May / June 2006:

Poker Pro: Mike mizrachi
He's the brother of two poker pros and a magician. But he just grinds out his victories.

by Bradford R. Pilcher



His first year on the poker circuit was a very good year on the poker circuit. In March of 2004, a $500 buy-in at the New England Poker Classic earned Michael "The Grinder" Mizrachi a $6,488 sixth place. He followed that up with a $12,620 eleventh-place finish at the World Series of Poker $1,500 no-limit event. He earned another $70,000 over the course of the following summer, leading up to his victory at the Five Diamond World Poker Classic in December, which netted him $273,040. And that was just 2004.

Mini-Profiles:

Learn more about these Jewish poker pros. They're just a few of the many. Annie Duke Howard Lederer David Sklansky Mel Judah Barry Greenstein Josh Arieh Mike "The Mouth" Matusow Mike "The Grinder" Mizrachi Jack "Treetop" Straus

In January of '05, Mizrachi finished fifth at the World Poker Open and earned another $288,241. In February, his win at the L.A. Poker Classic equalled a $1,859,909 payday.

That's not bad for a 24-year-old, but in his own words, "Being a 24-year-old millionaire is one of the best feelings in the world and makes me happy, but nothing makes me happier than my 5-month-old son, Paul William."

To say the least, Mizrachi is making his Jewish mother a very happy woman. Coming from a close-knit family (his father is Israeli and Mizrachi is fluent in Hebrew), one his first purchases with his poker winnings was a large tour bus. He wanted his family to be able to travel with him on the road, and they did, right up until he sold the bus; it was depreciating in value.


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