Hi again.  Remember Absolute Poker? It’s the site that had cheaters playing for years, cheating over everyone for millions of dollars. The worse thing is that they were involved on the creation of the client or industry.

We always knew that UltimateBet was from the same owner than Absolute Poker, but they didn’t shared their players.

• The ugliest thing is that they also found cheaters at Ultimate Bet. Awful I used to play there just becouse of Phil Hellmuth Sponsoring.

Anyway the POKER NEWS is that Absolute Poker and Ultimate Bet FORGED their poker networks into one more powerful (cheating nest).

This means that they are now losing so much people that can’t afford to clients. Still they will have two skins of the same cheated network.

Catch up you later  :roll:

Chris “Jesus” Ferguson: Starting from Zero.

This is tip 100 of FullTilt Pro Poker Team. Chris Ferguson is fully sponsored and actually works as Pro Poker player at FullTilt Poker. He wrote the advice, so don’t miss your chance to check inside Jesus Mind.

I’m almost a year into an experiment on Full Tilt Poker. I’m attempting to turn $0 into a $10,000 bankroll. With no money to start with, I had no choice but to start out playing Freerolls. Starting out, I’d often manage to win a dollar or two, but I’d quickly get busted and have to start over again. It took some time but, after awhile, I was eventually able to graduate to games that required an actual buy-in.

Even today, people don’t believe it’s really me when I sit down at Full Tilt’s small stakes games. They ask what I’m doing down here, and often tell me stories about how they turned $5 into $500 or $100 into $1,000. Usually, these stories end with the person telling me that they went broke. There’s no surprise there. These folks tried to quickly build a bankroll by gambling. They’d play in a game that was beyond their bankroll and, if they happened to win, they’d move up to a higher limit and risk it all one more time. Inevitably, they’d lose a few big hands and go broke.

For me, this experiment isn’t about the money. It’s about showing how, with proper bankroll management, you can start from nothing and move up to the point where you’re playing in some pretty big games. I know it’s possible because I did it once before, turning $1 into $20,000.

To ensure that I keep my bankroll intact, I’ve adopted some key rules:

• I’ll never buy into a cash game or a Sit & Go with more than 5 percent of my total bankroll (there is an exception for the lowest limits: I’m allowed to buy into any game with a buy-in of $2.50 or less).
• I won’t buy into a multi-table tournament for more than 2 percent of my total bankroll and I’m allowed to buy into any multi-table tournament that costs $1.
• If at any time during a No-Limit or Pot-Limit cash-game session the money on the table represents more than 10 percent of my total bankroll, I must leave the game when the blinds reach me.

I think a lot of players would do well to apply these rules. One great benefit from this approach to bankroll management is that it ensures you’ll be playing in games you can afford. You’ll never play for very long in a game that’s over your head because, when you’re losing, you’ll have no choice but to drop down to a smaller game. You can continue to sharpen your game at that lower limit until your bankroll allows you to move up and take another shot. These rules also prevent you from being completely decimated by a bad run of cards.

Dropping down and playing lower limits is difficult for a lot of players. They view it as a failure and their egos get in the way. Many want to remain at the level they’d been playing and win back their losses. But this can lead to some pretty severe tilt - and that can go through a bankroll in a hurry. I know that dropping down was difficult for me in my run from $1 to $20,000. When I first played in the $25/$50 game, I lost. Sticking to my rules, I dropped down to the $10/$25 game. I had a losing streak there and had to go down to $5/$10. That was tough. After playing $25/$50, a $5/$10 game was boring to me.

But I had the discipline to stick to my rules, and that motivated me to play better at the lower levels. I really didn’t want to lose any more because I knew the consequences: I’d have to play even lower and work even harder to get back to where I’d been, which could take as long as a month. If you ever find yourself bored or frustrated playing at the lower limits, you’re obviously not playing well. Take a break from the game. Often, stepping away can give you a fresh perspective and heightened motivation to play well when you return.

