Champions of Poker

If you know poker and you are familiar with the poker scene, then the chances are good that you are familiar with the name Ivan Demidov. He is a professional poker player from Moscow, Russia. Demidov played a lot of online poker. In fact, online poker is where Ivan built up a large amount of his poker payroll. Another interesting fact is that he still focuses most of his attention on playing on the online poker rooms. However, he does venture out into the live poker scene from time to time. Actually, he has been appearing in live poker venues more recently.

He really made his name known on the poker circuit during the year 2008; this is where he found himself seated at the final table at the 2008 WSOP. He went heads up against Peter Eastgate and took second place for $5,809,595. When asked what he planned to do with the winnings, Demidov mentioned that he would be sharing it with a Russian financial supporter who had helped him get into some other big tournaments. In the end, the supporter would walk away with more than Demidov.

That WSOP 2008 was actually Demidov’s first WSOP. As far as poker goes, Ivan was pretty new to the scene and inexperienced when compared to most of the other players. However, this didn’t seem to hold him back at all. In fact, you would have thought that he had a lot more time playing and much more time and history involved with the game then he really did.
The year 2008 was a very good year for Demidov, this is also the year that he made it to the final table at the World Series of Poker Europe. Demidov finished in a very respectable third place. This achievement would make him the first poker player in history to make it to the final table in both Main Events during the same year. It’s more than obvious that 2009 was a year that Demidov was on fire when it came to his poker game; it was almost as if he could do no wrong.

Demidovs personality has been described as laid back and soft spoken. However, when it comes to poker he is a force not to be reasoned with. He has what it takes to take on the best of the best and he has the potential to do much more in the poker world. He is already supporting himself by playing just a couple of days during the week. Although the WSOP Main Event win sure helped him along financially, the fact still stands that he is able to play just a few days a week and make ends meet. He is living the poker player’s dream. Demidov is someone to keep your eyes open for. Not only do you have to watch for him at those live events, but you’ll also want to be on the lookout for him on the online poker sites on Internet as well.

Joe Cada has a name which is very familiar with most poker players, as well as poker fans. He has built quite a name for himself in the poker world and it is with great skill that he has earned his place in poker history. A Michigan Native, Joe Cada has taken the world of poker by the tail and has become known as one of the best of the best. One truly amazing fact is that Cada has only been playing the game of poker for a short six years. This makes his success in the game all that more impressive.

At the young age of just 16, Cada began playing poker on Party Poker. He shared an account on there with his brother, whose name is Jerome. By the time Cada began college, he was a regular player of online poker. This eventually led him to a land based casino which was located in Windsor, Canada. He could not legally play poker in American casinos at such a young age, however Canada afforded him this ability. It took just two semesters for Cada to realize that poker was more important to him than college. He dropped out of college and began playing poker full time.

Through playing poker in Canada, Cada was able to earn himself enough cash to enter poker contests which were located in such places as the Bahamas and Costa Rica. When it comes to dedication and focus, Joe Cada has shown that he is both extremely focused and dedicated to the game of poker and it has paid off very well for him. Not only was Joe Cada the winner of the 2009 WSOP Main Event, but he is also the youngest player to ever win the WSOP Main Event!

In the Main Event, Joe Cada started off with the fifth largest of the chip stacks. In the 122nd final table hand Joe Cada’s stack became reduced to just 2,275,000. However, this still wasn’t enough to hold Cada down and he climbed back up to walk away with the event in his pocket. After a series of fortunate double up’s, Cada made it heads-up with Maryland logger Darvin Moon. Heading into heads-up play, Cada held the lead and entered a long heads-up battle with Moon. A combination of strong play and hyper-aggression from Moon eventually landed Cada the richest prize in poker. Joe Cada made history with that victory, becoming the youngest Main Event champion in history. At the time of his WSOP win, he was less than a year younger than the previous youngest winner, Peter Eastgate.

If you are wondering what it is that he does in his spare time, you will probably not be too surprised to know that he spends it playing online poker. It is estimated that he plays approximately 2,000 poker hands daily on Pokerstars, a very popular online poker site. Cada plays there under his username, jcada99. In fact, prior to his victory at the WSOP, Cada earned a $1,000,000 contract with the PokerStars site which paid for all his hotels, travels, and even some of his buy-ins. Cada also spends a good amount of his time traveling around the country as poker’s newest ambassador following his WSOP Main Event win.

