EN
FR
Annie RKH
Follow

2004 WSOP Champion Greg Raymer Bio & Poker Profile

@Greg Raymer: 'People think poker is a game of cards but it’s really a game of people.'

 

The early years

Born in Minot, North Dakota, Greg Raymer moved to Florida with his famly when he was 10 and then lived in St. Louis, Missouri, where he finished high school and earned an undergraduate degree in chemistry. In 1989 he graduated from the University of Minnesota with a Master’s degree in biochemistry and then enrolled in the University of Minnessota Law School, graduating in 1992. He practiced as a patent attorney until his historic WSOP victory in 2004, working for bio-tech and pharmaceutical companies.

Poker beginnings

Greg Raymer came to poker from blackjack. Throughout his years as a student (until the age of 28) he was a professional blackjack player and card counter and had only played a little poker at his fraternity house in college.
A few years later, when he got a job in Chicago, he was looking for blackjack games but couldn’t find any. Instead, he found poker. Once Raymer discovered this new passion, he went about it in the systematic and rational way that befits his legal mind - reading and studying the poker books he could find (most notably, The Theory of Poker, by David Sklansky, which he has called ‘by far the best poker book out there’).

 

ETHAN MILLER/GETTY IMAGES

For years Raymer grinded small cash games having made a ’deal’ with his wife that he would have a $1,000 bankroll and would quit forever if he ever lost it. It never came to that.

Instead, by 1998 he had started filing his taxes as part-time poker professional: ‘It certainly wasn’t my primary source of income between ’98 and 2004, but it was a nice bit of extra income.’
In 1999 his work took him to Connecticut and in the following years Raymer became a regular at the @Foxwoods Resort Casino poker tables.

The World Series of Poker

Raymer played his first World Series in 2001, when he entered 4 tournaments and cashed in a $1,500 PLO event.

2002 didn’t go so well and after losing $30,000, Raymer had to find backers in order to continue playing without touching the ‘family income’. He sold $500 shares to about 20 people and a couple of years later they must have been very pleased with their investment, when each share was worth $36,000 :)

In the spring of 2004 Raymer won a $160 PokerStars online satellite and was off for his third attempt at the Main Event. It certainly proved the saying ‘third time lucky’. The field that year was 2,576, building an enormous prize pool and first place prize of $5,000,000. Watch the final hand against @David Williams wih Greg Raymer's own commentary:

 

The very next year Greg Raymer amazed the poker world with another great performance and deep run in the 2005 WSOP Main Event, finishing 25th from a field of over 5,619.

Fossilman

The nickname derives from the fossil Greg Raymer uses as a card protector. In fact, in his early poker years, he would sell fossils to other players as a way of adding to his poker bankroll :) The fossil card protector goes well with his other famous trademark - the lizard eye hologram glasses.

I bought my original lizard-eye 3-D hologram sunglasses at the gift shop connected to the Tower of Terror ride at Disney MGM Studios in Disneyworld, Orlando, FL. I was there on a family vacation prior to my first attempt at the WSOP main event in 2002. I thought it would be a funny joke to put them on in the middle of an important hand. However, when I first did so, instead of making everybody laugh, the glasses freaked out my opponent in the hand, and caused him to fold. Since then, I’ve found that some of my opponents are very uncomfortable playing against me because of the glasses, and therefore I’ve continued to wear them during major tournaments.

ETHAN MILLER/GETTY IMAGES

Today, I don’t wear those glasses anymore, for a few reasons. First, they are essentially just dark sunglasses with the hologram sticker on the outside. As dark sunglasses, they are too much of a hindrance to my vision unless I am in a VERY well lit space, such as a televised table.


Professional Poker Player

Raymer has always stuck to his own top advice to poker beginners: ‘Never gamble with money you can’t afford to lose’, and never considered risking his family’s financial security by leaving his job and playing full-time until 2004. Even then, it was the PokerStars sponsorship deal (2004-2011), rather than the cash prize, that decided him to make the move to full-time professional.

