|
 What's
in a Poker Nickname?
Baseball has always
had its colorfully
nicknamed players,
from Enos “Country”
Slaughter and Stan
“The Man” Musial to
Willie “The Say Hey
Kid” Mays and Roger
“The Rocket”
Clemens.
Football has had its
share of colorful
nicknames, too,
including William
“The Refrigerator”
Perry, O.J. “Juice”
Simpson and Adam
“Pac-Man” Jones.
Basketball? Among
others, there have
been Daryl
“Chocolate Thunder”
Dawkins, Glenn “Big
Dog” Robinson and
Earvin “Magic”
Johnson.
And, of course, golf
has Jack “The Golden
Bear” Nicklaus and
Eldrick “Tiger”
Woods.
So it’s no surprise
that a pastime as
popular as poker has
also spawned its
share of colorfully
nicknamed
participants.
In anticipation of
the upcoming World
Series of Poker and
the expected media
focus on some of
poker’s top
characters, here are
some of the best
nicknames in poker
and how the players
got them:
PHIL “POKER BRAT”
HELLMUTH JR.–If
you’ve ever seen him
compete on TV,
you’ve seen how
obnoxious, arrogant
and, well, bratty he
can be. It’s no act.
Like many at the top
of their field–he’s
won more World
Series of Poker (WSOP)
bracelets than
anyone in history,
11–he’s a total
diva, no different
than a
tantrum-tossing
Barbra Streisand or
Whitney Houston.
MIKE “THE MOUTH”
MATUSOW–Like
Hellmuth, he’s a
loudmouth, though
not quite as
annoying. So he’s
just a mouth, not a
brat.
HOWARD “THE
PROFESSOR” LEDERER–No,
he is not and never
has been a
professor. But his
high IQ,
professorial manner
and analytical
approach to the game
of poker make him
seem like one, at
least to some. And
his father was a
teacher, although
not at the college
level.
ANTONIO “THE
MAGICIAN” ESFANDIARI–Some
think he got the
nickname because
he’s such a good
player he seems like
a magician with
cards. But that’s
not the case. He
actually was a
professional
magician before
becoming a
professional poker
player.
DOYLE “TEXAS DOLLY”
BRUNSON–The story
behind his nickname
is probably the best
known of any
nicknamed poker
player. Brunson is
from Texas, and at a
tournament once a
public address
announcer, intending
to introduce him as
“Texas Doyle,”
mispoke and
identified him as
“Texas Dolly.”
Brunson liked the
erroneous nickname,
and it stuck.
PHIL “UNABOMBER”
LAAK–Remember Ted
Kaczynski, the
original “Unabomber”
who terrorized the
USA a few years back
by sending letter
bombs through the
mail? His wanted
poster portrayed him
wearing sunglasses
and a hooded
sweatshirt, which
just so happens to
be the preferred
poker-playing
uniform of Laak.
JOHNNY “THE ORIENT
EXPRESS” CHAN–He’s
from China and, in
pursuit of a poker
victory, he’ll run
over you like a
train. A Chinese
passenger train. Of
which the most
famous is actually
called the Orient
Express.
GREG “FOSSILMAN”
RAYMER–As a hobby,
he’s into
archaeology,
dinosaurs and, yes,
fossils.
PHIL “POISON”
IVEY–As one of the
top players in the
world–five WSOP
bracelets–he’s
deadly poison to
anyone who crosses
his path. So this
nickname is a
natural.
THOMAS “AMARILLO
SLIM” PRESTON
JR.–He’s from the
yellow-bellied town
of Amarillo, Texas.
GUS “THE GREAT DANE”
HANSEN–He’s from
Denmark, making him
a Dane. And he’s a
great player, not a
dog. Thus, “The
Great Dane.”
MEN “THE MASTER”
NGUYEN–He’s
considered a master
at poker.
CARLOS “THE MATADOR”
MORTENSEN–He used to
live in Spain, where
a matador–Spanish
for bullfighter–is
an iconic symbol.
MICHAEL “THE
GRINDER” MIZRACHI–A
poker player who
plays methodically
and grinds out a
living at it is
known as a grinder,
which describes
Mizrachi’s style of
play.
CHRIS “JESUS
FERGUSON–One look at
his long black hair,
moustache and long
black beard, and you
see that, yes, he
does sort of
resemble Jesus
Christ. Though
Christ, unlike
Ferguson, wasn’t
known to dress all
in black or wear a
cowboy hat bearing
the logo of an
online poker room.
----
Tom
Somach,
www.pokerhelper.com
Originally published
April 29, 2008 1:29
am EST
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