POKER BLOG - 2008-10-08

Date: Wed, Oct 8, 2008

            

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POKER BLOG - 2008-10-08

Date: Wed, Oct 8, 2008

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POKER BLOG - 2008-10-07

Date: Tue, Oct 7, 2008

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Jennifer "Jennicide" Leigh

Date: Tue, Oct 7, 2008

Jennifer "Jennicide" Leigh is an American professional poker player. She was born August 10, 1983 in Wilmington, Delaware.

Jennifer Leigh was introduced to poker by Robert Boyd (Dutch Boyd's brother) years after they met each other on Internet Relay Chat.

Jennifer Leigh built up from playing $5 SNG online poker tournaments to playing $100/$200 limit hold'em cash games. She also cashed in the $1,000 limit hold'em event of the World Championship of Online Poker.

Jennifer Leigh nickname "Jennicide" was her alias on hacking bulletin boards when she was younger. She was at one time involved in beige boxing. Jennifer Leigh has described herself as a nerd, with knowledge of Linux and C# programming.

Jennifer Leigh is best known for playing online poker at PokerStars under the screen name "Jennicide," she was also involved in the Poker Royale: Battle of the Ages series. She won two preliminary heats and went on to finish 5th in the Grand Final. She finished in the money in the World Poker Tour (WPT) 2006 Caribbean Poker Adventure.

Jennifer Leigh has been romantically involved with several young poker professionals. She has indicated that she finds it difficult to maintain a relationship whilst playing poker.

Jennifer Leigh loves video games, and recently blogged about reaching level 70 on World of Warcraft. She also played the MMORPG EverQuest.

Leigh has also posed for FHM Online in 2007, and appeared in the May 2008 issue of Playboy.

As of 2008, her live tournament winnings exceed $61,000.

Official site
Article by Leigh on Dating tips for poker players
PokerLizard interview

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POKER BLOG - 2008-10-07

Date: Tue, Oct 7, 2008

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Chad "Downtown" Brown

Date: Wed, Oct 1, 2008

Chad Brown is an American actor, poker player and commentator, based in Los Angeles, California. Chad Brown was born in Manhattan, New York in 1961. Brown was raised in The Bronx, where he began playing poker in Italian cafés. Chad Brown moved to Los Angeles in the early 1990s where he began working in Hollywood. Chad Brown has had some minor roles in television series and films, including Basket Case 2 and Miami Hustle. Chad Brown also appeared as an assistant host on the game show Caesars Challenge in the early 1990s. His poker nickname is "Downtown" Chad Brown.

Chad Brown is the presenter of the Ultimate Poker Challenge television series. Chad Brown has finished in the money at several events in the World Series of Poker (WSOP), including third in the 2002 $1,500 Omaha hi-lo split event, second to Ted Forrest in the 2004 $1,500 seven-card stud event and second in the 2005 $2,000 seven-card stud hi-lo event. Chad Brown made back to back final tables at 2005 World Series of Poker circuit events, including a third place finish behind Chris Ferguson and Prahlad Friedman. Chad Brown made another circuit event final table in 2006.

Chad Brown also made the final table of the World Poker Tour fourth season Bay 101 Shooting Stars Tournament, where he finished 6th. Brown won one of the biggest online poker tournaments in the 2006 World Championship of Online Poker $5000 H.O.R.S.E. event. Chad Brown bested 174 other players to take down the $223,125 first prize and a gold bracelet. He made the finals of the NBC National Heads-Up Poker Championship, defeating Yosh Nakano, Gabe Kaplan, Brad Booth, Kristy Gazes, and Gavin Smith before losing to Paul Wasicka 2-0 in the best-of-three final.

In 2007, Brown cashed in the money for the first time in the $10,000 no limit Texas hold'em championship coming in 97th place out of a field of 6,358 players, winning $67,535.

As of 2008, Chad Brown's total live tournament winnings exceed $2,300,000.

Chad Brown is engaged to professional poker player and attorney Vanessa Rousso.

Official site
Chad Brown at the Internet Movie Database
PokerLizard.com interview
Hendon Mob tournament results

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Brandi Williams

Date: Tue, Sep 30, 2008

Brandi Williams is widely recognized in the poker community as the sexy host of the hit series Ultimate Poker Challenge. Even though she shares co-hosting duties, it is apparent that the camera loves her, as she seems to get more air-time than anyone else.

