Michael "The Grinder" Mizrachi

Date: Mon, Sep 22, 2008

Michael Mizrachi is an American professional poker player. Michael Mizrachi was born January 5, 1981 in Miami, Florida.

Growing up, Mizrachi wanted to become a doctor but dropped out of college to play poker full-time.

In January 2005, Mizrachi finished 5th in the World Poker Tour (WPT) World Poker Open at a table also featuring Daniel Negreanu and Scotty Nguyen. The next month he won a first prize of $1,859,909 on the WPT, defeating a final table including Ted Forrest and Erick Lindgren. He finished the year's WPT with an 11th place finish (out of 452 entrants) in the $25,000 WPT Championship.

In the 2005 World Series of Poker (WSOP), he tied a record by having 7 money finishes.

In the WPT's fourth season he finished 2nd to Scotty Nguyen in the Gold Strike World Poker Open. In the next event, he defeated a final table including John D'Agostino and Erick Lindgren to win $1,173,373 and a 2006 Cadillac Escalade in his second WPT win.

Mizrachi was one of the players at the table during season 2 of High Stakes Poker.

In 2006 Mizrachi won CardPlayer Magazine's Player of the Year Award.

As of 2008, Mizrachi's live tournament winnings exceed $6,700,000.

Michael Mizrachi is the younger brother of Robert Mizrachi who has numerous WSOP and WPT finishes to his own name. He has a twin brother Eric Mizrachi (also a poker player) and a younger brother, Daniel, who is a professional magician.

Michael Mizrachi is married to Aidiliy, has one son, Paul William (named after his grandfather) and a daughter named Julie Malka ("queen" in Hebrew). He currently lives in Hollywood, Florida. He purchased a used tour bus from Michael Jenkins Inc. leasing out of his poker winnings which he used to keep his family near him when he is on the road, but eventually sold it as it was depreciating in value.

Official site
World Poker Tour Profile
Card Player Magazine article
2nd Card Player Magazine article
Hendon Mob tournament results
InsidePoker magazine interview

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Jennifer "Jennicide" Leigh

Date: Sat, Sep 20, 2008

Jennifer "Jennicide" Leigh is an American professional poker player. She was born August 10, 1983 in Wilmington, Delaware.

Jennifer Leigh was introduced to poker by Robert Boyd (Dutch Boyd's brother) years after they met each other on Internet Relay Chat.

Jennifer Leigh built up from playing $5 SNG online poker tournaments to playing $100/$200 limit hold'em cash games. She also cashed in the $1,000 limit hold'em event of the World Championship of Online Poker.

Jennifer Leigh nickname "Jennicide" was her alias on hacking bulletin boards when she was younger. She was at one time involved in beige boxing. Jennifer Leigh has described herself as a nerd, with knowledge of Linux and C# programming.

Jennifer Leigh is best known for playing online poker at PokerStars under the screen name "Jennicide," she was also involved in the Poker Royale: Battle of the Ages series. She won two preliminary heats and went on to finish 5th in the Grand Final. She finished in the money in the World Poker Tour (WPT) 2006 Caribbean Poker Adventure.

Jennifer Leigh has been romantically involved with several young poker professionals. She has indicated that she finds it difficult to maintain a relationship whilst playing poker.

Jennifer Leigh loves video games, and recently blogged about reaching level 70 on World of Warcraft. She also played the MMORPG EverQuest.

Leigh has also posed for FHM Online in 2007, and appeared in the May 2008 issue of Playboy.

As of 2008, her live tournament winnings exceed $61,000.

Official site
Article by Leigh on Dating tips for poker players
PokerLizard interview

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Shannon Elizabeth

Date: Sat, Sep 20, 2008

Shannon Elizabeth is an American actress and former fashion model. Shannon Elizabeth was born Shannon Elizabeth Fadal; September 7, 1973. Shannon Elizabeth came to prominence in the 1999 comedy film American Pie.

Shannon Elizabeth , of Syrian, Irish, English, German and Cherokee heritage, was born in Houston, Texas and raised in Waco, Texas. In high school, Shannon Elizabeth was very much interested in tennis and at one point even considered a professional tennis career. Shannon Elizabeth worked as a model before she began a career in film.

Shannon Elizabeth appeared in several films, including the horror film Jack Frost and Dish Dogs, before being cast in 1999's American Pie, which was a major box office success and garnered her fame for the famous 'webcam scene' in which she appeared topless. Shannon Elizabeth subsequently appeared in several major Hollywood films, including Scary Movie, Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back, and Tomcats. Shannon Elizabeth starred in the UPN series Cuts until the show was canceled in May 2006. Cuts and its parent show, One on One, were two of the many shows not to be picked up by The CW.

In August 1999, Shannon Elizabeth posed for a nude pictorial in Playboy. In 2000 and 2003, she was featured in Maxim. In June 2008 she was Maxim's cover girl.

She provided the likeness and voice for Serena St. Germaine in the 2004 video game, James Bond 007: Everything or Nothing.

Shannon Elizabeth was among the cast of the sixth season of Dancing with the Stars, partnered with Derek Hough. Elizabeth was the seventh star eliminated from the competition. The elimination came one week after she and Hough criticized the judges for marking them down for a lack of hip action while couples with "heel leads", "feet coming off the floor", and "horrific, demented lines" received higher scores.

Shannon Elizabeth is rumoured to be a contestant on the eighth series of I'm A Celebrity, Get Me Out Of Here starting in November on ITV1 in the UK.

Shannon Elizabeth was in a relationship with actor Joseph D. Reitman for 10 years, including three years of marriage. The couple separated in March 2005, and Elizabeth filed for divorce in late June 2005. Some media outlets speculated that the cause of their breakup was Reitman assisting in a practical joke on Elizabeth for Ashton Kutcher's (who played her on screen boyfriend Michael Kelso in That 70s Show) MTV television series Punk'd, a year before their divorce, which involved leading Elizabeth to think that she was caught on a sex tape.

