Talk:Phil Laak

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Cash games[edit]

The article states that Laak is regarded 'as one of the top "cash game" poker players on the circuit'. This isn't supported by a citation, and it certainly isn't supported by his poker skills, so I'm removing it. Zoolicious (talk) 08:26, 24 May 2009 (UTC)[reply]

I agree. He's a terrible cash player —Preceding unsigned comment added by 99.231.164.20 (talk) 16:22, 9 August 2009 (UTC)[reply]

He is currently attempting to break the world record for longest period of playing poker http://acejones.com/unabomber-poker.htm —Preceding unsigned comment added by 71.182.150.180 (talk) 17:50, 4 June 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Saying he's a terrible cash player is nothing but an opinion. His last appearances on Poker after Dark, Pokerstars Big Game and Partypoker Big Game were all winning sessions. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 83.160.72.40 (talk) 11:34, 16 July 2011 (UTC)[reply]

He's actually a very good cash player at least nowadays and is the all-time biggest winner on the Big Game. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 91.155.233.45 (talk) 21:28, 20 July 2011 (UTC)[reply]


This age is definitely wrong as noted below. No ideal why people change it back all the time. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Hockey16 (talk • contribs) 17:49, 13 May 2017 (UTC)[reply]

I'm absolutely certain Phil was born in 1963 or 1964. He graduated from high school in 1982, and college in 1986. The date of birth given in the article is simply incorrect. Not sure what you can do about that.

There is no way that he is 43 years old. He looks like a kid! SmartGuy 15:47, 6 July 2006 (UTC)[reply]
He does. Although Jennifer Tilly is 50 and she sure doesn't look it. It's possible I guess. KenFehling (talk) 14:28, 18 May 2009 (UTC)[reply]
The article from the Orange Coast News (reference 1 on the article) states that a 45 year old man (Laak) was hospitalized in an ATV accident which would mean he was born in 1964. The Epic Poker League's players profile lists his birth year as 1972 as does onlinepokernews.org. Yesterday, somebody changed the 1964 birthdate to 1972, but didn't change the date in the side box. I am going to change the side box to be consistent with the article and also because google says their best estimate is 1972. If new data proves that he was actually born in 1964, then both can be changed back. — Preceding unsigned comment added by TheTakeover (talk • contribs) 20:59, 28 September 2011 (UTC)[reply]


does anyone know the deal with his irishness? ie when did he move to the US and why?

Was he born on vacation? 68.77.139.51 20:05, 11 January 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Just to pop in with a couple thoughts here- Image should probably be one with the hood up, as thats his most usual look while at the table, but not drawn shut, cause, well, actually seeing his face would be nice. Other thing: If theres no objection, it would probably be worth noting that the most common cause for alarm about his antics (The Invitational, his most childish bit of acting yet) was free money for him, and as unprofessional as I find him, he was not, in the true sense of the word, acting as a professional there. He was trying to entertain, with none of my money on the line, I'd be a bit more 'Celebrity Poker Showdown' myself. -Mask 21:06, 19 March 2006 (UTC)[reply]

His age?[edit]

This is kind of weird. When I read the Wiki entry, I thought it was an innocent error on Wiki's part, but it appears that's the age Phil is telling people, based on some interviews I googled. However, it is simply not true. He is 42, maybe 41 at the absolute youngest. There's no way he's only 33. I knew him in 1983-4, when he was a sophomore at the University of New Hampshire. (He went to UNH for two and a half years before transferring to the University of Massachusetts.) Believe it or not, he was even in college on an Air Force ROTC scholarship for most of his time at UNH.

I'm kind of surprised this age issue hasn't been noted before. Phil was hardly the sort to blend into the background, even back when I knew him. There must be a lot of people who remember him, like I do. Ah, well. I guess he'll be neither the first nor last to lie about his age. Lux Interior 17:31, 6 July 2006 (UTC)[reply]


Definitely mid-40s (my husband, 48, has known him since college--Phil's childhood best friend was at my husband's school and Phil was a frequent visitor). But, having seen him in person, I will admit that he can easily pass for at least a decade younger.

Also, he was not born in Dublin;in the documentary "beyond the felt"episode 9 Phil Laak says he's born in California and raised four to twenty in Massachusetts, he's a regular old home-grown (possibly Midwestern or Northeastern) US American. Can't remember whether the tale about his being born in Dublin was started by him or someone else, but I believe he knows about it and just thinks it's too funny to correct. He's also very chuffed about the serious age underestimation and doesn't want that corrected either. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 64.54.66.149 (talk) 22:36, 16 July 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Phil Laak and Ali Eslami vs. U of A computer[edit]

(Limit holdem, 500 hands to cover variance) -- this will certainly bring people to the Wikipedia article, should mos def be mentioned as appropriate: http://www.iht.com/articles/2007/07/26/business/poker.php 68.149.190.31 02:32, 27 July 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Personal Blog[edit]

Phil Laak's Personal Blog

Tagged DOB[edit]

Any reliable source for this since it has been questioned before? TIA --Tom (talk) 15:01, 23 March 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Plenty of sources are out there citing his age, just look up "Phil laak Birth" or Phil Laak Bio on Google. Until somebody can produce something challenging this, other than pure OR, a specific citation is not needed. Produce a reliable source challenging his age, then we can start questioning it. But when reliable sources are citing his DOB as '72, then "I knew him in college" becomes OR.---I'm Spartacus! NO! I'm Spartacus! 17:09, 23 March 2009 (UTC)[reply]
Which of those sources do you consider reliable for his age? TIA --Tom (talk) 17:44, 23 March 2009 (UTC)[reply]
There are a number but if you want one, Cardplayer Magazine's one comes to the top of the list. The point is that there are scores of sources for his age, none of them question it. Now if there were some sources questioning his age, that might be different. Or how about his official bio at the World Series of Poker website? Or his bio at Ultimate Bet where he is one of the pro's? The point is that there are literally 100's of sources pointing to 1972. Until you (generic) can point to some source questioning his age, then claims that he graduated from college in the early 80's and that he is a lot older has to be treated as OR.---I'm Spartacus! NO! I'm Spartacus! 21:39, 23 March 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Raised on the east coast?[edit]

Where is this 'east coast'? Is this east coast USA or East Coast of Ireland? Bjorn I. Clever (talk) 06:49, 28 December 2009 (UTC)[reply]

USA. Fixed. Plvekamp (talk) 02:39, 29 December 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Cheers Pivekamp Bjorn I. Clever (talk) 00:45, 30 December 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Record for longest continuous session[edit]

best review is here. not sure why cardplayer article was selected. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 207.237.244.97 (talk) 04:01, 10 June 2010 (UTC)[reply]

removed "pronounced 'lock'" from the first line[edit]

If you're going to mention pronunciation, use the IPA or something else. It may be pronounced 'lock' in the US, but in other countries saying "lock" may lead to an incorrect pronunciation. For example, in areas of the UK, the way we say 'laak' is how many regions of the US pronounce 'lock'. So to assert that it's pronounced 'lock' is very strange, as that in itself is pronounced differently all over the world. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 176.25.36.108 (talk) 18:25, 7 April 2012 (UTC)[reply]

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