Tobey Maguire > Dan Bilzerian in High Stakes Underground Poker Games

Who is the King of the Ultra High Stakes Underground Poker Games with a strict 'no pro' policy?

Tobey Maguire
Nit + psychological warfare
$30-40 Millions in 3 years
Buy-in of up to $100,000
"approaches the elite level of the players who win bracelets at the World Series." 
2007 World Series of Poker Main Event 
(292nd place, won $39,445) 

VS.

Dan Bilzerian
LAG + adrenaline seaker
$50 Million in 2014
Buy-ins $1 Millions, as high as $5 Millions.
As big as $5,000/$10,000 No Limit. The biggest was $10,000/$25,000 No Limit
"I am not nearly as good as all these online guys. I am not even close to one of the best players... But it’s like a minor league baseball player going against a bunch of high school guys."
2009 World Series of Poker Main Event 
(180th place, won $36,626)

Now let's compare our two High-Stakes Underground Poker contenders for the crown of the King of the Ultra High Stakes Underground Poker Games.

TOBEY MAGUIRE

“Tobey Maguire was the worst tipper, the best player, and the absolute worst loser.”
- Molly Bloom 

• Born June 27, 1975 in Santa Monica, California.
• Occupation: Hollywood A-List actor
• Net worth: $40-50 Million
• Famous for: Spiderman

• Started tournament poker in 2004.
• Been tutored by one of the best poker pros in the world Daniel Negreanu.
• Finished in the money in several events.
• Can be seen on ESPN's coverage of the 2005, 2006, and 2007 World Series of Poker Main Event Championship.
• Played in the 2007 World Series of Poker Main Event. He survived days 1a, 2a, and 3 but was eliminated in 292nd place on the fourth day, taking $39,445 in prize money.
• During a 2007 episode of Poker After Dark, Phil Hellmuth said Tobey has made millions of dollars by playing poker in Hollywood poker games, with some estimates as high as $10 million

'I used to call Tobey "Hannibal Lecter" because he could just talk someone off of a good hand,'  Molly Bloom told 20/20.

The poker playing of A-Lister actor Tobey Maguire (Spiderman) has been described as: 

"He’s in a different league from other actors who can play some cards. While often mentioned in the same breath with other excellent playing actors like Jennifer Tilly and Ben Affleck, according to one of the sources, Mr. Maguire plays at a level that far surpasses “good for an actor” and approaches the elite level of the players who win bracelets at the World Series." 

RadarOnline.com reported that Maguire had been winning around $1 million every month for three years in these games. They then estimated that Maguire may have won anywhere from $30 to $40 million playing high stakes poker. And while this number is completely unverifiable, assuming it was accurate, the Spiderman actor could possibly be the biggest poker winner of all-time!

Molly Bloom who organized high stakes underground poker games for the rich and famous described Tobey Maguire as the best player, a sore loser and the worse tipper. There is nothing worse than a good loser! A good loser is usually just a loser. Winning is everything. Particularly in Poker.

Molly Bloom also used to call him "Hannibal Lecter" because he could just talk someone off of a good hand.

His contender, the outspoken Dan Bilzerian called him a "nit", a "jerk-off", and "cheap". He ousted Tobey Maguire for slow play, claiming “he was taking forever in a real big game, he took 15 minutes to chop a little pot”. His bold remarks about the former Superman star continued, “The guy is supposed to be worth $40 or $50 million and he’s quivering over $4,000. It was annoying, he was cheap”.  “He’s cheap as fuck and plays like a cheap bitch – a guy who’s worth all that money playing as if he’s broke. Come on, dude." I personally admire Maguire's obvious and lucrative nittiness. No matter the size of the pot, just like Maguire did, you should always play to win. And that's the only thing you should be thinking about: WINNING!