Animal Avengers, a non-profit animal rescue organization founded by Elizabeth and her then-husband Reitman, is dedicated to rescuing and finding a home for homeless pets, reducing pet overpopulation, promoting responsible pet guardianship and preventing animal cruelty. Among the many fund raising events, Team Bodog raised over $50,000 for Animal Avengers in a celebrity poker night on October 8, 2005. The event was hosted by noted tournament director Matt Savage. Over the past year Shannon Elizabeth has participated in numerous other Bodog-sponsored charity events as well. After the September 11 attacks, Shannon recorded a public service announcement in which she said, "I'm half Arabic, but I am 100 percent American. What is going on affects me the same as everyone else."

Elizabeth dates former Dancing with the Stars partner Derek Hough. Elizabeth denied rumours of a marriage proposal from Hough, or that the couple was engaged.

Poker
At the 2007 NBC National Heads-Up Poker Championship, where she finished in the Semifinals, tied for 3rd.Elizabeth, who describes poker as her "second career" has been called "one of the leading celebrity poker players." She visits Las Vegas up to three times each month to participate in poker games with the top players of the United States. Elizabeth played in the Main Event of the 2005 World Series of Poker and won a special tournament celebrating the opening of a new poker room at Caesars Palace hotel in January 2006, beating out 83 celebrities and poker professionals to win $55,000. She has also cashed four times in the World Series of Poker in 2006 and 2007, but again busted out of the Main Event early. In 2007, she advanced to the semi-finals of the NBC National Heads-Up Poker Championship in a field consisting of the top poker professionals before losing to eventual champion Paul Wasicka. Among the four opponents she defeated were three World Series of Poker multiple bracelet winners: Jeff Madsen, Barry Greenstein, and Humberto Brenes.

The online poker room Full Tilt Poker once had a sponsorship agreement with Elizabeth.

Films Shannon Elizabeth has appeared in:
Blast (1997) hostage
Jack Frost (1997) Jill
American Pie (1999) Nadia
Dish Dogs (2000) Anne
Scary Movie (2000) Buffy Gilmore
Seamless (2000) Nicole
Tomcats (2001) Natalie Parker
Thir13en Ghosts (2001) Kathy
Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back (2001) Justice
American Pie 2 (2001) Nadia
Love Actually (2003) Harriet
Johnson Family Vacation (2004) Chrishelle
Cursed (2005) Becky
Confessions of an American Bride (2005) Sam
The Kid & I (2005) Shelby
The Grand (2008) Toni
Deal (2008) Michelle

Television
Off Centre (2001) Dawn
The Twilight Zone (2001)
Punk'd (2003) Herself
That '70s Show (2003–2004) Brooke
Cuts (2005) Tiffany Sherwood
Thank God You're Here (2007)
One on One (2004) Tiffany
Dancing with the Stars (2008) Herself
Erin & Allison's Life (2008)
I Bet You (2008)

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Allen Cunningham

Date: Sat, Sep 20, 2008

Allen Cunningham is an American professional poker player. Allen Cunningham wad Cunningham was born March 28, 1977. He studied civil engineering at UCLA before dropping out of school to play poker professionally. Allen Cunningham began playing at 18 in Indian casinos.

Allen Cunningham resides in Las Vegas with girlfriend Melissa Hayden and their dog, Muffin.

Allen Cunningham plays online poker exclusively at Full Tilt Poker. Previously a Full Tilt sponsored pro, he became a full member of Team Full Tilt in October 2006.

Allen Cunningham earned the title 2005 ESPN/Toyota Player of the Year and came close to winning it again in 2006. Allen Cunningham was also voted by fellow professional poker players the Best All Around Player under 35.

Allen Cunninghams 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. Frequently during the tournament, when other players tried to take on Allen Cunningham, ESPN's Norman Chad would respond with comments such as: "What are they thinking of? This is Allen Cunningham!"

Allen Cunningham joined a short list of players who have won a World Series of Poker Bracelet in three consecutive years after winning his fifth bracelet in 2007. Others to accomplish this include Johnny Moss, Bill Boyd, Doyle Brunson, Gary Berland and Erik Seidel.

Most recently, Allen Cunningham won the $300,000 'Mega Match' on Poker After Dark that aired the week of October 8, 2007.

On December 7, 2007, Allen Cunningham won the 15,000 buy-in inaugural National Poker League Vegas Open Championship Main Event after defeating David Singer during heads-up play, winning over $325,000.

On May 1, 2008, Allen Cunningham won the 2008 World Series of Poker Circuit event at Caesars Palace, Las Vegas, earning $499,162.

As of 2008, his total live tournament winnings exceed $10,200,000, 5th in winnings, behind only Jamie Gold, Joseph Hachem, Daniel Negreanu, and Phil Hellmuth.

World Series of Poker Bracelets
He has earned five bracelets at the World Series of Poker:

Year Tournament Prize (US$)
2001 $5,000 Seven-card stud $201,760
2002 $5,000 Deuce to Seven Draw $160,200
2005 $1,500 No Limit Hold 'em $725,405
2006 $1,000 No Limit Hold'em/w Rebuys $625,830
2007 $5,000 Pot Limit Hold'em $487,287



Official website
Full Tilt Poker profile
Card Player Magazine article
PokerListings.com interview

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Chris Ferguson

Date: Sat, Sep 20, 2008

Christopher Philip Ferguson is an American professional poker player. Chris Ferguson was born on April 11, 1963 in Los Angeles, California. In his career he Chris Ferguson has won five World Series of Poker bracelets, including the bracelet for the 2000 WSOP Main Event, and is the winner of the 2008 NBC National Heads-Up Poker Championship.

On television, some interesting truths about him have been revealed, including his presidency of a swing dancing club at UCLA, as well as his ability to throw playing cards fast enough to cut through bananas, carrots, and even melons. Chris Ferguson claims to have painstakingly turned $1 into more than $20,000 on an online poker site over six months, as a personal challenge. Chris Ferguson talks about this in an evening as a guest on Poker Night Live, which can still be seen on the channel's online video player. Similarly, to show that it could be done, he turned $0 into $10,000 on Full Tilt by first winning freeroll tournaments, and then playing with the prize money. Despite passing the $10k target the challenge continues and was at one point over $20k.

Chris Ferguson is currently dating Brazilian actress Fabolosa, who can be seen congratulating him after several wins in the televised coverage of the 2008 National Heads-Up Poker Championship.

