Poker Player Bio: David Benyamine

posted by on 2012.05.10, under David Benyamine
10th

David Benyamine is not the most well known poker player in the world but he may be one of the best. The reason that he is not all that well known is that he rarely plays in tournaments; instead he has built his reputation by playing in high stakes cash games. These games are so big that the poker magazines and websites often report on them which means that serious poker fans know who David Benyamine is.

Growing up in Paris David Benyamin’s first love as a child was tennis, a game that he got good enough at that he was able to turn pro. His career did not last long however as he would suffer a back injury that would force him to retire when he was just twenty. He was also at one point in time the top ranked billiards player in France. He got his start in poker as a child playing mainly for fun but when his tennis career came to an end he decided to start taking the game more seriously.

In the early days of his poker career David Benyamine followed the path that most players do and started to enter a lot of tournaments. He had some notable successes as well, the biggest of these being winning a World Poker Tour event. Like a lot of top players however he soon realized that the real money to be made was in cash games which is what he started to focus on. The result is that he rarely plays in tournaments any more.

Becoming well known as a cash game player is not easy, there are lots of cash games played every day that nobody ever hears about. In the case of David Benyamine however his games are often reported on mainly because of the very high stakes that are involved. One would think that a player as good as Benyamine would have a hard time finding people willing to play him for high stakes but this has not been the case. There are lots of people who have plenty of money who are willing to risk it for the chance to see how they do against one of the best players in the world.

In 2004 David Benyamine discovered that there are downsides to playing in cash games for a living, in this case it is that you have to live in Las Vegas if you want to find people to play with. Benyamine was deported when it was discovered that he did not have the right visa and he was not allowed to come back to the United States. This seriously impacted his earning potential as there are nowhere near as many high stakes games in Europe. Now that he is allowed back in the US however David Benyamine is back playing high stakes poker in Las Vegas. 

 

DoylesRoom.com kicks off with new knockout poker tourneys

posted by on 2010.07.01, under Poker
01th

DoylesRoom recently kicked off a new tournament billed as the Prime Time Fights. This knockout style, $30+3 poker tourneys will be regularly played on evenings of Tuesdays and Thursdays with each player having a bounty of $5 on their heads.

The regular players of the Prime Time Fights will get their rankings depending on their performance for a given week or month. Leaders of the tourneys will have a chance to grab some special prices like going toe-to-toe with a member of Brunson 10. On a weekly basis, the player who gets the most bounties will get a cash reward of $250. Players who played the Tuesday games and Thursday tournament will be eligible for the special bonus.

DoylesRoom will also reward the Monthly Heavyweights or the top 5 of the leaderboard of the PTF. The top player will receive a $250-bonus and an additional $250 more if he or she beats someone from the Brunson 10 in a heads up. The second placer gets $100 in bonus , 3rd ($75), 4th ($50), and the 5th takes home $25. Players do not need to participate in all matches of the month to get a chance to grab these bonuses.

Any tie or the Monthly or Weekly prize will be resolved via a heads-up match.

Playing poker with marginal hands

posted by on 2010.04.08, under Poker, Poker Strategy
08th

Poker is a thought-provoking game. It involves a harmonious blend of luck and skill to win the game against the opponents on a poker table. One of the most important questions faced by poker players is how to play a game with marginal hands? Should the game be played or the cards should be folded.

Poker would ensure that you think before playing a game. All the poker players are faced with difficult decisions during their playing stint. As3sHow can you be sure of your opponent? How would you know if he is bluffing or not? How do you decide if your cards are the premium ones on the poker table?

All the players are attacked with similar questions. Seasoned players like Michael Mizrachi or Kathy Liebert have flair to turn games as per their advantage because of their rich experience but amateurs cannot. You may be at the edge of your seat when you have to take an important decision while playing as huge sums of money is involved.

One of the most common acts is to either raise or fold when you have doubts about your hand. There is no yardstick to measure if you have a marginal hand or not. Most inexperienced players indulge in bluffing when they have marginal cards and matured players see through this trick and thus they get caught.

continue reading…

Gus pays off John Juanda

posted by on 2010.03.15, under Aussie Millions Cash Game, Gus Hansen, John Juanda
08th

First of all: John Juanda flops a royal flush draw, checks the flop like a donkey, just calls the turn (which I like) and minbets the river into a 11K pot. I don’t dislike the play on the turn, but against Gus Hansen a player like John SHOULD cbet the flop for sure. Gus may have raised, who knows!

Against an agrressive opponent; i don’t advise EVER checking when you flop a good flop in position when you raised. Bet out – people EXPECT you to bet, and it can be way more suspicious to check!

YouTube Preview Image

Celina Lin at the APPT

posted by on 2010.02.08, under APPT, Celina Lin, Poker, Video
08th

Celina Lin really is an upcoming star in the poker world, sponsored by PokerStars, and from what I’ve heard on the poker scene, she’s quite the saucy piece of ass! ;-)

NAUGHTY SOME?

YouTube Preview Image

John Juanda APPT Interview

posted by on 2010.01.22, under APPT, John Juanda, Video
08th

Short interview from PokerNews.com with John “JJ” Juanda. He’s commenting on the no-bluff-strategy he’s using in Asia. ;-)

YouTube Preview Image

What is the role of a free card in Poker?

posted by on 2009.10.29, under Poker, Poker Strategy, Poker Tips
29th

Before reading this article you should know what is a free card? What are the advantages and disadvantages of a free card?

Phil Laak Hoping for a Free Card

Phil Laak Hoping for a Free Card during a hand on High Stakes Poker

A free card in poker is watching the turn of the cards without the players having to bet or call.

There are situations when you do not really obtain a free card in Poker. When you are implementing the method of betting or boost the stakes in order to graduate to the next level. As you have heard a popular saying nothing comes free in life. The same applies here. Think about it.The card is not actually free. It has cost you a bet in the prior round.

The free card may turn out to be a very costly card for players. What would happen if other players may choose to re-raise the stakes and bet? Obtaining a cheap card is beneficial especially when you have very standard cards. But if you have a genuine hand it is generally a vice to give free cards as it helps your opponent to quit. This strategy is applied by poker players to eliminate competition.

continue reading…

Maverick: Final Poker Hand

posted by on 2009.09.15, under Royal Flush, Video
29th

Possible the most insane and unrealistic end of a poker game ever – the end of Maverick. It is, however, one of the most awesome poker movie moments ever. I love it!

YouTube Preview Image

AND YES, MAVERICK GOES ALL IN ON  A…. ROYAL FLUSH DRAW!

Phil Hellmuth’s World Famous Tom Dwan Rampant Tirade

29th

I love the fact that Ali Nejad KNEW what was going to happen. However, it’s not rocket science. Tom Dwan sucks out in a major way (and in my opinion did not make a “standard” play considering the player he was facing would NEVER have a weak hand there) – and Phil Hellmuth gives us his famous tirade up to a more personal level than we’ve ever seen.

Excellent television, and great promotion for both Phil and Tom, no doubt about that!

YouTube Preview Image

Patrik & David Benyamine – Aussie Millions Cash Game

29th

A somewhat interesting hand between cash-game specialists David Benyamine and Patrik Antonius at the Aussie Millions Cash Game.

YouTube Preview Image

David does flop top pair, but ends up losing way more than he should have. For once, I agree with poker commentator and idiot author Michael Konik. The only thing David can beat there is Antonius’ missed flushdraw, and it can’t be the TcJc. That’s not too many hands the man can beat to make a pot-sized call on the end, right?

pagetop