Player Bios

Player bios will go here

Joe Cada – Poker Player Profile

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By Brett Collson - July 20th

Like many young aspiring poker pros, Joe Cada realized that college wasn't for him. The Shelby Township, MI native took the leap toward becoming a professional poker player shortly after beginning classes at Macomb Community College. And while most dropouts find the transition difficult, Cada's decision to leave school turned out to be the most lucrative of his young life: a short time later he became a member of the 2009 World Series of Poker November Nine. Read more »

Player Bios

Eric Buchman – Poker Player Profile

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By Nick Chappell - July 20th

Eric Buchman, 29, hails from Valley Stream, New York and will enter the final table of the 2009 WSOP Main Event with 34.8 million in chips; second only to Darvin Moon. Although the $1,263,602 that is guaranteed to each of the November 9 will be by far Buchman's largest tournament cash, he has been excelling on the tournament circuit since 2002 and has amassed more than $900,000 in career tournament earnings. Read more »

Player Bios

James Akenhead – Poker Player Profile

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By Dan Cypra - July 20th

Akenhead, a British poker pro, has just two World Series of Poker (WSOP) cashes to his name, both of which came after deep runs on poker's biggest stage. Akenhead is a former railroad conductor who now competes on the green felts for a living. Read more »

Player Bios

Cyndy Violette – Poker Player Profile

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By JD - November 21st

Born August 19, 1959 in Queens, New York, Cyndy Violette’s family moved to Las Vegas when she was 12. There, she was introduced to card games at a young age and always showed a proficiency for poker. When she turned 21, she started dealing blackjack and poker, playing only in her spare time. In 1985,… Read more »

Player Bios

Freddy Deeb – Poker Player Profile

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By Earl Burton - November 19th

Perhaps no one else in the world of poker owes more to the game than professional player Freddy Deeb. Deeb has been able to use his poker skills to amass a fortune and reach that dream that all poker players have - of having never held a "real" job. Read more »

Player Bios

Clonie Gowen – Poker Player Profile

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By Brett Collson - October 15th

As a former Miss Teen Oklahoma, Cycalona "Clonie" Gowen might appear to be out of place at a poker table. Her stunning physique doesn't fit quite fit with the stereotypical male, out of shape card player. But part of what makes Clonie Gowen so unique is that she's always just been one of the guys. Growing up in Kiowa, Oklahoma, Gowen was a regular high school jock. She was a member of a state championship basketball team and starred on her track and field team as a high jumper, where she was ranked seventh in the state of Oklahoma. Read more »

Player Bios

Marcel Luske – Poker Player Profile

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By Brett Collson - October 15th

When it comes to style, Marcel Luske is in a class of his own. Always seen dressed in a suit, upside-down sunglasses and a smile, it's no wonder Luske has become one of the most popular poker players in the world. Add a proclivity for singing at the table and one might peg Luske as a one-man act. But behind the goofy facade is a brilliant poker mind that has earned the title of European Poker Player of the Year twice (2001 and 2004). Read more »

Player Bios

Evelyn Ng – Poker Player Profile

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By Earl Burton - October 14th

Canada has provided the poker world with several great champions. Daniel Negreanu is recognized as one of the best players in the world and, along with other players like Gavin Smith, has led the charge of players from the Great White North. One person who learned about the game from Negreanu and has carved her own niche in the game today is Bodog pro Evelyn Ng. Read more »

Player Bios

Bill Chen – Poker Player Profile

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By Earl Burton - October 14th

The 2006 World Series of Poker was historic for several reasons. The Championship Event drew a record-setting 8,773 players and two men were able to capture two of the coveted WSOP bracelets each in preliminary events. While Jeff Madsen went on to win the Player of the Year award that year, Bill Chen's story of success was perhaps just as amazing. Read more »

Player Bios

Guy Laliberte – Poker Player

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By Nick Laurrell - October 10th

Guy Laliberte is not nor ever has been a professional poker player. Guy Laliberte has been a professional fire breather. Guy Laliberte has been on the Time List for the 100 Most Influential People in the World. Read more »