For years now Greg Raymer has been one of the most active ambassadors of the game, a committed advocate of U.S. online poker regulation, and Poker Players Alliance activist.
He has been operating his own training site since 2011, teaching seminars in various locations across the U.S. and offering private tutoring - www.fossilmanpokertraining.com


FossilMan Poker Trainingwww.fossilmanpokertraining.com

You can also follow Greg on ShareMyPair, where he regularly posts and discusses noteworthy hands: http://www.sharemypair.com/userweb/smpuserdetails/user_id/3079


ShareMyPair - Live Poker Game Hand Recorder and Replayer App for iPhone and AndroidQuickly and easily create your own personalized animated poker videos of hands you’ve played with our iOS and Android apps. Then instantly share them with your friends and followers using twitter, facebook, email, and text messaging.www.sharemypair.com


‘Just a result by itself doesn’t prove anything. Only a whole lot of results do.’

And ‘a whole lot’ is what you will find on his player profile page on RankingHero, boasting $7,459,055 in live earnings since 1998. Check out the complete listing of his tournament results, including the amazing FOUR @Heartland Poker Tour victories in 2012, making him the number one player on the all-time HPT leaderboard

Top 10 Stories of 2012: #7, Greg Raymer Wins Four Heartland Poker Tour Titles 
.

'If poker teaches you anything, it’s how to leave the bad stuff behind.'

Read the UK PokerNews interview where Greg discusses his career in poker and talks about his arrest in 2013 (on charges that were later dismissed): http://www.pokernews.com/news/2014/05/raymer-the-fossilman-excavates-past-and-looks-to-future-18239.htm

Greg Raymer: The Fossilman Excavates His Past and Looks to the FutureTen years after his win, 2004 WSOP Main Event champion Greg Raymer opens up about all the ups and downs of the past 10 years, and what he looks forward to in the future.www.pokernews.com

Watch Greg Raymer tell the funny story of his attempted mugging at 19'31:

 

Find out more about Greg, buy an autographed photo or fossil, and ask him your questions on his official website: http://www.fossilmanpoker.com


Homewww.fossilmanpoker.com


 

Don't miss the interview with our #WeeklyHero Greg Raymer by @Nicolas Levi!

#RKHbio 

Excellent article on that Poker legend, thanks Annie ! 

Nice choice of quotes, pictures and quotes ;)

Btw nice info about his holographic glasses ;)

Holographic glasses?

Can This Bill Kill the WSOP As We Know It? Poker Media Coverage of Nevada SB40

The SB40 is essentially an anti money-laundering Bill targeting specific sports-betting practices such as 'proxy' or 'messenger betting'. In its present form and wording, it has potentially huge implications for poker as it could criminalize staking and swapping action - both pillars of the poker economy and its flagship, the World Series of Poker.

The Bill was filed in Nevada State Senate on December 20, 2014 and as the start of the 78th Session of the Nevada Legislature approaches (February 2nd), it has been causing increasing concern in the poker industry and has received broad coverage by poker media. 

What all the analysts point out is that there is no doubt reason for alarm, but not for panic. It is important to note that we are nowhere near the passing of this piece of legislation (yet to be discussed in the Judiciary Committee). But even if you are yourself unconcerned by specific Nevada laws, remember that as one of the three states with regulated online poker and the host of our single most important event, Nevada is emblematic AND symptomatic of developments across the U.S., and hence, of the global future of the poker industry. The SB40 also rekindles the old debate about staking&swapping and about the sometimes conflicting interests of poker pros and amateurs (not to mention the always conflicting interests of poker players and tax authorities :).

This post from the related 2+2 thread is just one example of the issues raised by the proposed Bill:

Every other career, field or industry allows you to sell shares of ownership or investment, isolating poker is ridiculous. The debate of staking WITHIN our industry should continue because that is a debate over whether or not staking/backing/shares should be disclosed - but EVERYONE should fight to stop this bill because it turns poker players who sell or buy shares into criminals with imprisonment in NY State prison for a minimum term of not less than 1 year and a maximum term of not more than 6 years, or by a fine of not more than $5,000, or by both fine and imprisonment.

