Michael Mizrachi Wins 2006 Player of the Year

"I want to blow people out and take December off."

Michael "The Grinder" Mizrachi made that statement - an answer, really - at the 2006 Festa al Lago tournament. He was responding to the question, "Would you rather have a close finish to the Card Player Player of the Year race or just blow the competition away?" While fans and media yearn for the drama and excitement of a one-out-on-the-river ending, Mizrachi's answer reflected the definition of the word race: any contest or competition to achieve superiority.

Two months later, Mizrachi won the Player of the Year (POY) award. In the process, over an 11-month period as the POY points leader, Mizrachi displayed superiority. He also outdistanced good competition, the essence of any worthwhile race, in the form of two close friends, one tournament newcomer, and the reigning 2006 World Series of Poker Player of the Year.

Let the race begin:

The Fastest 3,000
(January - February)
"There's just something with January and February. My birthday's in January. Plus, I know I'm going to have to gather as much money as I can for expenses throughout the year." - Michael "The Grinder" Mizrachi

Sportswriters call it "hitting midseason form," and in poker, people use the term "running good." For Mizrachi, the phenomenon of playing at peak performance always seems to occur at the same time of the year, and 2006 was no different.

His run at a first Card Player POY award started in January, and, due to Mizrachi's immense success, became a legitimate possibility by Feb. 1. His accumulation of points began on Jan. 23 when he finished second to Scotty Nguyen in the Gold Strike Casino's World Poker Open, the second World Poker Tour event of the calendar year.

Eight days later, Mizrachi made his second consecutive WPT final table. At a Borgata Winter Poker Open championship-event final table of six that featured fellow tournament pros Amnon Filippi, Stuart Paterson, Erick Lindgren, and John D'Agostino, Mizrachi defeated D'Agostino in heads-up play to win his first World Poker Tour title.

The back-to-back final-table appearances, tying a WPT record (Lee Watkinson did it in 2004 in the Mirage Poker Showdown and Legends of Poker tournaments), netted Mizrachi more than $1.7 million, and gave him a commanding lead in the Player of the Year race with 3,144 points.

The Grinder followed up the Borgata win by flying across the country to the L.A. Poker Classic at Commerce Casino. Riding the momentum of his early-year successes, Mizrachi placed second in the LAPC's $2,500 preliminary event, good for an additional 810 Player of the Year points.

It was Feb. 10.

New Threats, New Faces
(March - June)
"Mike better play his A-game, 'cause there's a lot of people coming after him." - Nam Le

Other than three points earned from a third-round elimination in the NBC National Heads-Up Championship, Mizrachi stood pat on the POY leader board during the months of March and April. Meanwhile, on March 3, a new threat emerged - Mizrachi's close friend Nam Le.

A consistent tournament presence for more than two years, Le scored his breakout win by capturing the Bay 101 Shooting Star championship. Along with a $1,198,300 cash prize, and the notoriety that comes with beating a final table that included Chad Brown, Danny Smith, David Williams, and Fabrice Soulier, Le landed dead center in the Player of the Year race by accumulating 1,920 points.

While "April showers bring May flowers," for The Grinder, an April drought led to a series of high finishes in May preliminary events. The combination of a fourth-place finish in a World Series of Poker Tournament Circuit Caesars preliminary event, a sixth-place finish in a Mirage Poker Showdown preliminary, and a win in the Mandalay Bay Poker Championship $2,000 preliminary event provided Mizrachi with an additional 780 points to add to his Player of the Year lead.

As he raked in points at preliminary events, few could fault him for failing to notice that June 7 marked the 21st birthday of a UC Santa Barbara film student by the name of Jeff Madsen.

2006 World Series of Poker
(July)
"I had a little cold streak at the World Series, only three cashes. But it goes like that sometimes. That's part of poker, you have your ups and downs." - The Grinder

Coming off seven money finishes in the previous year's WSOP events, Mizrachi entered the 2006 World Series of Poker with high expectations and media attention. He starred in a three-part video feature on CardPlayer.com, and as the lead spokesman for Absolute Poker, his face appeared throughout the halls of the Rio on advertisements and promotional materials.

Of Mizrachi's three WSOP cashes, his highest came in a $1,500 pot-limit hold'em event, a 54th-place finish. He received no Player of the Year points.

While Mizrachi floundered, Madsen orchestrated a now legendary WSOP campaign that included four final tables, two bracelets, and the World Series of Poker Player of the Year award. The performance garnered him $1.4 million in cash prizes and 3,680 Card Player POY points.