Although his nickname is "Jesus", taken from the central figure of the Christian religion, Ferguson is an atheist.

Chris Ferguson attended UCLA where he earned a Ph.D. in computer science (focusing on virtual network algorithms) in 1999 after five years as an undergraduate and 13 years as a graduate student. His Ph.D. advisor was Leonard Kleinrock. Ferguson's parents have doctoral degrees in mathematics and his father, Thomas Ferguson, teaches game theory and theoretical probability at UCLA. His style is highly mathematical, using a strong knowledge of game theory and developing computer simulations to improve his understanding of the game.

Chris Ferguson was playing poker before age 10. In college he honed his skill on IRC playing poker for play money in chat rooms. In 1994, he began playing in tournaments in California and in 1995, he entered his first World Series of Poker. Ferguson beat T. J. Cloutier at the main event of the 2000 WSOP to win the $1.5 million prize.

In 2004, Ferguson helped launch the online poker site Full Tilt Poker.

Ferguson finished runner-up to Phil Hellmuth in the 2005 National Heads-Up Poker Championship. He made the finals again in 2006, but again finished second, this time to Ted Forrest. In 2008 he made the finals for the third time, this time defeating Andy Bloch and winning the title. He has the most wins in the four-year period of the tournament, with an overall match record of 16-3

As of 2008, his total live tournament winnings exceed $7,300,000.

World Series of Poker bracelets
Year Tournament Prize (US$)
2000 $2,500 Seven Card Stud $151,000
2000 $10,000 No Limit Texas Hold 'em World Championship $1,500,000
2001 $1,500 Omaha Hi-Lo Split Eight or Better $164,735
2003 $2,000 Omaha Hi-Lo Split Eight or Better $123,680
2003 $2,000 1/2 Limit Hold'em - 1/2 Seven Card Stud $66,220

In addition to these bracelets, Ferguson is the only player to have won three World Series of Poker circuit events.

Chris Ferguson is nicknamed "Jesus" because of his trademark long brown hair and beard. He is a relatively quiet player who often adopts a similar motionless pose in situations where he could be "read". He adopted his trademark wide-brimmed hat and sunglasses consciously, trying to disguise the fact that he was a college student.



Official site
Full Tilt Poker profile
Poker Pages interview

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Doyle Brunson

Date: Fri, Sep 19, 2008

Doyle F. Brunson is an iconic American poker player who has played professionally for over 50 years. Doyle Brunson was born August 10, 1933 in Longworth, Fisher County, Texas. Doyle Brunson is the first two-time World Series of Poker main event champion to win consecutively, a Poker Hall of Fame inductee, and the author of several highly influential books on poker.

Doyle Brunson is the first player to earn $1 million in poker tournaments and has won ten World Series of Poker bracelets throughout his career, tied with Johnny Chan for second all-time, one behind Phil Hellmuth's 11. Doyle Brunson is also one of only four players to have won the Main Event at the World Series of Poker multiple times, which he did in 1976 and 1977. In addition, Doyle Brunson is the first of five players to win both the WSOP Main Event and a World Poker Tour title. In January 2006, Bluff Magazine voted Brunson the #1 most influential force in the world of poker.

Doyle Brunson was born in Longworth, Texas, a town with a population of approximately 100, the eldest of three children. Because of Longworth's small size, Brunson frequently ran long distances to other towns, and became a promising athlete. Doyle Brunson was part of the All-State Texas basketball team, and practiced the one-mile run to keep in shape in the off-season. Although he was more interested in basketball than running, Doyle Brunson entered the 1950 Texas Interscholastic Track Meet and won the one-mile event with a time of 4:43. Despite receiving offers from many colleges, he attended Hardin-Simmons University in Abilene, Texas, because it was close to his home.

The Minneapolis Lakers were interested in Brunson, but a knee injury ended his playing days. Doyle Brunson had taken a summer job and was unloading some sheetrock; when the ton of weight shifted, Brunson instinctively tried to stop it, but it landed on his leg, breaking it in two places. Doyle Brunson was in a cast for two years, and the injury ended his hopes of becoming a professional basketball player. He still occasionally requires a crutch to get around because of the injury.

Doyle Brunson changed his focus from athletics to education and obtained a master's degree in administrative education.
Brunson had begun playing poker before his injury, playing five card draw and finding it "easy". He played more often after being injured and his winnings paid for his expenses. Doyle Brunson obtained a bachelor's degree in 1954 and a master's the following year. After graduating, Doyle Brunson took a job as a business machines salesman but, on his first day, he was invited to play in a seven-card stud game and earned over a month's salary in under three hours. He soon left the company and became a professional poker player.

Doyle Brunson started off by playing in illegal games on Exchange Street, Fort Worth, Texas with a friend named Dwayne Hamilton. Eventually, they began traveling around Texas, Oklahoma and Louisiana, playing in bigger games, and met fellow-professionals Amarillo Slim and Sailor Roberts. The illegal games Brunson played in during this time were usually run by criminals who were often members of organized crime, so rules were not always enforced. Brunson has admitted to having a gun pulled on him several times and that he was robbed and beaten. Poker was not a socially accepted career path during this time and, given the reputation of those running the games he was playing in, he had little legal recourse.

Hamilton moved back to Fort Worth while the others teamed up and travelled around together, gambling on poker, golf and, in Doyle's words, "just about everything". They pooled their money together for gambling and after six years, they made their first serious trip to Las Vegas and lost all of it, a six-figure amount. They decided to stop playing as partners yet remain friends.
Brunson finally settled in Las Vegas.

Other than his poker success, his greatest achievement is probably his book, Super/System, which is widely considered to be one of the most authoritative books on poker. Originally self-published in 1978, Super/System was the book that transformed poker by giving ordinary players an insight into the way that professionals such as Doyle Brunson played and won, so much so that Doyle Brunson believes that it cost him a lot of money. An updated revision, Super/System 2 was published in 2004.

Besides Brunson, several top poker players contributed chapters to Super/System including Bobby Baldwin, Mike Caro, David Sklansky, Chip Reese and Joey Hawthorne. The book is subtitled "How I made one million dollars playing poker", by Doyle Brunson. Brunson is also the author of Poker Wisdom of a Champion, originally published as According to Doyle by Lyle Stuart in 1984.

