Poker Bid

Poker Profiles: Jeffrey Lisandro

Poker stars come from everywhere. It is no longer a surprise to find a non-American doing good at the Poker table. We have seen Europeans sharing the limelight and some Asians, too. In fact, the big winner of the 2007 World Series of Poker event is another foreigner. A good man from good ol' Australia took the limelight all to himself when he earned impressive stash of cash and a gold bracelet to accessorize his already glittering career. The man we are talking about is none other than Jeffrey Lisandro.

Lisandro's climb to the top was never easy. It was full of hard work and setbacks and losses as well as winnings. His first lessons on playing cards was courtesy of his dearest mom who taught him the ropes at age five. After going around the circuit for long, Lisandro finally made a mark when he appeared at the final table opposite Poker great Phil Hellmuth in 1997. He lost to him and to everyone else he faced off until 2007, when the time is right for Lisandro to finally don that exclusive bracelet.

Lisandro is a hardworking player. He never miss a tournament and made sure that he is almost always present in every game. He learned that observing how other players go through a game is helpful enough to make him more comfortable about playing and winning. On top of it all, Lisandro has also been very lucky. He was able to learn from only the good stuff -- Daniel Negreanu, Nick Frangos, Phil Ivey, Howard Lederer, Phil Hellmuth Jr., Allen Cunningham, etc. -- and had lucky breaks while at play to earn as much fortune as he has now.

This Australian charmer is also a cool guy. He knows how to keep his emotions in check. As much as possible, he would never cause an argument. There was this one time, however, that he had a bad brush with fellow pro Prahlad Friedman. Friedman accused him for not putting in his ante of about 5,000 chips. To defend his side, Lisandro argued with Friedman and refused to talk to him ever since.

Aside from appearing in live tournaments, Lisandro is also part of the team that make PokerStars.com interesting. Playing online gives him joy in a sense that he could be against anyone from anywhere in the world. The feeling of getting a wider exposure excites him. Still, it cannot replace the feel of the real thing. Fans can expect that Lisando is not cutting his ties with the 'real' Poker world. The gold bracelet just gave him more reasons to play and play more.