David Benyamine

Aggressiveness: 7
Looseness: 8
Short-handed: 8
Limit: 7
No-limit: 7
Tournaments: 7
Side games: 8
Steam control: 3
Against weak players: 7
Against strong players: 8

Best game : Pot-limit Omaha
Weakness : Seven-card stud variations

David has been trying his luck out in Vegas for several years now. He would usually go home empty handed from his trips to the States because his first losing session would last for days until he lost whatever he had brought. Somehow his game became ready for prime time after spending 2004 in exile in France, where he honed his skills by dominating the Internet poker world.His control is still suspect, but his skill has overcome it. David bets and bluffs well, calls down his opponents well, and is also capable of making great laydowns.

More than any player I know, David is so talented that it hurts him.  On the Internet, he will put himself into situations where no one could succeed: multitabling five or six different forms of limit and no-limit poker against top-flight opponents.  If he could be satisfied playing one or two screens of Pot Limit Omaha, I would take him over anyone.  But that would not give him enough sensory input.

Amusing anecdote

One day David was stuck several hundred thousand in the Big Game and had been playing for 24 hours when I entered the game. Twice he made comebacks and got close to even and then informed me that he was quitting soon. Each time he lost a big pot and then that plan was shot. After another 24 hours I was up $500,000 and David was down over a million and playing recklessly. I was determined to stay until David quit, although his stamina had become legendary.

David went on a rush 60 hours into his session and, amazingly, got even. Most of his winning was at my expense, and I was now stuck $800,000. He looked at me with the innocence of a young child and said, "I think we have been playing too long and the other players have been alternating resting. We should quit." Apparently, he thought I wouldn't notice that the fact that he got even was the only reason he was saying this.



Title: Never My Love
Artist: The Association
Year: 1967
Reason for this song choice
Whenever David is stuck in one of his marathon sessions and is asked by his girlfriend, Erica Schoenberg, when he is going to quit, his answer is the title of the song.