When it comes to poker players, some players just have it and some don’t. One thing is clear; Joe Cada has more than proven that he is one of them that truly has what it takes to excel at poker on all levels. It’s a pretty fair assumption to say that we can expect to see a lot more of this talented poker player and there is every reason to believe that he has a very lucrative poker career ahead of him.

Can you help me with a classic debate regarding a sit n go? You are in the big blind with pocket aces and then each and every player at the table proceeds to go all-in and the small blind calls all-in. Most every thinks that you should make the call even thought pocket aces are not as strong against multiple players. If you were in this spot, what would you do?

Grayson

Grayson,

This is a question that I hear proposed by players in regards to the beginning of a tournament, but not in the aspect of a sit n go. In this case, I would actually fold pocket aces, and I will explain why.

First, a common sit n go tournament pays three spots. That means that six players will not make any money whatsoever. While the primary object of any poker game is to win, you cannot win without making the money in any event. In this case, you are looking at a decent chance of making second place money by just folding your cards. While the aces are technically in the lead, the advantage is very small and the value you get by folding is great. For example, if you are playing a $100 sit n go that pays 50% to first, 30% to 2nd and 20% to third, you are looking at an expected value of $300 by making the fold. If the aces hold up, you win 500%, but if you lose, you win 0. By folding, you almost guarantee yourself $300 unless something happens such as a chopped pot. In that case, you may still be guaranteed 3rd place, which is still double your money.

The main disadvantage here is the fact that you would be at a great chip disadvantage. However, the blinds will be so low that you are not out of it. If ever faced with this, make the fold and take the money.

The exception to this would be if the sit n go was a satellite that paid only one spot. In that case, I would make the call. Winning is the only objective and while your edge is not great, you still have an edge going into the flop. Winner takes all is much different than a typical sit n go and requires a bit more risk.

I am thinking about playing at the World Series of Poker for the first time and I am wondering what you would recommend to play. Thanks!

Well, this is a tricky question to say the least. My main answer starts with a question. Are you planning on winning satellites or are you directly buying in? If you are playing satellites, then be prepared to play a lot of NL Holdem sit-n-gos unless you plan to do so the day before the event. The day before a non-holdem event is the best time to find satellites for non-holdem games.

If you are directly buying in, then my suggestion would be for you to play whatever game you are best at. Many writers will suggest that you look at one of the lower buy-in NL Holdem events as they have huge soft fields. This is good if you are a NL player, but what if you are a PLO player, a Stud player, or a mixed game player.

You want to play in an event that gives you the best chance to do well. Normally this means that you should play your best game. In some cases, you should play the game that you have the most success in.

For example, my best game is Stud 8 or Better, but I do better in Limit Holdem tournaments overall. (Although in reality, my % of making the money in Stud 8 tourneys are a lot higher than Limit Holdem, but there are more Holdem tourneys.) As a result, I chose to play Limit Holdem at the WSOP as my game of choice the first year. It paid off as I made the money in the event. I did the same the next year. I also played the Stud 8 and did go deep, but fell short of the money.

Essentially, play what gives you the best chance to do well and play your best. Good luck to you at the tables.

Poker is an individual game played amongst individuals. However, as you begin to improve your game, you will find that if you want to really improve, you need to work with other players to help improve your own game.

The first thing that a person may think of when one mentions getting someone else to help may be that they don’t want the other person to know how they play. While this can be a concern, a truly great poker player should always be modifying their game, so this should not be as big a concern.

The primary advantage to having someone help you with your game is getting another perspective on how to play the game or even specific scenarios. For example, we pretty much have a set idea of how to play a hand that is the nuts, but we may not have the same thoughts about playing a drawing hand against a loose-aggressive player. Also, there may be information that you can pass on to other players to help them improve.

Another advantage to having people help you with your game is that you make friends in the game and have a support system. This is vitally important when one goes through a down period in the game. Many people don’t understand what a poker player goes through. However, your friends that play know what you’re going through because they are going through the same exact thing.

The way that you go about having people help you varies. For example, the members of the famed “Mayfair Club” would get together after long sessions at the table and sit around either dinner or drinks and discuss the plays that they made. They exchanged ideas and improved each others games. You might recognize some of those players as Howard Lederer, Dan Harrington, Erik Seidel, and Steve Zolotow.