Tobey Maguire is known to frequently leaves a game after winning an enormous pot which is a breach of poker etiquette. But who give a fuck about poker etiquette. Poker is all about WINNING the most MONEY you can.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tobey_Maguire

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2663783/I-used-call-Tobey-Maguire-Hannibal-Lecter-Hollywood-poker-madame-spills-beans-A-listers.html

http://www.thepokerpractice.com/poker/tobey-maguire-poker-winner
http://www.pokerstrategy.com/news/content/Why-Tobey-Maguire-does-not-come-across-well-in-the-new-poker-book-Molly-s-Game-_85399/
http://www.pokerlistings.com/molly-s-game-the-most-awaited-book-and-movie-in-poker-history-60331
http://www.pokerlistings.com/daily-3-bet-guy-gets-got-tobey-backs-leo-blom-peters-out-99684
http://observer.com/2014/05/exclusive-a-player-speaks-molly-bloom-takes-on-spider-man-actor-in-new-book/
http://pagesix.com/2014/06/11/tobey-maguire-is-a-royal-jerk-at-the-poker-table/
http://www.esquire.com/blogs/news/tobey-maguire-poker
http://www.carbonpoker.ag/blog/dan-bilzerian-tobey-maguire-24/
http://pokerati.com/2012/07/nosebleed-heaven/ http://www.speedpokerinfo.com/en/poker-news/nosebleed-heaven-your-guide-to-the-biggest-highstakes-cash-games-in-vegas
http://www.homepokergames.com/maguire.php
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tobey_Maguire

DAN BILZERIAN

• Born December 7, 1980, Tampa, Florida.
• Occupation: Trust fund baby, semi-professional poker player, internet celebrity.
• Net worth: $100 Million
• Famous for: Millionaire Playboy lifestyle

• Goes broke in college playing online poker.
• Once turned $750 into $10,000 in one event, as he claimed.
• Playing for a living since 2007
• Played in the 2009 World Series of Poker Main Event. For which he appeared of six episodes of televised show. He finished in 180th place and won $36,626.
• By September 2014, he claimed that he earned $50 Million in the last 12 to 14 months playing in High Stakes Private Poker Games.
• Claimed that he once lost a coin-flip for about $2,3 million pile of chips.
• Said he won $10.8 Million playing cards one night at $5,000-$10,000 no-limit

The poker skills of Dan Bilzerian has been self-described by Dan Bilzerian himself as:



“The best way to describe my poker skills is that I’m not the best poker player in the world. But it’s like a minor league baseball player going against a bunch of high school guys.”

I mean; I am alright. I am not nearly as good as all these online guys. I play in private games with business guys and celebrities. They are playing for fun. I don’t play with pros. I am not even close to one of the best players.

He’s one of the biggest cash game players in the world. His games are so big that Bilzerian avoids tournaments all together. “I’ve been playing such high stakes lately that a lot of times the first-place prize is less than what these guys are buying in for at the cash games,” Bilzerian said. “It’s hard to take it seriously.

Plays in games with buy-ins as high as $5 Millions.

“It gets as big as $5,000/$10,000 No Limit. The biggest game I ever played in was $10,000/$25,000 No Limit,” Bilzerian added. “The thing about the game is now the games are playing so big that there’s not as many people that can play that big."

"Tons of celebrities, athletes, etcetera, play poker. It has blown up. They just play private games though, and they don’t go into casinos. It is a very small group of these people who play the stakes that I like to play, though. It’s rare and there aren’t many celebrities who are willing to put $1 million down at a table and shoot it off. I think I know everyone who plays those stakes."


