James Van Alstyne
Encyclopedia
James Gibson Van Alstyne (born 1966 in Columbus, Georgia
) is an American
professional poker
player based in Las Vegas, Nevada
.
Van Alstyne grew up in New Orleans, Louisiana
and graduated from Ben Franklin High School
. After high school, Van Alstyne attended Stanford University
, where he learned to play poker.
Van Alstyne used to be an engineer
before becoming a professional blackjack
player, using card-counting techniques to give himself an edge. He wore a baseball cap
to disguise himself from casino
security, and continues to wear the cap whilst playing poker.
Van Alstyne made three money finishes in Omaha poker tournament
s at the World Series of Poker
(WSOP) between 1994
and 1998
. In 1999
, he made his first money finish in the WSOP $10,000 no limit
Texas hold 'em
main event, finishing in 16th place.
In between 1999 and 2004, Van Alstyne moved away from poker, but lost over a million dollars on the stock market
in the process.
In October 2004, Van Alstyne won the WPPA Championships of Poker
, defeating a field that included Juan Carlos Mortensen
and Kathy Liebert
on the way to the $125,520 first prize. Later the same month, he won the first season grand final of the Ultimate Poker Challenge
. He had previously won a qualifying tournament in which he defeated Todd Brunson
in the final heads-up confrontation.
Van Alstyne finished in the "TV bubble" position (7th) of the World Poker Tour
(WPT) Aruba
Ultimate Poker Classic event in September 2005. He went on to make his first WPT TV final table in the season 4 championship event, finishing in 5th place, winning $439,475.
In that event, James came in as the chip-leader, but lost the lead early—and almost 40% of his chips—on a bluff
against Joe Bartholdi, who was second in chips. The bluff put Bartholdi in prohibitive chip position, and he eventually went on to win the event. A few more hits to Alstyne's stack followed, after which a visibly shaken Alstyne was knocked out in 5th place. In the post-game interview with Courtney Friel
, Alstyne said, "I just feel horrible. This is the worst final table performance in the history of poker. This was just absolutely, unbelievably bad poker."
He made his second WPT TV final table in season 5 at the Bay 101 Shooting Star tournament. He finished in 4th place, winning $250,000.
Van Alstyne won his first bracelet at the 2009 World Series of Poker in the $1,500 HORSE
event. A week earlier, he came close to winning a bracelet when he made the final table of the $3,000 HORSE event, fininshing in second place.
As of 2010, his total live tournament winnings exceed $3,400,000. His 13 cashes at the WSOP account for $726,075 of those winnings.
Van Alstyne is a music
fan, and often wears music T-shirts when playing poker, including those of The Ramones
and The Clash
. He is also a fan of Echo & the Bunnymen
and rates David Lynch
's film
Mulholland Drive
as his favourite film.
Columbus, Georgia
Columbus is a city in and the county seat of Muscogee County, Georgia, United States, with which it is consolidated. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 189,885. It is the principal city of the Columbus, Georgia metropolitan area, which, in 2009, had an estimated population of 292,795...
) is an American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
professional poker
Poker
Poker is a family of card games that share betting rules and usually hand rankings. Poker games differ in how the cards are dealt, how hands may be formed, whether the high or low hand wins the pot in a showdown , limits on bet sizes, and how many rounds of betting are allowed.In most modern poker...
player based in Las Vegas, Nevada
Las Vegas, Nevada
Las Vegas is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and is also the county seat of Clark County, Nevada. Las Vegas is an internationally renowned major resort city for gambling, shopping, and fine dining. The city bills itself as The Entertainment Capital of the World, and is famous...
.
Van Alstyne grew up in New Orleans, Louisiana
Louisiana
Louisiana is a state located in the southern region of the United States of America. Its capital is Baton Rouge and largest city is New Orleans. Louisiana is the only state in the U.S. with political subdivisions termed parishes, which are local governments equivalent to counties...
and graduated from Ben Franklin High School
Benjamin Franklin High School (New Orleans, Louisiana)
Benjamin Franklin High School is a public magnet high school in New Orleans, Louisiana, USA. Commonly nicknamed "Franklin" or "Ben Franklin", this school should not be confused with Franklin High School in Franklin, Louisiana. Ben Franklin was founded in 1957 as a school for gifted children...
. After high school, Van Alstyne attended Stanford University
Stanford University
The Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University or Stanford, is a private research university on an campus located near Palo Alto, California. It is situated in the northwestern Santa Clara Valley on the San Francisco Peninsula, approximately northwest of San...