There are a couple of more tips I’d like to share regarding bankroll management. First, you should never play in a game that is beyond your bankroll simply because the game seems to be soft that day. It’s never soft enough to risk money that puts your bankroll in jeopardy. The other point is that you should avoid playing in games that are at the top of your bankroll limits, when a lower game offers more opportunity for profit.

I’m confident that by sticking to these sound bankroll management rules, I’ll make it to my $10,000 goal. These rules are sure to help you as well, as you pursue your own poker ambitions. So, if you want to start your own quest - or play against me while I’m continuing with mine - come open a free account at Full Tilt Poker and look for me online. But hurry, because I’m hoping I won’t be in the lower limits for too much longer.

Gus Hansen: Being a Bully.

This article has been written by Gus Hansen himself! It’s tip 122 of FullTilt Pro Poker Players

Many players understand the concepts involved in building a large chip stack during a tournament. What they don’t understand, however, is how to use their chips effectively once they’ve gotten them. Once they’ve accumulated a lot of chips, many players want to control the action, but they haven’t thought through how to take command of the table.

When I’m the big stack in a tournament, being the bully is always my first consideration. I want to eliminate players, continue to build my stack, and avoid dangerous situations. If I can create a scenario where I’m the table captain – meaning I dictate the size of the pots – the rest of the action becomes easier to read. I can frequently steal the blinds and antes, and if someone else re-raises, it’s pretty easy to put them on a hand because I know they can only play back at me with really strong cards.

One of the first keys to becoming an effective big-stack bully is to stay aware of your fellow players and the size of their stacks. Don’t give short stacks easy access to all-in moves with any Ace. If you raise with a hand like 9-8 suited and a short stack comes over the top and pushes all-in, then you’ve created a bad situation. Even if you’re getting the right odds to call, you don’t want to double anybody up.

You also have to recognize those players that won’t stand for your bullying or who are just trying to survive and make the money, but are so low in chips that they have no choice but to push. At some point every player reaches their breaking point. You should be conscious of that moment so that you don’t needlessly hand over chips to someone who is ready to play back by pushing all-in and putting you to a tough decision you don’t want to face.

Sometimes, being the bully means that you’ll have to make a crying call even when you don’t want to. For example, if I feel like the short stack is pushing with any Ace, I’ll sometimes gamble even if I think I may be behind before the flop. If I’m holding something like K-Q suited, I’m going to try to knock the player out of the tournament. I’ll basically play with anything down to K-8 suited, because if he has something like pocket 6s or a naked Ace, it’s a choice I can live with.

Of course, being a bully doesn’t mean you should let your aggression outweigh good sense. Playing smart poker – raising at the right times against the right opponents – is always something to keep in mind. For example, if you’re raising on the button with a weak hand like 10-6 against two small stacks in the blinds and one of them pushes, you’ve created a bad situation that you really could have avoided.

If I’m raising in these spots with hands like K-9, J-10, A-9, I’m not worrying too much about getting called or re-raised by a short stack. But with 10-6 off-suit, you have to think – maybe I don’t need to lose a bunch of chips with this hand and double someone up. A good rule of thumb here is to ask yourself if your opponent would push with 10-6 themselves. The answer is, probably not. They would have folded with 10-6, so you created a bad situation by raising with it in the first place.

When you’re trying to be a bully, try to think about what your opponent would do if they were holding your cards. Put yourself in their position and reverse the hands. If you think they would push all-in with the same hand you’re holding, then your hand is strong and you should be a bully and push. If they would have folded your hand, then you should probably let it go too.

There are some hands you’re going to play no matter what, and if you’re behind, you can’t worry about losing. Just say to yourself – that time I was unlucky, next time it will be different. If you raise with A-8 on the button and the blind pushes with A-10 – well, it happened. Put the hand behind you and move on.

To be a successful bully, you have to be willing to take some risks and to lose some chips. Remember, it’s OK to lose the occasional battle in order to win the war.

Shirley Rosario

I have lived in Southern California all of my life. I was born inSan Pedro and grew up in Torrance. I currently live in Downey because it is close to the L.A. casinos.

