammy’s $14,000 bet with his pair, straight draw, and backdoor flush draw. Sammy called the raise and got his last $50,000 in on the turn, a Jack that had given David the nuts.

David is a perfect fit for the CardRunners family, as he balances a knack at the tables with impressive business acumen. At age 21, he already owns his own home as well as a four-plex that he rents out to college students. He plans to own and manage four more rental properties by the end of 2008.

David will be maintaining an active blog in the CardRunners network and notes that he’s “always been interested in blogging, but never done it. And I’ve really wanted to do one. It’s probably because I always like talking about hands and helping people out.” As for his instructional videos, David has “wanted to make videos for a while. I like all the CardRunners pros a lot, so coming on board makes a lot of sense.”