Where do YOU stand? Can you imagine the WSOP moving to a different location and if yes, where? Do you think staking is crucial for the poker economy? Should it all be done out in the open? Would amateurs stand a better chance without it? Please share other interesting articles about SB40 and your own opinion about its (un)importance!


New Bill in Nevada Legislature Would Prohibit StakingEarl Burtonwww.pokernewsdaily.com

Proposed Nevada Poker Legislation Threatens WSOPA proposed amendment to Chapter 465 of the Nevada Revised Statutes would make it a felony to take a piece of another player´s action in a game of poker.www.pokerrealmoney.com


Will Nevada SB40 Be the End of Staking in Poker Tournaments?www.pokerupdate.com


Nevada Proposes Felony Charges for Unauthorized Gambling AffiliatesThe state of Nevada is proposing an amendment to its gambling legislation that would make it a felony for anyone to profit from unauthorized affiliate activities.www.cardschat.com

 

Hi Annie, Great post,. Seen that pokerrealmoney foloowed up their article with an update in today´s news that the Nevada Gaming Board say that SB40 was intended to have nothing to do with poker. PRM suggests that "intention" and "enforcement" are two different things and this could still affect players at the WSOP. (BTW Pokerfuse also reported it, but told all the poker players they were safe). Guess we won´t know until the bill is passed or the WSOP comes and goes - whatever happens first. 

Yes, thanks @Domingo Cerrado :) As announced yesterday, "the Chairman of the Nevada Gaming Control Board, A.G. Burnett, has emailed pokerfuse to explain that the new laws will only apply to sports betting" : Poker Staking is Safe in Nevada, pokerfuse.com

Since the Bill was submitted on behalf of the Nevada Gaming Board, this should be reassuring news for the poker community but the wording still needs to be changed/specified.

Alex Trevallion with Sensational Run in Aussie Millions!

In 2013, Trevallion was hoping to make one million dollars in online poker before he was 24 and to learn how to cook. Judging by his poker achievements, it's hard to even imagine how far he got with his cooking :) This year, playing on home ground, the young Australian won the Aussie Millions 25K Challenge and immediately followed up by final-tabling the 100K Challenge! Will @Alexander Trevallion make a deep run in the 2015 Aussie Millions Main Event, as well?

Photo: Kenneth Um, PokerNews

Alex Trevallion comes from Sydney, Australia and was born on September 30, 1990. He has made a reputation for himself as  an online cash game player. As an additional source of motivation, in the past few years, alextrev1111 has been posting  his annual goals on 2+2.

In 2012 he set himself the modest target of 20K in live profits but it was not until October 2014 that Trevallion earned a more important tournament cash, finishing 22nd in Event 16, EPT London. A few months later Alex Trevallion took the Aussie Millions by storm, adding a gold championship ring and first place prize to his live resume (AUD 645,150 after a heads-up chop deal with the German pro @Tobias Reinkemeier).

What is more, the young Australian went on all the way to the final table in the star-studded 100K Challenge event. Alex is last in chips but making it that far right after his win and with the likes of @Ole Schemion and @Erik Seidel, to mention just two of the notable 8 finalists, is already an amazing feat in itself. We will be looking forward to the final on Saturday 31st of January!

Meanwhile, Alex Trevallion seems all set for a deep run in the Main Event as well. GL!

With his live earnings now well over half a million US dollars, it will be very interesting to see Trevallion's 2015 goals :) We can only agree with the following tweet:

 

And rich now. Interested, Queen B  ?   

@Rémi Rkh interested in playing with him, yes ;) indeed..

Who is our next WeeklyHero?

After Poker Hall of Famer @Mike Sexton's bio and exclusive interview, we will be continuing our WeeklyHero series with another great champion of the game. 

Here are our first three clues!

  • Our guest star this week is a male player and in his own words,
  • this is his 'all-time favorite poker hand' (and earned him his biggest career cash!)
  • against @David Williams with A♥ 4♠ 
4 Comments Display all

guess.@Greg Raymer , too. What about you @William Calder ?