Two other players used the WSOP to gain on The Grinder. Le, fresh off a win in the Scotty Nguyen Poker Challenge II championship event, claimed 800 points for his runner-up finish in a $5,000 no-limit hold'em prelim (event No. 6), and J.C. Tran, a player not near the top five on the POY leader board, enjoyed a second-place finish and an 800-point upswing in another no-limit hold'em preliminary event.

The Slump Buster
(August)
"Most of my success comes from continuing to learn about the game, and just trying to get better and better every day." - The Grinder

Needing to make a statement after a disappointing WSOP, Mizrachi hit the next-biggest tournament in town, the Bellagio Cup II. On Aug. 2, while the poker circus known as the WSOP main event played out down the road, The Grinder outlasted a 462-player field to win a $1,000 no-limit hold'em preliminary event. It was his first major win in more than six months.

"That was a key win for me," Mizrachi said about the Bellagio Cup II preliminary event, which yielded 960 POY points. "Everything at this point matters."

Coinciding with the resurrection of Mizrachi was the emergence of yet another young, soon-to-be-famous pro, Shannon Shorr. The 21-year-old Alabama native drew attention with his fourth-place finish in the Aussie Millions championship event in January, but it was his play at the Bellagio Cup II that solidified his position as a bona fide up-and-coming pro.

Shorr reached two final tables at the Bellagio Cup II, winning both. The first, a victory in a $1,000 preliminary event, netted him $126,585 and 960 POY points, while the second, a win in the championship event, brought the young pro his biggest payday, $960,690, and a spot in the Player of the Year top five.

Who Invited J.C. Tran?
(September - November)
"Winning Card Player's Player of the Year award would be great, because I would have beaten a bunch of great players, plus Michael and Nam, two of my best friends. So, I'd be able to do all the trash-talking." - J.C. Tran

In October, at Bellagio's Festa al Lago, Mizrachi continued his return to form with a deep run in the championship event. A 13th-place finish added 96 more points to his Player of the Year lead, but for the second straight Bellagio tournament, he saw his play overshadowed by the accomplishments of an opponent.

Going into the final months of the Player of the Year race, J.C. Tran, who placed fifth in the L.A. Poker Classic championship event in January, appeared to be experiencing the same type of success that his friend The Grinder had enjoyed early in the year. In other words, Tran was "running good."

Days after winning the largest poker tournament in online history, the PokerStars.com World Championship of Online Poker main event, Tran entered the year's next major live tournament, the Festa al Lago, and proceeded to reach final tables in three preliminary events. A fifth-place finish and a pair of third-place finishes boosted Tran's October income to more than $750,000.

At November's World Poker Finals at Foxwoods Resort Casino, a "good run" exploded into a "million-dollar marathon," as Tran took first place and the $312,388 cash prize in the tournament's $3,000 no-limit hold'em preliminary event.

In the POY race, Tran, with more than $1 million won and 2,160 points accumulated in October and November alone, now caught the attention of fans, the media, and Mizrachi as a player peaking at the right time.

Five-Diamond World Poker Classic and the Doyle Brunson North American Poker Classic Championship
(December)
"I've held the lead since the beginning of February. It would be devastating for me to lose the Player of the Year award in the last few days." - The Grinder

The completion of the World Poker Finals meant that one major tournament remained in 2006 to ultimately determine the Player of the Year winner - the Five-Diamond World Poker Classic/Doyle Brunson North American Poker Classic Championship.

The POY standings going into that tournament were as follows:
1. Michael Mizrachi (5,989)
2. Shannon Shorr (4,476)
3. Nam Le (4,465)
4. J.C. Tran (4,258)
5. John Hoang (4,177)

Four days into the tournament, a shift occurred in the POY standings. Le placed third in a $2,500 preliminary event, and the 528-point swing moved the Huntington Beach native into second place on the Player of the Year leader board with 4,993 points.

With Le narrowing the gap between first and second place, a commitment to a charity event in Nebraska limited Mizrachi's opportunities to accumulate points in the preliminary tournaments.

"I want fields of 115 or 120 people," Mizrachi said, smiling, prior to leaving for the Midwest. "That way, one of the other guys would have to make two final tables, and still have to win one of them."

