Mickey Appleman
Mark "Mickey" Appleman is an American professional poker player, sports bettor, sports handicapper now living in Fort Lee, New Jersey. His poker accomplishments include winning four WSOP bracelets, all in different variations of poker and four top 25 finishes in the WSOP Main Event. Appleman was born on July 1945 in Brooklyn, New York to parents of Ashkenazi Jewish descent, he grew up in Long Island, where he was strong in both academics. He received his undergraduate degree in Mathematics from Ohio State University where he was a member of Alpha Epsilon Pi, he earned an MBA in statistics from Case Western University. Appleman moved to Washington, D. C. where he worked as a coordinator in a drug rehabilitation clinic. He taught math in public schools. Appleman used money he had made from sports betting to fund his early poker career, he began playing at the World Series of Poker in 1975, he was a regular player at the Mayfair Club in New York City where he played against some of the now famous and successful poker players like Dan Harrington, Howard Lederer, Erik Seidel.
In his long career as a professional poker player, he has won four bracelets and has finished in the money of the $10,000 no limit hold'em main event in 1987, 1989, 1990, 2000. In 2008, Appleman appeared on NBC's Poker After Dark show in the episode "Mayfair Club." The other players were the former owner of the club, Mike Shictman, professional poker players Howard Lederer, Dan Harrington, Steve Zolotow, Jay Heimowitz who won the tournament and the $120,000 cash prize. Appleman finished the tournament in third place; as of 2015, his total live tournament winnings exceed $1,787,000. His 47 cashes at the WSOP account for $1,185,861 of those winnings. Mickey has a son, born in 1987. Interview by Nolan Dalla Hendon Mob tournament results The Jesus of Handicapping by Michael Kaplan Personal Website
Betting in poker
In the game of poker, the play centers on the act of betting, as such, a protocol has been developed to speed up play, lessen confusion, increase security while playing. Different games are played using different types of bets, small variations in etiquette exist between cardrooms, but for the most part the following rules and protocol are observed by the majority of poker players. Players in a poker game act in clockwise rotation; when it is a player's turn to act, the first verbal declaration or action they take binds them to their choice of action. Until the first bet is made each player in turn may "check,", to not place a bet, or "open,", to make the first bet. After the first bet each player may "fold,", to drop out of the hand losing any bets they have made. A player may fold by surrendering one's cards. A player may check by making any similar motion. All other bets are made by placing chips in front of the player, but not directly into the pot. In general, the person to the left of the dealer acts first and action proceeds in a clockwise fashion.
If any player has folded earlier, action proceeds to next player. In games with blinds, the first round of betting begins with the player to the left of the blinds. In stud games, action begins with the player showing the strongest proceeds clockwise. If there is a bring-in, the first round of betting begins with the player obliged to post the bring-in. If no one has yet opened the betting round, a player may pass or check, equivalent to betting zero and/or to calling the current bet of zero; when checking, a player declines to make a bet. In games played with blinds, players may not check on the opening round because the blinds are live bets and must be called or raised to remain in the hand. A player who has posted the big blind has the right to raise on the first round, called the option, if no other player has raised. If all players check, the betting round is over with no additional money placed in the pot. A common way to signify checking is to tap the table, either with a fist, knuckles, an open hand or the index finger.
If in any betting round it is a player's turn to act and the action is unopened the player can open action in a betting round by making a bet—the act of making the first voluntary bet in a betting round is called opening the round. On the first betting round, it is called opening the pot, though in variants where blind bets are common, the blind bets "open" the first betting round and other players call and/or raise the "big blind" bet; some poker variations have special rules about opening a round. For example, a game may have a betting structure that specifies different allowable amounts for opening than for other bets, or may require a player to hold certain cards to open. A player makes a bet by placing the chips they wish to wager into the pot. Under normal circumstances, all other players still in the pot must either call the full amount of the bet or raise if they wish remain in, the only exceptions being when a player does not have sufficient stake remaining to call the full amount of the bet or when the player is all-in.
To raise is to increase the size of an existing bet in the same betting round. A player making the second or subsequent raise of a betting round is said to re-raise. A player making a raise after checking in the same betting round is said to check-raise; the sum of the opening bet and all raises is the amount that all players in the hand must call in order to remain eligible to win the pot, subject to the table stakes rules described in the previous paragraph. A bluff is when a player bets or raises when it is they do not have the best hand; when a player bets or raises with a weak hand that has a chance of improvement on a betting round, the bet or raise is classified as a semi-bluff. On the other hand, a bet made by a player who hopes or expects to be called by weaker hands is classified as a value bet. In no-limit and pot-limit games, there is a minimum amount, required to be bet in order to open the action. In games with blinds, this amount is the amount of the big blind. Standard poker rules require that raises must be at least equal to the amount of the previous bet or raise.
