Open-Face Chinese Poker Professionals
Shaun Deeb began his poker obsession when he was 16 and would host rebuy tournaments with his friends at high school. In later years he would drop out university to pursue a career in poker, a move that proved to be very shrewd as he went on to become one of the best and most versatile players in the game. Shaun Deeb is prolific online. These days he spends a lot of time playing Pineapple on his mobile and tablet, but he also holds two World Championship of Online Poker titles and has finished “in the money” in 17 World Series of Poker events. Deeb also has ITM finishes in the European Poker Tour and World Poker Tour, and he is a regular on the Spring Championship of Online Poker.
Jason Mercier
Jason Mercier has picked up a big finish at a couple of OFC events, including the Pokerstars Caribbean Adventure and the OFC event on the European Poker Tour, held on the Monaco stop.
Jason Mercier was born and raised in Hollywood, Florida, where he lives to this day. The twenty seven year old has won two World Series of Poker bracelets and regular features in a number of Texas Hold’em televised events. He is often cited as one of the best live poker players in the world, and is certainly one of the richest with 31 ITM finishes in the WSOP and dozens more on other big tours and tournaments. As well as being a keen advocate of Open-Face Chinese Poker, Jason has also picked up big wins in several other variants, including Pot Limit Omaha and 8-Game, in which he won over a quarter of a million dollars at the World Series of Online Poker.
Daniel Negreanu
Known as “Kid Poker”, Daniel has been on the scene for many years. The Canadian earned his nickname for being one of the youngest players on the circuit, which testifies to how long he has been involved in the game considering he is now 40 years old and one of the more experienced heads at any poker table.
Daniel is a confident and talented player and as well as being the face of Pokerstars Team Pro, he has also hosted his own show and is a regular feature on other shows such as Pokerstars Big Game and Late Night Poker. Ever keen to stick with the new trends and the new games, Daniel is a huge fan of Open-Face Chinese Poker and regularly plays the game with a number of other players on this list. He is also known to enjoy a game of Badugi and Omaha every now and again. It is Hold’em where he has earned the big bucks though and he has picked up a massive 78 ITM finishes at the World Series of Poker and 19 on the World Poker Tour.
Daniel is one of the most travelled poker players and is prominent on all of the big tours, tournaments and the big television shows. He is the face of the game, and you will struggle to find a poker player or fan who doesn’t know who he is.
Barry Greenstein
Barry Greenstein is a veteran on the poker scene and as well as three Word Series of Poker bracelets, he also has a number of appearances in popular televised poker events and cash games, such as High Stakes Poker, Poker After Dark and The Big Game. Barry can be seen regularly playing Texas Hold’em, as is often the case with any poker pro, but he plays most variants and none of his World Series of Poker bracelets are for Hold’em, but rather they are for No Limit Deuce to Seven Draw, Pot Limit Omaha and Razz.
Barry himself admitted to drawing up many mathematical strategies and plans for Open-Face Chinese Poker. As a keen mathematician he wanted to figure the game out from a mathematical standpoint, but after trying to for many months and after failing at so many strategies, he lost thousands. Luckily, he now knows how to play the game and features at all the big Open-Face Chinese Poker events in North America. He also teaches others how to play and one of the most popular OFC Poker tutorial videos online stars him and Shaun Deeb.
Barry Greenstein is often referred to as the “Robin Hood of Poker” due to the fact that he gives a lot of his winnings away to charity. The 59 year old lives in California with his wife and children, and he devotes his time to playing poker, learning new variations and writing about the game that he loves so much.
Phil Hellmuth
Known as the “Poker Brat”, for his outspoken antics at the table and the many tantrums that he throws when he loses and takes a bad beat, Phil Hellmuth is one of the most experienced poker players around. He likes to think of himself as the best that there is, and is often heard saying words to that effect, and although it is dismissed as bragging, he is certainly one of the better players out there.
