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Over the last five years Marcel Luske has been something like the Kevin Bacon
is to the film world, the guy who's been at the final table with most of the
poker best players in the world. Like Bacon, he's also known for his affinity
for music, though it's much more intimidating to have Marcel singing to you at
the poker table. Most American players who know of him are probably most
familiar with his performance in the
2004 WSOP Main Event, when he bubbled out
right before the final table. You can find this true gentleman of the game
dressed in a sharp suit and wearing his sunglasses upside-down, more often
than not while sitting at the final table with a chance to win it all.
The Flying Dutchman, as he's known, has compiled one of the most impressive
lists of tournament results of any professional player in the world this
decade, with cashes in many major tournaments throughout Europe and the
Americas. No matter what the game is, if Marcel is in town he'll be playing.
He's also well known for chatting with his fellow players and singing at the
table. Behind the entertaining show he puts on, Marcel is getting information
on his opponents he can use later. His knack for reading opponents is
sometimes uncanny. Many times he appears to know exactly what his opponents
are holding, and he acts very aggressively on the information he picks up
through tells and betting patterns.
For many years Marcel was a feared cash game player in Europe, owning a club
of his own in Amsterdam and playing pot-limit
Omaha for the biggest stakes on
that side of the Atlantic. He turned his attention exclusively to tournaments
in 2001, and he's been the top-ranked tournament player in Europe twice since
then. He next turned his sights on the
World Series
of Poker with the goal of
being the best poker player in the world. He's certainly become known as one
of the best: his list of tournament cashes is enormous, with over 80 notable
finishes in seven-card stud, pot-limit Omaha, no-limit
hold'em, and virtually
every other game that's played in
big tournaments today. While he hasn't won a
bracelet yet, he placed 14th and 10th in consecutive Main Events that saw the
largest fields in WSOP history, and he made the final three in two other
preliminary WSOP tournaments. He's taken home enough cash to rank 77th on the
all-time WSOP money list.
Like some other players on the tournament trail, Marcel has also gained a
reputation as a mentor to students of the game. In 2004 he befriended young
David Williams during the
WSOP Main Event, lending support to the Texan as he
fought through the rest of the final table to finish 2nd behind champion
Greg Raymer. He's also been a big supporter of fellow Dutchman Noah Boeken, helping
him to elevate his game to new heights and win an EPT event last season. He
says that these relationships not only help the younger players, but keep his
mind sharp as well. Marcel also serves as director of the IPF (International
Poker Federation), an organization which aims to establish standardized rules
and procedures as well as small, player-friendly poker festivals on the
international tournament trail.
Only a handful of players in the world have been as successful as Marcel Luske
since he first focused on tournaments, and even fewer are as well-liked as he
is. He's a true asset to the
poker community and without a doubt is one of the
best ambassadors the game has today.
Marcel Luske's Official Site
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