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With Lady Gaga's song Poker Face being played all over the radio it got me to thinking who really does have the best Poker Face? The best poker face tribute might have to go to Michael Mizrachi who is considered by many to be of the best poker players in the world, and he is pretty young to be able to have such things said about him – he was born in Miami, Florida in 1981, and now splits his time between Florida and Las Vegas, with his wife Aidilay and their children.
Mizrachi's started playing poker when he was just 15 years old, and quickly made a name for himself online and in live tournament games. He decided to study medicine, but the lure of playing the game full-time took over and he dropped out of college. This was probably a wise move as he won the Five Diamond World Poker Classic II in Las Vegas in 2004, and secured himself a cool $274,000. In January 2005 he entered the World Poker Open, a World Poker Tour Event and made it to the final table. He went out in fifth place but proved that he had what it took to be a top-tier player. Not long after, he entered the L.A. Poker Classic and won it all. He has now won the World Poker Tournaments twice, and in 2006 CardPlayer Magazine named him Player of the Year. Some say his nickname of the Grinder is due to his solid consistent style. However, when he first started being noticed on the tournament circuit, he would wear a baseball cap that said: 'The Grinder – I'm a machine'. So whether he intended for this to be his nickname hasn't been confirmed! But he does state now that Grinder does signify his competiveness and determined spirit. Mizrachi makes more money in a few wins than players ten years ago would have made in their whole poker playing career – he is thought to have made $6.7million in tournament earnings. He is a dedicated family man, whose twin brother is also a professional poker player - their parents turned to games to keep the boys occupied and introduced poker to satisfy their need for competition. Mizrachi recently bought a tour bus so that his family could be with him when he is travelling between tournaments. His favourite game is Texas Hold'em and he states that he has not learnt about poker through reading about it in a book. In fact Mizrachi credits playing online with some of his success in poker, as it gave him the opportunity to play against thousands of players thereby perfecting his technique, which he admits is aggressive, yet cautious and calculated.
Although Mizrachi might have a perfect Poker Face, don't let the fact that you couldn't lie to save yourself put you off! The joy of online poker is that you don't have to have a Poker Face, as no one can see you! You could be jumping around your living room in glee and no one would suspect a thing!
Find out more from Poker Legends online guide to playing poker.
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