, where he learned to play poker.
Van Alstyne used to be an engineer
Engineer
An engineer is a professional practitioner of engineering, concerned with applying scientific knowledge, mathematics and ingenuity to develop solutions for technical problems. Engineers design materials, structures, machines and systems while considering the limitations imposed by practicality,...
before becoming a professional blackjack
Blackjack
Blackjack, also known as Twenty-one or Vingt-et-un , is the most widely played casino banking game in the world...
player, using card-counting techniques to give himself an edge. He wore a baseball cap
Baseball cap
A baseball cap is a type of soft cap with a rounded stiff brim. The front of the cap typically contains designs or logos of sports teams ,...
to disguise himself from casino
Casino
In modern English, a casino is a facility which houses and accommodates certain types of gambling activities. Casinos are most commonly built near or combined with hotels, restaurants, retail shopping, cruise ships or other tourist attractions...
security, and continues to wear the cap whilst playing poker.
Van Alstyne made three money finishes in Omaha poker tournament
Poker tournament
A poker tournament is a tournament where players compete by playing poker. It can feature as few as two players playing on a single table , and as many as tens of thousands of players playing on thousands of tables...
s at the World Series of Poker
World Series of Poker
The World Series of Poker is a world-renowned series of poker tournaments held annually in Las Vegas and, since 2005, sponsored by Harrah's Entertainment...
(WSOP) between 1994
1994 World Series of Poker
-Preliminary events:-Main Event:There were 268 entrants to the main event. Each paid $10,000 to enter the tournament. Since this was the 25th Anniversary of the event, the winner received $1,000,000, plus his/her weight in silver, in celebration of the WSOP's silver anniversary.-Final table:-Other...
and 1998
1998 World Series of Poker
-Preliminary events:-Final table:-Other High Finishes:NB: This list is restricted to top 30 finishers with an existing Wikipedia entry.-External Links:*...
. In 1999
1999 World Series of Poker
-Preliminary events:-Final table:-Other High Finishes:NB: This list is restricted to top 30 finishers with an existing Wikipedia entry.-External Links:*...
, he made his first money finish in the WSOP $10,000 no limit
Betting (poker)
In the game of poker, the play largely centers on the act of betting, and as such, a protocol has been developed to speed up play, lessen confusion, and increase security while playing...
Texas hold 'em
Texas hold 'em
Texas Hold 'em is a variation of the standard card game of poker. The game consists of two cards being dealt face down to each player and then five community cards being placed face-up by the dealer—a series of three then two additional single cards , with...
main event, finishing in 16th place.
In between 1999 and 2004, Van Alstyne moved away from poker, but lost over a million dollars on the stock market
Stock market
A stock market or equity market is a public entity for the trading of company stock and derivatives at an agreed price; these are securities listed on a stock exchange as well as those only traded privately.The size of the world stock market was estimated at about $36.6 trillion...
in the process.
In October 2004, Van Alstyne won the WPPA Championships of Poker
Poker Royale
Poker Royale was a television series on the Game Show Network , which featured No Limit Texas hold 'em Poker. The first series began on December 7, 2004. The seventh and final series, Poker Royale: Battle of the Ages, began airing on November 4, 2005...
, defeating a field that included Juan Carlos Mortensen
Carlos Mortensen
Juan Carlos Mortensen is an Ecuadorian professional poker player of Danish descent and the only Hispanic Main Event winner of the World Series of Poker. Mortensen is known for his loose play, bluffing tactics, and interesting chip-stacking style.Mortensen moved from Spain to the United States in...
and Kathy Liebert
Kathy Liebert
Kathleen H. Liebert is an American professional poker player.- Poker :Liebert started her professional poker career as a prop player in Colorado...
on the way to the $125,520 first prize. Later the same month, he won the first season grand final of the Ultimate Poker Challenge
Ultimate Poker Challenge
The Ultimate Poker Challenge was a series of weekly poker tournaments acting as super-satellites into the series semi-finals.The first and second seasons are available on NTSC DVD...
. He had previously won a qualifying tournament in which he defeated Todd Brunson
Todd Brunson
Todd Alan Brunson is an American professional poker player and the son of poker legend Doyle Brunson.Although Brunson's father Doyle is a poker player, Brunson did not learn the game when he was young. It was not until he was studying law at Texas Tech University that he learned on his own how to...
in the final heads-up confrontation.