All the above statements are just his own claims.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dan_Bilzerian
http://online.wsj.com/articles/dan-bilzerians-life-of-partying-and-poker-1410897368
http://www.unfinishedman.com/dan-bilzerian-fifty-million-poker-earnings/

http://pokerfacenews.com/dan-blitz-bilzerian/

http://online.wsj.com/articles/dan-bilzerians-life-of-partying-and-poker-1410897368

http://www.cardplayer.com/poker-news/16515-dan-bilzerian-says-he-won-10-8-million-playing-heads-up-poker-at-stakes-5-000-10-000

http://profitingatpoker.com/broke-poker-players/dan-bilzerian-broke/

http://calvinayre.com/2014/07/24/poker/dan-bilzerian-i-made-50m-net-playing-poker-this-year/

http://www.bluff.com/magazine/actor-astronaut-asshole-17067/

http://www.pokerstrategy.com/news/content/Should-we-believe-Dan-Bilzerian-has-won-$50-million-this-year-_85739/

http://www.pokerstrategy.com/news/content/Why-Tobey-Maguire-does-not-come-across-well-in-the-new-poker-book-Molly-s-Game-_85399/

http://www.pokerlistings.com/molly-s-game-the-most-awaited-book-and-movie-in-poker-history-60331

http://danbilzerian-fansite.com/poker/

http://www.cardplayer.com/poker-news/16656-dan-bilzerian-talks-super-nosebleed-poker-playboy-lifestyle

The Verdict: Tobey Maguire poker skills seems to be superior to those of Dan Bilzerian. At least we know from sure source (Molly Bloom) that Maguire is the absolute best player in Hollywood High Stakes Poker Games. 

Is Tobey Maguire's better than other very good poker playing actors (Ben Affleck, Jennifer Tilly). Yeah! But is Tobey Maguire's as good as 13 WSOP bracelets winner Phil Hellmuth. Not so sure! 

Meanwhile the only person who talk about Dan Bilzerian poker greatness is Dan Bilzerian himself!?!

However Dan Bilzerian seems to be honest about his poker skills by saying that he can outplay non-pro poker whales but he just avoid playing against the pros because he is not at their level. Why risking your money facing the best while you can squeeze money out of the rest. In Poker you have to be selective if you wanna be lucrative.

Tobey Maguire playing antics and bad attitude at the poker tables are all described in this book.

Get inside Molly Game: Where the Big Boys Plays Million Dollar Underground Poker Games. Every details is in the book below.

The usefulness of Play Money

As I always say "Un chirurgien doit se pratiquer sur des cadavres avant d'opérer des vivants." Which could be translated as "A surgeon must practice on corpses before operate on living people."


This is entirely true and that describe my view on Poker playing. If you needs several hours, months, and years of formation to be able to exercises a craft or a profession. Why it should be otherwise for Online Poker? Poker playing is all about the Money! The level of knowledge of the average poker player is higher than ever. Regular online poker players certainly have hundreds, if not thousands, of hours of play as experience. How can you survive if you jump head first into the shark infested sea of online poker? How can you succeed without losing your shirt?

Since the level of Poker playing is so high right now. I feel that I need to practice, study, and specialize to be any good and profitable at Poker.

My game of choice, as you may know reading this blog, is Heads-Up Fixed Limit Texas Hold' Em Poker. Right now I'm playing (practicing) at Pokerstars (the best place ever to play any kind of poker). I climb the level  How can you expect to be lucrative at the lowest money tables if you can't rules the fake money tables?

I'm currently on a 1,000,000 Play Money Challenge.
I started with the usual 1000 chips given by PokerStars and I will climb my way step by step to the top.

• Only playing Heads-Up Limit Hold' Em on Pokerstars.
• Starting from the buttom of the ladder at 10/20. 
• Playing each game with 20 Big Blinds to the finish.
• Taking a break after losing a game/stack.
• Needing 400 Big Blinds to play at a level.
• Return to the preceding level when I'm not satisfied of my playing.
• Writing everything on paper (stack, number of hours and hands played, level, comments & impressions of the days) after each day. With weekly, monthly, and yearly total.

Discipline, strict money/bankroll management and a lot of hours of practice and hands played.

Here is the required chip bankroll needed to play at each level.