More than ten years ago, one of my Aunts who worked in the casino business pulled a few strings to get me a job as a cocktail waitress at the Commerce Casino. I had been a waitress since I was sixteen and worked at almost every restaurant in the South Bay, but I had no experience serving cocktails. The bar manager decided to take a chance on me even though I was rough around the edges. I think a lot of it had to do with the fact that my Aunt was very well liked and probably the hottest chick in the casino. I worked four nights a week while going to school at L.A. Harbor College. I was taking my general education classes and was going to transfer to Cal State Long Beach and get my teaching credentials. I worked really hard for two years (even made the honor roll), but as soon as it was time to transfer, I changed my mind. I was making a lot of money in the casino and I knew that I would be taking a pay cut if I pursued a teaching career. I took a break from school so I could decide what I wanted to do with my life. It was during that time that I discovered poker.

A few years after I started the job at Commerce, I started learning the game of poker. I would often stop and talk with specific customers in the midst of their hand and they would help me understand the game. There was one player I talked to most and he was a regular in the $6-12 Omaha Hi/Low game. By talking with him, I met Steve Badger. Steve and I bonded instantly and he suggested that I play an upcoming Omaha event. He asked that I get there a little early so he could discuss some tournament strategy with me. I did exactly that and ended up finishing in the money (ninth place). I played a few more Omaha Hi/Low tournaments after that and made the money in a high percentage of them. I think I placed in five of the first seven tournaments I played. (I was spoiled right off the bat!) During all of them, Steve was there to watch me and help me with any weaknesses in my game. To this day, he is still my mentor and my best friend.

Steve was not the only professional I met during my time at Commerce. I met some of the greatest players in the world and many of them were happy to help me out. I had strategy discussions with Men the Master, Amir “the King” Vahedi, Mel Judah, and Mark Seif to name a few, but it was Steve that spent hours on end with me. I finally had my “break through” in 2003. I finished work early on a Saturday night and decided to play an Omaha satellite. I won my table and pocketed $1,000. I jumped in another satellite and won it too. I called Steve on my way home and told him what happened and admitted that I wasn’t sure if I could part with the $1,000 for the next day’s Omaha HiLo event. I had never played a tournament with a buy-in that large before and $1,000 seemed like a fortune. He suggested that I go the casino early and play one more satellite. If I happened to win, I should put myself into the tournament. If I didn’t win, then I could skip the event. I didn’t win my satellite the next day and went to tell Steve about it. The tournament was only 20 minutes away and he was sitting at a table with a few guys most of who I hadn’t met before. He told them the story about me winning the night before and one of them really tried to encourage me to play. That guy was the Prince of Docness. Steve told him, “If you want her to play, then why don’t you put up $100 for her.” All five people, including Dennis Waterman, at the table ended up putting $100 up for me and I paid the other $500 to get into the event. I finished in second place ($27,740) losing to Phil Hellmuth Jr. and I was hooked.

During that series of tournaments, Steve and I came up with the idea about a poker website. He already owned the domain name Poker-Babes.com and we talked about promoting women in poker on the site. I also suggested doing profiles of well-known tournament players because there was virtually no information on the web at that time besides their stats. (What a change now!) I knew many of the players from either playing or working at the Commerce and I thought people would be interested in hearing about their favorite players from somebody who knew them especially since the World Poker Tour just started airing.

I left my job as a cocktail waitress shortly after my second place finish and spent the next year and half making most of my money playing online poker. In 2003, I accepted a job as a prop player at the Bicycle Casino. Robert Turner had been asking me to work at the Bike for about six months and I finally decided to give it a shot. I spent hours and hours at the casino playing a wide variety of games and the experience helped me fine tune my game. During my time as a prop, I started playing No Limit cash games and eventually took on additional duties as one of the No Limit Hosts.

The Bicycle Casino started a live Internet broadcast in the beginning of 2005 and asked me if I wanted to be one of the commentators. The show would feature one cash game (usually No Limit Holdem) and two commentators would discuss the hands while they were being played out. I accepted the job and performed this duty in addition to my prop duties. The show eventually got picked up by the Poker Channel and was edited and aired under the name “The L.A. Poker Scene.” At the end of 2005, I decided to focus more on playing and working on my website and left my job at the Bike.