Van Alstyne finished in the "TV bubble" position (7th) of the World Poker Tour
World Poker Tour
The World Poker Tour is a series of international poker tournaments and associated television series broadcasting the final table of each tournament. It was started in the United States by attorney/television producer Steven Lipscomb, who served as CEO of WPT Enterprises , the firm that...
(WPT) Aruba
Aruba
Aruba is a 33 km-long island of the Lesser Antilles in the southern Caribbean Sea, located 27 km north of the coast of Venezuela and 130 km east of Guajira Peninsula...
Ultimate Poker Classic event in September 2005. He went on to make his first WPT TV final table in the season 4 championship event, finishing in 5th place, winning $439,475.
In that event, James came in as the chip-leader, but lost the lead early—and almost 40% of his chips—on a bluff
Bluff (poker)
In the card game of poker, a bluff is a bet or raise made with a hand which is not thought to be the best hand. To bluff is to make such a bet. The objective of a bluff is to induce a fold by at least one opponent who holds a better hand. The size and frequency of a bluff determines its...
against Joe Bartholdi, who was second in chips. The bluff put Bartholdi in prohibitive chip position, and he eventually went on to win the event. A few more hits to Alstyne's stack followed, after which a visibly shaken Alstyne was knocked out in 5th place. In the post-game interview with Courtney Friel
Courtney Friel
Courtney Friel is an American entertainment reporter for the Fox News Channel. Currently, she contributes to a number of different entertainment related programs for the network's website, FoxNews.com...
, Alstyne said, "I just feel horrible. This is the worst final table performance in the history of poker. This was just absolutely, unbelievably bad poker."
He made his second WPT TV final table in season 5 at the Bay 101 Shooting Star tournament. He finished in 4th place, winning $250,000.
Van Alstyne won his first bracelet at the 2009 World Series of Poker in the $1,500 HORSE
HORSE
H.O.R.S.E. is a form of poker commonly played at the high stakes tables of casinos. It consists of rounds of play cycling among:*Texas Hold 'em,*Omaha eight or better,*Razz,*Seven card Stud, and...
event. A week earlier, he came close to winning a bracelet when he made the final table of the $3,000 HORSE event, fininshing in second place.
As of 2010, his total live tournament winnings exceed $3,400,000. His 13 cashes at the WSOP account for $726,075 of those winnings.
Van Alstyne is a music
Music
Music is an art form whose medium is sound and silence. Its common elements are pitch , rhythm , dynamics, and the sonic qualities of timbre and texture...
fan, and often wears music T-shirts when playing poker, including those of The Ramones
Ramones
The Ramones were an American rock band that formed in the New York City neighborhood of Forest Hills, Queens, in 1974. They are often cited as the first punk rock group...
and The Clash
The Clash
The Clash were an English punk rock band that formed in 1976 as part of the original wave of British punk. Along with punk, their music incorporated elements of reggae, ska, dub, funk, rap, dance, and rockabilly...
. He is also a fan of Echo & the Bunnymen
Echo & the Bunnymen
Echo & the Bunnymen are an English post-punk band, formed in Liverpool in 1978. The original line-up consisted of vocalist Ian McCulloch, guitarist Will Sergeant and bass player Les Pattinson, supplemented by a drum machine. By 1980, Pete de Freitas had joined as the band's drummer, and their debut...
and rates David Lynch
David Lynch
David Keith Lynch is an American filmmaker, television director, visual artist, musician and occasional actor. Known for his surrealist films, he has developed his own unique cinematic style, which has been dubbed "Lynchian", and which is characterized by its dream imagery and meticulous sound...
's film
Film
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
Mulholland Drive
Mulholland Drive (film)
Mulholland Drive is a 2001 American neo-noir psychological thriller written and directed by David Lynch, starring Justin Theroux, Naomi Watts, and Laura Harring. The surrealist film was highly acclaimed by many critics and earned Lynch the Prix de la mise en scène at the 2001 Cannes Film Festival...
as his favourite film.
World Series of Poker Bracelets
| Year | Tournament | Prize (US$) |
|---|---|---|
| 2009 2009 World Series of Poker The 2009 World Series of Poker was the 40th annual World Series of Poker . It was held at the Rio All Suite Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada, and ran from May 27 to July 15. There were 57 bracelet events, culminating in the $10,000 No-Limit Hold'em Main Event... |
$1,500 H.O.R.S.E. | $247,033 |