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Howard Lederer
Howard Lederer also known as "the professor" because of
his analytical and methodical approach to poker has been around
since the mid-eighties but stayed off the spot-light until 2002,
the year the World Poker Tour started. He got his prerequisites
for high stakes poker during the years when he grew up. There was
a highly competitive surrounding in his home where every game was
to be taken serious. Howard started with chess however, which he
played during his college years. After being introduced to poker
and having played in New York for a couple of years he decided to
move to Vegas in 1993 and play the high stakes games.
In 1994 he got attention for being at a final table
of The World Series of Poker together with his famous poker playing
sister Annie Duke whom he had taught poker. In the WSOP he has acclaimed
two bracelets. However, he would not become famous to the public
until 2002, when he won two World Poker Tour events, one at Foxwoods
Casino and one on Party Poker's Caribbean cruise. These wins gave
him great respect around poker circles and he proved to be a strong
opponent at the table.
Howard's favourite game is No Limit Texas Hold'em,
which he thinks is a game that you can study a great deal and that
there are so many strategies you can use and still be a winner.
He is a part of the fulltilt poker team and can be played against
online.
Daniel Negreanu
Daniel Negreanu was born and raised in Toronto, Canada. As a kid
Negreanu wanted to become an actor or hockey player but things would
turn out differently when he started playing poker at the age of
fifteen.
In the following years, at age 16-19 he continuously beat the local
games in Toronto when playing among friends and at the casinos.
During those years he played $10-$20 and $15-$30 Limit Texas Hold'em.
When Negreanu turned 21 he decided to pack his bag and head to Las
Vegas. In Las Vegas, competition was different from the local games
held in Toronto and it took him some time to adjust and become a
winner. However, when he learned how to beat those games he quickly
moved up in limits. Soon he was playing at limits of $100-$200 on
a regular basis. Negreanu also developed an interest for poker tournaments and in 1998 he won a World Series of Poker bracelet and became the
youngest player ever to win a bracelet. From 1997 he has won more
than 25 major tournaments. Among theses are two World Series of
Poker bracelets, two first places at the WPT and several final table
finishes.
His total winnings from tournament play exceed $7,000,000.
Daniel is, as of today, considered one the best No Limit Texas Hold'em
tournament players in the world.
In between tournaments, he sometimes acts as a stand-up comedian
and can be seen on stage. He is also co-author to the book Super
System 2.
Gus Hansen
This talented Dane has won three World Poker Tour events and is
a favourite of the audience. His style of play is very aggressive
and he always plays hands other players wouldn't dream of playing.
A typical Gus hand would be playing six deuce very aggressively.
His specialty is No Limit games that allow him to bet people out
of pots with bad hands. The uncertainty of what he is holding also
scares some people since they not really know if he has hit anything
or is bluffing.
Gus used to be a high ranked backgammon player before he began playing
poker. He actually made a living from backgammon. He is originally
from Copenhagen, Denmark but he is now living in California.
Carlos Mortensen
Spain's most famous poker player, he won the World Series of Poker
in 2001 after having played poker four years. He started playing
after he read an article about Stu Ungar's win in 1997. To his WSOP-records
he has added one more win after the main event title, that was a
Limit Texas Hold'em event in 2003 with a $5,000 buy-in. Carlos is
an aggressive player who often changes his style of play, depending
on whom his opponents are. He has got a wild temper and brings out
lots of emotions to the game, often slamming his fist in the table.
His wife, Cecilia Mortensen, is also a player. She goes far in tournaments
from time to time.
In 2004, Carlos won the Doyle Brunson North American Championship
and a sweet million dollars. This event will be televised since
it is a part of the World Poker Tour.
He resides in Barcelona, Spain, but crosses the Atlantic regularly
to play the big tournaments in the United States.
Antonio Esfandiari
Antonio is one of the younger stars on the World Poker Tour. He
got his breakthrough in season one when he reached the final table
of the San Francisco tournament. In that tournament he went out
in sixth place and earned $44,000. In season two things would get
better, though. With three TV appearances out which one was a win
that gave him $1,300,000 in first prize, Antonio's career as a professional
poker player was established. Originally from Iran, Antonio moved
to the United States at the age of nine with his family. At the
age he 19 he used to make living as a professional magician. But
out on a job he tried Texas Hold'em and started to play poker. He
soon won enough money to take a shot at the World Series of Poker
but ended up losing his money. He then started all over again, sharing
room with his friend Phil "Unabomber" Laak who is also
famous from the World Poker Tour. He learned the game and money
management so when the World Poker Tour started he was better prepared.
Dave "Devilfish" Ulliott
Dave is a top European player with world class qualities. He is
one few Europeans that has had success in the USA. He played many
years in England before any real success at tournaments. In 1997
he won a WSOP bracelet and since then his name has constantly been
on top of tournament prize lists. In the USA his biggest tournaments
win aside the WSOP-title was at the Jack Binion World Poker Open
in Reno in 2003, where he won nearly $600,000.
In between his successful trips to the USA he is regularly winning
tournaments back in Europe. He is now sponsored by Ultimatebet.com
and can be seen playing online from time to time. His nickname Devilfish
was given to him in his first tournament in Las Vegas when he played
heads up against Men the Master. His style of poker is fearless
and he is known to play any two cards extremely well.
About his nickname, a devilfish is a fish that has
a strong poison and could kill a person if it's not cooked properly.
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