I play mostly No Limit Holdem tournaments, but I consider my best game to be Omaha High-Low and have several final table finishes in the game. Besides finishing second to Phil in the 2003 LA Poker Classic Omaha event, I won the 2005 Legends of Poker Omaha Championship. I also have a first place finish in No Limit Hold’em at the 2004 Grand Slam of Poker No Limit Holdem Shootout. I’ve done pretty well in tournaments, but I know I’ve made a lot of mistakes too that have cost me shots at the final table. Fortunately my game keeps improving so I know I’ll have more chances. I am proud of myself though for being one of the few women players to actually win events, rather than just make the money. Getting paid is nice, but getting all the chips is a lot more fun!

Check out my Online Poker Room Reviews to see what name I play under at what cardroom. When I am not playing, I make money on the business side of poker. I run my personal website, have written several articles for poker publications, and was on the Poker for Dummies video along with Chris Moneymaker.

Humberto Brenes

Known as the “Godfather of Costa Rican Players”, Humberto Brenes was born May 8, 1951 in San Jose, Costa Rica and holds a degree in Industrial Engineering from the University of Costa Rica. Introduced to poker as a youngster, he learned the ins and outs of the game from his father. The money didn’t mean a great deal to his father if he lost, so sometimes he would win a pot and give the money back, because he felt bad for his opponent. As Humberto sat and watched men take advantage of his father’s generous good nature, he decided then that if he was to become a poker player, he would always play to win. And win he has…

Beginning his career in 1974, solely as a tournament player, he has risen to the top of the poker elite. Humberto Brenes has over $5,000,000 in tournament winnings. Some of his most notable accomplishments being gold bracelets in the 1993 $2500 Limit Hold’em and $1,500 PL Omaha events at the WSOP, and wins at Jack Binion’s World Poker Open $10,000 NL Hold’em Championship (2002), and Seven Card Stud (2003).

Unlike other professionals, Brenes does not play in cash games, preferring to concentrate on the tournament circuit. His games of choice are No-Limit Hold’em, Pot-Limit Hold’em, Pot Limit Omaha and Seven Card Stud. Humberto’s strong card sense, his uncanny ability to read his opponents, and his ability to remain calm at the table are what he believes to be his keys to being a successful player

Aside from being immensely talented, Humberto is one of the most entertaining players to watch on the circuit today. From his famous “All-Eeeen” declarations, to his open-mouth shark card protectors, he is a master entertainer at the table. While playing, he can regularly be heard singing old rock classics or a number of Spanish ballads native to his home of Costa Rica – much to the chagrin of his less level-headed opponents

A classic Humberto story took place at the 2007 WSOP Limit Hold’em Shootout event. Sitting at the table with Rolf Slotboom, Brenes was seen searching through his iPod. Having discovered his song of choice, he proceeded to sing in Spanish at full volume. After a few bars belted out surprisingly in tune, he turned to Rolf and asked, “You know this one? Sing with Humberto!” Not amused, Rolf went back to rustling his stack of chips topped by a box of Tic Tacs. “You no fun”, quipped Humberto, waving his hand playfully. “You be careful or my sharks come for you.” Brenes then maneuvered his sharks to the nearby vicinity of Rolf’s chips and pretended to nibble away at his stack. “My sharks like candy and chips. Feed Humberto’s sharks”, he proclaimed. It’s easy to see why Humberto has become a crowd favorite at any event in which he plays.

Respected by many of his fellow poker players as a great tournament rival, he is not the only Brenes that is a success on the poker circuit. Humberto has two brothers, Alex and Erick, who are equally talented. Alex made a name for himself when he won the WPT Hollywood Invitational 3 and was followed months later by Erick who captured the win at the WPT Aruba-Ultimate Bet 3. Read about Humberto’s Invitational, Foxwoods and Bellagio World Poker Tour appearances.

