Friday, June 3, 2011

Andy Beal - The Banker versus The Corporation

Andy Beal


Born November 11, 1952, the 6.6 Billions Dollars Man (as evaluated by Forbes in 2011) Andy Beal made his fortune in banking and real estate.  Andy Beal is a natural born businessman.  In his teenage years, he was no only a gifted student,  but he was already a hard working young entrepreneur.

The Texas banker is not only known in the financial sector.  He is also notorious for his ultra high-stakes poker and mathematics activities.  Andy Beal was a blackjack player in his youth.  He has never played poker seriously until March 2001, when he was 48 years old.  Which prove that it's never too late to start playing and excelling at poker.  On his first day, he sat at a $15/$30 Limit Hold'em table.  Then, after winning a couple hundreds bucks, he moved to the $80/$160 table.  The next day he played at the $400/$800 table.  Here, in the big league, he encountered and dominated Todd Brunson in an heads-up match. 

The next day, with almost no poker experience, he played some of the best poker players in the world at stakes from $1000/$2000 to $4000/$8000 at a full-table game and won more than $100 000.

Despite his indeniable success at the full-tables, Andy Beal feel he was more suited for Heads-Up Limit Hold' Em.  But he wanted to play astronomical stakes with the pros.  And even the wealthiest pros didn't have the sufficient bankroll to challenge the Texas banker.


The Banker versus The Corporation

However, Doyle Brunson came up with the idea of forming "The Corporation", a group of pros to join their efforts and bankrolls to contending with "The Banker".  This elite group included Doyle Brunson, Chip Reese, Todd Brunson, Ted Forrest, Jennifer Harman, Howard Lederer, Phil Ivey, Gus Hansen, Barry Greenstein, Chau Giang, and others.

With his limitless bankroll, Beal hoped to play in such ultra high-stakes that it would perturb the play of the pros.  At the end of their several encounters in 2004, they were playing $100 000/$200 000 Heads-Up Limit Hold' Em with more than $20 millions on the table in what would be the Richest Poker Game of All Time.  Andy  Beal is recognized as the poker player who won the most money in a single day.  On Tuesday, May 13, 2004, at the Las Vegas Bellagio, Andy Beal won $11.7 millions from The Corporation (Legendary player Chip Reese, Hamid Dastmalchi, Gus Hansen, and Jennifer Harman).

After the famous 2001 to 2004 encounters, Andy Beal returned to Las Vegas at the Wynn Casino on February 1, 2006 for a five-day Heads-Up session, once again versus "The Corporation".  Taking on Todd Brunson, Jennifer Harman, Ted Forrest, and others playing $50 000/$100 000 Limit Hold' Em, Beal was down $3.3 millions on February 5, 2006.

Then, a week later, from February 12 to 15, Andy Beal took his revenge and won approximately $13.6 million from The Corporation.

However, the party crashed for "The Banker" Andy Beal when he ran into Phil Ivey from February 21 to 23, 2006.  Representing The Corporation, Phil Ivey, known as the best overall poker player in the world, won $16.6 millions from "the Banker" playing  $30 000/$60 000 and $50 000/$100 000 HULHE.  Which put an end to "The Banker vs. The Corporation" sagas.




Learn the entire story about Andy Beal vs The Corporation and gets inside Andy Beal's head while he plays the bests in the world.




You too you can encounter the Phil Ivey experience on Full Tilt poker.

Thursday, June 2, 2011

Isildur1 Viktor Blom

Isildur1 Viktor Blom

How he build his poker bankroll


Play Online Poker
Play Online Poker

First of all, a young Swedish player nicknamed Blom90 deposited $2000 on Ipoker around January 1, 2009.  Playing 0.50/$1 online games, 15 hours a day.  Three weeks later, he had turned his initial $2K into, believe it or not, an astonishing $1.4 million bankroll by playing Heads-Up No Limit tables.  Then he disappeared from Ipoker.  At this point, Blom90 aka Isilbur1 aka Viktor Blom was only 18 years old.


Jouez au poker en ligne
Jouez au poker en ligne



Isuldur1 crushing the pros on Full Tilt poker


Jouez au poker en ligne
Jouez au poker en ligne

An unknown player from Sweden named Isilbur1 (a Lord of the Rings character) begun his Full Tilt Poker rampage on September 16, 2009.  His first two weeks at the $25/$50 No-Limit Hold'em were pretty uneventful.  But after that kind of probation period, he began to tear the high-stakes scene apart, taking on all-comers.

One of his first big catch came at the expense of Haseeb "INTERNETPOKERS" Qureshi.  Starting at the $25/$50 and moving to $100/$200 where Qureshi took a beating of nearly $500K in a 24 hours session.

Then, in the next few days, he dismantled UgotaBanana for $300K and took more than $700K from Cole South and lost some small amounts versus Brian Hastings and Brian Townsend playing $200/$400 and $300/$600 Hold'em and Pot-Limit Omaha.  By November 15, 2009, his Full Tilt poker earnings were at a career high $5.98 millions.