On Dec. 8, in a field of 379 players, one of Mizrachi's closest competitors not only reached a final table, but he won the event. In arguably the most star-studded final table of the FDWPC, J.C. Tran outlasted David "The Dragon" Pham, Men "The Master" Nguyen, Justin Bonomo, and Barry Greenstein to take down the $2,000 no-limit hold'em preliminary event. A 912-point victory helped Tran (5,170) leapfrog both Shorr and Le.

The Player of the Year race had a new No. 2 man - for the moment.

The next day, Le reached his second final table of the Five-Diamond World Poker Classic in a $2,500 preliminary event. While Le's eighth-place finish and the 222 points put him back into second place, Player of the Year buzz also surrounded the event's third-place finisher, Jeff Madsen. With only six months of prior eligibility, Madsen, spurred on by his most recent 888 points earned, moved into the POY race's top five, ahead of Shorr and into the No. 4 spot.

After winning $1.5 million and being named the WSOP Player of the Year, the notion of winning the Card Player POY award as an afterthought might have entered some minds, but the 21-year-old pro disagreed.

"People already know I had a great summer," Madsen stated. "This [the Card Player Player of the Year award] would mean that I had the best year out of anyone in poker."

In the second-to-last event before the Doyle Brunson North American Poker Classic Championship, the POY race saw movement once again. Shorr raked in 450 points for a fourth-place finish in the $5,000 no-limit hold'em preliminary, moving back into the No. 4 spot on the leader board.

"It's like the end of the baseball season, and being in the pennant race," Shorr said during the $5,000 event. "I'm really enjoying it."

At the start of the Doyle Brunson North American Poker Classic Championship main event, the goal for Mizrachi remained clear: outlast the competition. In spite of his time missed, Mizrachi maintained a 774-point lead over second place, meaning Le, and the rest of the players still in contention, needed a high finish to unseat the POY leader.

"I can't control the outcome, but I control my destiny," Mizrachi said prior to the tournament. By the end of the tournament's two day-one flights, both Mizrachi's destiny and the outcome of the POY race appeared to be in line.

The Grinder finished day one with $127,000 in chips. Of the remaining players in the POY top five, only Tran survived to the tournament's next day. Le and Shorr both exited play late on the first day one, while Madsen dropped out during the final level of the second day one. The eliminations ended Shorr's and Madsen's Player of the Year campaigns.

For Tran, his pursuit of the POY award came to a close on the final hand of day two's first level. With only $18,000 entering the day's play, Tran survived on a short stack for more than 80 minutes before John Phan flopped a set of eights, cracking Tran's pocket kings.

While Tran conceded the POY race to Mizrachi, Le boarded a plane to participate in the WSOP Tournament Circuit main event at Harrah's Atlantic City, his last opportunity to catch The Grinder.

Back at the Doyle Brunson North American Poker Classic Championship, Mizrachi's success continued, as he dominated day-two action and finished with more than $340,000 in chips.

"I'm running hot," Mizrachi said during a break in play. "I'm minimizing my bluffs and taking advantage of the cold deck for the other players."

The eliminations of the top four POY competitors left John Hoang as the DBNAPCC's sole participant still mathematically capable of passing Mizrachi, but the California native, who racked up an impressive 14 final tables in 2006, needed to win the event to do so.

On Dec. 18, with word of Le's elimination from the Harrah's Atlantic City event circulating through Bellagio's Fontana Bar, John Hoang busted out in 32nd place. Three eliminations later, Mizrachi walked out of the tournament area after being on the losing end of an A-Q versus A-K all-in hand. He received no points for his 29th-place finish.

That didn't matter; the 2006 Card Player Player of the Year award belonged to The Grinder.

In poker's "competition to achieve superiority," Mizrachi finished 2006 with 11 final-table appearances, more than $2.3 million in winnings, and 5,989 POY points.

"It's one of the greatest achievements I'll ever have in poker," Mizrachi stated. "It's what I've always wanted - to win the Card Player Player of the Year award."

A Conversation With Card Player 2006 Player of the Year Michael 'The Grinder' Mizrachi

Alex Henriquez: Congratulations on winning the Player of the Year award. When [Tournament Director] Jack McClelland made the announcement, you were still participating in the Doyle Brunson North American Poker Classic Championship. Now that the event is over and you've had time to take a step back and reflect on the race and your win, how are you feeling?