1. 10/20 = 1000 chips
2. 25/50 = 20,000 chips
3. 50/100 = 40,000 chips
4. 100/200 = 80,000 chips
5. 250/500 = 200,000 chips
6. 500/1000 = 400,000 chips
7. 1000/2000 = 800,000 chips

Here above is my can't miss plan to my Heads-Up Limit Hold' Em domination.

What's yours? Do you have a plan?



Deposit $20 and get $20 free to play with at PokerStars

The Evolution of Poker: from Super System to math PhD

Just like any other thing, Poker has evolved. Just look at the following citation to give you an idea of the situation.

"Back in the day when we wrote Rounders, if you'd read Super System you had an edge over 80% of the players in card rooms and 99% in home games. Now that book and books like it are the basic education that every player has, along with their PhD in math or game theory and a few million hands under their belts." 
 -- Screenwriters of Rounders, David Levien and Brian Koppelman


http://www.pokernews.com/news/2013/09/screenwriters-david-levien-and-brian-koppelman-on-runner-run-16240.htm

NASH EQUILIBRIUM Game Theory for Fixed Limit Heads-Up Hold' Em

Transition from No-Limit to Fixed-Limit
Adapting the Nash Equilibrium for Heads-Up LIMIT Hold' Em


Since our concern here isn't Heads-Up No-Limit Texas Hold' Em but Heads-Up Fixed Limit Hold' Em the number of effective BB (Big Blinds) will be different.

On PokerStar the minimum required stack to play

HU NL HE  40 BB

HU FL HE     5 BB

According to this, we need 8 TIMES less money to play Limit Holdem than we need to play No Limit.

So the 20+ BB mentioned above would be reduced to 2.5 + BB in a Fixed Limit game.  Well... ???? I'm not so sure about the correlation between the two.

A more realistic and representative stack is 100 BB in no limit vs. 20 BB in fixed limit as suggested on Pokerstars.

With that being said: 
HU NL HE  20 BB = HU FL HE  4 BB

I have to admit that I feel pretty naked at 4-5 BB.

The following is copy-and-paste general information about the HeadsUp Push/Fold charts and their usage for Heads-Up No-Limit Hold' Em. For the original source, I encourage you to click the links of the source at the end of the explanations. 

Keep in mind that the explanations below were deviced for HU NL HE. So divide the numbers by 5 to give you an idea of what it could be in Heads-Up LIMIT Hold' Em.



General Information

The charts show the Nash Equilibrium solution of the heads-up push-or-fold game. This is a simplified game where the SB is only allowed to go all-in or fold, and the BB can either call or fold when facing a shove.
It is important to keep in mind that this is not the solution for the full game where limps and smaller raises are also available. The push-or-fold solution is generally assumed to be very close to the solution of the full game up to around 8bb. In practice the strategy can likely be used at least until 10bb without being too exploitable.

Usage

The tables show the highest effective stack size in big blinds where a hand can be pushed or called. Values bigger than 20 are only displayed as 20+, which means the hand can be played for any stack size of 20bb or less. (Playing push-or-fold is typically only recommended up to around 10bb, depending on the situation. Using push-or-fold for >20bb is almost certainly a bad idea.)
Some hands have gaps in their pushing strategies, they are marked with * and the details are displayed below the charts. For example 63s is included in the pushing strategy for stack sizes between 7.1 and 5.1bb, and stacks below 2.3bb.

