Cunningham studied civil engineering at University of California, Los Angeles before dropping out of school to play poker professionally. Cunningham"s single largest tournament payout occurred at the 2006 World Series of Poker when he finished in fourth place in the Main Event, earning $3,628,513.
At the age of 18, he began playing at Indian casinos. He was also voted by fellow professional poker players the Best All Around Player under 35. Frequently during the tournament, when other players tried to take on Cunningham, Entertainment and Sports Programming Network"s Norman Chad would respond with comments such as: "What are they thinking of? This is Allen Cunningham!"
In the 2008 World Series of Poker Cunningham made another deep run in the Main Event, finishing 117th place out of 6844 players, earning $41,816.
As of 2014, his total live tournament winnings exceed $11,500,000, 17th on the all time winnings list.
As of August 2014, his 55 cashes including his five bracelets have netted him $7,097,407 in WSOP earnings. He resides in Las Vegas with girlfriend Melissa Hayden and their dog.
Previously a Full Tilt sponsored pro, he became a full member of Team Full Tilt in October 2006.