Brandi Williams grew up in Perryopolis, Pennsylvania and after a stint as a cheerleader for the Arizona Cardinals she moved to Las Vegas in her early twenties. Brandi Williams has worked in television alongside noted personalities Ryan Seacrest, Alan Thicke, and Donny Osmond. Her credits include appearances on Entertainment Tonight, E! Entertainment network, acting as hostess for NYE Live on MSNBC, and for two years acted as a reporter for the morning news show on the station KTLA. She also signed a deal to be the host on LiveVideo.com.

Brandi Williams has been dubbed "The Queen of Hearts" and the "Princess of Poker" by numerous popular gambling magazines. At only 24 years old, she was named ‘One of the 50 Sexiest Women of 2005’ by the long-running Femme Fatales magazine.

In 2004, Brandi Williams helped host America’s Party: New Years Live From Las Vegas, a show to ring in the New Year that featured musical acts and performances. Brandi Williams has had a starring role in her first movie, Pretty Cool Too, where in the tradition of the classic Weird Science, she played a 3D woman acting as a Guidance Navigational Expert in a cell phone that helps a loser guy straighten up his life. She also has several more big-screen roles in the works, including films ‘Glass’, ‘Let’s Ride’, and Tommy Hilfiger’s ‘Rags’.

Brandi Williams got her boost of fame from the series Ultimate Poker Challenge. When the show premiered, it quickly became a hit and eventually went on to become one of the largest poker shows in syndication. The premise of the show is that each week represents a tournament with the players competing for a seat in the semi-finals. The players can qualify based on their points leaderboard for their finishing positions. In the show, Brandi acts as co-host with actor Chad Brown. Brandi Williams provides player interviews and into and out-of commercial breaks. The show has featured big poker names such as Chris Ferguson, Jennifer Harman, and Phil Laak. After four seasons, the show has been a viewer favorite in the ratings.

Official Website
Pokerpages.com Profile

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Brandi Williams

Date: Tue, Sep 30, 2008

Brandi Williams is widely recognized in the poker community as the sexy host of the hit series Ultimate Poker Challenge. Even though she shares co-hosting duties, it is apparent that the camera loves her, as she seems to get more air-time than anyone else.

Brandi Williams grew up in Perryopolis, Pennsylvania and after a stint as a cheerleader for the Arizona Cardinals she moved to Las Vegas in her early twenties. Brandi Williams has worked in television alongside noted personalities Ryan Seacrest, Alan Thicke, and Donny Osmond. Her credits include appearances on Entertainment Tonight, E! Entertainment network, acting as hostess for NYE Live on MSNBC, and for two years acted as a reporter for the morning news show on the station KTLA. She also signed a deal to be the host on LiveVideo.com.

Brandi Williams has been dubbed "The Queen of Hearts" and the "Princess of Poker" by numerous popular gambling magazines. At only 24 years old, she was named ‘One of the 50 Sexiest Women of 2005’ by the long-running Femme Fatales magazine.

In 2004, Brandi Williams helped host America’s Party: New Years Live From Las Vegas, a show to ring in the New Year that featured musical acts and performances. Brandi Williams has had a starring role in her first movie, Pretty Cool Too, where in the tradition of the classic Weird Science, she played a 3D woman acting as a Guidance Navigational Expert in a cell phone that helps a loser guy straighten up his life. She also has several more big-screen roles in the works, including films ‘Glass’, ‘Let’s Ride’, and Tommy Hilfiger’s ‘Rags’.

Brandi Williams got her boost of fame from the series Ultimate Poker Challenge. When the show premiered, it quickly became a hit and eventually went on to become one of the largest poker shows in syndication. The premise of the show is that each week represents a tournament with the players competing for a seat in the semi-finals. The players can qualify based on their points leaderboard for their finishing positions. In the show, Brandi acts as co-host with actor Chad Brown. Brandi Williams provides player interviews and into and out-of commercial breaks. The show has featured big poker names such as Chris Ferguson, Jennifer Harman, and Phil Laak. After four seasons, the show has been a viewer favorite in the ratings.

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Cindy Margolis

Date: Mon, Sep 29, 2008

Cynthia Dawn "Cindy" Margolis is an American glamour spokesmodel and actress. Cindy Margolis was born October 1, 1965 in Los Angeles, California of Jewish heritage. According to an interview in Playboy, Cindy Margolis career began with a business class project on greeting cards at California State University, Northridge, where she produced cards with a photograph of herself wearing lingerie and including her phone number. Her modeling career took off when agents started asking about the woman on the cards. Cindy Margolis has modeled in advertising for companies such as Reebok, Vidal Sassoon, Coors, Frederick's of Hollywood, Hanes, and Sunkist. She was Miss Makita Power Tools 1986 and did appearances at woodworking trade shows.