Here is Mike Matusow apologizing to our WeeklyHero during a WSOP Main Event. Do you think the apology will be accepted?..

nice from @Mike Matusow but still don't know ;d

Weekly RankingHero Highlights

We are starting a new #WeeklyHero series dedicated to select guests of honor and featuring RKH exclusive interviews, biographies, and videos! First to come in the spotlight is none other than Poker Hall of Famer and one of the best-recognzed voices and faces in poker, @World Poker Tour host @Mike Sexton, with an interview by @Nicolas Levi, as well as a bio article including a playlist of select videos!

Poker Hall of Famer Mike Sexton Interview: 'Poker is not going anywhere, it will continue to grow!'

'The Ambassador of Poker' Mike Sexton Bio and Poker Profile

The IrishEyesRKH mission is drawing to a happy end tonight for all entrants who have provided their @IrishEyes accounts. RankingHeroes have been nominating their favorites for an imaginary Irish Eyes Award

Looks like none of the gents will be a match for @Liv Boeree - nominated by @william  who, as we write, tops the Irish Eyes mission leaderboard, ahead of @Mark Duguid with@Maria Ho and @Chris McPhee with @Kellyann Heffernan ! The contest ends tonight and the final ranking will be announced tomorrow by @Ina RKH! 

We are very pleased to see so many players joining our community since the beginning of the year. Special welcome to @Greg Himmelbrand (who was one of the FIVE players with pocket pairs in this memorable hand from WSOP 2014), @Franck Calonnec @Steve Accardo @Jason Suh @Yavuz Kaya @Clement Van Driessche @Stephane Nadot @Paul Dunne, and the many, many other new members!

Our winner of the week may not have earned a big cash prize but topped the field in his event at the @Star Casino! GG @Keith Suttcliff :)  

Congrats to all of our notable members who cashed in PCA 2015 - @Gaelle Baumann @Liv Boeree @Davidi Kitai and @Benjamin Pollak, to mention only a few! Tonight we keep our fingers crossed for @Mark Duguid playing Day 2 in #2525glasgow at @Grosvenor Casino Merchant City and will be loking forward to his updates!! 

Check back for news about the next WeeklyHero and the new mission that we have in store for you!

Yours truly,

@Annie RKH 

#RKHweekly 

been a good start to the year lets hope it gets better an better 

A♠ 

Top Picks from the World of iGaming: Super Computer, Hollywood Superstars and Super-Company CEO

The Cepheus Poker Project, Scorsese's promo film for Melco Crown Entertainment, and Amaya CEO David Baazov's BNN interview have been trending in the world of gaming but also received broad coverage in mainstream media.

The University of Alberta's Cepheus Poker Project

News that Cepheus has  solved Texas Limit Hold'em made the headlines in both mainstream and poker media. The computer program played billions of hands against itself - "more poker than has been played by the entire human race" -.to eventually become "essentially perfect":

"A perfect solution to the game is a strategy that is guaranteed to not lose money in the long run. While Cepheus does not play perfectly, it is so close to perfect that even after playing an entire lifetime of poker against it — over 60 million hands — it is impossible to tell the difference. It is essentially perfect."

 

While the computer program may have attained LHE perfection, the website cannot boast the same. Poker players eager to test themselves against the algorithm will need some more patience:

Meanwhile, here is a great article from PokerListings: Has 'Perfect' Poker Bot Cepheus Really Solved Poker? Not Even Close 

The Audition

A script by Terence Winter (The Wolf of Wall Street), directed by Martin Scorsese and starring his favorite actors Robert de Niro and Leonardo DiCaprio.

 

Sounds like the next Hollywood blockbuster but is in fact a grand production of a short film to mark the inauguration of a new "cinematically-themed gaming, entertainment and leisure destination resort" in Macau: Studio City.

In the trailer, De Niro and DiCaprio realize they are auditioning for the same part in a Scorsese film.

"May the best man win. No, I don't even want to say it like that. Let the best person for the part be the person who's in the part."

