Binger claims first place and a gold ring
From physics to poker
Read about Binger's win at the Aussie Millions . A member of UltimateBet's Star Players team, Binger, physicist turned poker professional, is one to watch.
On January 26th Michael Binger won first place in Event number 12 of the 2009 Aussie Millions. His win allowed him to take home $123,840 and a gold ring. To claim first place, first he had to beat off forty-two well known players in the $3,250 Pot Limit Omaha Re-buy tournament.
Binger is sponsored by UltimateBet and a member of the website’s Star Players Team. UltimateBet is clearly pleased by their high profile win; Annie Duke UltimateBet’s Cardroom Consultant said that they “couldn’t be more excited for Michael Binger on his impressive win”. Through their Star Players team they aim to choose “players who were not only incredible at online poker, but also amazing on the world poker stage.” She went on to say that, “Michael Binger’s win at the Aussie Millions clearly demonstrates that he is the ultimate Star Player.” The Star Players Team was created by UltimateBet in May 2008. It is intended for online poker’s most respected players, those in possession of acknowledged high skill levels and integrity in both the online poker world and live poker tournaments.
Michael Binger is a 32 years old online poker player and also has a PhD in physics. He started playing poker after a run of bad luck trying to get rich by card counting in blackjack. He got banned from six casinos in one day and realised he needed to switch. He soon realised that poker was a largely beatable game through an understanding of the game’s mathematics. Within a few months of this realisation he was beating the medium stake games at cardrooms near the San Francisco airport.
Clearly, Binger’s strategy is working as he has not only been a successful online player. In 2006 he finished third in the Main Event of the World Series of Poker taking home a massive $4 million in winnings. In April of 2008, he came first in the 2008 Five-Star World Classic at the Bellagio Hotel Casino winning $317,280 in cash. He also finished in first place at the 2008 LA Poker Classic winning $125,730 and came second in last year’s Aussie Millions taking home a nice $77,493. Finally he also came third in the 2007 World Series of Poker winning him almost $300,000.