Cindy Margolis was married to restaurateur Guy Starkman. Following in-vitro fertility treatment, she gave birth to a son Nicholas Isaac in 2002. Twin daughters Sabrina and Sierra were born in 2005 via a surrogate mother. She and Starkman divorced in 2008.

Cindy Margolis first began playing poker when her husband and several of his friends got together for a game. She was inspired by Chris Moneymaker’s big victory at the World Series of Poker and was soon hooked. In 2005, she began hosting World Poker Tour’s online site Chipleaders.com.

By 2006, Poker Royalty signed Cindy up to act as a poker representative for functions and events. She also helped kick-off Phil Hellmuth’s fantasy poker camp ‘Camp Hellmuth’ at the PURE nightclub at Caesar’s Palace. In 2006 Cindy signed agreements to represent the online site Tropical Poker at all press releases, poker events, and appearances that she made. She also launched her own site, CindyPoker.com. Cindy Margolis site boasted a VIP lounge accessible only to members that features exclusive photos of Cindy and poker celebrities at tournaments and events. The VIP Lounge was a unique concept in a sea of copycat poker rooms.

Cindy Margolis has become a recognized poker celebrity. In 2007, Cindy Margolis played on ESPN’s televised Pro-Am Equalizer tournament. The concept of the tournament was that each table featured four professionals and two celebrities. To give the celebrities a better chance, they started with half again more chips than the pros. The event featured players such as Phil Ivey, Erick Lindgren, Chris Ferguson, and Howard Lederer. On the celebrity side, there were names such as Don Cheadle, Shannon Elizabeth, Jose Conseco, and Jennifer Tilly.

Cindy Margolis has played in numerous World Series of Poker events. Cindy Margolis has also hosted several tournaments as well as appeared on the cover of Woman Poker Player magazine. Her popularity has made her a highly sought-after representative for events and tournaments and she makes an ideal choice as the sexy poster girl for the poker industry.

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Isabelle "No Mercy" Mercier

Date: Mon, Sep 29, 2008

Isabelle Mercier is a professional poker player. Isabelle Mercier was born August 5, 1975 in Victoriaville, Quebec.

Isabelle Mercier originally learned to player poker as a child, but prior to turning to a poker career, she earned an undergraduate law degree from the Université de Montréal and practiced commercial law for six months. Isabelle Mercier then moved to Paris, France and earned a Masters Degree while working as the poker room manager at the Aviation Club de France, before turning to poker full-time. During her time working at the Aviation Club she was nominated for Staff Person of the Year twice at the European Poker Awards.

Isabelle Mercier first made a name for herself by finishing in second place in the $800 No Limit hold 'em tournament at the Masters Classic of Poker 2002 in Amsterdam, where she earned $53,499.

In 2004, Isabelle Mercier won the World Poker Tour (WPT) Ladies' Night tournament to win the $25,000 first prize, where Mike Sexton nicknamed her "No Mercy."

In 2005, Isabelle Mercier finished tenth in the European Poker Tour (EPT) Grand Final in Monte Carlo, earning $23,090, and outlasting players such as World Series of Poker (WSOP) runner-up Julian Gardner, WPT multi-tournament winner Gus Hansen, WPT season 2 champion Martin De Knijff and Barny Boatman.

Also in 2005, she had three money finishes at the WSOP. Isabelle Mercier made her first EPT final table in February 2006 in Deauville, finishing seventh at a final table also featuring Ram Vaswani and Kirill Gerasimov.

Isabelle Mercier has her own instructional DVD and appeared in the documentary That's Poker. In January 2008, she released her own biography: Profession : bluffeuse (Profession: Bluffer), in Montreal and printed in France by Flammarion.

A member of the PokerStars online poker cardroom's "Team PokerStars" group of sponsored players, Isabelle Mercier's total live tournament winnings exceed $695,000 as of 2008.

Isabellemercier.com Official Site
Team PokerStars profile: Isabelle Mercier
Hendon Mob tournament results: Isabelle Mercier
Sporting Life interview
TexasHoldemForums.com interview

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Cindy Margolis

Date: Mon, Sep 29, 2008

Cynthia Dawn "Cindy" Margolis is an American glamour spokesmodel and actress. Cindy Margolis was born October 1, 1965 in Los Angeles, California of Jewish heritage. According to an interview in Playboy, Cindy Margolis career began with a business class project on greeting cards at California State University, Northridge, where she produced cards with a photograph of herself wearing lingerie and including her phone number. Her modeling career took off when agents started asking about the woman on the cards. Cindy Margolis has modeled in advertising for companies such as Reebok, Vidal Sassoon, Coors, Frederick's of Hollywood, Hanes, and Sunkist. She was Miss Makita Power Tools 1986 and did appearances at woodworking trade shows.