Michael "The Grinder" Mizrachi: Player of the Year is one of poker's most prestigious awards. It's based on consistency throughout the year, and beating both good and bad players. I've just learned so much, which will help me in years to come. The whole race forced me to play many, many hours of poker every day. I always wanted to become great, and now this title fell in my hands. It's one of the greatest achievements I'll ever have in poker.

AH: How much pressure were you putting on yourself going into the final event [DBNAPCC]?

MM: I just tried to stay focused. A lot of times, I think negatively, like everyone's running hot and I'm running ice-cold, or I can't play in as many tournaments as everyone else. Taking a few months off gave the competition a chance to get right back in it. But, that's the nature of a race; it becomes a sweat, and there's nothing better than a sweat.

AH: After the World Series of Poker, you went right down to Bellagio and won the $1,000 preliminary event at the Bellagio Cup II. How much of that was in response to the competition catching up to you in the Player of the Year race?

MM: The Bellagio Cup was a key win; without it, I might not have won the Player of the Year award. In my opinion, every point matters, every point counts. You never know which win will be the difference-maker.

AH: There seemed to be a lot of mutual respect among the players at the top of the standings, and in particular, between you, J.C. Tran, and Nam Le. What was it like to have two players whom you not only respect, but who are also your good friends, finish second and third behind you?

MM: It's a great feeling. If I can win, then one of my friends can win. I'm not selfish at all. They are two great guys, and two great players. Maybe if the year were a little longer, one of them might have won it. I give both of those guys a great shot at winning next year.

AH: At what point during 2006 did you really start to believe that you had a chance to win the Player of the Year award?

MM: The beginning of February. I thought I pretty much had it locked up at that point. I always have great starts to the year. I had an amazing jump-start with the second-place finish [Gold Strike World Poker Open], the first-place finish [Borgata Winter Poker Open], and then the second-place finish in L.A. [L.A. Poker Classic $2,500 preliminary event]. It gave me a big boost and made me confident that I could play great poker throughout the year.

AH: Did you ever change your play in order to protect your Player of the Year lead? For example, did you adopt a more conservative style in the later months?

MM: No. I adjust my play according to who sits at my table. I continually make adjustments and change gears all the time. I never know how I'm going to play when I sit down; it all depends on the type of table image I get. I couldn't spend time worrying about whether or not people were going to catch me. I knew that if I played my game, I'd be all right.

AH: You said on numerous occasions during the Player of the Year race that you couldn't control the outcome, but you could control your destiny. What did you mean by that?

MM: If someone's running really, really hot, he's going to finish first no matter what; I can't stop him - but because I was on top [of the leader board], I controlled my own destiny. As long as I kept winning, no one would be able to pass me.

AH: Are you going to treat 2007 like a title defense, or will this be just another year on the job for you?

MM: The key is to get a good jump-start, and I'm going to try. You have to win at least one major event. That's deep-stack poker, and that's where I accumulate most of my points. As for short-stack tournaments, well, I'll just try to grind it and pick up points here and there. Then, before you know it (laughing), maybe I'll repeat in 2007.

Not Such a Grind Anymore
The relationship between Michael "The Grinder" Mizrachi and Absolute Poker transcends a traditional endorser/endorsee affiliation.

While The Grinder's year-long endorsement deal puts a six-figure salary in his pocket, his association with the popular online poker site puts so much more into the Absolute Poker online community.

The Grinder plays more than 20 hours a week online at Absolute Poker, playing in $75-$150 no-limit ring games, special Pro Bounty tournaments, and Absolute Poker's signature $100,000-guaranteed weekly tournament. He's often seen offering advice online to players through Absolute Poker's chat feature, giving online players instant access to the 2006 Player of the Year.

At live events including the World Series of Poker and WPT events, The Grinder is seen representing Absolute Poker at the tables, sporting Absolute Poker gear while grinding through tournaments and cash games.

Together with Absolute Poker, The Grinder is currently bridging the gap between online poker and live tournament play with the Absolute Dream Package. The package includes entries into 10 major live tournaments, an entry into a $25,000 UPC cash game, and a week in Vegas with The Grinder where the winner will learn what it takes to be an absolute champion. Promos for the Absolute Dream Package featuring The Grinder are currently running on ESPN.

Michael "The Grinder" Mizrachi is great friends with Mark Seif, another Absolute Poker pro. Because of the site's commitment to both its pros and its online players, The Grinder truly enjoys being a part of Team AP. The wild nights out in Vegas that Absolute Poker springs for doesn't hurt either.