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.
————————————————————————————
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