Doyle Brunson continues to play in the biggest poker game in the world, including a $4000/$8000 limit mixed poker game in "Bobby's Room" at the Bellagio. He also plays in many of the biggest poker tournaments around the world. He won his ninth gold bracelet in a mixed games event in 2003, and in 2004 he finished 53rd (in a field of 2,576) in the No Limit Texas hold 'em Championship event. He won the Legends of Poker World Poker Tour event in 2004 (garnering him a $1.1 million prize) and finished fourth in the WPT's first championship event. Early in the morning on July 1, 2005, less than a week after Chan had won his 10th gold bracelet - setting a new record - Brunson tied the record at the 2005 WSOP. He is now one bracelet behind Phil Hellmuth, who earned his 11th bracelet at the WSOP on June 11, 2007.

Brunson's nickname, "Texas Dolly", came from a mistake by Jimmy Snyder. Snyder was supposed to announce Brunson as "Texas Doyle", but incorrectly pronounced the first name as Dolly. It stuck and many of Brunson's fellow top pros now simply refer to Brunson as "Dolly".

Doyle Brunson has the honor of having two Texas hold'em hands named after him. One hand, a ten and a two of any suit, bears his name as he won the No Limit Hold 'Em event at the World Series of Poker two years in a row with them (1976 and 1977), in both cases completing a full house. In both 1976 and 1977, he was an underdog in the final hand, requiring Brunson to come from behind both times. Another hand known as a "Doyle Brunson", especially in Texas, is the ace and queen of any suit because, as he says on page 519 of the Super/System, he "never plays this hand." Doyle Brunson changes his wording in SuperSystem2, however, noting that he "tries to never play this hand". However, it has been seen on episodes of High Stakes Poker, Poker After Dark, the Professional Poker Tour and the World Poker Tour that he does play it. Doyle Brunson was also eliminated from the 2007 World Series of Poker main event while holding A-Q.

Doyle Brunson endorses the online poker room Doyles Room.

As of 2008, his total live tournament winnings exceeded $5,300,000.

Doyle Brunson met his future wife, Louise, in 1960 and married her in August 1962. Louise became pregnant, but later that year, a tumor was discovered in his neck. When it was operated on, the surgeons found that the cancer had spread and declared it incurable. They felt that an operation would prolong his life enough for him to see the birth of the baby, so they went ahead with it. After the operation, no trace of the cancer could be found. The doctors said that his recovery must have been a miracle, and Brunson has attributed his recovery to the prayers of friends of his wife and their correspondence with Kathryn Kuhlman, a self-proclaimed Christian faith healer. Louise developed a tumor shortly afterwards and, when she went for surgery, her tumor was also found to have disappeared. In 1975, their daughter Doyla was diagnosed with scoliosis, yet her spine straightened completely within three months.

Doyla died at 18 when she took too much potassium for a heart-valve condition. Over the following year, Brunson read Christian literature and converted to Christianity. His son, Todd, also plays poker professionally. Todd has won a bracelet in Omaha Hi-Lo at the 2005 WSOP, making the Brunsons the first father-son combination to win World Series bracelets. His daughter Pamela played in the 2007 World Series of Poker main event, outlasting both Doyle and Todd.

World Series of Poker bracelets
Year Tournament Prize (US$)
1976 $10,000 No Limit Hold'em World Championship $230,000
1976 $5,000 Deuce to Seven Draw $80,250
1977 $10,000 No Limit Hold'em World Championship $340,000
1977 $1,000 Seven-Card Stud Split $62,500
1978 $5,000 Seven-Card Stud $68,000
1979 $600 Mixed Doubles (with Starla Brodie) $4,500
1991 $2,500 No Limit Hold'em $208,000
1998 $1,500 Seven-Card Razz $93,000
2003 $2,000 H.O.R.S.E. $84,080
2005 $5,000 No Limit Shorthanded Texas Hold'em (6 players per table) $367,800

On December 14, 2005, the Securities and Exchange Commission filed an action to enforce subpoenas issued to the attorneys of Doyle Brunson regarding his unsolicited offer in July of 2005 to buy WPT Enterprises, Inc., the publicly traded owner of the World Poker Tour, at a high premium over its then-market value. Shortly thereafter, the Commission contends, a public relations firm Brunson hired, and a website he endorses, publicly announced the offer. The Commission asserts that publication of this offer, widely covered in the media, triggered a steep rise in WPT's stock price on record trading volume.
When pressed for details, Brunson and his lawyers immediately stopped responding to the WPT and the media. Instead, after delivering the offer, Brunson withdrew from the engagement. When the WPT publicly disclosed Brunson and his law firm's unresponsiveness, its stock price sharply declined, costing investors tens of millions of dollars in lost market value. The offer eventually expired by its terms.

The SEC is formally investigating whether Brunson's offer and its publication violated federal securities laws, including the anti-fraud provisions of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. As part of its investigation, the SEC subpoenaed documents and testimony from Brunson's lawyers. However, Brunson, who has invoked his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination and declined to testify in the investigation, directed his lawyers to withhold certain documents and not to testify on critical aspects of the offer, under the attorney-client privilege and work product doctrine. The subpoena enforcement action seeks to set aside these privileges on various legal grounds, including the crime-fraud exception, and to compel Brunson's firm to provide the requested documents and testimony. The court has not yet set the Commission's action for hearing.

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Playing small pairs in early position offers big rewards

Date: Fri, Sep 19, 2008

Playing small pairs in early position offers big rewards.

There are many different opinions regarding the best way to play small pairs from early position. In my opinion, though, there's one option that's clearly the best when playing these hands in no-limit hold'em tournaments.

The value of small pocket pairs comes from the possibility of flopping three of kind and winning a sizable pot. To that extent, playing this type of hand is a low risk/high reward proposition.

If you get lucky and hit a set on the flop, you'll have a great chance to win big, especially if one of your opponents hits the top pair on the board. If you don't get lucky, well, it's usually easy to fold your hand.