"Studio City will represent Asia's 'next generation' of immersive, world-leading, entertainment-driven gaming and leisure destination experiences, as we work to support Macau's tourism development and diversification," said Mr. Lawrence Ho, Co-Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Melco Crown Entertainment.

"It will take the entertainment-inspired leisure destination concept to new levels, in a cinematic setting developed in partnership with the world's leading entertainment brands, supported and endorsed by many of the legends of Hollywood - including this very special short-film collaboration with Brett Ratner, Martin Scorsese, and superstars Leonardo DiCaprio, Robert De Niro and Brad Pitt."

Press Release: Lights, Camera, Action! Melco Crown Entertainment Sets the Scene on Macau's Studio City

Amaya Gaming CEO David Baazov 

 'With more than 60 licenses, we are more regulated in the U.S. than any other igaming company'

Since the acquisition of PokerStars and Full Tilt, any news about/from Amaya Gaming and its CEO stirs a buzz in poker. In an interview for Business News Network this week, David Baazov talked about the Quebec investigation of the company, U.S. regulation, and future growth:

"We have no evidence to believe that there has been any wrongdoing by any officer, director or employees and we’re cooperating with the investigation."

In conclusion of this article on gaming news, a fun quote from @Unibet ambassador @Dan Glimne and his Aftonbladet blog about a Psycho themed slot machine from NYX Gaming Group:

"The Germans can make a sausage out of anything, the Vietnamese can make a soup out of anything, and the gaming industry will turn it into a one-armed bandit." 

Happy (and responsible!) gaming everyone!

And if you don't feel like playing poker, you know you can always find friends and have fun on RankingHero. Play now in our IrishEyes contest - all you need to win your tournament ticket is a pic and an IrishEyesBet account (ends Sunday night, so hurry!)

Thanks for this article Annie. And thanks for the trailer of "Audition" I didn't know such movie was close... and it looks amazing ;). Like the story... and of courses these 2 actors are amazing ;)

How Hypnosis Can Help You Avoid Self-Sabotage at the Poker Tables

Mental coaching has long been recognized as an essential part of the training of athletes and poker players, and hypnosis can be a  powerful tool in this respect. The foremost benefits of psychological skills training are increased self-confidence, motivation, and concentration.

Hypnotherapy can have a tremendous impact in all of these respects and can help us cope with irrational fears  and negative thought patterns; with specific issues such as facial tics and nervous twitches or revealing tells; and with that mighty saboteur that makes us our own worst enemies: tilt.

Elliot Roe, who was recently interviewed by Dr. Tricia Cardner for UK PokerNews, is a qualified hypnotherapist who offers tailored services to poker players.

"Hypnosis can be used to improve any issue at the table that’s being caused by an irrational emotional response. This includes rage tilt, anxiety, shaking during hands, lack of motivation, lack of focus, and other forms of self-sabotage like procrastination and irrational thinking."

In an ad for his hypnosis audio package, Roe promises that, 'within just a few sessions of hypnosis:

  • you will find yourself in a better mind set on the table,
  • you will have more control over tilt and be able to
  • read your opponents far more naturally and easily.'

For those unable to see him in person in Las Vegas, Elliot Roe offers skype sessions and special MP3's, such as Online Cash/MTT Warm Up, Post Game Cool Down, Tilt Buster. I personally found particularly intriguing his take on what would usually be considered a superstitious and/or compulsive-obsessive routine but can actually be highly effective pre-game preparation:

You can consult Elliot Roe's website for more information and if you are still skeptical, here is one valuable insight from the 2+2 thread:

"I do think the mp3s help and even if it's partially due to a placebo effect it's still helping nonetheless. Just taking the effort to work on my mindset makes me feel like I'm more in control of my emotions and any real gains from the actual hypnosis are a nice added benefit." 

It would be great to hear from other mental coaches and from RankingHeroes who've tried hypnosis - whether to deal with a fear of dogs, to quit smoking, or to improve their mental game. Please share your experience :)

UK PokerNews: Hypnosis for Improved Poker Performance: An Interview with Elliot Roe