Best all around celebrity player?

[JackTen]

With my coverage of the 2009 OC Hillel Charity Celebrity Poker Tournament just published, I thought I'd ask who do you think is the best celebrity player today?

I'd say Jennifer Tilly, so my bet is on her. She's won a few events and from what I hear is a pretty good cash game player. She's really taken the game seriously which is what makes her so good. I don't see many celebs on her level playing. Don Cheadle? He's an avid player, but can't seem to really get a good string of events together to make a name for himself in the poker world. Jerry Buss? He plays constantly with the top pros because of his access to celebs, but from what I hear on the inside, he's a poker lover without any real idea on how to truly play the game. He's considered "bait" by many pros.

Any other celebrities you think can hold their own?

 

[cardsharkrob]

I would agree with Jennifer Tilly also. Very solid player, and very patient too. She doesnt just play any two cards like her boyfriend Phil Laak.
Yeah her winning the womens wsop bracelt was big suprise, especially to all the lady players who were with her at the table who probably didn't give her much of a chance.

 

[switch0723]

Shane Warne

Also Shannon Elizabeth > Jen Tilly

 

[Ice Wolf]

Yeah Jennifer Tilly and Shannon Elizabeth would be in a close running for the best women and prolly best all around. I think you might have to include Ray Ramono in the conversation for the men after almost making it to the money in last years main event. Granted he didnt seem like he knew to much but making it that far in the main event is no cake walk either.

 

[spranger]

havent you seen celebrity poker?
dennis rodman ftw!

 

[JackTen]

Dennis Rodman? Really? That's a joke, right?

 

[OzExorcist]

Shane Warne

LOL - for real?

I can only go based on the very little I've seen of some of these people on TV. On that basis, Sully Erna and Jason Alexander both seem like they're OK at live donkaments. Much though I hate to say it (because I hate everything he's ever been in) Ray Romano doesn't seem too bad at them either.

 

[PattyR]

Did anybody see chuck liddell on the WSOP last year? lol he played very well, NOT haha.

In case for those who missed it, the guy before him raised with AK ..raised it enough to take out the limpers. chuck called the raise only having 6 2 LOL flop came like A 6 2 ... other dude bet, chuck raised, and he kept calling even after the river and liddell ended up winning, ha it was hilarious, should have the hand 6 2 named after him

 

[N.D.]

Jennifer Tilly's imho underrated. Get past the boobs and you can see that she has really progressed and seems to be improving all the time. I'm not a big fan of how she presents herself, between the sexy outfits and "I can't win, they're all geniuses" attitude, I can't like her as much as say Jennifer Harman but still, she's better than some people give her credit for being.

Without any stats to go on, and being too lazy to search the Hendon Mob database, I'm voting for Hank Azaria as a kind of dark horse celebrity pick. Watched him raise with KK then correctly size up the situation when his opponent held AA and went all-in. Hank folded KK to AA pre-flop after getting a handle on the situation and knowing he'd be the underdog. IMHO that's a pro level decision.

 

[GeoffLacey]

Tilly? WTF?! Are you all insane? Did you not see this?

YouTube - Jennifer Tilly checks full house - donkfest

 

[diamond_06_06]

That video is funny. Can you imagine what went through everyones head when she flipped the cards. The look on Harmans and Iveys faces are priceless.

 

[The PoolBoy]

1. Toby McGuire ( Spiderman )
2. Oral Herscheiser
3. Brad Garrett
4. Gabe Kaplan
Would be my picks

 

[N.D.]

Yeah I saw it and laughed my butt off. That was a week of PAD that happened to be full of laughs. But understand that she's still improving. If you watched the whole thing you'd have seen her folding hands out of position that the Jennifer Tilly of old would have played. You would have also heard her tell a story about the very first tournament she played in where Jennifer Harman was an adviser. If I remember correctly she wound up in a hand with 22 because "OOH THEY MATCH!" and her opponent was in with 33 because "OOH THEY MATCH!" and needless to say the hand played out 3's over 2's.

I give credit where credit's due. She has a wsop bracelet, while I have precisely 0 bracelets. Also she won the WPT ladies invitational. I've won exactly 0 WPT events. Then there's the fact that she's been in the money 4 times and has over $400k total winnings. She deserves some credit.

Furthermore, on that week of PAD she made it really clear that she felt outclassed and beat before she even sat down. The last week I saw her on PAD she finished in 2nd place. I actually think I'll cheer for her if she ever takes down a PAD.