So, here's how you can play small pairs from up front:

Move All-In
This play immediately turns your small pair into a high risk/low reward proposition. If an opponent calls your bet, he'll either have two overcards, such as A-K, or worse, he'll have a pair higher than yours.
The benefit to moving all-in is you'll win the blinds a high percentage of the time, since your bet probably will be very large in comparison to the blinds. An all-in bet likely would force out any opponent who was thinking about playing a marginal hand.

Moving all-in with a small pair from early position only makes sense when you are severely short-stacked and desperately need to pick up the blinds.

Fold
This, by far, is the safest play. Small pairs simply aren't hands that have to be played from early position, particularly if you're in an aggressive game with plenty of raising and re-raising before the flop.
If you feel outclassed at the table, fold your hand. If your chip stack isn't quite short but isn't healthy either, folding is a reasonable option.

Limp In
This is how most players play this type of hand. But there's a problem with this approach.
Limping in easily can turn your bet into bait for an aggressive player who's waiting to attack from a position of strength. He'll see your limp as a sign of weakness and might opt to raise you back.

Also, because it's so common for players to limp in with small pairs, your hand can become transparent; a skilled opponent will have you pegged for holding a small pair.

It's never a good thing when an opponent has a solid read on you pre-flop. And limping in just screams "small pair."

On the other hand, limping in often induces a multi-way pot that produces better value for your hand. It also reduces your investment, since you're putting in the absolute minimum.

Make A Small Raise
This is the best option. First, you'll have a chance at picking up the blinds, because your opponents might fear you have a strong hand since you raised from early position.

Second, other players probably won't look to attack a small raise. They're more likely to call with a hand they would have raised with had you limped in instead.

As with most poker-related concepts, it's always best to mix up your play and use all of your available options from time to time. But when dealt a small pocket pair in early position, making a small raise should be your go-to play.

(Source)

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Dave Cain Breaks Poker Endurance Record

Date: Thu, Sep 18, 2008

Dave Cain has landed himself in the Guinness Book of World Records by breaking the all-time poker endurance record.

The previous record was held by Larry Olmsted of the United States. Olmsted played poker for 72 hours and 2 minutes straight at Foxwoods in 2004, taking 15 minute breaks every eight hours so that he could change his clothes and brush his teeth. Olmsted played at low limits, starting with $100 in chips and finishing his three-day marathon with a stack of just under $1,000.

Cain's attempt was to be slightly more challenging. Instead of just playing in a full ring game, Cain decided that he was going to break the record while playing heads-up, deep-stacked poker. This made the event that much more mentally taxing, and the accomplishment that much more impressive.

The event took place at the Library Bar in Lincoln, UK. Cain started his attempt on September 14th, and just broke the record a couple of hours ago.

Before the record-breaking attempt, Cain stated that he wanted to "smash" the record by playing for 100 straight hours, "possibly more."

Seeing how he has already broken the record, it will be interesting to see how much longer Cain hangs in.

The money raised from the event was going to go to two charities: St. Barnabas Lincolnshire Hospice and Louth & District Hospice.

Organizing this event was quite the undertaking, and I'm a bit surprised that Cain (and crew) was able to pull it off. According to the Poker Playing Marathon website, Cain needed 1 steward, 1 practicing nurse/doctor and 2 official witnesses for every hour of the attempt, as well as dealers and IT support. Not only that, but Cain stated that he wanted to play as "many opponents as possible", meaning that there needed to be a steady supply of players at all hours of the day as well.

Cain's accomplishment has apparently been certified by Guinness, and Cain now possesses the world record for "longest time an individual has continuously played poker". The exact length of the record is still to be decided.

(Source)

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Katja Thater

Date: Thu, Sep 18, 2008

Katja Thater is a professional poker player and horse breeder. She is the most well-known female poker player in her home country of Germany and is married to another poker professional, Jan von Halle. Katja Thater was born 14 July 1966 in Hamburg, Germany.

Katja Thaters popularity in Germany comes from the wide coverage on local television of her participation in the Poker Nations Cup and Woman's Poker Open.

Before becoming a professional poker player, Katja Thater was the director of an event and marketing company in Hamburg and competed in dressage tournaments at horse shows. She continues competing in her spare time.



Katja Thater represented Germany as a member of the national team in the 2006 Poker Nations Cup in Cardiff, participated in the Woman's Poker Open in London and recently was added as a member of Team PokerStars.

Katja Thater won her first World Series of Poker bracelet in 2007 in the $1,500 Razz event.

Other major tournament finishes include fourth place in the 2002 Austrian Classics and fifth place in the $1,000 World Championship Ladies no limit Texas hold 'em event in 2007.

As of 2008, Katja Thaters total live tournament winnings exceed $300,000.


Official site
Team PokerStars profile

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Joseph Hachem

Date: Thu, Sep 18, 2008

Joseph Hachem is a Lebanese-Australian poker player known for winning the main event of the 2005 World Series of Poker. Joseph Hachem was born 3 November 1966.

Joseph Hachem, who was born in Lebanon, and his family moved to Australia in 1972. In 2002, he gave up a career as a chiropractor due to a rare blood disorder and decided to concentrate on poker.

Joseph Hachem is married to wife Jeanie Hachem and has four children, Anthony, Justine, Daniel and James. He has a brother named Tony Hachem.

Prior to his WSOP Main Event win, Joseph Hachem finished 10th in the $1,000 buy-in No Limit Hold'em World Series event, winning $25,850.

Joseph Hachemwon the 2005 World Series of Poker (WSOP) $10,000 no limit Texas hold 'em Main Event, outlasting 5,618 other players, and winning $7,500,000. Joseph Hachem was short-stacked for much of the final table, and did not take a chip lead until there were just 3 players remaining. In the final hand, Hachem called a pre-flop raise from $300,000 to $700,000 with his 7♣ 3♠. The flop came 6♥ 5♦ 4♦, giving Hachem a straight. When the turn brought the A♠, Steve Dannenmann made the top pair (with an open-ended straight draw) with his starting hand of A♦ 3♣. Hachem bet, Dannenmann raised, Hachem moved all-in and was called. In the end, Dannenmann could only tie if the river brought a 7 (giving him the same straight), but the 4♣ on the river ensured Hachem the win.