Cindy Margolis was married to restaurateur Guy Starkman. Following in-vitro fertility treatment, she gave birth to a son Nicholas Isaac in 2002. Twin daughters Sabrina and Sierra were born in 2005 via a surrogate mother. She and Starkman divorced in 2008.


Cindy Margolis first began playing poker when her husband and several of his friends got together for a game. She was inspired by Chris Moneymaker’s big victory at the World Series of Poker and was soon hooked. In 2005, she began hosting World Poker Tour’s online site Chipleaders.com.


By 2006, Poker Royalty signed Cindy up to act as a poker representative for functions and events. She also helped kick-off Phil Hellmuth’s fantasy poker camp ‘Camp Hellmuth’ at the PURE nightclub at Caesar’s Palace. In 2006 Cindy signed agreements to represent the online site Tropical Poker at all press releases, poker events, and appearances that she made. She also launched her own site, CindyPoker.com. Cindy Margolis site boasted a VIP lounge accessible only to members that features exclusive photos of Cindy and poker celebrities at tournaments and events. The VIP Lounge was a unique concept in a sea of copycat poker rooms.


Cindy Margolis has become a recognized poker celebrity. In 2007, Cindy Margolis played on ESPN’s televised Pro-Am Equalizer tournament. The concept of the tournament was that each table featured four professionals and two celebrities. To give the celebrities a better chance, they started with half again more chips than the pros. The event featured players such as Phil Ivey, Erick Lindgren, Chris Ferguson, and Howard Lederer. On the celebrity side, there were names such as Don Cheadle, Shannon Elizabeth, Jose Conseco, and Jennifer Tilly.


Cindy Margolis has played in numerous World Series of Poker events. Cindy Margolis has also hosted several tournaments as well as appeared on the cover of Woman Poker Player magazine. Her popularity has made her a highly sought-after representative for events and tournaments and she makes an ideal choice as the sexy poster girl for the poker industry.

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T.J. Cloutier

Date: Mon, Sep 29, 2008

Thomas James Cloutier is a professional poker player from Albany, California. T.J. Cloutier was born October 13, 1939. T.J. Cloutier was inducted into the Poker Hall of Fame in 2006.

T.J. Cloutier attended the University of California, Berkeley on an athletic scholarship for American football and baseball and played in the Rose Bowl in 1959. However, he later dropped out because of family financial hardship.

T.J. Cloutier was drafted into the U.S. Army. After the Army, he played football in the Canadian Football League for Toronto and Montreal, but an injury cut his career short.

T.J. Cloutier then started a food company, but it was not successful, so he moved to Texas to work on oil rigs. On his off days he began to play poker, and quit his job after realizing that he was winning more money playing poker than working. T.J. Cloutier started playing poker when he was a caddy at a golf course and played poker after the rounds.

T.J. Cloutier specializes in playing tournament poker, especially No Limit and Pot Limit Hold'em. T.J. Cloutier is the only person in the history of the World Series of Poker (WSOP) to have won events in all three types of Omaha played at the World Series - (Pot Limit High, Limit High, and Limit 8-or-Better High-low split).

Despite winning dozens of tournaments, he has never won the main event of the World Series of Poker, although he has placed four times in the top 5, including two 2nd place finishes in 1985 and 2000.

T.J. Cloutier also plays in World Poker Tour (WPT) events, where his highest finish to date was 3rd place in the 2003 Legends of Poker event won by Mel Judah.

T.J. Cloutier has also featured in the Ultimate Poker Challenge, the National Heads-Up Poker Championship, Poker Superstars Invitational Tournament and Poker Royale: Battle of the Ages.

T.J. Cloutier is currently second to Phil Hellmuth (40) for the most all-time WSOP final table finishes record, with 39.

As of 2008, his total live tournament winnings exceed $9,300,000.

WSOP Bracelets
Year Tournament Prize
1987 $1,000 Limit Omaha Hi $72,000
1994 $1,500 Limit Omaha 8 or Better $135,000
1994 $2,500 Pot Limit Hold'em $163,000
1998 $2,500 Pot Limit Omaha Hi $136,000
2004 $1,500 Seven Card Razz $90,500
2005 $5,000 No Limit Hold'em $657,100

Cloutier is the co-author (together with Tom McEvoy) of four books:
Championship Tournament Practice Hands
Championship Holdem
Championship Omaha
Championship No-Limit and Pot Limit Hold'em.

