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
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 :).
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!
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?
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:
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-timefavorite poker hand' (and earned him his biggest career cash!)
We are starting a new #WeeklyHeroseries 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!
The IrishEyesRKH missionis 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.
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:
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."
'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.
"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."
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 :)