Profile by Shirley Rosario got from www dot poker-babes dot com

Chris MoneyMaker

Chris Moneymaker is the real name of the man who won the 2003 World Series of Poker No Limit Hold’em Championship. His story is fit for a Hollywood movie, beginning with winning his entry into the Series via the PokerStars online card room. His total investment was forty dollars, and he won $2,500,000. After winning his way into the event, he realized it would be difficult to scrape together airfare and hotel costs. His father, Mike and a friend, David Gamble (also his real name) put up some money to cover the cost for the trip in exchange for a portion of his winnings. He also donated $25,000 of his prize to cancer research.

Christopher Brian Moneymaker took the World Series of Poker 2003 by storm. There are many people who insist that it was the luck of the cards that earned Chris his victory. Although, luck played a part in his victory (it plays a part in every victory), he showed that he has the skill to play with the big boys. He had been playing three years before he won the Series, but had never played a live tournament. The first day he had Johnny Chan sitting on his right and Phil Ivey on his left. He said that he got outplayed and that night decided to not be afraid anymore. If he got beat, he got beat, but he was going to play his game. Indeed he did. He mixed it up beautifully and made some great plays along the way. The one hand that sticks in a lot of people’s minds is when he went all in with his pocket 8s against Humberto Brenes’s pocket A’s. He caught the 8 giving him a set and sent Humberto to the rail. Yes, he got extremely lucky, but I don’t consider what he did to be a bad play. If he had known that Humberto was holding the pocket aces, then yes that would have been a terrible mistake, but he didn’t know.

The play that Chris made that I loved was against Russ “Dutch” Boyd. Moneymaker was holding pocket threes while Dutch held KQ. The flop came down 925 and Chris bet $100,000 into the pot. Dutch Boyd thought, and then moved all-in. After thinking for awhile, Chris called the bet. Before the two of them flip their cards over, Chris asked for low cards proving that he read Dutch correctly in having high cards, no pair. This key move crippled Dutch and helped give Chris the chips he needed to win the tournament.

The other thing that I really respected about Chris was what a great sportsman he was at the table. I saw him shake hands with everybody that exited the game and he even welcomed Dutch back into the game when he won a pot with his pocket fives.

He is not only a sportsman at the table, but a gentleman away from it. I met Chris when we were filming the video Poker for Dummies. He was so down to earth and congenial. After the filming took place, we went to the Bicycle and played in a tournament together. I told him it might not be wise to ride in the car with me since I just totaled my Infiniti. He asked me what model I had and I told him an I30t. He told me he used to have a I30 as well. I asked him if he had the “t” version, the one with the fin on the back and he told me “No, mine came with a tree in the middle of it”. He explained that he crashed his as well. We talked about everything on the ride to and from the casino, including family. He mentioned that he does not want to be the best poker player ever, he just wants to provide for his family.

I thought the celebrity status might get annoying, but he takes it all in stride. He still uses his screen name of Money800 when he plays at PokerStars and tries to answer questions when people direct them at him. He said once in awhile, he has to turn his chat off, but that is rare. I mentioned that it seemed people went after him in the tournament that night so they could say they beat the World Champion. He told me it works both ways. Sometimes it works in his favor and sometimes it doesn’t. Another example of how he is taking the celebrity status in stride is when we began to play, the tournament staff got on the microphone to announce his presence. He waved his hand in the air to acknowledge what was being said and I apologized for that happening. He told me he expected it and it did not bother him. He is a fine example of a World Champion and I wish him continued success in poker and outside of it.

Chris won the final hand with a full house, fives full of fours, defeating veteran ring game player Sam Farha’s top pair. Sammy Farha got 1.3 million for his second place finish. Chris was an accountant at the time of his win. He now travels the world as a spokesman for various poker related products and plays tournaments when he can. The one thing Chris will never be able to do is use what he did to help him achieve his victory in 2003… being an unknown.

Chris came in second at the season two Shooting Star World Poker Tour event.