Other ways would be to sit around a table and go over specific scenarios with your friends. If you are an online player, another option for you may be to have your friends sit and watch you play and then critique your play. Whatever option you choose, it can only serve to improve your game.

So if you are looking for ways to improve your game, start talking to other players. Not only can their ideas help you improve, but the added thought you are giving to your game will help you to improve your game on the way to becoming a champion of poker.

Gus Hansen was born in 1974 in Denmark and is known as one of the best No Limit Holdem players alive. He started his gambling career as a backgammon player and actually tried to make a go at being a backgammon player, but the action was not big enough for Hansen and he moved onto poker. His aggressive and wildly aggressive style always keeps his opponents guessing. He is known to play almost any two cards and is regularly paid off when he has a hand or when his garbage connects. When someone is playing really wild and crazy at the table, they are usually referred to as another Gus Hansen.

Hansen is one of the most successful players in the history of the World Poker Tour. In the WPT’s very first season, Hansen won two WPT titles. His very first title came at the World Poker Classic in 2002. The final table included John Juanda, Freddy Deeb, John Hennigan, and Scotty Nguyen. He would outlast John Juanda heads up to win his first title and $556,460. He would then win the 2003 L.A. Poker classic for his 2nd title and $532,490.

Later in the year, he would also take down the Bad Boys of Poker event that WPT put on specifically for TV. He outlasted Paul Darden heads-up for the win. Hansen’s third WPT title came at the 2004 PokerStars.com Caribbean Adventure. Daniel Negreanu, Hoyt Corkins, and John D’Agostino all made the final table. Corkins and Hansen would play heads up and in the end, Hansen walked away with the $455,780 top prize.

Besides his three WPT titles, he has four other WPT final table finishes. His most noted came at the 2008 WPT Championship. Hansen made the final table of the event with David Chiu, and Jeff King. In the end, Hansen and Chiu would battle heads up. Hansen would fall short of his fourth WPT title, finishing in 2nd place. Second still paid a hefty $1.71 Million. In total, Hansen has won over $4 Million on the World Poker Tour.

Outside of the WPT, Hansen’s only other major title came in 2007 when he took down the Main Event of Aussie Millions. He won over $1.19 Million after outlasting both Jimmy Fricke and Andy Black at the final table. Hansen has not had much success at the World Series of Poker to date. He finished in the money in the 2004, 2007, and 2008 Main Event, with his best finish being 61st in the 2007 WSOP. He did come up just short of the final table of the WSOP Europe Main Event, finishing in 10th place.

For his career, Hansen has won over $7.29 Million in live tournaments. This ranks him 18th on the all-time money list and 5th on the WPT all-time money list. At only 34 years of age, Hansen still has many years left in him to terrorize players at the poker table. With his ever changing style, he should be able to take down several more titles in his career and make a run at the all-time money lead before his career is complete.

Michael “The Grinder” Mizrachi got his start in poker from his older brother Robert Mizrachi. Michael saw how much his brother was making at playing poker online that he started to play and after while had moved up in limit up to $100-$200 Limit Holdem. Mizrachi was actually studying to become a doctor but dropped out of college to pursue professional poker.

Mizrachi first started playing on the tournament circuit in 2004. He had some mild success that first year. He won a weekly tournament at the Bellagio in Vegas and finished 11th in the $1,500 No Limit Event at the World Series of Poker that year. It wasn’t until near the end of the year that he hit his first large score when he won a preliminary event at the World Poker Classic for $273,040. Little did anyone know what type of success Mizrachi would have, and that success would start in 2005 on the World Poker Tour.

Mizrachi made his first WPT cash and final table at the 2005 Jack Binion World Poker Open in Tunica, MS. He would finish 5th at a table that would include Daniel Negreanu, Chau Giang, and Scotty Nguyen. Clearly this fanned the flamed of Mizrachi as not only did he make the final table of the very next WPT event, but he won it. Mizrachi would outlast a strong final table including Hung La, Ted Forrest, and Erick Lindgren to win his first WPT title and $1.85 Million. A couple of months later he would finish 11th at the WPT Championship.

