In a game of bluffs and blinds, they're the brashest.
All under 30, all winners of at least $1 million in a single poker tournament. World Poker Tour observers have dubbed them the tour's "brat pack."
So you'd expect some sort of suave Sinatra-Sammy Davis common understanding, a link beyond their knack for a card game.
But beyond a thirst for gambling, it isn't really there. Some hide massive egos behind their poker shades; some are humble to the point of being meek. One rocks designer BAPE sweatshirts, another plays in pajamas.
asap sat down with seven of professional poker's young millionaires to find out how they win, what they've splurged on and their take on that age-old question: Is it a sport?
ANTONIO ESFANDIARI
Age: 27
Home: Las Vegas
Family: Single
Biggest win: $1.4 million, Commerce, Calif., February 2004.
Resulting celebration/purchase: "I flew all my friends down from the Bay Area. We went out and partied for three days straight, spent like $15,000. I bought a Dodge Viper, $50,000 or $60,000 -- something like that. And that was it, then I went back to regular normal life. Oh, I bought a house in Las Vegas."
Why he's good: "I have a certain ability to be able to read what my opponent has. I'm pretty good at that. I'm pretty good at getting people to want to beat me pretty bad so they end up making bad plays against me. And I don't ever go on tilt. You either have it or you don't have it. And I was fortunate to maybe have it."
If not playing poker: "I was going to (DeAnza) college (in Cupertino, Calif.) I wanted to be a business guy. Eventually I'm going to go into the restaurant business. I used to do magic. I want to have restaurants where people come in, they see magic and they eat good food."
In free time: "There's so many different business things going on. ... The book, DVD, I'm promoting a product: energy balls -- kind of like Red Bull in a ball. That's funenergyfoods.com. I made a video with a friend of mine on how to avoid being cheated -- magicalpoker.net. ... I probably go out too much, more than I should. Just having fun."
Game or sport: "Sure you can call poker a sport, but I think it's more a game of mental warfare than anything else."
ERICK LINDGREN
Age: 29
Home: Las Vegas
Family: Single
Biggest Win: $1 million, cruise to Mexico, March 2003.
Resulting celebration/purchase: "We ran up a $20,000 bar tab that night, so everybody had a good time drinking on the ship. I had a bottle of Dom in both hands. One for pouring and one for pouring into me. ... I just bought a Cadillac Escalade and that's about it. I'm not a big spender. Well, I did put six plasmas on my wall so I could watch the games. That wasn't cheap. They were just regular Gateway plasmas, 42-inch."
Why he's good: "Observation skills, a little bit of math, psychology, and just practice. I've been playing poker non-stop since I was 19. So hopefully you get better at something if you play it every day."
If not playing poker: "I'd probably be trading stock or doing something with a certain level of gamble to it. I've always been that way. I would be in business for myself. I could never be employed by somebody."
In free time: "Think about poker. No (laughs). I'm playing golf, basketball. Anything to get off my ass. Because we're always sitting down, so anything to stay in shape a little bit is important."
Game or sport: "Any game that you can drink while playing is not a sport."
JOHN STOLZMANN
Age: 24
Home: Corona, Calif.
Family: Dating.
Biggest win: $1 million, Tunica, Miss., January 2005.
Resulting celebration/purchase: "I just had a nice dinner with my dad and my girlfriend. Just had a quiet evening; nothing really crazy. ... I was a student at (University of) Wisconsin. I took the year off, moved out to LA, bought a house here. A nice million-dollar house. I didn't buy a car or anything. My girlfriend has a BMW already."
Why he's good: "My ability to adapt to every type of game. And not to play beyond my own skill level. I try to not let my ego affect my game too much. If I'm outclassed by a certain opponent, I recognize it, and I try to counter that."
If not playing poker: "The plan was to go to law school if I didn't become a professional poker player. I can always do that. ... I never really wanted to live the high-roller lifestyle. I used this year to play a bunch of tournaments to see if I could make another big score. And I didn't. I'm going to go back to school and get my degree (in philosophy). I only have one semester to go."
In free time: "I play this game called Magic (The Gathering). It's a lot like poker. I guess I'm just a gamer at heart. ... It develops the same skills you need in poker. A little bit of reading people, a little bit of the math aspect. It's just a really complex strategy game."
Game or sport: "For these top-level pros that are playing all these events, I guess it's a sport to them. For 90 percent of the poker-playing population, it's just a game. Just recreation. And I don't think many people should take it to a point beyond that."
MICHAEL GRACZ
Age: 25
Home: Raleigh, N.C.
Family: Engaged.
Biggest win: $1.5 million, cruise to Mexico, March 2005.
Resulting celebration/purchase: "I bought a $30,000 car, a low-end Mercedes. I went and bought a townhome, but that was just to get out of paying rent. ... I paid my taxes first, I took about another 60 percent of the money and invested it, and have left the rest to play poker with."
Why he's good: "People. Just looking at somebody and being able to pick up on their mannerisms, how they play, in a short period of time. That's what separates good players from great players. ... Poker could be played with blocks, but we just happen to play with cards. All it is is trying to figure out the person that's holding the cards. I try to do that from the moment I sit down."
