Poker Race » Team Pokerstars

George Danzer

Admin — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 07:07:08 +0000

A budding poker player, George Danzer was actually born in Sao Paulo, Brazil. He spent 8 years living in Lisbon, Portugal before finally moving to his current country of residence: Germany. He studies micro-engineering in a university in Freiberg and before becoming a full-time poker player, he was an excellent chess player. He also enjoys strategy-based games, like Starcraft. But the pull of poker was so strong for him that in no time, he has focused most of his time making more money from the profession he has chosen. He has been quite successful in table games, as what his Vegas results shows. His first appearance in live tournaments was in the 2006 Paris Open of Poker in the Shootout – No Limit Hold’em event. He finished third in that event taking home a prize money of $5,996. And only a day after that successful game, he appeared in another event, this time in the No Limit Hold’em where he took the second spot and taking home a total earnings of $11,114.

Danzer also competed in the World Heads Up Championship under the Spotlight Heads Up – No Limit Hold’em event. He took home a money prize of $32,765 after finishing in the third spot. In his firs World Series of Poker (WSOP) appearance, he made it to the 305th position under the WSOP No Limit Hold’em Championship WSOP Final, competing with 8,773 players in one of the biggest tournament in the world. He managed to take home a cash prize of $38,759. In his second WSOP appearance, he made it to the final table of the WSOP Omaha Hi/Lo event finishing in at 9th place and bagging a total earnings of $13,597. In 2009, he participated in two European Poker Tour events – EPT Grand Final No Limit Hold’em and the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure $9,700 No Limit Hold’em Main – where he took home over $80,000 earnings. Just recently, he was signed in to be a member of Team PokerStars Pro, incidentally one of George’s goals in life.

Katja Thater

Admin — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 07:06:37 +0000

Recognized as Germany’s most famous female professional poker player, Katja Thater certainly has some titles to boast under her sleeve. Perhaps, it also adds that she is also married to another professional poker player, Jan Von Halle. In fact, it was her husband who was responsible for Katja’s dabbling in poker. While on a high-stakes limit poker game, she accidentally has to sit for her husband. Never having played in a tournament before, she quickly got the hang of the game and managed to make the right moves before her husband came back. That incident has launched Katja’s newfound love for the game turning her to a professional player in no time. Venturing out into various tournaments, she appeared in two World Series of Poker (WSOP) events – Wsop 7 card Stud and Wsop Pot Limit Hold’em – where she was able to take home a total of 5,947 US dollars cash wins.

In 2007 European Poker Tour Polish Open in Warsaw, she appeared in a final table in the No Limit Hold’em event securing herself the fifth spot and taking home a total prize money of 84,538 US dollars. Her biggest and notable win came in the 2007 WSOP. Playing in the $1,500 Razz Seven Card event, she scored her first bracelet and a sum of $132,653 prize money. In 2008, Thater was chosen to represent Germany in the Poker Nation’s Cup, an event closely equivalent to Olympic or World Cup in poker. Team Germany took home the second place after British Dave Ulliot defeated German Michael Keiner in the final heads up. She also appears in Women’s Poker Open although at first she said that she does not like playing in an all-female events only. But aftern PokerStars has put her in the event, she took the challenge and was looking forward on it. When Thater is not busy playing in tournaments, she breeds horses for competition and has recently signed in to be a member of PokerStars team.

Pier Paolo Fabretti

Admin — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 07:04:30 +0000

The collectible card game Magic: The Gathering and poker are two games that shares one distinguishing characteristics: they both have an organized tournament system. Aside from that, both games also require skills such as logic and strategy to best one another in the game. Many poker players started as Magic players, often traveling around to compete in various tournaments. For Pier Paolo Fabretti, he gives credit to his Magic playing days for finding his way into online poker rooms. As a young man, he was introduced to the game by an American player he met while in an international tourney with Magic. He was taught the basic rules of Texas Hold’em and seeing that the game is not that far from the game he is currently playing, he began playing heads-up for $5 in online sites. In no time, Pier has proved to be a success in the game especially in online games where he is cashing more money than in live games.

But a poker player will always be attracted to bigger and live tournaments. In February 2008, Pier has appeared in his first tournament, the 7 Tappa Campionato Italiano finishing in at second and taking home a total money prize of 27,137 US dollars. A few months after, he joined the Campionato Pro 2008 finishing in at second again with a prize money of 6,346 US dollars. The arrival of Italian Poker Tour in his country made a lot of Italian poker players, including Fabretti himself, hopeful for the game become more accepted. He sees it as an opening for more tournaments to come, a chance to showcase their extraordinary card skills and taking home that pot prize. When Fabretti was invited to become a member of PokerStars, he was only thrilled about the news, believing that this will open more doors and chances for him to excel in his chosen career. When not playing online and joing tournaments, he likes to travel and meet new people and learning more about different cultures.