Example

SB (9.0bb): T3s
BB (6.0bb): Q2o
The effective stack size is the smaller of the two, before posting any blinds. So the relevant stack size for both players in this hand is 6.0 big blinds.
To find the strategy for SBs T3s, check the green area (suited hands) of the "Pusher" chart. The value for T3s is 7.7bb, and since that is larger than the current effective stacks the hand is a push in the Nash Equilibrium strategy.
To determine if the BB should call with his Q2o, check the orange area (offsuit hands) of the "Caller" chart and locate Q2o. The value there is 5.6bb. The effective stacks in the current hand are larger than the value for Q2o, so this hand is a fold in the Nash Equilibrium strategy.

http://www.holdemresources.net/h/poker-theory/hune/usage.html
http://www.holdemresources.net/h/poker-theory/hune.html

http://www.thepokerforum.com/joebenik8.htm




I have included the following chart analyzing the game play of Hyperborean and the legendary Polaris.



http://forumserver.twoplustwo.com/29/news-views-gossip/heads-up-holdem-solved-1379043/index5.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polaris_(poker_bot)

http://www.computerpokercompetition.org/index.php/competitions/participants/93-participants-2013?showall=&start=1

http://www.headsupsitandgo.com/

Strategy to finish off an opponent

You see, when you have a big chip lead in heads-up
action, the first secret is YOU MUST ATTACK.

To get a perspective on this, think about how you
play when you're the SHORT STACK...

You're prepared to go all-in as soon as possible,
right?

Well, you must use this to your ADVANTAGE when
you're the big stack, and PUT YOUR OPPONENT ALL-IN
right away... rather than the other way around.

When you have a big chip lead, YOU must be the one
to create "coin-toss" situations... and fast.

A coin-toss situation is when both players have
virtually equal odds... and the winning hand is
determined by whatever the flop, turn, and river
cards are.

In heads-up poker, any starting hand with a FACE
CARD is playable. Or any pocket pair. It's that
simple.

If you've got a big chip lead on your opponent and
he CHECKS or LIMPS-IN (calls the blinds), then you
should IMMEDIATELY put him all-in.

He wouldn't be checking or limping-in if he had
ANYTHING DECENT at all...

If he folds, you've stolen the blinds from him,
which is crucial. If he calls, you've created a
"coin-toss" situation.

Odds are you'll win at least one out of every two
coin toss situations. Or at the very least, you'll
win one out of three.



Push or Fold:

Ax  Kx
Qx  Jx
T8  T7s
98s
22+

(103/169 = 60.95%)


Here's a basic summary of the "rules" you should
follow when playing heads-up poker with a huge
chip lead. When I say "huge", I'm talking about
10 to 1 or more...

And that's the exact moment when you MUST PULL THE
TRIGGER AND WIN THE GAME.

If you don't, the chip stacks can quickly even out
again and you may lose your chance forever.

Anyway... here are the RULES you should follow with a huge chip lead (10 to 1 or more):

1. Any starting hand with a face card or any pocket
pair is good.

2. You should either FOLD or go ALL-IN every time.
Nothing else.

3. Force COIN-TOSS situations... In other words,
leverage the 50/50 ODDS as much as possible. Do
this two or three times and you will almost always
win the match.

4. If you're playing against a tight player, it
will be even easier. Keep going all-in on just
about every hand and let the blinds eat him to
death.

Read and re-read those four principles and you'll
be prepared the next time you make it to a
heads-up match.


Push or Fold:

Ax  Kx
Qx  Jx
T8  T7s
98s
22+

(103/169 = 60.95%)


50/50 ODDS means:

Ax  Kx
Q5  Qxs
J7  J5s
T8  T7s
98s
22+

(91/169 = 53.85%)


> 50% odds are:

Ax  Kx
Q6  Q3s
J8   J6s
T9  T7s
98s
33+

(86/169 = 51% of hands)

http://www.cardschat.com/f11/how-beat-short-stack-heads-up-61283/
http://www.thepokerforum.com/joebenik8.htm

http://books.google.ca/books?id=ix4HeDVvgIYC&pg=PA73&lpg=PA73&dq=finish+a+short+stacked+opponent+in+heads+up&source=bl&ots=DMnInk7bxP&sig=WSx8q9SQBDv0GZsSn6FvbVNvtBs&hl=en&sa=X&ei=VnR-U-KRCOqH8AHhjoDABw&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q=finish%20a%20short%20stacked%20opponent%20in%20heads%20up&f=false

Loose Aggressive Unpredictable

LOOSE

AGGRESSIVE

UNPREDICTABLE






The three cornerstones that must be part of your game. You must play:

Loose – Always pre-flop and usually post-flop against the majority of opponents.
Aggressively – You need to play with frequent (but not mindless) aggression.
Unpredictably – Against all but the very worst opponents.