2006 would see Mizrachi have back to back final tables as well. First, he finished 2nd at the World Poker Open in Tunica, MS behind Scotty Nguyen. Nguyen gave Mizrachi a huge compliment during the event saying that Mizrachi was the real deal. Just 10 days later, Mizrachi took his 2nd WPT title at the Borgata Winter Open when he outlasted John D’Agostino to win the $1.17 Million top prize. In total, Mizrachi has won over $4.16 Million on the World Poker Tour.

To date, Mizrach has not won a bracelet at the World Series of Poker. He came close in 2008 when he finished 3rd in the Pot Limit Omaha World Championship. Of course, Mizrachi is still only 27 years old, so he still has many more chances to try and win his bracelet, and with his skills, one should be in reach soon.

For his career, Mizrachi has won over $6.7 Million in live tournaments. At just 27, he is 22nd on the all-time money list. He also ranks 4th all-time on the WPT money list. His ability to grind people down at the table earned him his nickname of “The Grinder.” Mizrachi is one of the most feared and respected No Limit players at the table today. His grinding style has allowed him to win more money by 27 than most players earn for their entire career. Expect to continue seeing great things from Michael Mizrachi, including a few more titles in both the WPT and WSOP.

Sometime people are forced into a particular career out of sheer neccessity. Freddy Deeb is one of those men. Deeb grew up in Beirut, Lebanon where he learned to play different card games, including poker, from his family members. He never considered a career in gambling as he went to college at Utah State University in the U.S. to study Mechanical Engineering.

Then, Civil War broke out in Lebanon. Deeb lost contact, and subsequently college funding, from his parents for two years. Deeb was unable to go to work in the United States because he was here on a student Visa. Deeb then decided to become a gambler and moved out to Reno to pursue this. Deeb became successful out in Reno playing poker and decided to make that his career.

Deeb started having success in tournaments in 1990 when he finished 2nd in the $2,500 No Limit Holdem Event at the World Series of Poker. He took $130,000 for this win. In 1994, he took the $5,000 No Limit Holdem event at the L.A. Poker Classicfor $134,000. Deeb would then win his first major title in poker in 1996 when he won his first gold bracelet at the World Series of Poker. He took down the $5,000 Deuce to Seven Lowball event and $146,250.

Deeb would also have great success on the World Poker Tour. He has cashed seven times on the WPT, with three final tables and one WPT Title. He won his WPT title at the 2005 Ultimate Poker Classic in Aruba. This win earned him $1 Million. Deeb has won over $1.58 Million on the World Poker Tour.

Deeb’s greatest feat in poker occurred at the 2007 World Series of Poker. Deeb made the final table of the $50,000 H.O.R.S.E. World Championship with Bruno Fitoussi, John Hanson, Amnon Filippi, Kenny Tran, David Singer, Barry Greenstein, and Thor Hansen. In the end, Deeb would weave his way through the stacked field to win the $50,000 H.O.R.S.E. World Championship and over $2.276 Million in cash. The $50,000 H.O.R.S.E. Event is considered by many to be the true World Championship of Poker and Deeb now had claimed this prestigious title.

Deeb is well known for his patterned multi-colored shirt. The shirt became famous at the 2003 WSOP when after Phil Ivey flopped a set of seven’s against Deeb’s kings, Deeb would catch a third king to win the pot. Ivey would say, “Must be the shirt.” Deeb has regularly worn the shirt, or one similar since.

To date, Freddy Deeb has won over $5.9 Million in live tournaments. This puts him 28th on the all-time money list. The circumstances of Deeb’s life changed his path from being an engineer to being a professional gambler. Sometimes our lives need a little push to get them going in the direct they were intended. Whether Deeb would have become a poker player if not for the Lebanese Civil War is unknown, but in the end both Deeb and the poker world are better off for him being forced down an unlikely path.

Chau Giang is the definition of a survivor. Born in Vietnam around 1955, Giang fled Vietnam in the late 70’s via a small boat and arrived in Florida. Here he started working minimum wage jobs to survive. Afterward, he moved to Colorado where he $160 per week as a chef. While working as a chef he began to learn the game of poker. After honing his abilities he decided to move to Las Vegas to become a professional gambler. After he moved to Vegas, he made over $100,000 in the first year he was there. From that point Giang never looked back.

