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"For every man there is something in the vocabulary
that would stick to him like a second skin.
His enemies have only to find it."
-- Ambrose Bierce
Amarillo Slim,
Texas Dolly, Titanic Thompson,
"Sailor" Roberts, "Treetop" Strauss, Ken "What a Player" Smith... Poker players who came to
prominence twenty-five or more years ago often came with flashy, bigger-than-life nicknames.
Today this is much less true. For every
Men "The Master" Nguyen and
Dave "The Devilfish" Ulliott
there are dozens of players who plod along without the flash or pizzazz of a good, descriptive handle. But this is bad for the
rest of us too. You can learn a lot about a player through their nicknames, and this information can be especially useful in
tournaments where you might play against players who live thousands of miles away, whose play you haven't had a chance to observe.
So, as a public service, I've decided to reveal some previously secret nicknames. This is a service both to these players, who
will be much less incredibly dull now, and to opponents who know something about the essence of each of them.
Like Men the Master and Devilfish, some players do have well-known nicknames. Ken "Skyhawk" Flaton for one. What
the heck is a "Skyhawk" anyway? Is it different than a "Groundhawk"? Who knows, but Ken had a cool nickname
nonetheless. Another well-known nickname is "Super" Mario Esquerra. Many people believe the source of this nickname
is the Super Mario Brothers game. Not true. The "Super" in Mario's name comes from the fact that he is a native of
the planet Krypton. Seventy-two years old, father of twelve, grandfather of forty, a great-grandfather, Mario has been mugged
by two men twice in the past couple years. Oh those poor muggers. Despite being stabbed in the chest both times, one mugger
received a broken arm, another was rendered unconscious, and another ran away screaming about "El Diablo." Mario
is like a grizzly bear in an old western movie: "Don't shoot him, it'll only make him mad."
What a curse to be Italian from Miami.
"Miami" John Cernuto already has locked
up the coolest nickname, so "Daytona" Tony Cousineau is forced to relocate up the coast. This adaptability (who said
"utter lack of loyalty") reveals Tony's multiple game poker ability. Likewise with Randy "Hometown" Holland.
Randy seems to have as many hometowns as Mickey Rooney has ex-wives. During the same tournament series, event reports will list
Randy as hailing from cities in Alberta, Florida, Mississippi and California. They are all "home" to Randy.
David "The Bubble" Rabbi. Ever finish one out of the money in a tournament? Even though this was a temporary
phenomenon, David will always be "The Bubble" to me. It's almost a sad thing to no longer be able to consider
one out of the money as getting "the Rabbi money."
John "The Rock of" Inashima.
John had his gamble surgically removed years ago. Surgery isn't even the right word. It was probably more of an exorcism.
A few years back when there were eleven players left in a Stud HiLo tournament that paid eight places, I looked around and
found my chip stack was the puniest one left. Maybe I should try to limp into the money? Not today, because the next two shortest
stacks are held by John and David "The Bubble" Rabbi. I assumed David would probably go out on the bubble but I also
knew that not even if I could put a pistol to his head could I outlast John if he had a bigger stack than me. I came in eleventh,
John ended up tenth and, of course, Rabbi finishing on the bubble (surprise) in ninth.
Mike "the Mouth" Matusow.
I'd say something here, but I can't get a word in edgewise, so onto Tom "Superfly" McEvoy. If clothes make the man,
Tom was made in an LSD flashback.
Sirous "13th" Bagofspicycheeritos.
Sirous B is currently in the top 20 of the tournament
player rankings for this year. This feat is even more remarkable considering Sirous has probably twice as many in-the-money
second table finishes as any two other players in the world combined! The man comes in thirteenth or eleventh or twelfth nearly
every single day.
Greg "Go Off" Gensicki might be the most successful poker player in history, if you don't count his ring game
sessions in excess of fifty hours, which pretty much break him even.
Rich "The Big Picture" Korbin, Spring "Thanks for the Chips" Cheong,
Jim "The Nit" Meehan, Mike "Cupcake"
Dalton, "Lucky Kevin" Lamonica are more
larger than life players who earn nicknames in the poker trenches day in and day out -- explaining why Maxwell J. Shapiro has no nickname.
Finally, some nicknames quite simply go directly to the soul of a player. They are their nickname. So it is with Toto
"The Ripper" Leonidas -- merciless, brutal, bloodthirsty, probably even a cannibal. On the surface, Toto the Ripper
appears to be the sweetest, nicest and most friendly player in poker, but don't let that fool you! After Toto the Ripper has
single-handedly ripped your heart out, knocking you out of six tournaments in six months, you too would see beneath that
pleasant exterior lurks... oh hell, a sheep in sheep's clothing. Still, he's vicious! Ruthless. A killer. Beware!
Poker Player Nicknames Part Two
Poker Hand Nicknames
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