Extraordinary match features six of the game’s top mathematical mindsets

Poker After Dark: “Brilliant Minds” Debuts on the ninth of this month.

This week on NBC’s Poker After Dark viewers will witness six successful professional players highly regarded in the world of poker for their analytical thinking and mathematical prowess in a match which is being called “Brilliant Minds.” The match brings together two familiar faces in Chris Ferguson and Andy Bloch, and four newcomers in Brandon Adams, Bill Chen, Jimmy Warren, and David Sklansky. Each will put up $20,000 and compete for the $120,000 winner-take-all first prize.

Ferguson and Bloch tangled in the finals of the 2008 National Heads-Up Poker Championship, with Ferguson taking home the title. Chris, who earned a Ph.D. in Computer Science from UCLA, is 1-6 on PAD with a victory in Match 7. Andy, who is now being referred to by many as the best player in the world without a World Series bracelet, holds two electrical engineering degrees from M.I.T. and a law degree from Harvard. He is 0-3 on PAD, coming close in Match 25 before losing a heads-up battle with Gabe Kaplan.

Adams and Chen both lead double lives, splitting their time between playing poker and their chosen professions. Brandon holds Master’s Degrees in Finance and Real Estate, and teaches Applied Game Theory at Harvard. Bill was the winner of two World Series of Poker bracelets in 2006, one of only two players that year to do so. He holds a Ph.D. in Mathematics from UC Berkeley, and his day job is developing mathematical models for an investment firm on the markets his company trades in. Both are also published authors.

Sklansky has won three World Series of Poker bracelets, but is probably best known for the many books he has written about gambling theory and poker. Though he does not hold an advanced degree, he is known as “The Mathematician” for his extensive knowledge of math and how it applies to the game. Warren may be the least known among this group, but he is well-known at the Las Vegas high-stakes cash game tables, where he has been making his living for many years. He holds a Ph.D. in Physics from Brown University and worked as a research physicist before becoming a professional poker player.

Brief profiles of all six players follow. The match will begin airing on NBC late night Monday at 2:05 a.m., February 9, and will continue for five consecutive nights in the same time slot. A special program called the “Director’s Cut” will air late night Saturday, February 14, at 1:00 a.m., right after Saturday Night Live. This show will feature Leeann Tweeden with a behind-the-scenes look at the week with highlights and insightful player interviews. Viewers can also watch the match at www.nbcsports/msnbc.com/poker.

The conversation in this match is very different from what has been heard during previous PAD matches, and those who are interested in mathematical aspects of the game will be fascinated by it. This week’s players possess a level of intelligence that most people would envy, and as such this is a very unique matchup and one that viewers are sure to enjoy.

Brandon Adams – Poker After Dark Seat 1

Full Tilt Poker Pro

• Born in New Orleans in 1978, Full Tilt Poker’s Brandon Adams now resides in Cambridge, MA
• Semi-professional cash game player, playing NLHE as high as $200/$400, and appeared on the 4th season of GSN’s High Stakes Poker
• Career tournament winnings in excess of $510,000
• A college graduate at the age of 19, holds Master’s degrees in Finance and Real Estate, and now teaches Applied Game Theory at Harvard
• Has written 2 books, one entitled
Broke: A Poker Novel

Chris ‘Jesus’ Ferguson – Poker After Dark Seat 2

Full Tilt Poker Pro
• Nicknamed “Jesus” and one of poker’s most recognizable players
• World Series of Poker Champion in 2000 and owner of five WSOP bracelets
• Career tournament winnings in excess of $7.42 million, and ranks 18th on the all-time money list
• Runner-up in both the 2005 and 2006 National Heads-Up Poker Championship, and the winner in 2008, bringing his record in this event to an unprecedented 16-3
• Earned a Ph.D. in Computer Science from UCLA in 1999, and is a former ballroom and swing dance instructor

Andy Block – Poker After Dark Seat 3

Full Tilt Poker Pro

• Holds two electrical engineering degrees from MIT and a law degree from Harvard
• Finished 2nd to the late Chip Reese at the 2006 $50,000 H.O.R.S.E. event, and was runner-up to Chris Ferguson in the 2008 NHPC
• Lifetime poker tournament winnings in excess of $4.07 million
• Former member of the MIT blackjack team, the subject of a book entitled Bringing Down the House: The Inside Story of Six M.I.T. Students Who Took Vegas for Millions
• Began wearing his unique hat full time to play poker about 2 years ago, but wore it prior from time to time as part of an Irish rock star costume

Bill Chen Will be sitting in Seat 4 at the Poker After Dark table.

• Discovered he had a gift for mathematics at an early age, as he was a Rubik’s Cube champion in junior high school and was studying calculus in the 7th grade

• Owns two WSOP bracelets, both in 2006, and was one of only two players that year to win more than one
• Lifetime tournament winnings in excess of $981,000
• Earned a Ph.D. in Mathematics from UC Berkeley in 1999, and works for an investment firm that makes mathematical models on many of the markets his company trades in
• Along with Jerrod Ankenman, co-authored the book The Mathematics of Poker The Mathematics of Poker published in 2006

In Seat 5 – Jimmy Warren from Doyles!

• Long-time successful professional cash game player, with emphasis on all forms of limit poker
• A Dartmouth College graduate, he earned a Ph.D. in Physics from Brown University and worked as a research physicist before moving to Las Vegas with girlfriend Jeannie in 1986
• Has derived 100% of his income from playing in cash games since then
• Profiled in Card Player magazine as one of the top ten 7-card stud players in the world
• One of the first pioneers to apply a scientific approach using mathematical and computer skills to winning professional poker
Sklansky, David: (Seat 6)
• Born in New Jersey to the father of a Colombia University math professor, which may help explain his keen interest in math and how he applies it to the game of poker
• Winner of three WSOP bracelets
• Lifetime tournament winnings in excess of $1.25 million
• Is associated with the 2+2 Publishing empire, owned by Mason Malmuth
• Has authored or co-authored 13 books on gambling theory and poker, with The Theory of Poker The Theory of Poker, published in 1987, perhaps his most respected work.

Dennis Oehring serves as the Public Relations Coordinator for the firm Poker PROductions. Statistics courtesy of The Hendon Mob database. Photo courtesy of Stephanie Moore.

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