Profile by Shirley Rosario got from www dot poker-babes dot com

Gus Hansen

Gus Hansen broke into the mainstream poker world during the debut season of the World Poker Tour. During that first season alone, he made final tables at the Bellagio Casino and the Commerce Casino, and he won both events. He also won the Pokerstars Caribbean Poker Adventure and The Bad Boys of Poker WPT event in the second season. I don’t know Gus that well, but he is still one of my top two tournament players because his game is so exciting.

I really enjoy his No Limit Hold’em game because he is so great at mixing it up. The first time I ever saw him on television, he played like a maniac, but there was a method to his madness. He put the pressure on the other players to decide if they wanted to risk a substantial amount to find out if he was bluffing. He has an aggressive style with cards that others might think are unplayable. They probably are unplayable by most players, but Gus knows how to play them great. He can play weak cards because his post-flop play is excellent. He showed in these events what No Limit Holdem is all about. It’s not about playing the cards; it is about playing the players.

One of my friends used to play with Gus before he ever made a television appearance. This person told me that Gus has always played like that. My friend said when Gus would turn his hand over that he would say, “I have a Gus” meaning that he was about to turn over 74 offsuit or something like that. An example of him “having a Gus” is when he was on the World Poker Tour at Commerce Casino and held T3 against Andy Bloch’s AT. He raises the $10,000 big blind to $37,000 and Andy called him (just called him). The flop came down J53, Andy checked and Gus checked behind him. The turn was a ten and Andy checked again. Gus bet $35,000 and Andy called him. The river was a three and Gus bets $140,000. It almost looked as if he was trying to buy the pot. After Andy thought about it for awhile, Andy called. This hand showed what many players just don’t understand. It is okay to play that junk if you are capable of getting players to throw money at you.

Gustav Hansen has been a competitor for many years. Before he played poker, he was a ranked backgammon player. He was also a champion youth tennis player. He actually tried to make a living off of being a professional backgammon player, but found there wasn’t enough money in it. He eventually turned to poker.

Gus is originally from Copenhagen, Denmark. He started playing poker in 1993 while he was attending college at University of California at Santa Cruz as an exchange student. He has taken his game to a higher level and plays the biggest cash games and some of the larger buy-in tournaments. Although he does not play in as many tournaments as other players, he has succeeded in the ones that bring him recognition.

During the World Poker Tour, contestant Andy Bloch said Gus is going to play a lot of hands and play them perfectly. He can get away with playing K7 and J5 and things like that because he is so good. Gus is a little more humble about his ability. He merely says, “Not to say that I am a great player or anything, but somebody has to win.” Gus almost defended his inaugural World Poker Tour title, finishing third at the Bellagio Casino second season event. In 2004, he was one of the first three inductees into the World Poker Tour Walk of Fame, with Doyle Brunson and James Garner.

Other notable finishes include winning the Aussie Millions and the first Poker After Dark tournament.

If you want to play with Gus, you can find him at Full Tilt Poker.

Profile by Shirley Rosario got from www dot poker-babes dot com

Phil Ivey

I first met Phil Ivey after his phenomenal success at the World Series of Poker in 2002. Phil took home three gold bracelets that year (tying the record held by Phil Hellmuth and Ted Forrest for most wins in a single year). I saw him from across the room at the Commerce Casino’s California State Poker Championship and I decided I had to meet this poker sensation, so I approached him and introduced myself. I think that he was a little shocked (maybe disappointed) that some girl was introducing herself to him based on his great poker ability. Of course, since the poker boom, women (and men) approach him constantly.

For some time, when I ran into Phil on the tournament circuit, I tried to convince him that he should give me 7 Card Stud lessons. He was always very pleasant when talking with me, but he chuckled when I would bring up the lessons. At first I was convinced that I scared him, but the more that I have gotten to know him, the more I realize he has a reserved personality. I have seen more of his personality come out lately. I imagine that it is partly because he deals with fans on a daily basis. I am still puzzled that a world class poker player that is known for his aggressive style is as quiet and shy as he is.