For example, if an opponent bets $5, a player must raise by at least another $5, they may not raise by only $2. If a player raises a bet of $5 by $7, the next re-raise would have to be by at least another $7 more than the $12; the primary purpose of the minimum raise rule is to avoid game delays caused by "nuisance" raises (small raises of large bets, such as an extra $1 over a current bet of $50, that have little effect on the action but take time as all others m
T. J. Cloutier
Thomas James "T. J." Cloutier is a professional poker player from Richardson, Texas. He was inducted into the Poker Hall of Fame in 2006. Cloutier was born in Albany and attended the University of California, Berkeley on an athletic scholarship for football and baseball and played in the 1959 Rose Bowl. However, he dropped out of college because of family financial hardship. Cloutier was drafted into the United States Army. After the Army, he played football in the Canadian Football League for the Toronto Argonauts and Montreal Alouettes, but an injury cut his career short. After his football career ended, Cloutier started a food company, but it was not successful, so following the end of his first marriage, he moved to Texas to work on oil rigs. On his off days, he began to play poker, quit his job after realizing that he was winning more money playing poker than working, he played poker after the rounds. In addition to poker, Cloutier is well known for his high-stakes craps sessions. Cloutier specializes in playing tournament poker no-limit and pot limit hold'em.
He is the only person in the history of the World Series of Poker to have won events in three types of Omaha played at the World Series — Pot Limit High, Limit High, Limit 8-or-Better High-low split. Cloutier has won a total of six WSOP bracelets in his career, in addition to many other titles in various kinds of poker games, he has placed four times in the top five in the Main Event of the World Series of Poker, including two second-place finishes, in 1985, losing to Bill Smith, 2000, losing to Chris Ferguson. Cloutier finished in fifth place in 1988, won by Johnny Chan, in third place in 1998, won by Scotty Nguyen. In 2009, he was one of numerous players turned away from the Main Event, as registration was capped on that particular day, he did. In January 2010, The Plano Pawn Shop auctioned off Cloutier's 2005 bracelet on eBay for $4,006. Cloutier plays in World Poker Tour events, where his highest finish is third in the 2003 Legends of Poker event, won by fellow professional Mel Judah, he has been featured in the Ultimate Poker Challenge, the National Heads-Up Poker Championship, Poker Superstars Invitational Tournament and Poker Royale: Battle of the Ages.
As of 2017, his total live tournament winnings exceed $10,350,000, of which over $4,675,000 has come at the WSOP. Cloutier is the co-author of four books on poker: Championship Tournament Practice Hands Championship Holdem Championship Omaha Championship No-Limit and Pot Limit Hold'em, he has written How To Win The Championship: Hold'em Strategies For The Final Table, a book covering tournament strategy with an emphasis on the final few tables. Cloutier wrote for Card Player magazine, he features in the computer game World Class Poker with T. J. Cloutier, he appears in the "Prince of Poker" episode of the History Channel series Breaking Vegas
Berry Johnston
Berry Enfield Johnston is an American professional poker player. He is best known as the 1986 World Champion, but he has won four other bracelets at the World Series of Poker in addition to cashes and wins in many other tournaments throughout his career. Johnston won the 1986 World Series of Poker Main Event, placed third in 1983 and 1985 and fifth in the 1990 World Series, respectively, he has made at least 29 final tables at the WSOP and has finished in the money on at least 66 occasions. He has cashed ten times in the WSOP Main Event, more than any other player, his most recent cash in the Main Event came in 2007, when he finished in 113th place in a field of over six thousand players, for which Johnston won $58,570. Having cashed in at least one event every year from 1982–2010, Johnston holds the record at the WSOP for longest cashing streak at 29 years. Johnston cashed three times in the 2008 World Series of Poker, including tenth place in an Omaha Hi/Lo event, he is 42nd on the WSOP all time money list.