Unlike the previous two winners (Greg Raymer and Chris Moneymaker), Joe Hachem was not an Internet qualifier, instead paying the full buy-in. However, like Raymer and Moneymaker, Hachem represents PokerStars.

After Joe Hachem won the 2005 Main Event, WSOP commentator Norman Chad declared, "Hachem turned 7-3 offsuit into $7.5 million. Pass the sugar!" Joe Hachem himself first used what would become his catch phrase after flopping a flush with A6 of clubs against Andrew Black's three queens, and winning a large pot. (Actually, Hachem had said "Pass the sugar!" prematurely: had the board paired, Black would have had at least a full house, which would have eliminated Hachem. Fortunately for Joe Hachem, the board didn't pair.

At the 2006 World Series of Poker, Hachem finished second in the $2,500 short-handed no limit hold 'em event when his A♠ Q♣ was outdrawn by Dutch Boyd's A♦ 5♥ on a board of A♥ K♣ 9♠ J♣ 5♦ on the final hand.

Joe Hachem later finished fourth in the $2,500 pot limit hold'em tournament; he was once again eliminated after taking a bad beat on the river, this time from eventual winner John Gale.

Joe Hachem also finished in the money (238th place) of the 2006 WSOP Main Event, after his pocket Aces were outdrawn by Andrew Schreibman's pocket Jacks. Hachem took home $42,882, and in defense of his title outlasted 97.2% of the largest field in poker history. He was also the last remaining Main Event champion left in the field, as Greg Raymer had been the year before.

In December, Joe Hachem won $2,207,575 and his first World Poker Tour title at the Bellagio Casino's Five Diamonds Poker Classic.

Joe Hachem has also made the final table of a World Series of Poker circuit event.

Joe Hachem also appeared in Poker Superstars III, but failed to advance to the Super 16 round by only one point.
He, Doyle Brunson, Carlos Mortensen, Scotty Nguyen and Dan Harrington are the only five people to have won the World Series of Poker Main Event and a World Poker Tour title.

Joe Hachem won "World Series of Poker Champions II" on NBC's Poker After Dark on a table consisting of Main Event winners Doyle Brunson, Greg Raymer, Jamie Gold, Huck Seed and Johnny Chan whom he defeated heads up to win $120,000.

Joe Hachem won the PokerStars APPT Tournament of Champions in December 2007. The single-table tournament was composed of winners from all previous APPT events as well as Team PokerStars members including Greg Raymer. Chris Moneymaker and Isabelle Mercier.

As of 2008, his total live tournament winnings exceed $10,700,000.] Joe Hachem is second to Jamie Gold in live poker tournament career earnings.

European Poker Tour
Joe Hachem finished in 11th place at the 2008 PokerStars.com EPT Grand Final in Monte Carlo, earning €101,000 ($159,943), in his final hand he was short stacked, faced with a re-raise for all of his chips on a flop of 4♣ 10♣ 3♠, he made the call with 10♦ 6♠ for a pair of tens however his opponent Isaac Baron (known online as westmenloAA) held 10♦ J♠ for the same pair of tens but with a better kicker, the turn brought 5♠ giving Hachem eight extra outs for an open ended straight draw which failed to come when the river brought the A♣ eliminating the 2005 World Champion from the tournament.


Official site
CardPlayer interview
Rounders Poker Show interview

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Chris Moneymaker

Date: Thu, Sep 18, 2008

Christopher Bryan Moneymaker is an American poker player who won the main event at the 2003 World Series of Poker (WSOP). His victory is generally credited for being one of the main catalysts for the poker boom in the years following his win.
Chris Moneymaker was born November 21, 1975 in Atlanta, Georgia.

Chris Moneymaker attended Farragut High School in Farragut, Tennessee and later earned a master's degree in accounting from the University of Tennessee. He was a member of the fraternity Pi Kappa Phi during his college years.

Chris Moneymaker was working as an accountant when he won a seat into the main event of the 2003 WSOP through a US$39 satellite tournament at the PokerStars online poker card room. Although largely unknown prior to the tournament, on day one of the tournament his skills caught the attention of professional sports handicapper Lou Diamond, who called Moneymaker his "dark horse to win the whole tournament." Moneymaker went on to win the first prize of $2.5 million, instantly garnering poker superstar status. It was his first live poker tournament.

One of Chris Moneymaker's most memorable hands was heads-up against Sam Farha, when on the river he bluffed "all in" with King high. Farha folded a pair of nines, quickly changing the momentum of the match. Moneymaker eventually won the WSOP when his 5♦ 4♠ beat Farha's J♥ 10♦ on a board of J♠ 5♠ 4♣ 8♦ 5♥, giving Moneymaker a full house.

Chris Moneymaker has since played on the World Poker Tour, finishing second at the 2004 Shooting Stars event, earning $200,000.

After winning the WSOP, he quit his job to serve as a celebrity spokesman for Series owner Harrah's Entertainment as well as PokerStars. He also began traveling to play in more large buy-in tournaments.

During the 2008 WCOOP Moneymaker ran deep in Event 5 of the series, the $10,300 buyin No Limit Holdem. He ended up finishing 6th and taking home over $139,000. He also went deep in Event 16, the $215 PLO ReBuy, where he finished 5th taking home over $28,000.

Chris Moneymaker is married and has a daughter named Ashley, born 3 months before his WSOP win. His autobiography, Moneymaker: How an Amateur Poker Player Turned $40 into $2.5 Million at the World Series of Poker was published in March 2005.

As of 2008, his total live tournament winnings exceed $2,800,000.

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Daniel Negreanu

Date: Wed, Sep 17, 2008

Daniel Negreanu is a Canadian professional poker player with four World Series of Poker bracelets and two World Poker Tour Championship titles. Daniel Negreanu was born July 26, 1974 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

In August 2005, Daniel Negreanu married Lori Lin Weber. They separated in November 2007. Daniel Negreanu resides in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Daniel Negreanu has a blog at Full Contact Poker where he posts his thoughts and feelings about different things in life, politics, the poker world and everything. He is also a heavy NHL fan once claiming on Poker After Dark at the dream table he was thinking of declining the offer because the tournament was in the middle of hockey season. He is often seen wearing NHL jerseys of the Toronto Maple Leafs, although claims he has lost interest in the team due to management decisions.
Daniel Negreanu has been vegan since 2003.