If not playing poker: "I actually finished school (at North Carolina State in 2004) and went to work for a financial analysis firm. And then won a few poker tournaments. So I'd probably still be dealing with finance somewhere in the real world sitting at a desk 9 to 5."
In free time: "We go skiing, my fiancee and I. We like doing a lot of traveling, just seeing new places. Hiking, swimming, doing active stuff. Because when you're sitting at the poker table, you're not being active. ... I try to separate my life and poker. It's kind of like a separation of church and state for me. Poker is great, but it can be an overload."
Game or sport: "It's a sport mentally. Sports such as basketball and football, you have to be physically ready to compete, but 60 percent of it is mental. In poker, granted, you don't have to be physically fit -- except for when there's a six-day-long tournament, you have to have some endurance there -- but mentally it's 100 percent a sport."
MICHAEL MIZRACHI
Age: 25
Home: Hollywood, Fla.
Family: Engaged, with two children.
Biggest win: $1.85 million, Commerce, Calif., February 2005.
Resulting celebration/purchase: "It was late, my family was here. We got something to eat and I went to bed. It hits you a week after, like wow, I can't believe I won this tournament. ... I bought a (Sportscoach) RV bus. I spent $174,000. A few months later, I sold it (for $30,000 less). ... I had too many things at once and I was getting a big, big headache, a migraine. ... I sold a couple cars. Things that I don't need, you know? And I have responsibilities. I have kids, so I needed more cash flow."
Why he's good: "I have great reads and great instincts. I like to control the way people play. If I want them to do something, I make them do it. ... Sometimes I make a couple speeches, try to make them push in chips. Sometimes I'll stop them from betting. Sometimes I'll raise to slow them down."
If not playing poker: "I don't know. When I was younger, I wanted to be a doctor, lawyer. It seemed interesting, but I feel it wouldn't suit me. I got tired of being in school from morning to night. I don't know. Who knows?"
In free time: "Just go to the movies, have fun with the family, play with the kids. ... But poker's every week, so it's so tough. Every week is another tournament."
Game or sport: "What do you work out? What part of the muscle group do you build? I guess your fingers, throwing your chips in the pot? ... I would think it's a sport, but for the winning players, people that win lots of money. But for the people that don't, I don't think it's a sport. Because in sports, you're supposed to be making money, not losing money."
NICK SHULMAN
Age: 21
Home: Manhattan, New York.
Family: Single.
Biggest win: $2 million, Mashantucket, Conn., November 2005.
Resulting celebration/purchase: "I went out with a couple friends. ... I helped my parents with a ($40,000) house payment. I'm going to invest in a restaurant with my sister. I'm thinking about buying an apartment. I just can't decide if I want to buy in New York or Vegas, so I'm putting it off."
Why he's good: "I've really dedicated a huge part of my life to poker. I've spent countless hours just playing. Not going out or not doing a lot of things I might've wanted to do. It's a combination of natural ability and a lot of hard work. ... I play on UltimateBet a lot, and PokerStars. All the sites, I play on."
If not playing poker: "I really don't know. I just don't know."
In free time: "My life right now is very concentrated on poker. It's all poker. (He's repeatedly played 24 hours straight of online poker.) I don't recommend that, but I've done it, too many times."
Game or sport: "It's an exciting game, but I definitely don't think it's a sport. There has to be some athletic requirement."
TUAN LE
Age: 28
Home: Los Angeles.
Family: Single.
Biggest win: $2.8 million, Las Vegas, April 2005.
Resulting celebration/purchase: "I was with a bunch of friends and family. I just exhaled and was just relieved it was over. It was six days of real scrutiny. ... I bought a lot of things. I paid off my mom's house. It was about $280,000. I bought a few nice cars (a Range Rover and an exotic sports car). I rent a nice place (in West LA)."
Why he's good: "I lack a lot of good areas, but I make up for it in a lot of other areas. My fearlessness. My will. My mentalness, my strong mind. That's where I make up for it. I lack a lot of discipline. ... It's going to affect me in the long run. Short-term, I've had a lot of good success, so I'm blinded to it. But personally I do know I lack discipline."
If not playing poker: "I really don't know what I'd be doing if it wasn't for poker. I was in school (at Cal State Northridge) but I knew I wasn't going to stay in school. I wasn't going to use my degree. I was a finance major. I was 12 units short of graduating. That was really stupid of me. I should've just continued. But it got really hard. I missed a lot of classes, my grades were dipping, and I just couldn't keep up with it anymore. I just lost total sense of the value of a dollar."
In free time: "I've actually gotten a lot better. Before I used to put in ridiculous amount of hours. ... I put in a 50-hour session before, at the Hustler. That was the longest session I remember. I walked out and I missed a whole calendar date, and I was totally confused and lost when I was driving home. ... I took some time off and said, hey this is kind of fun. Maybe poker isn't life. ... Now I enjoy life a little more. I go out to bars, I go out to clubs. I travel to places I thought I'd never go. I went to Europe, I went to Miami."
Game or sport: "It's a game of minds. In the long run, the guy with the stronger mind will beat the guy with the weaker mind."
asap staff reporter Ryan Pearson wears flip-flops at the river sometimes, but can't figure out what either have to do with poker.
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