Tony G
Encyclopedia
Antanas Guoga more commonly known as Tony G, is a businessman and professional poker
player. As a child, he was the Rubik's Cube
champion of Lithuania before moving to Melbourne
, Australia
at the age of 11. He has played poker since the age of 18, and is known for his outlandish table talk and frequent intimidation of his opponents. He had a fifth place finish in the World Poker Tour
Grand Prix de Paris 2003. In June 2003, he won back-to-back tournaments
in Russia
, winning nearly $2,000. He finished in the money twice at the 2004 World Series of Poker
in Seven-card stud
and Pot Limit
Texas hold 'em
tournaments and three months later earned his then biggest tournament money finish in the WPT Grand Prix de Paris 2004 where his second place finish to England
's Surinder Sunar
earned him $414,478. He finished on the bubble later in the same month at the WPT 2004 Mirage Poker Showdown. On August 7, 2005 he won the $5,000 No Limit Hold-Em Main Event of the European Poker Championships, earning £260,000 ($456,822.) Later in 2005 he made the final table of the World Speed Poker Open
.
In 2006 he won the WPT Bad Boys of Poker II event when his outdrew Mike Matusow
's on a board of . He wore a kimono
throughout the event to promote poker in Japan
. Also in 2006 he finished second to Yosh Nakano while representing Australia in the inaugural Intercontinental Poker Championship
, taking down $150,000. True to his reputation, Tony G launched many verbal assaults against his opponents, most notably when he eliminated Russian
Ralph Perry
in fourth place. Tony G started to provoke Perry when he was deciding how to play his hand before the flop. When Perry called Tony G's all-in with a worse hand, Tony G proceeded to ridicule and lecture him. Tony's comments were so scathing that it prompted commentator Gabe Kaplan
to quip "I think Tony G is speaking more like a Lithuanian than an Australian" and "Tony G could singlehandedly reignite the Cold War
". Guoga, however, was more respectful of some players, such as Doyle Brunson
when he called Doyle his idol after eliminating him.
In November 2006, he won the Asian Poker Tour
event held in Singapore
, walking away with $451,700 half of which he indicated he will give to Asia
n and Australian charities to be nominated by Betfair. In February 2007, he appeared on the NBC television program Poker After Dark
, coming in third place behind winner Phil Ivey
. In November of the same year, he won a tournament in Moscow, earning $205,000. In his blog, he says that he left all of his prize money with the officials to give to Russian orphanage
s, having been inspired to do so by Barry Greenstein's
habit of donating all his poker tournament winnings to charity. In January 2008, Tony received the Shining World Leadership Award in Melbourne Australia. As of 2011, his total live tournament winnings exceed $4,000,000. His 14 cashes at the WSOP account for $429,897 of those winnings. Guoga is also the principal owner of a network of high traffic poker information sites, including Pokernews.com, Pokeraffiliateworld.com and Pokerworks.com.
Guoga is known for his tricky and aggressive playing style. This is evidenced in the famous clip of the 2004 Monte Carlo Millions where he played top pair of sevens like a set. He played the hand so convincingly that he was said to have even convinced himself that he had a set.
In 2009 he began selling shares of himself on ChipMeUp, a poker staking section of PokerNews.
In 23 February 2010 in Vilnius
Tony G established Lithuania Poker Federation.
Tony G is currently a major sponsor of the Lithuanian Basketball Federation
. When the country's national team
failed to directly qualify for the 2010 FIBA World Championship
in Turkey
and had to apply for a wild-card entry, he paid a large share of the required application fee of €500,000. The team was chosen for the tournament, and won the bronze medal with TONYBET on their jerseys.
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. As a child, he was the Rubik's Cube
Rubik's Cube
Rubik's Cube is a 3-D mechanical puzzle invented in 1974 by Hungarian sculptor and professor of architecture Ernő Rubik.Originally called the "Magic Cube", the puzzle was licensed by Rubik to be sold by Ideal Toy Corp. in 1980 and won the German Game of the Year special award for Best Puzzle that...
champion of Lithuania before moving to Melbourne
Melbourne
Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...
, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
at the age of 11. He has played poker since the age of 18, and is known for his outlandish table talk and frequent intimidation of his opponents. He had a fifth place finish in 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...
Grand Prix de Paris 2003. In June 2003, he won back-to-back tournaments
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...
in Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
, winning nearly $2,000. He finished in the money twice at the 2004 World Series of Poker
2004 World Series of Poker
The 2004 World Series of Poker was held at Binion's Horseshoe after Harrah's Entertainment purchased the casino and the rights to the tournament in January...
in Seven-card stud
Seven-card stud
Seven-card stud is a variant of stud poker. Until the recent increase in popularity of Texas hold 'em, seven-card stud was the most popular poker variant in home games across the United States, and in casinos in the eastern part of the country. Two to eight players is common, though eight may...
and Pot 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...
tournaments and three months later earned his then biggest tournament money finish in the WPT Grand Prix de Paris 2004 where his second place finish to England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
's Surinder Sunar
Surinder Sunar
Surinder Sunar is a British professional poker player based in Wolverhampton, who gained fame as a three-time finalist in the Late Night Poker television series....
earned him $414,478. He finished on the bubble later in the same month at the WPT 2004 Mirage Poker Showdown. On August 7, 2005 he won the $5,000 No Limit Hold-Em Main Event of the European Poker Championships, earning £260,000 ($456,822.) Later in 2005 he made the final table of the World Speed Poker Open
World Speed Poker Open
The World Speed Poker Open was an international poker tournament held under speed poker rules.-Format:The tournament had a £2,000 entry fee....
.
In 2006 he won the WPT Bad Boys of Poker II event when his outdrew Mike Matusow
Mike Matusow
Michael Matusow is an American professional poker player, residing in Henderson, Nevada. Matusow's nickname of "The Mouth" reflects his reputation for trash-talking at the poker table...
's on a board of . He wore a kimono
Kimono
The is a Japanese traditional garment worn by men, women and children. The word "kimono", which literally means a "thing to wear" , has come to denote these full-length robes...
throughout the event to promote poker in Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
. Also in 2006 he finished second to Yosh Nakano while representing Australia in the inaugural Intercontinental Poker Championship
Intercontinental Poker Championship
The Intercontinental Poker Championship is a poker tournament featuring professional poker players representing various nations. 21 players competed in the inaugural event, which was taped at Palms Hotel and Casino April 14-16, 2006, and aired on CBS for seven weeks beginning June 17, 2006...
, taking down $150,000. True to his reputation, Tony G launched many verbal assaults against his opponents, most notably when he eliminated Russian
Russians
The Russian people are an East Slavic ethnic group native to Russia, speaking the Russian language and primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries....
Ralph Perry
Ralph Perry (poker player)
Rafael "Ralph" Perry is a professional poker player originally from Russia. He has been playing professionally since 1992.In 2006, Perry represented Russia at the inaugural Intercontinental Poker Championship and reached the semi-finals, during which he was the target of some much-publicised...
in fourth place. Tony G started to provoke Perry when he was deciding how to play his hand before the flop. When Perry called Tony G's all-in with a worse hand, Tony G proceeded to ridicule and lecture him. Tony's comments were so scathing that it prompted commentator Gabe Kaplan
Gabe Kaplan
Gabriel W. "Gabe" Kaplan is an American comedian, actor, poker commentator, and professional poker player.He was born in Brooklyn, New York...
to quip "I think Tony G is speaking more like a Lithuanian than an Australian" and "Tony G could singlehandedly reignite the Cold War
Cold War
The Cold War was the continuing state from roughly 1946 to 1991 of political conflict, military tension, proxy wars, and economic competition between the Communist World—primarily the Soviet Union and its satellite states and allies—and the powers of the Western world, primarily the United States...
". Guoga, however, was more respectful of some players, such as Doyle Brunson
Doyle Brunson
Doyle F. Brunson is an American professional poker player who has played professionally for over 50 years. He is the first two-time World Series of Poker main event champion to win consecutively, a Poker Hall of Fame inductee, and the author of several books on poker.Brunson is the first player to...
when he called Doyle his idol after eliminating him.