He is currently ranked in fourth place for the WSOP all-time cashes list with 57 cashes as of the end of the 2009 series. Johnston is still competing at high levels of poker today. Johnston has played on the NBC Poker After Dark Series, most in 2008 among some of his fellow World Series of Poker Main Event Champions. Berry finished fourth in the tournament, won by Johnny Chan; the other world champions in the tournament were Phil Hellmuth, Huck Seed, Chris Ferguson, Jamie Gold. He was inducted into the Seniors Poker Hall of Fame in the early 1990s and Poker Hall of Fame in 2004. Johnston was the only inductee in the 2004 class; as of 2010, his total live tournament winnings exceed $3,450,000. His 60 cashes as the WSOP account for $2,075,527 of those winnings. Official site pokernews.com – Legends of Poker: Berry Johnston
John Bonetti
John Joseph Bonetti was an American professional poker player from Houston, Texas. Born in Brooklyn, New York City, Bonetti began playing poker at the age of 54, won three bracelets at the World Series of Poker in the 1990s. Bonetti made several notable finishes in the No Limit Texas hold'em WSOP Main Event: 1987 23rd place - $10,000 1989 16th place - $12,500 1990 8th place - $33,400 1992 12th place - $10,100 1993 3rd place - $210,000 1996 3rd place - $341,250Bonetti finished on the television bubble, 7th place, of the World Poker Tour Fifth Annual Jack Binion World Poker Open, winning $86,377. Between May 1987 and February 2003, Bonetti won more than 40 poker tournaments. On June 27, 2008, Bonetti died at the age of 80. Bonetti's total live tournament winnings were $4,188,332, his 32 cashes at the WSOP accounted for $1,743,993 of those winnings
Doyle Brunson
Doyle F. Brunson is a retired American poker player who played professionally for over 50 years, he is a two-time World Series of Poker Main Event champion, a Poker Hall of Fame inductee, the author of several books on poker. Brunson was the first player to earn $1 million in poker tournaments and has won ten WSOP bracelets throughout his career, tied with Johnny Chan and Phil Ivey for second all-time, behind Phil Hellmuth's fifteen bracelets, he is one of only four players to have won the Main Event at the World Series of Poker multiple times, which he did in 1976 and 1977. He is one of only two players, along with Bill Boyd, to have won WSOP tournaments in four consecutive years. In addition, he is the first of six players to win both the WSOP Main Event and a World Poker Tour title. In January 2006, Bluff Magazine voted Brunson the most influential force in the world of poker. On June 11, 2018, Brunson announced; that day, he entered the $10,000 2-7 Single Draw at the 2018 WSOP and came in sixth place, earning $43,963.
Brunson was born in Longworth, Fisher County, one of three children. He was part of the All-State Texas basketball team. In the 1950 Texas Interscholastic Track Meet, he won the one-mile event with a time of 4:43. Despite receiving offers from many colleges, he attended Hardin–Simmons University in Abilene, Texas; the Minneapolis Lakers of the NBA showed interest in Brunson but a knee injury ended his hopes of becoming a professional basketball player. He still requires a crutch because of the injury. Brunson obtained a bachelor's degree in 1954 and a master's degree in administrative education the following year, he would go on to work as a school principal. Brunson had begun playing five-card draw, he played more after being injured and his winnings paid for his expenses. After graduating, he took a job as a business machines salesman. On his first day, he was invited to play in a seven-card stud game and won more than a month's salary, he soon became a professional poker player. Brunson started off by playing in illegal games on Exchange Street in Fort Worth with friend Dwayne Hamilton.
They began traveling around Texas and Louisiana, playing in bigger games, meeting fellow professionals Amarillo Slim and Sailor Roberts. The illegal games Brunson played in during this time were run by criminals who were members of organized crime, so rules were not always enforced. Brunson has admitted to having a gun that he was robbed and beaten. Hamilton moved back to Fort Worth, while the others teamed up and travelled around together, gambling on poker, golf and, in Doyle's words, "just about everything." They pooled their money for gambling and after six years, they made their first serious trip to Las Vegas and lost all of it, a six-figure amount. They remained friends. Brunson settled in Las Vegas, he has been a regular player at the World Series of Poker since its inception in 1970, playing in the Main Event nearly every year since in addition to many of the other preceding bracelet-awarding events. He made some WSOP championship event final tables before his back-to-back wins, but since this was when the event was winner-take-all, they are not counted as cashes.
Besides his two championship wins in 1976 and 1977, Brunson's other Main Event cashes are: 1972, 1980, 1982, 1983, 1997, 2004 and 2013. Brunson authored Super/System, considered to be one of the most authoritative books on poker. Self-published in 1978, Super/System was the book credited with transforming poker by giving ordinary players insight into the way that professionals such as Brunson played and won, so much so that Brunson believes that it cost him a lot of money. An updated revision, Super/System 2, was published in 2004. Besides Brunson, several top poker players contributed chapters to Super/System including Bobby Baldwin, Mike Caro, David Sklansky, Chip Reese, Joey Hawthorne; the book is subtitled "by Doyle Brunson. Brunson is the author of Poker Wisdom of a Champion published as According to Doyle by Lyle Stuart in 1984. Brunson continued to play in the biggest poker games in the world, including a $4,000/$8,000 limit mixed poker game in "Bobby's Room" at the Bellagio, he plays in many of the biggest poker tournaments around the world.
