Player Nicknames

Texas Dolly:

Doyle Brunson’s nickname comes from the time Jimmy “The Greek” Snyder read Brunson’s name wrong and it stuck.

Bubs:

Howard Lederer. Earlier Howard used to be a much bigger man and they used to call him “Bubba”. Then he lost a lot of weight so they split his name in half and it became “Bubs”.

Professor:

Howard Lederer is also known as the “Professor” because of his analytical style and calm demeanor. Though his parents were professors, ironically, Howard never even attended college.

Randy Jenson calls himself that because he says that he crushes the dreams and hopes of his opponents.

Barry Greenstein is known as the Robinhood because he gives his winnings to charity.

The Mouth:

Mike Matusow got the nickname because he never shuts up at the table.

The Elegance:

Joe Beevers is a quiet player and rarely ever talks so, got he got the name “The Elegance”. Silent but deadly.

World:

John Hennigan is always ready to bet on anything in the world, hence he got the nickname.

Gus Hansen because HE is Danish and great?

The Orangeman:

Johnny Chan. During the '88 WSOP, when he couldnt stand the cigarette smoke anymore, he went out and got an orange. During the game, he kept peeling it bit by bit and smelling it. Though WSOP became non- smoking since 2002, he now carries an orange for good luck.

Murph Dog:

John Murphy

Dot com:

Paul Phillips. He had retired in his early 20s as he became a millionaire through the internet

Amarillo Slim:

Thomas Austin Preston

Jesus:

Chris Ferguson. One look at him and you would know why he got that nickname.

Fossilman:

Greg Raymer was given that nickname because his hobby is collecting fossils. He even uses a small fossil as a card protector when he plays. The glasses that he wears too like shiny dinosaur eyes during a game.

The Greek:

Jimmy Snyder took on that nickname after a well known horseplayer of the 1920s known as “Nick the Greek”.

Mad Genius:

Mike Caro

Poker Brat:

Phil Hellmuth is known as the “Poker Brat” because of his temper tantrums when an opponent out-draws on him

Kalashnikov:

Yevgeny Kafelnikov was given an aggressive nickname as he used to be one of the best tennis players and is now a promising poker player. He was given the nickname after Kalashnikov, the machine-gun inventor. Funny thing is that these two Russian names are so complicated that nobody really sees the differences between them.

The knife:

Martin The Knijff

Marcel Luske comes from Holland. He is a very unusual guy, that’s why he has chosen such funny but absolutely unexplainable nickname.

Chris Moneymaker.

Friends call him just ‘Money’ which is an excellent nickname for a guy who has won 2.5 million bucks.

 The Master:

Men Nguyen began giving poker lessons many years ago. One of his students once called him “the young master.” But Nguyen insisted, “I’m not young!” Since then his students began calling him just “The Master”.

Little Man:

Julius Oral Popwell was one of the most famous poker players from the first half of the 20th century. He was 5'6" tall and weighed over 300 pounds. That’s why they called him….

Whatta Player:

Kenny Smith, a chess player, whose hobby was poker, used to rise from the table and lift his hat yelling “What a player!” every time he won the pot. So everybody called him ‘Whatta Player’ Smith.

Devilfish:

Dave Ulliott got his nickname long ago when he was playing against a Chinese guy. “You are a devilfish, aren’t you?” he said after losing a big pot to Ulliott.
15 years later at the Horseshoe casino, Dave was playing against Men ‘The Master’ when Dave’s friend recalled this event. “On The Devilfish!” he cried. David was a winner that evening. “Devilfish devours The Master,” read the headlines the next day.

The Kid:

Stu Ungar looked so young, like a kid, that nobody could believe that he was over 18. Apparently, he couldn't even buy himself a Rum and coke.

The Owl:

Bobby Baldwin got the name because he could read hands better than anyone else and like an Owl he is really smart. Bobby Huff once said that Bobby Baldwin is 15% better than any poker player in the world.. that really is a compliment.