Simone Ruggeri

Admin — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 07:02:55 +0000

A lot of professional and newly-emerged poker players out there has started their career by playing Magic: The gathering, a collectible card game that is being played by over six million players around the world using a deck of printed cards. But there is really nothing wrong with that. Because of player’s background in the game, they are now at least know what it feels to be in tournaments, competing against other players. Indeed a perfect practice for budding poker players. Being a Magic player, Simone Ruggeri was introduced by one of his Magic mates in poker to become one of the the best Italian pro players out there. He began playing online games of Sit-n-Go’s before moving up to higher levels. Although his starting bankroll was always shifting from here to there, he practiced and focused more on his game until he has become a better poker player and building for himself a decent bankroll.

Though Simone has only cashed in in one game, the 2007 Italian Championships No Limit Hold’em event where he took the 38th spot taking home a total cash wins of $1,966, he is looking forward to appearing in more live and big tournaments especially in Italian Poker Tour and the European Poker Tour events. A man of a who likes reading a wide array of book genres, Simone also likes traveling around and hanging out with his friends. For him, being a member of the PokerStars Italian team has been a dream come true, something that he has looked forward for a long time since he has been a loyal PokerStars online player. Truly, not all people are granted their wish of being a part of a team that they have long to join, so Simone is looking forward to major events that he will join in the future. Make sure to watch for this budding Italian poker player in future tournaments.

Nicola Fedeli

Admin — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 07:02:19 +0000

With a banking profession before he even began playing poker, Nicola Fedeli is one of those players who are gifted with mathematical expertise. Despite a successful and stable career, the call of Texas Hold’em for him was stronger. And so the rewards he is reaping from it. His interest in poker began after watching the game live on television. He saw how the actions were in a tournament, feeling the excitement and thrill that players behind every game tables feel. He was intrigued by this that he immediately learned more about the game. Not long after, he was hooked. Especially after finding out that he can be actually goon in it by using his good mathematics skills in his games, he reckoned he can succeed in poker. He studied everything he can about the game, where and how to play it. In no time, Nicola is already playing in various circuits around.

His first circuit appearance came at the 2007 Venice Poker Open. He was able to make it to the final table finishing in at seventh spot taking home a total cash prize of $3,095. This only inspired Nicola to join in more tournaments. On his second tournament at Portorose, Slovenia, he found himself once again in the final table, this time at the third spot and earning himself a total of $4,468. When the start Italian Poker Tour was announced, he took this as a chance to improve his game and so set to make an appearance in the tournament’s many events. He was able to secure himself the 10th spot in a game where more than 200 players tried their skills and luck to best one another taking home a total cash wins of $7,794. Currently, Nicola Fideli is a member of PokerStars Italy team, where he feels very honored to be part of. Expect to see more from this judo expert in coming poker tournaments whether in his home soil or outside of it.

Elena Ichim

Admin — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 03:15:03 +0000

The beautiful Elena Ichim is the only female member of the team Pokerstars.it. Elena’s claim to fame was her victory during prestigious Stars Night where her totaling winnings grossed an impressive amount. She began playing poker for about a year, and was offered a sponsorship by PokerStars.it in no time.

Elena is always elegant at the poker table. This lady, who now lives in the fantasy world of poker sports, believes that women should have equal rights as men in the poker table. Of course, these are not the legal rights but the ability to command respect during gameplay. She emphasizes that the double standards imposed on women is unfair and must be eradicated. “Just because we are women, they expect us to prove ourselves. Why do we need to prove ourselves? The table is not easier for women, the cards are not easier for women. In fact, the men make it harder for women.” says the 25 year old beauty.

Undeniably, the main source of judging a player is not by his or her gender, but the results of the game – and this girl has given impressive results indeed. It’s funny to imagine that Elena once found herself so bored by poker, back when she was just a “decoration” and everyone in the casino knew her as the lucky charm for her boyfriend (Gianluca Trebbi, ranking first hundred in Italian). After a while, this lucky charm started to bring in the luck for herself, playing the tables and truly living a lifestyle that revolved around poker.

It was not long before she was offered a contract to play professional poker by PokerStars Italy. This became her job. She is currently spending her time touring the world to play tournament after tournament, currently waiting for the Italian Championship of Online Poker (ICOOP) to take place as she is a strong competitor waiting for the huge € 400,000 guaranteed main event.

Luca Pagano

Admin — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 03:14:19 +0000

It is common knowledge that being good with numbers means that you’re good in chess and other games that involve logic and computation. Poker is one of those games, and world famous professional poker player Luca Pagano is just one of those people who is able to apply his math skills from a computer programming degree as well as his experience trading in the stock market in order to excel in poker. While browsing through the internet, he stumbled upon PokerStars.com and this marked a significant point in his career where he made the decision to play professional poker full time.

Luca started playing online poker and learned the ropes almost immediately. After gaining enough confidence to play in land casinos, he started to play at the free tables with no real money involved. It was during these “trial games” that Luca realized his amazing potential to excel at poker. He knew he was the player to beat, and so did the other players.