Heads-up versus the great one, Tom "durrrr" Dwan


Jouez au poker en ligne
Jouez au poker en ligne

Then, the all time great Tom "durrrr" Dwan (one of the top online high stakes poker player) make his apparition, confident to break the unknown Swedish in short order.  But thing didn't go that way!  Mostly playing at 6 Heads-Up $500/$1000 No Limit Hold'em tables simultaneously, Isildur1 became famous after he won over $5.3 millions in one week after besting "durrrr" Tom Dwan on Full Tilt Poker


Rollercoaster losses

On the low side, while playing 3 tables Heads-Up No-Limit Hold'em at $500/$1000 stakes, Isildur1 lost $3.2 millions to Phil Ivey (probably the best poker player in the world right now) in a week.  He subsequently stated that Phil Ivey was the toughest opponent he ever played.
Jouez au poker en ligne



Also lost $1.1 million to Townsend, $840K to Ilari "Ziigmund" Sahamies and $578K to Patrick Antonius.
 

World Record Holder

In his short career, Isildur1 is all ready a World-Record holder several times for his spetacular bankroll swings. 
- He was involved in all the top 10 biggest pots in online poker history.  Seven of those huge pots changed hand inside the same week.  All disputed between Isildur1 facing Antonius or Ivey. 
- Isildur1 had gone on the largest, most lucrative run ever in the history of online poker (taking approximately $5.3 millions from Tom Dwan in one week) 
- He was also the first person ever to lose a 7-figure pot (a $1 356 947 pot to Patrick Antonius). 
- Two days later, he won a $1.1 million pot against Phil Ivey.
- The largest gain and loss in a single day of online poker (losing $4.2 millions to Brian Hasting in a five hours session).


Jouez au poker en ligne
Jouez au poker en ligne



Isildur1 vs the Corporation


In some kind of "conspiration" against him, Isildur1 lost $4.2 millions in a five hours session versus Brian Hastings on December 8, 2009.  Afterward, it was discovered that Isildur1's past opponents (Hastings, Townsend, Cole Smith) joined forces and shared information about more than 30 000 hands they played versus Isildur1.  Disgusted by the unfair play, Isildur1 left Full Tilt poker for several month.  Then, the mysterious and anonymous Isildur1 got a lucrative offer from PokerStars and officially joined the Team PokerStars Pro on December 2010.




But who is Isildur1?
Some rumor said he was wealthy retired NHL hockey player Matt Sundin (a Swedish and a relatively skilled and avid poker player worthing more than $25 millions USD).   Some pranksters said that Isildur1 is the Ghost of Stu Ungar (widely regarded as the best poker and gin rummy player who ever lived).  And a lot more crazy, ridiculous "rumors".
On January 8, 2011, at the PokerStars Caribbean Adventure, PokerStars finally revealed the identity of poker prodigy Isildur1 as being none other than Viktor Blom. 

However, now knowing his identity, the Swedish fisc wants his piece of the cake, $150 millions.  Ooops!!  No wonder why Viktor Blom now live in UK.



But who is Viktor Blom?

A high-stakes Heads-up Hold'em specialist?  For sure...  One of the best players in the world?  Absolutely...  An overly, hyper-aggressive player to say the least, a maniac known to regurlarly overbet (betting more than the size of the pot).  Nonetheless, a sick player with raw talent and several good years before him.



Tuesday, May 31, 2011

Monday, May 30, 2011

Jesse Livermore

Jesse Livermore
Stock Operator Extraordinaire



Born in 1877 and died in 1940, Jesse Livermore is the greatest trader / speculator who ever lived.  At his peak in 1929, Jesse Livermore was worth more than $100 millions.  He would have been richer than Bill Gates in today's money.  An unseen feat for a self-taugh / self-made stock and commodities trader who ONLY TRADED HIS OWN MONEY, not Other People Money like today investment's superstars.  With Bernard Baruch, he was one of the original trend followers.

Loner, individualist, suffering from severe episodes of depression, probably bipolar disorders who eventually took his life, Jesse Livermore made and lost four colossal fortunes during his lifetime.  Make two of his fortunes during stock market crashes periods, in 1907 and 1929, short-selling stocks.  Which earned him $3 millions in 1907 and $100 millions in 1929.  While everyone was losing their shirt, the astute Jesse Livermore was on top of the world!

Unlike Warren Buffett, Livermore was living the life.  At his peak, he owned a series of mansions in several countries, each fully staffed with servants, a fleet of limousines and Rolls Royce cars (my favorites), yatchs, and regularly threw lavish parties.



Now, here are some investment wisdoms from Jesse Livermore.  
- Emotional control (crucial and vital for any trader and gambler)
- Knowledge of economics and fondamentals
- Trade with the trends (Buy in a bull market and short in a bear market)
- Don't trade when there is no clear opportunities.
- Patience.  Let your profits run.
- Trade the leading stocks in each sector.
- Don't average down a losing position.
- Add to winning positions.
And in my view, the most important...
- CUT YOUR LOSSES SHORT (ALWAYS USE A STOP-LOSS POSITION losing no more than 10%.
- Experience.  Learn from your mistakes.


"Wall Street never changes, the pockets change, the suckers change, the stocks change, but Wall Street never changes, because human nature never changes."  - Jesse Livermore

"Successful traders always follow the line of least resistance. Follow the trend. The trend is your friend." - Jesse Livermore

"It never was my thinking that made the big money for me. It always was my sitting." - Jesse Livermore