Phil resides in Las Vegas with his wife and plays in the biggest cash games there. He also travels to Los Angeles sometimes for big cash games there. Some opponents that he has played against are Doyle Brunson, Barry Greenstein, Chip Reese, Larry Flynt, and the billionaire Andy Beal. Phil spends some of his time away from the poker table at the golf course. I have heard rumors that when he first started playing golf he was hopeless (although if you saw him on ESPN shooting golf with Howard Lederer and Robert Williamson, it doesn’t seem to be a rumor), but that hasn’t stopped him from betting thousands of dollars while on the green.

Phil is known to some as the Tiger Woods of poker, but I have to disagree. He is the Phil Ivey of poker, totally in a class by himself. He is definitely my favorite tournament poker player and I love his aggressive style. When I watch him play in tournaments, I am in awe by how focused he is. He seems to be paying attention to everything, absorbing every bit of information that the other players give him. One example of this was on the “Earphones Please” Poker After Dark television show. He was seated with five other players with four of them being borderline obnoxious or well over the border. A normal player would have lost their cool. I would have run out of there screaming, but Phil sat there calm and collected and ended up winning the one-table tournament.

Another great strength he has as a player, is not realizing how good he actually is. I have heard him comment on some of his games and he really believes that he needs a lot of work on some of them. I think that is what makes him such a great player. He is constantly working to make his game better.

event, second at Phil’s World Poker Tour credits in season one include a third place finish at the FoxwoodsTunica, and third at the World Poker Tour Final. In season three, he finished 6th at Borgata, 3rd at Reno Hilton, and third again at the World Poker Tour Championship. He has several World Series of Poker bracelets. In 2000, he won the Pot Limit event, in 2002 he won the S.H.O.E, 7-Card Stud Hi-Lo Split, and the $1500 7 Card stud event and in 2005 he won the Pot Limit Omaha event. Other notable finishes are his first place finishes at the 2004 Championship at Turning Stone and 2005 Monte Carlo Millions.

When I talk about Phil, people sense how enamored I am with him. One person said, “you have a crush on him, don’t you?” To which I responded, “I have a crush on his poker mind.” You can play with Phil at his own table at Full Tilt Poker.

Profile by Shirley Rosario got from www dot poker-babes dot com

Phil The Unabomber Laak

Phil Laak is definitely a person people remember in the poker world. He received his nickname, “Unabomber“, because he always wears a hooded sweatshirt (hood up) while sitting at the poker table.

He started playing poker in 1999 but before 2003 he only entered eight tournaments, including the main event at the World Series of Poker three years in a row. His appearances on the World Poker Tour have made him one of the most popular players on the circuit and has also helped him land many television gigs. At one time, he was the host of E! Hollywood Holdem. He has also appeared on GSN’s Poker Royale, High Stakes Poker and NBC’s Poker After Dark.

I saw him win at the Hollywood Celebrity Invitational in 2004 and he kept me entertained. I got the impression he is always the life of the party and I asked him about that. He said, he has his moments, but on that particular day, he was having too much fun to take it easy. He didn’t have to make adjustments since he was doing okay while he was having fun.

Phil was born in Dublin, Ireland in 1972. For several years he lived in the Bay Area with another well known player, Antonio Esfandiari, before moving to Los Angeles.

I asked Phil if there are any players that he tries to learn from. He said, “Yes… anyone and everyone… from the POWS (Pay Off Wizards) to the GWIDS (Genius Wizards In Disguises) there is something to learn all the time. Sometimes it may come in the form of what NOT to do… but I am always trying to develop my skills.” I also asked if No Limit Hold’em was his favorite game and he said, “I like Pot Limit Omaha and Ultimate Frisbee more than No Limit Holdem.”

He became interested in tournament poker because of the competition, test of patience and the many various strategies that come into play during the different phases of tournaments. He believes one of the key features that helps him play poker (live action and tournament) is he is very good and getting better at not being too involved in the actual outcome - win or lose. He examines whether he is playing well, not if he is winning or losing. This is something I admire about him and something I am continually working on. He said, “Playing well is what drives me. Not winning. Of course, it is hard to avoid being a winning player if this is your focus.” One of my favorite things he mentioned was, “When the session is over, or even between hands, I allow myself (sometimes liberally) the pleasure (but rarely the pain) of wins and loses. It is hard for me to see anything in poker as bad beats. Christopher Reeve (Superman) falling off his horse and ending up paralyzed — that is a bad beat. Runner runner flush is not a bad beat. That is just poker.”