Daniel Negreanu's parents, Annie and Constantin, left the old Communist regime of Romania in 1967, looking to start a new life in the United States. They ended up settling in Toronto instead, where Constantin found work as an electrician. They soon started a family, Daniel Negreanu arriving five years after his older brother. It was a supportive environment, even when it became clear Daniel was destined for an unconventional lifestyle. While nursing dreams of a career in acting or comedy, the 15-year-old learned how to play poker. By 16, Daniel Negreanu was spending time in pool halls, hustling, sports betting and playing cards. When he was several credits short of graduation, Daniel dropped out of high school and began his life as a rounder playing at the local charity casinos and looking for illegal games around the city. While in Toronto, Daniel met and began dating Evelyn Ng, who would also become a well-known professional poker player. After building up his bankroll, he left for Las Vegas at the age of 21 to pursue his dream of becoming a professional poker player. However, "The Strip" got the better of him and he was forced to move back home to Toronto to rebuild his bankroll.

In 1997, Daniel Negreanu won two events at the World Poker Finals at Foxwoods, earning $55,064 as well as being named the tournament's best all-around player. Negreanu followed this triumph by winning $169,460 at the $2,000 Pot Limit Hold'em event in the 1998 World Series of Poker and becoming the youngest WSOP bracelet winner in history — a record he held until 2004.

Over the next few years, Daniel Negreanu became one of the most successful poker tournament players, winning two World Poker Tour (WPT) events, another three World Series bracelets, and appearing at 12 final tables. He was also named the World Series of Poker player of the year in 2004 and World Poker Tour player of the year in 2005.

Upon opening, the Wynn Las Vegas resort recruited him as their "Poker Ambassador" to play for any stake in their poker room. The arrangement lasted until October 2005, when he opted out because it was restricting his ability to play for high stakes outside the Wynn. In December 2005, he started his own online poker cardroom "skin" site on his official site, Full Contact Poker, which also includes his blog and a variety of poker forums. He played at his cardroom under the screen name "KidPoker".

In 2006, he used Full Contact Poker to launch a competition to select a protege, whom Daniel would attempt to mold into a world-class live tournament poker player. In addition, he agreed to pay the protege's entry fee into four $10,000 buy-in events. Daniel's first protege was Brian Fidler. In 2007, Daniel ran a second protege promotion, which was won by Anthony Mark.

In June 2007 Negreanu signed with PokerStars, joining Chris Moneymaker, Joe Hachem, Greg Raymer and many other professional poker players as a member of Team PokerStars. His Full Contact Poker site has since returned to being a forum and informational site.

Daniel Negreanu has been a regular at the big game in Bobby's Room, in the Bellagio casino, Las Vegas, for several years. He is a self-admitted action junkie who always seeks new challenges and sets high goals for himself, not only at the poker table but also on the golf course.

Some of Negreanu’s success is attributed to his ability to read opponents. When asked about this, Daniel Negreanu explained that the most important skill he employs is observing what hands his opponents play and how capable they are of playing them.

Daniel Negreanu has played poker on various TV shows such as Late Night Poker, Poker After Dark, and High Stakes Poker, as well as serving as a commentator and stand-in host on Ultimate Poker Challenge. Daniel Negreanu also appeared in the third season of Poker Superstars Invitational Tournament. In January 2007, Negreanu appeared in the Fox Reality original series Rob and Amber: Against the Odds, in which he mentored reality television personality Rob Mariano in his bid to become a professional poker player.

Daniel Negreanu was named "Favorite Poker Player" at Card Player Magazine's Player of the Year Awards Gala in February 2006.

In May 2008, Negreanu's book Power Hold'em Strategy was released. The book resembles the Doyle Brunson book Super/System in that it has contributions from several other poker players, including Evelyn Ng, Erik Lindgren, Paul Wasicka, Todd Brunson and David Williams. Negreanu's section presents and explains the strategy of small ball poker.

Daniel Negreanu is also featured in the 2006 poker video game Stacked with Daniel Negreanu, providing tips and hints as to how to play effectively.

Daniel Negreanu has written over 100 articles for CardPlayer Magazine and contributed to Doyle Brunson's revised book, Super System II. He has tutored on the web as part of Poker School Online and also personally given lessons to celebrities such as Tobey Maguire.

World Series of Poker wins
He has earned four bracelets at the World Series of Poker:
Year Tournament Prize (US$)
1998 $2,000 Pot Limit Hold'em $169,460
2003 $2,000 S.H.O.E. $100,440
2004 $2,000 Limit Hold'em $169,100
2008 $2,000 Limit Hold'em $204,874

As of 2008, his total live tournament winnings exceed $10,300,000, behind Jamie Gold, Joseph Hachem, and Phil Hellmuth and has the most tournament earnings of any individual who has not won the WSOP Main Event. He is also the leading money winner on the WPT circuit.


LINKS

Official site
Pokerstars Profile
Cardplayer articles by Negreanu
Negreanu's vlog

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Humberto Brenes

Date: Wed, Sep 17, 2008

Humberto Brenes is a professional poker player. Humberto Brenes resides in San José, Costa Rica with his wife and three children. He was born May 8, 1951.

Humberto Brenes began his career in gambling by playing baccarat, but later made his way into poker. He started to play tournaments in 1974 and became a regular tournament player in 1988. In his career, Humberto Brenes has collected two World Series of Poker (WSOP) bracelets, cashed over 40 times at the WSOP, and made three World Poker Tour final tables. Brenes's two bracelets came at the 1993 World Series of Poker in limit Texas hold 'em and pot limit Omaha. Humberto Brenes tied with Phil Hellmuth, Jr. for highest number of money finishes (eight) in the 2006 WSOP. Humberto Brenes also finished first, winning $502,460 at the Jack Binion 2002 World Poker Open, beating Erik Seidel heads up.

Humberto Brenes is one of the most charismatic and popular poker players in the world. Humberto Brenes unique dress sense makes him easy to spot at tournaments, as he tends to wear bright tracksuits, two pairs of glasses on top of each other, and a visor. Humberto Brenes is also famous for the toy sharks he uses as a card protector, the origin of his nickname. He also is a member of Team PokerStars.