He won his ninth gold bracelet in a mixed games event in 2003, in 2004, he finished 53rd in the No Limit Texas hold'em Championship event. He won the Legends of Poker World Poker Tour event in 2004 and finished fourth in the WPT's first championship event. Early in the morning on July 1, 2005, less than a week after Chan had won his 10th gold bracelet - setting a new record - Brunson tied him at the 2005 WSOP, he is five bracelets behind Phil Hellmuth, who earned his 15th bracelet at the 2018 World Series of Poker. He cashed in the 2013 World Series of Poker $10,000 No Limit Hold'em Championship event, marking the fifth decade he has cashed in the event; as of 2018, his total live tournament winnings exceed $6,100,000. He has totaled over $3,000,000 in earnings from his 37 cashes at the WSOP. Brunson has two Texas hold'em hands named after him; the holding of ten-deuce bears his name because he won the No Limit Hold'Em event at the World Series of Poker two years in a row with a ten and a two, in both cases completing a full house.
In both
Poker
Poker is a family of card games that combines gambling and skill. All poker variants involve betting as an intrinsic part of play, determine the winner of each hand according to the combinations of players' cards, at least some of which remain hidden until the end of the hand. Poker games vary in the number of cards dealt, the number of shared or "community" cards, the number of cards that remain hidden, the betting procedures. In most modern poker games the first round of betting begins with one or more of the players making some form of a forced bet. In standard poker, each player bets according to the rank they believe their hand is worth as compared to the other players; the action proceeds clockwise as each player in turn must either match the maximum previous bet, or fold, losing the amount bet so far and all further involvement in the hand. A player who matches a bet may "raise" the bet; the betting round ends when all players folded. If all but one player folds on any round, the remaining player collects the pot without being required to reveal their hand.
If more than one player remains in contention after the final betting round, a showdown takes place where the hands are revealed, the player with the winning hand takes the pot. With the exception of initial forced bets, money is only placed into the pot voluntarily by a player who either believes the bet has positive expected value or, trying to bluff other players for various strategic reasons. Thus, while the outcome of any particular hand involves chance, the long-run expectations of the players are determined by their actions chosen on the basis of probability and game theory. Poker has increased in popularity since the beginning of the 20th century and has gone from being a recreational activity confined to small groups of enthusiasts to a popular activity, both for participants and spectators, including online, with many professional players and multimillion-dollar tournament prizes. Poker was developed sometime during the early 19th century in the United States. Since those early beginnings, the game has grown to become an popular pastime worldwide.
In the 1937 edition of Foster's Complete Hoyle, R. F. Foster wrote: "the game of poker, as first played in the United States, five cards to each player from a twenty-card pack, is undoubtedly the Persian game of As-Nas." By the 1990s some gaming historians including David Parlett started to challenge the notion that poker is a direct derivative of As-Nas. Developments in the 1970s led to poker becoming far more popular. Modern tournament play became popular in American casinos after the World Series of Poker began, in 1970. In casual play, the right to deal a hand rotates among the players and is marked by a token called a dealer button. In a casino, a house dealer handles the cards for each hand, but the button is rotated clockwise among the players to indicate a nominal dealer to determine the order of betting; the cards are dealt clockwise around one at a time. One or more players are required to make forced bets either an ante or a blind bet; the dealer shuffles the cards, the player on the chair to his or her right cuts, the dealer deals the appropriate number of cards to the players one at a time, beginning with the player to his or her left.
Cards may be dealt depending on the variant of poker being played. After the initial deal, the first of what may be several betting rounds begins. Between rounds, the players' hands develop in some way by being dealt additional cards or replacing cards dealt. At the end of each round, all bets are gathered into the central pot. At any time during a betting round, if one player bets, no opponents choose to call the bet, all opponents instead fold, the hand ends the bettor is awarded the pot, no cards are required to be shown, the next hand begins; this is. Bluffing is a primary feature of poker, one that distinguishes it from other vying games and from other games that make use of poker hand rankings. At the end of the last betting round, if more than one player remains, there is a showdown, in which the players reveal their hidden cards and evaluate their hands; the player with the best hand according to the poker variant being played wins the pot. A poker hand comprises five cards. Poker variations are played where a "low hand" may be the best desired hand.
In other words, when playing a poker variant with "low poker" the best hand is one that contains the lowest cards. So while the "majority" of poker game variations are played "high hand", where the best high "straight, flush etc." wins, there are poker variations where the "worst hand" wins, such as "low ball, acey-ducey, high-lo split etc. game variations". To summarize, there can be variations that are "high poker", "low poker", "high low split". In the case of "high low split" the pot is divided among low hand. Poker has many variations, all following a similar pattern of play and using the same hand ranking hierarchy. There are four main families of variants grouped by the protocol of card-dealing and betting: Straight A complete hand is dealt to each player, players bet in one round, with raising and re-raising allowed; this is the oldest poker family.