Phil has had a variety of past jobs, including being a repo man. He legally stole cars and said it was a bit dangerous and somewhat unstable. He also used to broker sports bets. Besides being a poker player, he is a part time stock market speculator and single family home real estate investor. He received his Bachelor of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering.

Phil placed sixth at the World Poker Tour at the Bicycle Casino in 2003, but the finish that will be remembered is his first place victory at the WPT Invitation 2004 (It is a must see program. I promise you will be entertained). One of Phil’s mottos for life is “Living well is all about optimizing, and achieving a balance between fun, freedom and fulfillment.”

won the Phil finished second to Johnny Chan in the 2005 World Series of Poker Pot Limit Holdem event the same day as girlfriend Jennifer TillyLadies No Limit Hold’em event.

Phil Laak and Ali Eslami made big news in July 2007 when they narrowly beat the poker-playing computer program, Polaris.
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Phil sent me the following story about his first experience playing poker that he could remember. This story was also sent to Ron Rose to use in his book about the best poker players:

I remember playing poker on a camping trip with family friends. There were probably 4 or 5 of us ranging from 7 to 12 yrs old. We were playing “Between the Sheets” (everyone antes into the pot and then, in succession, each player is dealt two random cards. Each player in turn, then declares the amount he wants to bet and if the next card is between the two he was dealt, he wins that amount from the pot. Otherwise he loses and his loss is added to the existing pot, now larger for the next guy. Table stakes. You could only bet what you had with you. Sometimes the pot would grow to, lets say 5 dollars, and a player only had 3 to his name. Well then invariably one of the players with more money could join in the action and take a part of the players bet.

Ridiculous, of course, but what did we know? Anyway, the more heavily financed players would make out like bandits, swooping in when the bet was a near lock. King Deuce, for example.

So there I was, seven years old and seeing how powerful it was to have money. I could see the dripping equity then. I did not have a name for it but I knew it was a good thing. At the time I was hooked on a chocolate bar called the “100 Thousand Dollar Bar”, and knew that I needed to have these guys covered if I was going to be living large in the chocolate world.

Think more, work less

God, that sounds good, working less is definitely important for human kind. Why? Becouse we are reasonable animals, we decide that meanwhile we earn more, working less is ok.

Why would I spend time thinking, instead of working?

• Often if you don’t think properly the situation before starting to (play poker for example) work you miss the point and you need to start all over. In some cases, this situation have no end, looping for ever.
• Sometimes when you don’t think first, you do things that actually you don’t want. Thinking what we want requires time, it varies depending of the fastness of reasoning on that peculiar situation. (and with the person)

This should be enough reason for everyone to start thinking first and then working.

Anyway, I just remembered this is a Poker Blog.

THINKING MORE WORKING LESS

IN POKER

Think in poker about all aspects of it. You don’t need to memorize superb calculae mathematics to be a respetable winner of poker; Don’t you agree?

Would you be happy if you earn your life playing poker, without being noticed by the media, still having the chance to become a real pro by the time?

Of course you would. But do you have the guts?

Poker is a game that require guts, this doesn’t mean cowards can’t play this game, everybody have their chance, as cowards they should never risk their lifes on the game. You’ll lose every penny.

Rule 1. Don’t be a coward

We’ll quickly add another rule related to the first one. You need to understand that folding is an option, raising it’s another option and you’ll probably never use check.

Rule 2. If you can’t RAISE, FOLD or…bluff

Bluffing it’s a piece of cake, the hard thing is to acomplish is perfect timing. If you bluff on an incorrect time you are risking to much.

Rule 3. Be Patient, don’t get past hands affect you.

There are many other tips on poker, I promise we’ll continue later.

STAY TUNED FOR PART II