Giang has primarily focused on cash games over the years. As a result, he really didn’t start playing tournaments until the early 90’s and then very sparingly. The only tournaments that he frequented were at the World Series of Poker. Giang won his first WSOP bracelet in 1993 when he took down the $1,500 Ace to Five Draw event. He also finished runner-up in the $1,500 Pot Limit Holdem event that year.

Giang’s tournament play over the next few years centered almost entirely around the WSOP. When he did play, he did achieve a lot of success. He cashed six times in 1995 and made two final tables. In 1996 he finished 13th in the Main Event. In 97 he finished 3rd in the $1,500 Pot Limit Omaha Event. In 1998, Giang won his second bracelet when he took down the $2,000 Omaha 8 or Better event.

From 1999 to 2004, his only tournament cashes were at the WSOP which included 4 final table appearances. In 2004, Giang started to play a few more major events due to his family wondering why he was never on TV. This led to his third bracelet win in 2004 when he won the $2,000 Pot Limit Omaha event. Giang would continue to make strong showings at the WSOP including eight cashes in the 2008 WSOP. He just missed the final table by a couple spots in 3 of those events and made his 2nd cash ever in the Main Event.

Giang has also had a lot of success on the World Poker Tour. He has cashed in 13 WPT events and has made two final tables. He finished 2nd at the World Poker Open in 2005 and he finished 5th at the L.A. Poker Classic in 2007.

In total, Giang has made over $3.29 Million in live tournaments. This amount could have been a lot higher but Giang prefers to play high stakes cash games. For years he has been a highly respected high stakes player and regular participant in the “Big Game” in Bobby’s Room at the Bellagio.

Chau Giang escaped from Vietnam to make a better life for himself in America. Through hard work, he has made a name for him in the poker world and is among the most respect high stakes players in the game. Whether at the poker felt or in major poker tournament, Chau Gian is a force to be reckoned with at the poker table.

Have you seen the movie about the ex-con that got out of prison, went into business, and then became a successful poker player? Probably not, because the movie hasn’t been made yet, but if it was, it would be based on the real life story of David “DevilFish” Ulliott.

David Ulliott dropped out of high school at 16 and started playing cards in local casinos. He was also part of a group of men that went and robbed safes at various businesses. Eventually Police caught one of the men committing the robberies. Ulliott was named as an accomplice and he went to prison for nine months. After getting out, he was later arrested for armed robbery and public fighting and went to prison for another 18 months.

After getting out of prison, Ulliott straightened his life out and opened a pawn shop that later was converted into a jewelry business. During his time as a businessman, Ulliott was playing poker, but eventually the games dried up and he was outright banned from card rooms because nobody wanted to play with him.

Eventually Ulliott went on to play in professional poker tournaments, where he had success at both the World Series of Poker and on the World Poker Tour. Ulliott won his first bracelet in 1997 when he won the $2,000 Pot Limit Holdem event and $180,310. He nearly won the $3,000 Pot Limit Holdem event a year later but finished 2nd. He would also have two runner-up finishes in the 2001 WSOP, just missing out on the $2,000 Pot Limit Holdem Bracelet and the $1,500 Pot Limit Omaha bracelet.

Ulliotts biggest win on the World Poker Tour came at the 2003 World Poker Open in Tunica, MS. He was able to take down the event for his first WPT title and $589,175. His next biggest win was actually his largest score in a poker tournament to date. He finished 3rd at the World Poker Classic in 2007 for $674,500.

In addition to his WSOP and WPT success, Ulliott has many other large wins in poker tournaments around the world. He has won over $5.28 Million in live tournaments. This puts him 34th all-time in career earnings. His win in the first series of Late Night Poker prompted the network to continue to air the show, mainly in part to Ulliott’s prescience. At one point, Ulliott was sponsored by UltimateBet.com and has recently started up his own site DevilFishPoker.com. He was banned from all Fox Sport Net poker events after flashing an advertisement of his site in his jacket after being forbidden to do so by the network.

Ulliott still owns his jewelry business back in Hull England. He has recently tried to change his image. He used to come to the table with his hair slicked back and wearing sunglasses. He decided to change when he noticed a lot of people were looking like him. He still wears his signature Devil Fish brass knuckles at the table.

David Ulliott has made quite a name for himself in the poker world. He came up from criminal roots to become a businessman and a fearsome poker player. If you sit at a table and the “Devil Fish” decide to sit down with you, you may want to find yourself a new game.