When Lucas finally started to play with actual cold hard cash, it’s safe to say that his life changed forever. The winnings started small – PokerStars online tournaments, low stakes cash tables, and even some of the smaller live tournaments. When he finally amassed enough wealth to build up his bank roll, Luca decided to join tournements with higher stakes.

His first major victory came in the form of 24,500 US dollars for the European Poker Tour Main Event last September of the year 2004. Four years later, we find him taking home more than half a million US dollars for winning the European Poker Tour’s No Limit Hold’em Main Event. He currently holds the EPT’s world record for the player with the most number of cash wins, and Luba continues to play the tables and develop his poker skills until he can finally win the WSOP Bracelet someday.

Dario Minieri

Admin — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 03:13:23 +0000

Dario Minieri is the world of poker’s very own wonder child. Only in his early 20’s, this poker genius already has his name engraved in the imaginary poker hall of fame among enthusiasts and players alike. His roots are quite funny – Dario wasn’t always a poker fan. He preferred a different card game, one that was more “whimsical”.

This Italian born PokerStars Pro team player used to be a champion of a card game called Magic: The Gathering. It was a tricky mind game that involved a different set of cards and a lot of twists that deviated from your ordinary card tricks. He was so good at this game that eventually he was sponsored by the Magic organizations to compete around the world! In fact, he had to give up his college plans to take up Psychology in a university. It wasn’t long before his friends took notice of what a talented card player he was, thus introducing him to the game of poker. It didn’t take long before Dario knew that this was what he wanted to do for a living.
He studied the game religiously, and was quick at picking up different tips and tricks to succeed as a professional poker player. It wasn’t long before Dario found himself competing in tournaments in online poker rooms and land casinos alike. The more money he started to make, the more motivated Dario was to stay in the game.

Using only his loyalty points from PokerStars, Dario was able to purchase his very own Porsche Cayman at the age of 22! He started playing in 2005, placing fourth during his very first tournament participation. One day later, he placed fourth again in a different tournament. After that lucky streak, it was a glory-filled ride to the top for this poker player, who has already won the much coveted gold WSOP Bracelet.

Angel Guillen

Admin — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 03:12:46 +0000

Angel Guillen surprised the world as the second man of Mexican descent to win himself the coveted WSOP Bracelet. This was both a professional and a personal victory for this poker player, because he feels strongly about poker’s illegal standing in Mexico. It is one of his main goals to show the Mexican government that playing poker can be a good source of income not only for the players themselves but for the country as a whole. Gambling, after all, is a profitable endeavor. He is a big part of a group of citizens appealing to the government to legalize poker, to legalize it and make a big boom in the country. Unfortunately, talented players are reduced to playing underground or secretly training in the back rooms of bars and clubs. This makes it difficult to achieve each player’s full potential, Guillen says.

Playing poker and training for the game in secret seems to have done wonders for him though, not affecting his game in any negative way whatsoever. Guillen has made several decent finishes in prestigious poker events and tournaments, each finish with a corresponding cash value. He’s also made himself visible in the final table two times, his total poker earnings reaching more than 800,000 US dollars. The Mexican native continues to train hard in his current residence at Las Vegas, Nevada.

When not making a poker face with several other talented players in large scale Vegas casinos, Guillen loves to play chess, solve math problems and other number puzzles, read classic novels and educational books, and he also has a passion for travelling to different areas of the world, getting to know the different cultures and traditions of each new place he visits. However, his main focus as of now is to further hone his skills in poker so that he can play the perfect game.

Juan Carlos Alvarado

Admin — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 03:11:45 +0000

Juan Carlos Alvarado is a professional poker player who was originally born in Mexico City but is currently residing in America. He’s popularly known by his nickname “JC”. Only in his early 20’s, JC has already has a lot of poker victories to brag about under his belt. Even though most poker players started playing since childhood, JC only learned the game a year after graduating high school. He learned to play poker from his friends, and he played with them often so that he can develop the skills to win. After a while, he dabbled in online poker rooms and started to take the game more seriously.

JC first popped into the poker scene back in 2006 when he joined a No Limit Hold’em event of the World Series of Poker Tournament in Harrah’s New Orleans. Considering it was his first time, it is safe to say that his finish wasn’t too shabby. His second attempt at another WSOP event in Vegas brought him to the final table, besting over four hundred poker players for the No Limit Hold’em. Not only did he make it to the final table, he also finished sixth and won himself a fat sum of 28,665 US dollars. His ruthless and aggressive playing style brought him to the World Poker Tour’s Event # 19, where he once again played his game of choice – No Limit Hold’em – and came out 29,370 US dollars richer.

When not hitting the world’s biggest casinos for a poker game or two, JC enjoys watching and playing football, taking golf lessons and training for Mixed Martial Arts. His lifelong dream has always been to make it big in football, but his total poker earnings of 728,320 US dollars is not something he’s complaining about – in fact, it seems like a fair amount to give up his dream and enrich the poker industry with his superb talent.