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 The
first time I ever saw Chris Karagulleyen was during his
Bicycle Casino appearance on the
World Poker Tour. I remember thinking his style of play was interesting. He stated on the show that he was going to win and
that he was one of the best in the game. I enjoyed his confidence and even more I enjoyed his tremendous ability to mix up
his game. He stated, "I can be aggressive anytime I want. I can be tight and see the situation. Depends on the situation."
He then went on to prove that statement true.
When the table was six handed, Chris barely played a pot. I only remember two important hands that he played at the full
table. In the first, he busted Kathy Liebert with his pocket
Queens against her AK. He also played pocket Aces once, but received no action. When they were four handed, I about fell off
my chair, when I saw him fold King-Jack suited on the button.
When he got heads up with Hon "Kamikaze" Le, he totally switched gears. This is where Chris's game became interesting. He
bluffed and showed his hands to reel in Hon Le and it worked. In one key hand, when the river came a six, giving Chris two
pair, he checkraised Hon all-in. This gave Chris a five to one chip advantage and then he switched back to
ultra-conservative gear and went on to win the event by getting Hon to call with a weak hand.
Chris Karagulleyen is originally from Beirut, Lebanon. He is a former taxi driver and baker. I met Chris soon after his
World Poker Tour appearance, and he is a really nice guy. He watched me play No Limit Holdem satellites when it was a new
game for me and gave me advice on what he thought would work better. He also pointed out what I did right. When I got
knocked out of one, he threw some cash onto another table and told me to play there, which I did and I won. It was really
cool that he only watched me a little and had enough respect in my game to put up some money.
Karagulleyen's best game is No Limit Hold'em where his style is to try and trap other players. He has had numerous final
table appearances in this game headed by his win at the main event at the 2002 Legends of Poker.
Some of his other accomplishments include a first place finish in the $300 buy-in Big Poker Oktober Limit Holdem Shootout in
2005 and in the Limit Shootout at Larry Flynt's Poker Challenge Cup in 2003. Also in 2003, he won the Pot Limit Holdem
event at the L.A. Poker Classic held at Commerce Casino. |