Two of his brothers, Alex Brenes and Erick Brenes, have won World Poker Tour titles.

In 2007, Brenes cashed in the money in the $10,000 No Limit Hold'em Main Event Championship, placing 83rd out of a field of 6,358 players, winning $82,476. Brenes was eliminated by Hevad Khan. In the hand Brenes with approximately 1,500,000 in chips had raised to 85,000, Khan then re-raised to 205,000, Brenes in dramatic fashion then went all-in holding A♥ K♥ and was instantly called by Khan who held pocket Aces, one of which was a spade. The board came 3♠ 5♠ K♠ 4♦ 10♠ giving Khan the ace high flush.

As of 2008, his total live tournament winnings exceed $5,300,000.

World Series of Poker bracelets
Year Tournament Prize (US$)
1993 $2,500 Limit Hold'em $149,000
1993 $2,500 Pot Limit Omaha $128,000

World Poker Tour profile: Humberto Brenes
Team PokerStars profile

Visit www.humbertoshark.com

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Johnny Chan

Date: Tue, Sep 16, 2008

Johnny Chan was born in Guangzhou (Canton), China in 1957, now living in Las Vegas, Nevada is a professional poker player.

Johnny Chan moved with his family in 1962 from Guangzhou to Hong Kong, then in 1968 to Phoenix, Arizona and later in 1973 to Houston, Texas where his family owned restaurants. He was going to continue in the family business, but when he was 16 he went on a junket to Las Vegas, Nevada. When he was 21, Johnny Chan dropped out of the University of Houston, where he was majoring in hotel and restaurant management, and moved to Las Vegas to become a professional gambler.

In addition to playing poker, Johnny Chan owns a fast-food franchise in the Las Vegas Stratosphere Hotel and is a consultant for various casinos and game makers. He has aspirations of opening his own casino. Chan has also written for Card Player magazine. He appeared in the first season of the GSN series High Stakes Poker.

In 2005, Johnny Chan collaborated with Mark Karowe to release Play Poker Like Johnny Chan, an instructional book on several different types of poker. On November 28, 2006, the follow-up titled: Million Dollar Hold'em: Winning Big in Limit Cash Games, which focuses on limit hold'em strategy, was released.

In 2007, Johnny Chan launched an online poker room, Chanpoker.com. It closed in August 2008.

Johnny Chan has a regular article in the bi-monthly magazine Trader Monthly.

World Series of Poker
Johnny Chan attributes some of his early success to the fact that many players had not previously played against Asian players. He shot to fame in the late 1980s, winning the championship event of the World Series of Poker (WSOP) in two consecutive years 1987 and 1988. A videotape of the 1988 WSOP final heads up match is featured in the movie Rounders, in which Johnny Chan makes a cameo appearance. He almost won a third consecutive title, but finished in 2nd place in 1989 to Phil Hellmuth.

Johnny Chan is the last player to win back-to-back WSOP Main Events, a feat many prognosticators think he could hold forever given the increasingly larger fields. Jerry Buss, an avid poker player and owner of the Los Angeles Lakers, promised Chan an NBA championship ring if he could win three in a row.

Johnny Chan is known for keeping a "lucky" orange in front of him on the table, and after the second consecutive WSOP title other players began bringing fruit to the table in hopes of increasing their luck. Chan says he only had an orange with him because of the pleasant scent, as smoking, which was allowed in many tournaments then, bothered him. Johnny Chan was once a smoker, but now he neither smokes nor drinks alcohol.

In 2005, Johnny Chan became the first player to win ten World Series of Poker titles, defeating Phil Laak in a Texas hold 'em event. Johnny Chan is currently tied with Doyle Brunson for second place with 10 World Series of Poker bracelets, behind Phil Hellmuth. Johnny Chan was inducted into the Poker Hall of Fame in 2002.

World Series of Poker Bracelets
Year Tournament Prize (US$)
1985 $1,000 Limit Hold'em $171,000
1987 $10,000 No Limit Hold'em World Championship $625,000
1988 $10,000 No Limit Hold'em World Championship $700,000
1994 $1,500 Seven Card Stud $135,600
1997 $5,000 Deuce to Seven Draw $164,250
2000 $1,500 Pot Limit Omaha $178,800
2002 $2,500 No Limit Hold'em Gold Bracelet Match Play $34,000
2003 $5,000 No Limit Hold'em $224,400
2003 $5,000 Pot Limit Omaha $158,100
2005 $2,500 Pot Limit Hold'em $303,025

Up to 2008, Johnny Chan has won $4,116,702 at the World Series of Poker.

Poker Superstars
Johnny Chan competed in the $400,000 Poker Superstars Invitational Tournament in February 2005. Johnny Chan came back from only having $20,000 chips out of $3,200,000 in play to finish in second place to Gus Hansen. Johnny Chan later competed in Poker Superstars II during the summer of 2005. He defeated 22 of the best players to make it to the finals. Then Johnny Chan defeated Todd Brunson in the finals after three matches to win the $400,000 first prize. Johnny Chan appeared in Poker Superstars III where he made it as far as the semi finals but was defeated by Todd Brunson after three matches.

Poker After Dark
On NBC's late night poker show Poker After Dark, a six person $20,000 buy-in winner-takes-all tournament, Johnny Chan has the distinction of having the most victories to date with three wins, doing so with only having appeared four times and coming in second with the one he didn't win.

His appearances were:

WSOP Champions - originally aired Jan 15-20, 2007 - Won heads-up against Chris Moneymaker

Golden Men - originally aired Jun 11-16, 2007 - Lost heads-up against Joe Hachem

World Champions - originally aired Feb 11-16, 2008 - Won heads-up against Phil Hellmuth

International - originally aired Feb 25-Mar 1, 2008 - Won heads-up against Patrik Antonius

Johnny Chan has yet to make a final table on the World Poker Tour (WPT), despite playing in numerous events.

Johnny Chan also featured in the 2004 and 2005 World Series of Poker Tournament of Champions events and the National Heads-Up Poker Championship in the same years.

As of 2008, his total live tournament winnings exceed $6,700,000.

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