He cashed at both Bellagio WPT events last fall, just missing the final table of the Five Diamond in 11th place.  In March, he was (in my opinion) the best player remaining in the last few tables at Foxwoods.  After making the TV final table, he was busted in 4th place when his pocket jacks were all in preflop but lost against a ragged ace.

7th place – Doug Kim
Before winning his seat in the main event through an online satellite, Doug was a recreational $1-$2 NL player.  However, one of the players in that college game was Jason Strasser, considered to be one of the best online players in the world.  Strasser also had a very small percentage of Doug, so he was there helping him through the late stages of play. 

Interestingly enough, neither Doug nor Jason are professional poker players anymore.  Doug has been working for an insurance company and Jason moved on to investing.  This year’s main event is the first tournament Doug has played since 2006.

4th place – Allen Cunningham
It’s tough to mention anything that hasn’t already been said about Allen Cunningham’s game.  He’s possibly the best “closer” in the business—if he gets down to the last four or five tables of an event, you might as well just pencil his name in as “champion.”  He proved this true by winning his third bracelet in the last three years.

Just after I came on with PokerWire, Allen & Melissa Hayden were giving JDN a free bed for his new apartment.  Naturally the bossman made the new guy help him move stuff (not sure where that was at in the contract).  While we are at their home, I helped them put together their new dining room chairs.  Allen wasn’t a big fan, but my work wasn’t in vain as they were put to good use on Thanksgiving.

3rd place – Michael Binger
Michael jumped out to a quick start at the 2007 WSOP, cashing in five of his first nine events.  He went on to tie the record for most cashes (8) in one series.  He can still break the record with a strong finish in the main event.  Before the series, he had been experiencing the inevitable dry run all players endure.  Things had become so bad (22 tournaments in a row without a cash) that he was actually considering going back into academics.

Mike definitely has something to fall back on—most pros don’t finish college much less hold a PhD in particle physics.   Mike also has the good fortune of traveling the tournament circuit with his younger brother, Nick, who has had his share of success (read article).  We had the chance to interview Michael on a recent episode of PokerWire Radio.

2nd place – Paul Wasicka
If the second place finisher usually feels like they have something to prove, Paul has exceeded everyone’s expectations in the last 12 months.  Despite being an alternate at the 2007 NBC National Heads-Up Championship (he filled in for Phil Hellmuth), Paul went on to win the title in impressive fashion.  He kept an impressive streak of heads-up victories alive by making it to the Sweet 16 in the WSOP event.

Paul is one of the nicest guys you’ll meet on the tour.  Approachable and instantly likeable, the PokerWire team unfortunately tortured Paul with one of the worst dinner breaks in poker history during the Aussie Millions. Despite our run-in, Paul was one race away from that final table.  After that he placed 4th at the LAPC, won the NBC tournament, and placed 24th at the WPT championship (where he took 15th in 2006).  Not a bad year for someone who only plays about every-other $10k event.  You can listen to a recent interview with Paul on PokerWire Radio.

Fred strikes me as poker’s everyman.  He’s a quiet, non-demonstrative player who always seems to be hanging around the late stages of a tournament.  Fred lives in Florida where he builds and renovates homes for a living.  Poker has been a part-time hobby for Fred, but over the last year we have seen more and more of him.

He cashed at both Bellagio WPT events last fall, just missing the final table of the Five Diamond in 11th place.  In March, he was (in my opinion) the best player remaining in the last few tables at Foxwoods.  After making the TV final table, he was busted in 4th place when his pocket jacks were all in preflop but lost against a ragged ace.

Fred's greatest assest is his table image.  He blends in well, letting other players battle it out while quietly picking up the small pots.  When he does play a big pot, if he doesn't have the goods he's convincing enough that most players will give him the benefit of the doubt and stay out of the way.  That tight table image gives him the needed room to maneuver in the late stages of an event.

With one final table and four cashes already under his belt at this summer’s WSOP, Fred took his seat on Day 1 in an event that featured a game he had never played before--limit holdem (the mixed event is thirty minutes of no-limit holdem followed by thirty minutes of limit holdem). 

There’s nothing like learning as you go.

(Watch an interview with Fred from Foxwoods)