This week, the PocketFives.com Podcast sponsored by Carbon Poker is privileged to welcome three-time Triple Crown winner David The Maven Chicotsky (pictured at right) to the show. A veteran of the live and online poker scenes, Chicotsky took down the Absolute Poker $100,000 Guaranteed to open February for $28,000. He's also won an event held as part of the Deep Stack Extravaganza at The Venetian last July for $206,000. In addition, the Podcast welcomes Katherine Kowal, Director of Business Development for Dream Team Poker. A concept that is revolutionizing the industry, Dream Team Poker will take place at Caesars Palace this weekend featuring a sold out 300 player field. The PocketFives.com Podcast is presented by Carbon Poker, a Merge Gaming Network site that happily accepts customers from the United States.
Earning one Triple Crown on PocketFives.com requires a player to win three $10,000 prize pool tournaments across three different sites that are tracked for the Online Poker Rankings within a one week period. Each tournament has to attract at least 100 players and satellites don't count. Winning three Triple Crowns requires being one of the top poker players in the world, David The Maven Chicotsky. He told the PocketFives.com Podcast how he started his rise to the top of the industry: "I started watching a friend while I was in grad school play online. I learned a lot by doing that. I always had an interest in games and I'm competitive, so it was a natural fit. I was making cold calls at a friend's house house and watching him play on Bodog and literally make $1,000 per day. After a couple of weeks, I asked him to teach me how to do it."
He's a protege of Bodog Ari Engel (pictured at left), whom he begged for lessons until the longtime PocketFiver finally gave in. Chicotsky rushed to Engel's house in Brooklyn less than a week later and the transformation from an average player to one of the top names in the world of poker began. He recalled, "I slept on the floor next to his computer. It was the closest thing to a magic trick I've ever learned. You can take a guy with great poker skills who couldn't win on multi-table tournaments and, with a few days' instruction, make it easy. The very next week, I got third in the Bodog $100,000 Guaranteed." The magic hasn't stopped there, however. He has wins in the PokerStars $30,000 Guaranteed and the Full Tilt Poker $35,000 Guaranteed along with a runner-up showing in the Full Tilt $90,000 for $23,400. Over the first two months of 2009, he racked up $115,000 in tournaments that are tracked for the Rankings for a total of $115,000. His three Triple Crown wins came in September, October, and December of last year. For you math whizzes, that's three times in four months.In live play, he certainly hasn't been a slouch, either. His Deep Stack Extravaganza win last year saw him triumph over a final table that included Bodog pro Justin ZeeJustin Bonomo, who took fourth for $46,000 in the $2,400 buy-in tournament. He also has four World Series of Poker in the money finishes under his belt for a combined $26,000. All of his grinding led fellow PocketFiver allinblind ask how important it was to stretch and take breaks during sessions. Chicotsky replied, "It's important, but it's also part of a lifestyle choice. If you stretch before you go to bed, you'll sleep better. If you drink a lot of water, you'll stay hydrated and won't get headaches."
Chicotsky has authored two wildly successful articles on PocketFives.com, "Take Control of Your Profits and Your Life" and "Poker and Mental Toughness." On his motivation for writing these gems, he told the PocketFives.com Podcast, "If you really want something and try your hardest, it can be done. It's so hard to win at poker, but if you constantly improve, it really will happen. I believe that poker, although it's tough, is beatable. I've seen so many of my students come here who were losing or break-even players now make $10,000 or $20,000 per month." You can find Chicotsky teaching right alongside Engel to this day.
Katherine "Kat" Kowal, who was formerly with the World Poker Tour (WPT), now makes her home at Dream Team Poker. The tournament series heads to Caesars Palace this weekend, fresh off an inaugural event late last year at the Hard Rock. Word has spread ever since Matt Parvis, Eric Morris, and Bonomo (pictured at right) took down the first event as part of Team Bluff, as this weekend's tournament is sold out. Kowal describes why Dream Team Poker has become so popular: "It's an exciting new way to play a game that people already enjoy. The great thing about our format is that it does not change the fundamental way you put on or play in a tournament." Dream Team Poker separates teammates until 14 to 16 players remain in order to curb collusion. In addition, the top teams and individuals cash.
A Dream Team Poker tournament, as you might expect, is a little bit livelier than your average affair. Kowal explained, "Ours are a little more laid back that the average intense shuffling of chips. There's a lot more camaraderie. People get excited more so than other events they play in. We've received a lot of positive feedback." While the Hard Rock tournament was invite only, the Caesars tournament is open to the public. Phil Hellmuth, Mike “The Mouth” Matusow (pictured at left), and Los Angeles Lakers owner Jerry Buss will be a part of "Team Favorites" at the contest. An all-women's team consisting of Tiffany Michele, Maria Ho, and Lacey Jones will also participate. The former two members of "Team Yo Mama" are the last women standing in the 2008 and 2007 WSOP Main Events, respectively.Check out the rest of this week's PocketFives.com Podcast.
PocketFivers can sign up for 30% rakeback on Carbon Poker. In addition, you'll be eligible for monthly promotions, including our inaugural rake chase, which ends on March 31st. Look for more exciting promotions only from Carbon Poker, which proudly accepts U.S. players.
Canada
United Kingdom
Costa Rica
Australia
Mexico
Denmark
Russian Federation
Sweden
Brazil
Germany