In November 2006, he won the Asian Poker Tour
Asian Poker Tour
The Asian Poker Tour is a major poker tour focusing on the Asia-Pacific region. It aims to promote poker by conducting poker tournaments and events in major Asia-Pacific cities such as Macau and Philippines...
event held in Singapore
Singapore
Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...
, walking away with $451,700 half of which he indicated he will give to Asia
Asia
Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent, located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres. It covers 8.7% of the Earth's total surface area and with approximately 3.879 billion people, it hosts 60% of the world's current human population...
n and Australian charities to be nominated by Betfair. In February 2007, he appeared on the NBC television program Poker After Dark
Poker After Dark
Poker After Dark was an hour-long poker television program on NBC. The show made its debut on January 1, 2007, and was cancelled as another victim of the "Black Friday" criminal case due to the show's sponsorship by Full Tilt Poker, one of that case's defendants. on September 23, 2011 For its first...
, coming in third place behind winner Phil Ivey
Phil Ivey
Phillip Dennis "Phil" Ivey Jr. is an American professional poker player who has won eight World Series of Poker bracelets, one World Poker Tour title and appeared at nine World Poker Tour final tables...
. In November of the same year, he won a tournament in Moscow, earning $205,000. In his blog, he says that he left all of his prize money with the officials to give to Russian orphanage
Orphanage
An orphanage is a residential institution devoted to the care of orphans – children whose parents are deceased or otherwise unable or unwilling to care for them...
s, having been inspired to do so by Barry Greenstein's
Barry Greenstein
Barry Greenstein is a professional poker player. He has won a number of major events, including three at the World Series of Poker and two on the World Poker Tour. Greenstein donates his profit from tournament winnings to charities, primarily Children, Incorporated, earning him the nickname "the...
habit of donating all his poker tournament winnings to charity. In January 2008, Tony received the Shining World Leadership Award in Melbourne Australia. As of 2011, his total live tournament winnings exceed $4,000,000. His 14 cashes at the WSOP account for $429,897 of those winnings. Guoga is also the principal owner of a network of high traffic poker information sites, including Pokernews.com, Pokeraffiliateworld.com and Pokerworks.com.
Guoga is known for his tricky and aggressive playing style. This is evidenced in the famous clip of the 2004 Monte Carlo Millions where he played top pair of sevens like a set. He played the hand so convincingly that he was said to have even convinced himself that he had a set.
In 2009 he began selling shares of himself on ChipMeUp, a poker staking section of PokerNews.
In 23 February 2010 in Vilnius
Vilnius
Vilnius is the capital of Lithuania, and its largest city, with a population of 560,190 as of 2010. It is the seat of the Vilnius city municipality and of the Vilnius district municipality. It is also the capital of Vilnius County...
Tony G established Lithuania Poker Federation.
Tony G is currently a major sponsor of the Lithuanian Basketball Federation
Lithuanian Basketball Federation
Lithuanian Basketball Federation , also known as LKF, is a national governing body of basketball in Lithuania. It was founded in 1936, but due to Soviet occupation, the federation disappeared from FIBA. It was reinstated in 1991 following the Independence of Lithuania...
. When the country's national team
Lithuania national basketball team
The Lithuanian national basketball team is the representative for Lithuania in international men's basketball. Lithuania won bronze medals in three out of five Olympic tournaments it participated in....
failed to directly qualify for the 2010 FIBA World Championship
2010 FIBA World Championship
The 2010 FIBA World Championship, hosted by Turkey, was the international basketball competition contested by the men's national teams. The tournament ran from August 28 to September 12, 2010. It was co-organized by the International Basketball Federation , Turkish Basketball Federation and the...
in Turkey
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
and had to apply for a wild-card entry, he paid a large share of the required application fee of €500,000. The team was chosen for the tournament, and won the bronze medal with TONYBET on their jerseys.