Get these three things right and you have the core of a good heads-up game.


http://www.internettexasholdem.com/?Itemid=766

Poker Grinder

Grinder

word type: poker slang

1. Poker player who plays in games they're significantly over-bankrolled for while also playing a style of poker that leads to consistent and steady win rates.

* definition of 'grinder', taken from "Grinderschool" training site

grinder (n) a professional poker player who earns a living through small but consistent winnings (See also: rounder)

I think of a grinder as a player who--
1) puts in great volume,
2) has a positive win rate,
3) thinks systematically about the game and tries to improve as they play,
4) plays within their bankroll.

Grinders rarely "take shots" and money does not come pouring on them, but nor do they lose it easily. They accumulate capital slowly, but steadily and securely.

Grinders rarely take shots because grinders don't take alot of risks. Grinders look for maximum gain for the least amount of risk...

a grinder is a player who understands that solid play + volume > short term variance.

He just keeps putting in hour after hour, day after day, month after month until he looks up at the end of the year and sees a significant profit.

Understanding the math and playing solid poker according to the math will always win in the long run regardless of the short term results. I like these two mostly.

Where You Can Find Grinders

Actually, you can find grinders in almost all types of poker in the lower and middle limits. You typically don't find a "grinder" per se at the nosebleed stakes. Most grinders will multi-table to the tune of eight or more simultaneous tables, oftentimes of identical game types and limits. For instance, a Sit and Go grinder might play eight tables at a time of $25 turbo 9-person Sit and Goes. Considering that 10% (after rake) is a great ROI for a Sit and Go player, that means that the player is only making $2.50 per sit and go. But if they can squeeze in 20 sit and goes in an hour, then they're "grinding" a $50 per hour win rate. By contrast, if that same player decided to go play a $200 Sit and Go, then they're now "off their grind" and taking a "shot" at a higher game.

You Should Also Know...

While some grinders do play almost exclusively large, multi-table tournaments, these people are a very rare breed. The goal in a large tournament is to make a big score, to win a sum of money that can sustain you until the next sizeable take. Some people are able to win small to medium prizes on a fairly consistent basis, but in general, grinders don't specialize in multi-table tournaments because luck can swing one's results too quickly in them and they take too long to make smaller wins worth the time.
Additionally, online players can earn rakeback to increase their hourly rate, and some online poker rooms only offer rakeback for cash games.

In Film - Rounders

The terms "grind" and "grinder" are featured in the opening monologue of the popular poker film, Rounders.

Guys around here'll tell ya... you play for a living.
It's like any other job. You don't gamble. You grind it out.
Your goal is to win one big bet an hour, that's it.
Get your money in when you have the best of it, and protect it when you don't.
Don't give anything away.
That's how I've paid my way through half of law school.
A true grinder.
See, I learned how to win a little at a time. But finally, I've learned this...
If you're too careful, your whole life can become a fuckin' grind.


The Gambler - Kenny Rogers

You've got to know when to hold 'em
Know when to fold 'em
Know when to walk away
'Cause every hand's a winner And every hand's a loser





http://www.cardschat.com/f13/what-makes-grinder-grinder-194738/
http://www.sitandgoplanet.com/sitandgo/sng_strategy/5Tips_Effective_SitNGo_Grinder.html

http://www.grinderschool.com/

http://www.michaelmizrachi.co/poker-tips/
http://www.pokerjunkie.com/win-in-poker-the-grinder-manifesto

http://www.lyricsfreak.com/k/kenny+rogers/the+gambler_20077886.html