I'll say this much for her. At least she doesn't have delusions of grandeur about her poker game. At least she's not one of those poor, pitiful, fools who call themselves pros when realistically they'd make more money as five dollah hos, and more money still collecting empty bottles and cans from the side of the road. Like her or not, while she can be annoying I for one like the way she somehow manages to stay real.

 

[Infamous1020]

matt damon- he won HU4LIVES against KGB.

 

[jokish123]

honestly i think umbrella man ftw

 

[The Muppetteer]

From what I have seen on stuff like the Hollywood Home Game there are 2 players who stand out. Jason Alexander and Fred Savage. Both these guys play a good solid game. As for Jennifer Tilly I think its more that she dates Phil Laak than she is a good player. I think Mimi rogers is a better player than Tilly from what I have seen.

The Muppetteer

 

[ukaliks]

For any1 who english i saw Timmy Mallet play poker once, n he did pretty well! He's once crazy f*ck tho lol.

I'd say Shane Ward/Shannon Elizabeth are pretty decent.

 

[jdeliverer]

Jerry Buss? He has losses in the tens of millions over his poker career with the pros.

 

[TrapStar]

I would agree with Jennifer Tilly also. Very solid player, and very patient too. She doesnt just play any two cards like her boyfriend Phil Laak.
Yeah her winning the womens WSOP bracelt was big suprise, especially to all the lady players who were with her at the table who probably didn't give her much of a chance.

I completely disagree. Jennifer Tilly is not a very good player and I'm sick of her getting invited to TV events (such as PAD and NBC HU) just because she is famous. She is a great player if you are comparing her to an average home game player. I know she did win a ladies WPT event, but there wasn't that many people in it and she was consistantly getting lucky. Maybe I am just going by one specific time that I saw her play really bad, but I don't think she's all that.

Phil Laak, on ther other hand, doesn't play any two cards. He mixes it up sometimes, but overall is a much tighter player than what it seems.

To sum it up. Jennifer Tilly-not that good. Phil Laak-very good player.

 

[N.D.]

I completely disagree. Jennifer Tilly is not a very good player and I'm sick of her getting invited to TV events (such as PAD and NBC HU) just because she is famous. She is a great player if you are comparing her to an average home game player.

My only problem with people beating up on her is that she's not a pro. She's a celeb. I'm so not her biggest fan, but I get that her face on the television will make her fans and even somebody who just remembers her from one movie stop and watch for a bit. If they stop and watch for a bit they might start to like poker. It seems like good promo to me.

It's just that there are so many valid reasons to hate on her. How about the annoying way her and Phil keep calling each other baby in that drawn out way? Or what about that she's 50 and looks better than some of the alleged 25 year olds running around? How about when she calls everyone who happens to be pro "uh geeeeniuhsssss"? That's how it sounds anyway. Or the girls who are under constant threat of being exposed due to a wardrobe malfunction? Oops forgot, I'm surrounded by dudes who will most likely figure that to be a good reason to love her.

Anyway, hate on her all you must(I got a new whipping girl for my rants, so now Jennifer Tilly's practically a sweetheart), just not for poker. She's a work in progress and nobody's pretending like she's a pro.

 

[JackTen]

Ha. A lot of Tilly haters. I'm just going based on cashes and wins. I think she takes the game very seriously and proves it. She's not the craftiest player I've seen at the tables, but for a person who does entertainment for a living, I can't really think of another. Oh, and Kaplan doesn't count as a celebrity. He's been a poker pro most of his life.

 

[left52side]

Did anybody see chuck liddell on the WSOP last year? lol he played very well, NOT haha.

LOL i'm glad you mebtioned that because I couldnt think of the ufc's guys name.
And yes that 6/2 was crazy,it was against mark seif,and chuck lidell even asked seif if he could beat 2 pair ,lol.
that was a crazy thing to watch.
would love to play at the table with that guy but not in the ring lol.

 

[goborage]

The only answer is Gabe Kaplan. He would destroy Tilly.

 

[CasperJames]

LOL i'm glad you mebtioned that because I couldnt think of the ufc's guys name.
And yes that 6/2 was crazy,it was against mark seif,and chuck lidell even asked seif if he could beat 2 pair ,lol.
that was a crazy thing to watch.
would love to play at the table with that guy but not in the ring lol.

Every hand Chuck played was hillarious. He was a deer in headlights. I've never seen someone so completely lost at a poker table.

 

[ElTrain]

The only answer is Gabe Kaplan. He would destroy Tilly.

This. Far better player.

And I had never seen that video before. Very very funny.