U.K. poker player Andrew Feldman is the newest Full Tilt Poker red pro according to a press release from Check-Raise Management. He’s an esteemed cash game player and is the biggest winner on the current installment of “The Poker Den.”
Feldman was the winner of the 888 U.K. Open IV in October of 2007 and bested Gideon Barnett heads-up. Two months later, he finished fourth in a €2,000 buy-in No Limit Hold’em tournament during the European Poker Tour’s (EPT) Prague stop for €28,000. He finished 58th in the 2008 Aussie Millions for AUD $25,000. Feldman commented on his signing as a red pro: “I’m totally thrilled to sign with Full Tilt Poker as a red pro. In many ways, it’s a dream come true. The site has the best software and strongest team of players, so I hope I can do them and myself proud.”
Feldman is listed on the online poker room’s website as a “Full Tilt Pro.” Others include World Poker Tour (WPT) Bay 101 Shooting Star Champ Steve Brecher, reigning WPT World Champion David Chiu, John D’Agostino, online poker pro Peter “Nordberg” Feldman, and 2008 World Series of Poker (WSOP) November Nine member Scott Montgomery. He’s also surrounded himself with some of the world’s best athletes off the poker felts, having competed under the British flag in badminton at the Macabbiah games in Israel. He can also be found rooting for the Watford FC on a daily basis.
His agent at Check-Raise Management, Nick Ferro, commented in a press release, “Andrew is a phenomenal natural talent and it’s not surprising that he has signed with the best in the business. He’s still only young, so expect much more from him as he develops over the coming years. The prospects are, quite frankly, frightening.” Feldman stormed onto the live poker scene by grabbing third in a £750 buy-in No Limit Hold’em tournament held during the Grosvenor U.K. Poker Tour stop in London in 2007. He cashed for £8,610 in the event, which was ultimately won by David Lloyd.
Full Tilt Poker’s primary selling point is that Average Joes can play with the game’s best. The site’s Team Full Tilt includes Phil Ivey, Howard Lederer, Chris Ferguson, John Juanda, Jennifer Harman, Phil Gordon, Erick Lindgren, Erik Seidel, Andy Bloch, Mike Matusow, Gus Hansen, Allen Cunningham, and Patrik Antonius. Other groups associated with Full Tilt include the pros from poker training site CardRunners as well as the Hendon Mob.
Starting on May 6th, each event held as part of the Full Tilt Online Poker Series (FTOPS) will be hosted by a Full Tilt pro. The Main Event takes place on May 17th at 6:00pm ET and is a $535 buy-in $2.5 million guaranteed tournament. In a similar fashion to the ongoing PokerStars Spring Championship of Online Poker (SCOOP), each FTOPS event will have a MiniFTOPS counterpart, guaranteeing a total of $18 million. Everyone who makes the final table of an FTOPS XII tournament will grab a limited edition jacket. Winners of FTOPS tournaments will also claim a gold jersey and a special avatar to display when they are battling it out online.
A special FTOPS Tournament of Champions takes place on May 20th. Winners from tournaments during FTOPS IX, X, XI, and XII will compete in a freeroll with a 2009 WSOP prize package on the line. The tournament series in Las Vegas begins on May 27th with a $500 buy-in Casino Employees No Limit Hold’em event. The $40,000 buy-in No Limit Hold’em tournament commemorating the 40th running of the WSOP begins the next day.
Feldman is a native of London. According to Full Tilt Poker, the youngster prefers ring games to tournaments “because skill will always prevail and by the end of the month, the best players will always show a profit.”
