Net Poker Review

You watch the World Series of Poker and other tournaments on television all the time. And if you’re really a fan of the game, you have a favorite player. Or at least someone who’s influenced your game. This brings me to the question, who is the best Full Tilt Poker player out there right now? For me, it’s a real short list.

Daniel Negreanu of PokerStars? He’s a class act whether he wins or loses. His skill in reading others and calling their hand is inarguably in the elite class of players in history. You also can’t deny his ability to play post-flop. To see how the flop feels toward his opponents’ hands, and how that relates to his hand, puts the man in a class by himself. Negreanu kills you with kindness, especially when trying to read your tells. He’ll talk and talk and get you to talk back. Then he’s got you.

Phil Ivey of Full Tit? The coolest player under pressure. A poker face that could kill a nun. He always seems to make the most calculated and precise decisions. And the man wins, a lot. He’s unbeatable as a cash game player. He’s got millionaires from all the PartyPoker world lining up to play him in private games. His major downside is his slight lack of patience. Add to that his risk-taking tendencies, and you start seeing more players calling him more. Different from Negreanu, Ivey uses the silent treatment to read his opponents. You rarely see him goat someone to get the information he wants. He’s a quiet killer.

Phil Hellmuth of EverestPoker? I don’t have as much respect for this guy as I used to (as a card player), but for others the debate over who’s the best starts and ends with this name. Personally, I don’t have in in the same class as the first two names. But the man is a champ, a big winner, and many think he’s the best in the game right now.

Mike Madusow of Full Tit Poker? He’s a got a great back story, if you don’t know it do a little Googling. What can you say about him? He’s a smart player, and he gets under people’s skin. They lose their cool and let something slip. Of course, all the other players just sitting back not running their mouth can pick up on whatever that slip might be, too. Madusow gets a lot of headlines because of his lip. But he deserves to be mentioned with the best of them today.

For me, in the end, it’s Ivey by a hair over Negreanu of PokerStars. Ivey is the Tiger Woods of poker right now. In a class by himself.