Card Runners
GOSSIP & LIFESTYLE
The nosebleed action on Full Tilt Poker has become even bigger since the introduction of Rail Heaven, a sixhanded $500/$1000 No Limit Hold’em table with one seat permanently reserved for Patrik Antonius. The table has generated more action than predicted. Jason “pr1nnyraid” Rosenkrantz has booked both big wins and big losses there, and others who have played at the table include Tom “durrrr” Dwan, “Urindanger”, and the new account “present”, which is reported to be Sami “LarsLuzak” Kelopuro.
The 2008 “Man vs. Machine” event saw Stoxpoker professionals Nick “Stoxtrader” Grudzien and Kyle “Cottonseed” Hendon play Limit Hold’em against Polaris, a computer program developed at the University of Alberta. The match was played in a duplicate style common in bridge tournaments: the same hands were dealt in both matches, the second time to the opposite player. Polaris won 2.5 big bets, a win so small as to be considered a tie. Polaris won two of three matches against other pairs of humans; One of those opponents was Matt Hawrilenko, who is widely considered to be the best heads-up Limit Hold’em player in the world.
Another big-bet, high-profi le game took place in Bobby’s Room at the Bellagio this summer. Kenny Tran, David Benefi eld, Brandon Adams, Jason Rosenkrantz, Sam Farha, and Rafi Amit were among those who played a $300/$600 game that alternated between No Limit Hold’em and Pot Limit Omaha. Tran took down $120,000 in one of the biggest pots by check-raising Rosenkrantz all in on a K-10-7 fl op. Rosenkrantz, who raised to $50,000 pre-fl op with what he claimed was six-high, folded; Tran claimed to have J-9.
Patrik Antonius and Brandon Adams recently played a $100,000 freezeout on Full Tilt Poker. Antonius was considered the favorite, but Adams won quickly, calling down a bluff with a pair of nines and then making a full house against Patrik’s three of a kind. Adams said that the bet was originally for a tennis match but the two agreed to switch to Hold’em because Patrik is injured and trying to save himself for some upcoming golf bets.CR SPOTLIGHT DESIRAE RABE
CardRunners: You’re in your 20s. You’re a solid winner in some of the biggest games online. Life is good. So how’d this happen? How’d you get your start?
Desirae: I have to give all the credit to Chris, an ex-boyfriend and good friend of mine. He taught me how to play poker and started playing online before I did. He was going to school and making good money playing poker online while I was teaching preschool and not making very much money... One day I was like, “hold on, I can do this,” and the rest is history!
CR: Before poker, what was your previous life like?
D: I grew up in Seattle (Edmonds actually), went to college at University of Washington and graduated in 2002 with a psychology degree. Right after college, I moved down to LA by myself to do something “crazy.” I had a couple random jobs down there and then ended up moving all the way across the country to Washington, D.C. In D.C. I taught preschool which was really fun but didn’t pay the bills very easily. About halfway through my second year I decided to give poker a try. My boyfriend at the time had sort of fi gured out the system and was making good money just playing poker online. At night, I would watch him because it was really fun and interesting. Finally, I thought to myself, “Hold on – why am I watching? I can do this and make money too.” So in January 2006 I started out at the $25 NL Hold’em tables and gradually worked my way up to the $2000 tables. I fi nished out that year at preschool, but that was it for my teaching career. The money just wasn’t even close!
CR: How did you fi nd CardRunners? How did it help your game?
D: I found CardRunners pretty much when the site fi rst opened. The videos brought my game to a whole new level. The people I learned from really enjoy reading 2+2 and poker forums and things like that. I would participate in the forums because I knew it improved my game, but I would almost have to force myself to read that stuff. But videos were a whole different story; I would look forward to each new one that came out. I initially learned how to play poker by watching someone else play, so naturally the videos were extremely helpful.
CR: So, yeah, you’re a girl... in a male dominated game. What experience have you had in the poker industry?
D: First off, when I play online no one knows – or shall I say no one knew – that I’m a girl. When people fi nd out they don’t believe me! Being in Vegas this summer for the WSOP taught me so much. Honestly, being a girl that is actually good at poker is a huge advantage in this industry. There are so many more opportunities for me. I mean, I’m a happy little blond girl but my poker game is badass and no one expects it! I’m sure when I walk up to the poker table everyone is so happy because they just assume I’m a fi sh. Everyone is very nice to me at fi rst but when I start pushing them around the niceties stop! It’s pretty hilarious.
CR: What do your parents and friends think about this large life change?
D: At fi rst everyone was really worried. I mean, no one had heard of something like this before! When I told them what kind of money I was making, most of them understood and supported me. I have lost a couple friends because of it, but that just seems crazy. Most of my good friends and family see how much I’m crushing it, and see that I’m happy, so they support me!
CR: Where do you see yourself in 10 years?
D: Hopefully I’ll be sponsored and get to travel around the world playing all the top poker tournaments! Also, I hope to be married to someone awesome and have a couple of kids. I’ll get to be a stay-at-home mom and then play poker when they go to bed! If someone told me even four years ago that this would be my career path I would have laughed so hard. But really this job is perfect... I get to work from home, whenever I want, travel, and make good money... What else can someone ask for? I might be the luckiest person ever!