In May 2006, T.J. Cloutier released 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. T.J. Cloutier also writes for Card Player Magazine.

Official Site
Pokerbaron Interview
Hendon Mob tournament results

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Stuart "The Donator" Paterson

Date: Mon, Sep 29, 2008

Stuart "The Donator" Paterson plays online at Full Tilt Poker. Stuart Paterson was born in Freeport, Grand Bahamas but moved to Florida at a young age so that he could attend school in the U.S. Stuart Paterson got into poker pretty much by accident. was winning a lot of money betting sports when, after a good session one day, he took his winnings and sat down at a poker table. That money was lost; yet, Stuart was hooked.

Stuart Paterson online nickname is "The Donator". He is sponsored by Full Tilt Poker and is a member of Team Full Tilt.

Over the next couple years, Stuart Paterson worked hard on his poker game. After three years, his game was starting to gel. Stuart began playing online at FullTiltPoker.com against guys like Phil Ivey and John D'Agostino, and soon was holding his own against the poker greats.

During this time, Stuart Paterson befriended poker professionals like Robert and Michael "The Grinder" Mizrachi, and Josh Arieh. He listened to their sage advice and it completely transformed his game.

This year, Stuart Paterson had his first big win at a live tournament when he took sixth place at the Borgota Poker Classic. Recently, Stuart Paterson cashed in the Main Event at the 2006 World Series of Poker.

When Stuart's not playing in live tournaments, he spends as much time as possible going to sporting events. Being from Boca Raton, his favorite teams are the Dolphins and the Heat. Stuart graduated from Florida Atlantic University with a degree in business management. Like the way he transitioned from the sports book to poker, Stuart plans to move to a career in business after a few more years on the felt.

01/14/2008 - Stuart Paterson came in 1st place and won $93,250 in the $1000 buy-in, $1K Monday on FullTiltPoker.

7/19/2008 - Stuart Paterson came in 1st place and won $19,448 in the $100 buy-in, $60,000 Guarantee (Rebuy) on FullTiltPoker.

05/02/2008 - Stuart Paterson came in 1st place and won $20,979 in the $162 buy-in, The Nightly Hundred Grand [$162 NLHE] on PokerStars,

Official Site
Full Tilt Poker Site
Cardplayer.com Profile
Pocketfives.com Profile
HendonMob results

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Isabelle "No Mercy" Mercier

Date: Mon, Sep 29, 2008

Isabelle Mercier is a professional poker player. Isabelle Mercier was born August 5, 1975 in Victoriaville, Quebec.

Isabelle Mercier originally learned to player poker as a child, but prior to turning to a poker career, she earned an undergraduate law degree from the Université de Montréal and practiced commercial law for six months. Isabelle Mercier then moved to Paris, France and earned a Masters Degree while working as the poker room manager at the Aviation Club de France, before turning to poker full-time. During her time working at the Aviation Club she was nominated for Staff Person of the Year twice at the European Poker Awards.

Isabelle Mercier first made a name for herself by finishing in second place in the $800 No Limit hold 'em tournament at the Masters Classic of Poker 2002 in Amsterdam, where she earned $53,499.

In 2004, Isabelle Mercier won the World Poker Tour (WPT) Ladies' Night tournament to win the $25,000 first prize, where Mike Sexton nicknamed her "No Mercy."

In 2005, Isabelle Mercier finished tenth in the European Poker Tour (EPT) Grand Final in Monte Carlo, earning $23,090, and outlasting players such as World Series of Poker (WSOP) runner-up Julian Gardner, WPT multi-tournament winner Gus Hansen, WPT season 2 champion Martin De Knijff and Barny Boatman.

Also in 2005, she had three money finishes at the WSOP. Isabelle Mercier made her first EPT final table in February 2006 in Deauville, finishing seventh at a final table also featuring Ram Vaswani and Kirill Gerasimov.

Isabelle Mercier has her own instructional DVD and appeared in the documentary That's Poker. In January 2008, she released her own biography: Profession : bluffeuse (Profession: Bluffer), in Montreal and printed in France by Flammarion.

A member of the PokerStars online poker cardroom's "Team PokerStars" group of sponsored players, Isabelle Mercier's total live tournament winnings exceed $695,000 as of 2008.

Isabellemercier.com Official Site
Team PokerStars profile: Isabelle Mercier
Hendon Mob tournament results: Isabelle Mercier
Sporting Life interview
TexasHoldemForums.com interview

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