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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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