- James Van Alstyne
infobox poker player
firstname=James
lastname=Van Alstyne
nickname=
caption=James Van Alstyne in the2007 World Series of Poker
hometown=Las Vegas, Nevada
wsop bracelet count="None"
wsop money finishes=10
wsop main event best finish rank=16th
wsop main event best finish year=1999
multi-year wsop winner=
wpt titles="None"
wpt final tables=2
wpt money finishes=10James Van Alstyne (born Columbus, Georgia) is an American professional
poker player based inLas Vegas, Nevada .Van Alstyne grew up in
New Orleans, LA and graduated from Ben Franklin High School. After high school, Van Alstyne attendedStanford University , where he learned to play poker.Van Alstyne used to be an
engineer before becoming a professionalblackjack player, usingcard-counting techniques to give himself an edge. He wore abaseball cap to disguise himself fromcasino security, and continues to wear the cap whilst playing poker.Van Alstyne made three money finishes in Omaha
poker tournament s at theWorld Series of Poker (WSOP) between 1994 and 1998. In 1999 he made his first money finish in the WSOP $10,000 no limitTexas hold 'em main event, finishing in 16th place.In between 1999 and 2004, Van Alstyne moved away from poker, but lost over a million dollars on the
stock market in the process.In
October 2004 , Van Alstyne won the WPPA Championships of Poker, defeating a field that included Juan Carlos Mortensen andKathy Liebert on the way to the $125,520 first prize. Later the same month, he won the first season grand final of theUltimate Poker Challenge . He had previously won a qualifying tournament in which he defeatedTodd Brunson in the final heads-up confrontation.Van Alstyne finished in the "TV bubble" position (7th) of the
World Poker Tour (WPT)Aruba Ultimate Poker Classic event inSeptember 2005 . He went on to make his first WPT TV final table in the season 4 championship event, finishing in 5th place, winning $439,475.
In that event, James came in as the chip-leader, but lost the lead early—and almost 40% of his chips—on a bluff againstJoe Bartholdi , who was second in chips. The bluff put Bartholdi in prohibitive chip position, and he eventually went on to win the event. A few more hits to Alstyne's stack followed, after which a visibly shaken Alstyne was knocked out in 5th place. In the post-game interview withCourtney Friel , Alstyne said, "I just feel horrible. This is the worst final table performance in the history of poker. This was just absolutely, unbelievably bad poker."As of 2008, his total live tournament winnings exceed $2,800,000.
Van Alstyne is a
music fan, and often wears music T-shirts when playing poker, including those ofThe Ramones andThe Clash . He is also a fan ofEcho and the Bunnymen and ratesDavid Lynch 'smovie "Mulholland Drive" as his favourite film.External links
* [http://www.pokerpages.com/blog/index.php?itemid=222 Interview]
* [http://pokerdb.thehendonmob.com/player.php?a=r&n=9420 Hendon Mob tournament results]
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