27 replies to this topic

[Royal_Tour]

What are your thoughts on Phil Laak, aka the Unibomber, and his antics at the poker table.. Good or bad for televised poker and/or poker itself as a whole ?

[Fenxis]

The WPT folks seem to love him but I find he makes episodes fairly unwatchable.

[Frills]

He's a jackass

[....Ian....]

good for TV ratings....i think he may be trying to pull off that 'crazy player' style that caro talks about in supersystem

[jrthunter]

His antics can get annoying.......but...... if he gets you to root for him or root against him.....he's getting you to root (care) and that is a good thing for poker.

[beernivore]

He's obviously a great player but, overall, I'm kind of sick of the WWF quality on WPT. At some point the over-the-top stuff is just way too annoying.

[tripOne]

I find him pretty amusing to watch. It's great that nobody can get a read on the guy.

[custom36]

I don't enjoy his antics, but I suppose they're good for ratings.

[aggiebutts]

my least favorite WPT episode is the one with Laak, Humberto, and Juhanda. He annoyed the hell out of me. If I would have been at the table i would not be able to control my temper...Which i guess is the point...and why i would lose.

[justblaze]

do you really think he cares about whats good for poker or ratings or TV or fans? i bet you he cares about whats good for his bank account. and regardless of what hes doing, it clearly is beneficial to his financial situation.

[Billy Butlins]

Good for ratings yes and overall, i think he's great :-) Problem with poker sometimes is everyone gets annoyed at losing hands and most of the time it's silence, fair enough being silent in a hand, i don't argue with that, but after a hand, have a joke, have a laugh, make joining the competition worthwile even if you don't win.Although yes... sometimes Phil Laak can go O.T.T

[BilliardsBoy]

This either makes you smile or pisses you off. Simple as that.

[jayistheman]

nothing beats the T-REX dance... nothing

[BilliardsBoy]

I tried desperately to find a pic of that, but failed.Yes, it would have def been funnier than the above picture, but mine will have to do.

[blakalicious]

phil made me laugh the entire time he was on the WPT episode. I think his poker style is too crazy for me, but damn is that guy funny.

[ErikM]

I mean lets face it... he acts like a goober.However, I like the fact that he is:A.) trying to create a table image unlike any other pro playerB.) draws so much attention to himself... (and away from the game at hand) that it is obviously to his benefitC.) obviously doesn't give a rats-ass what anyone else thinks of his antics because they are helping his bottom lineD.) gets the crowd to cheer for him, which has to have some psycological effect on the ppl he is playing.

[Aburame Shino]

I like watching the Unibomber do weird stuff on TV, but I'm guessing it gets annoying to have to sit across the table from him as he's doing all these weird things.

[ddoggphx]

Aburame Shino said:

I like watching the Unibomber do weird stuff on TV, but I'm guessing it gets annoying to have to sit across the table from him as he's doing all these weird things.

And that's the point. He isn't doing it for the TV audience. He's doing it to get an edge on everyone else at the table.

[Emptyeye]

As I've said somewhere around here, "Like most poker pros, I'd much rather watch him than play him.UNlike most poker pros, this stems more from his personality than any skill he exhibits"Note that I do not doubt that he would play circles around me in a heads-up match, but as several others here have mentioned, sitting at a table with him, I'm more likely to think "What an ***, I wanna punch him out" than I am "Oh no, he's going to take all my chips!"He is fun to watch, though.

[Chez52]

Watching on TV.....hes great......very funnyIf I was sitting across from the table from him I would be annoyed, but you just have to block it out.....Also hes not the most annoying player in poker......you ever see Tony G from WPT Paris Season 1......now theres a guy that needs a good beating......When playing against players like that you just have to block them out and focus on your game.....easier said than done thats for sure