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Questions
abound when it comes to “The Grinder”. For instance,
is there a better poker player than Michael Mizrachi
right now? Where did he come from? Where had such skill
and ferocity been hiding? Did he make a deal with the
devil at the crossroads of the Bellagio, trading his
soul in exchange for poker immortality? Or is he simply
what he appears – the hottest young player on the
tournament trail?
Biggest
Poker Accomplishment:
In the span of 12 amazing months, Mizrachi made 4 WPT
final tables (in addition to countless others), banking
2 wins and finishing 2nd and 5th
in the others. He pocketed over $3.9 million for these 4
tournaments alone. Did I mention he’s still only 25?
Playing
Style:
Extremely aggressive and active player, but capable of
making a big laydown. Mizrachi’s style takes the best
of Hansen and Hellmuth (the aggression and the reads)
and mates it into one truly frightening package.
Strengths:
Mizrachi is a brilliant deep chip player. With a stack
of chips and lots of play, Michael seems to be involved
in just about every pot. Whether he has a pile of cheese
or 2 aces, Mizrachi is always in attack mode. This wild
table image allows him to get paid off when he has the
goods. But…
Weaknesses:
…those who live by the sword die by the sword, and
sometimes Michael’s aggression gets him into hot
water. At the 2004 WPT Championship, Mizrachi was the
chip leader with 11 players left. However, he decided to
get stubborn with his pocket 6’s when he came over the
top of Hasan Habib’s re-raise of his opening bet,
ultimately crippling himself when Hasan flipped over QQ.
Michael broke himself at a time when he didn’t need to
go to war.
Tournament
Winnings: Just
over $5.2 million to date.
The
Bottom Line:
Michael is the best player in the world today under the
age of 30. At the $3,000 Ultimate Poker Challenge in
2005, Michael played a pot with T.J. Cloutier that
signified the passing of the guard. T.J. raised with AJ,
and Michael called with 4 5 of hearts. Flop came x5x.
T.J. bet and Michael smooth called. Turn came 5, giving
Mizrachi trips. Check, check. River brought the A, and
the fireworks began. T.J. bet, Michael raised, and T.J.
called, crippling himself in the process. It was
priceless to see the old school T.J.’s face when this
cocky kid turned over 4 5.
Rank
(out of 10):
8.5
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