Parker Spins Magic at WSOP

Online poker pro, Brock Parker, has shown just how diverse his talents are by grabbing two bracelets at the World Series of Poker tournament in Las Vegas. Parker, a 27 year old online legend, took home his second bracelet of the tournament after only a fortnight of play. He has proved without a doubt that six hand play is definitely his forte!

Parker’s first bracelet came after he won Event #14 – the $2,500 Six Handed Limit Hold ‘em tournament. He then emerged the victor out of field of over 1000 players to take down the title in Event #19, the $2,500 Six Handed No Limit Hold ‘em event.

What makes Parker stand out from other players is the fact that he didn’t actually start off a poker fan. His main love was for online Magic and his cross over from the Magic fields to the world of poker actually influenced a number of other pros that we are familiar with today, including David Williams and Eric Froelich.

In a recent interview, Froelich explained how Parker’s ‘magic’ rubbed off on him. “We all played Magic together,” he said. “But Brock was the good poker player. We watched him play and he made all this money and it looked like fun, so we got into it also. I think a lot of Magic players who first got into poker came to it because of Brock. He was part of the Magic scene and he is responsible for many of us becoming poker players.”

“But don’t let all the Magic talk fool you,” quipped Froelich. “Parker is an excellent poker player as well!”

Parker’s natural instinct for six handed games comes from the fact that he finds them particularly challenging compared to other games. “I like to play more hands,” he said. “Playing nine handed is pretty boring. I guess six handed gets me motivated because I get to play in a lot of pots.”

The bearded Parker started playing poker in 1998 and has earned himself over $1 million in his career. His 2009 POY rank is currently 14th, a definite improvement from his 2008 rank of 874th.