Player Bios

Tom “durrrr” Dwan – Poker Player Profile

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By Nick Laurrell - October 10th

The greatest poker players in the history of the game have nicknames. Texas Dolly, Kid Poker, The Poker Brat… durrrr? Building on a screen name invented by a 17 year old with a $50 bankroll to inspire tilt in his opponents, Tom Dwan has turned the name "durrrr" into a different sort of tilt inducing moniker than he originally intended. In the realms of ultra-high stakes internet poker, the name "durrrr" has come to signify one of the great legends in the relatively young history of online poker. Read more »

Player Bios

Antonio Esfandiari – Poker Player Profile

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By Nick Laurrell - October 9th

Antonio Esfandiari is a member of the most ultra-exclusive of high stakes poker tournament clubs – a winner of both a World Series of Poker and a World Poker Tour title. Not only that: Esfandiari has already made it to a final table in the newly created European Poker Tour and is a common fixture in many of the highest stakes poker games in the world. Read more »

Player Bios

Berry Johnston – Poker Player Profile

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By Earl Burton - October 8th

Of the men who have captured the gold bracelet as World Series of Poker Championship Event winner, one of the most mysterious is 1986 victor Berry Johnston. Born in Oklahoma in 1935, very little is known about Berry's early life. Read more »

Player Bios

Phil Laak – Poker Player Profile

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By Maria Del Mar - October 7th

Phil "The Unabomber" Laak is certainly to be counted amongst the elite of the poker world. Not only is he one of the very few players to find considerable success in both the highest stakes cash games and biggest tournaments, he is half of perhaps the most visible power couple in the poker world. In fact, he and longtime girlfriend Jennifer Tilly represent the only romantically linked pair to combine for both a WPT and WSOP victory. Read more »

Player Bios

Jennifer Tilly – Poker Player Profile

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By Maria Del Mar - October 7th

Jennifer Tilly may be the most visible female poker celebrity in the world. After her 2005 World Series of Poker victory in the Ladies-Only No Limit Texas Hold'em event, the Academy Award nominated actress joined boyfriend and revered poker pro Phil Laak as the only poker couple to combine for a WSOP and WPT victory. Read more »

Player Bios

Hal Lubarsky – Poker Player Profile

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By Brett Collson - October 7th

Hal Lubarsky's dream was coming true: at 29 years old, he was on his way to Las Vegas with aspirations of becoming a professional poker player. A regular in the $150-$300 H.O.R.S.E. games around town, Hal found himself mixing it up with some of the best in the world. "I was extremely well-known in cash games. I've played with all the big names except for Doyle (Brunson) and Chip (Reese)," he said during an interview with MSNBC. Read more »

Player Bios

Mike Caro – Poker Player Profile

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By Jeremy Olson - October 7th

Most poker players gain their fame through playing the game first, and then some branch out into writing books and other materials on the subject. Mike Caro is certainly one exception to this rule though, as he is definitely more noted for his theories and strategic opinions on the game rather than his playing accomplishments. Read more »

Player Bios

Michael Mizrachi – 2010 WSOP Main Event Fifth Place Finisher

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By Jeremy Olson - October 7th

When one first hears of Michael Mizrachi's nickname, "The Grinder", they don't really expect him to be one of the richest poker players in the world. After all, most people think of a poker grinder as someone who typically puts a lot of hours into the lower limits of the game in a job-like fashion. The last thing they'd expect is for Mizrachi to be a player who's earned over $6,700,000 playing in poker tournaments. Read more »

Player Bios

Bernard Lee – Poker Player Profile

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By Jeremy Olson - October 7th

Whether it's grinding at the tables for 10 hours a day or constantly having to travel to the next big tournament, many professional poker players get to a point where the game begins to consume their life. Bernard Lee is one professional poker player who's managed to avoid letting the game control his life though, instead becoming a well-rounded person in the process. Read more »

Player Bios