Phil Hellmuth is also one of the few poker superstars to win the World Series of Poker Main Event, although he won this in 1989 before the fields extended into the thousands and the competition was so fierce. He was the youngest person to win the WSOP Main Event at the time, and in the years that followed Hellmuth picked up another 99 ITM finishes, which means he now has 100 cash-ins in the biggest poker series on the planet. His total live tournament earnings are just shy of $20 million and he has played and won at many variants of the game, including an Open-Face Chinese Poker takedown on the London stop of the European Poker Tour.
Phil Hellmuth, like the others on this list, is also a poker celebrity and has probably featured on as many poker shows as Daniel Negreanu, but whilst the latter is added to the lineup for his charm and charisma, Hellmuth tends to be included because of his network pleasing outbursts and his endless rants.
Vanessa Selbst
The only female on this list, Vanessa Slebst is also a big fan of Open-Face Chinese Poker and regularly plays the game on her mobile, whilst joining in on the many live tournaments around the world. She is the only female to have reached the number one spot in the Global Poker Index and is regally considered to be one of the best players in the world. Vanessa has three World Series of Poker bracelets to her name and has had huge cashes in other tournaments as well. She is a very versatile player and has cashed big in everything from Hold’em and Omaha, to 10-game and more.
Vanessa’s total live tournament earnings surpass $10 million and she is prominent on televised tournaments and high roller events.
Jon Turner
Although less of a poker celebrity and high roller than the other names on this list — certainly the ones that precede him — Jon Turner, who goes by the name PearlJammed online, is a very skilled poker player and an advocate of Open-Face Chinese Poker. He is well down on the United States all-time money list, but his recent results include final tabling a big OFC Poker tournament with Jason Mercier and Shaun Deeb.
Paul Volpe
Also on that final table, and claiming the eventual runner-up spot, was Paul Volpe. Paul is considerably higher than Jon Turner on the United States money list and is in the top ten for the richest players in the state of New Jersey, which he calls home. As far as his poker skill goes the Global Poker Index also rates him in the top ten and many see him as one of the rising stars of the game, with his name consistently on the ITM list for all of the big tournaments in all of the poker variants. Volpe makes most of his money online and has earned nearly $5 million to date, but he also plies his trade in live tournaments as well, although not as regularly.
Chris Klodnicki
Chris is another player who has yet to break into poker superstardom but is certainly on his way. He gets involved in many poker tours and tournaments, playing everything from Open-Face Chinese Poker and 10-game, to standard No Limit Hold’em. He has won over $2 million in online earnings over the years, but it in his live tournaments where he makes the big bucks and he has earned over $7 million to date with his live play.
Chris is ranked in the top 50 for richest poker players in the United States and he is 3rd in the state of New Jersey. His best single cash in a live event was for nearly $3 million, which boosted him up the rankings and gave him the recognition that he rightly deserves.
Dan O’Brien
Dan has yet to take home a big Open-Face Chinese Poker win, but he does enjoy the game and is a regular in many OFC tournaments. His biggest cash win away from OFC Poker was close to half a million dollars and his online winnings surpass the $2 million mark.
Ben Yu
Ben is not a huge name on the circuit but he has been cropping up in Open-Face Chinese tournaments with players such as Jason Mercier and Shaun Deeb. His total live earnings are more than half a million dollars and his best live cash was for over $100.000. He plays many variants of the game of poker.
Tony G
Last but far from least, Tony G is more important to the game of Open-Face Chinese Poker than many of the names already mentioned. The Lithuanian-born Aussie is a businessman by trade, and over the years he has used his business earnings to bankroll entries into many tournaments, covering every possible variant of the game of poker. He has a mouth to rival that of Phil Hellmuth, but is often thought of as much more intimidating. Tony G is a big cash game player and has also featured on many televised poker events, but the biggest contribution that this poker superstar has had to the game of Open-Face Chinese Poker is the TonyBet website.
TonyBet is a sports book, casino and, most importantly, a poker room. But it is not just any poker room, it is currently the biggest poker room in the online world that has Open-Face Chinese Poker games. It set the standard, and the popularity of TonyBet’s poker room will open the doors for other poker sites to follow, effectively starting up the bandwagon that they will then jump on. Tony G is also a big fan of OFC himself, and if you head on over to TonyBet you might just run into him on one of the many OFC tournaments.