Steve Vladar
Encyclopedia
"Smokin'" Steve Vladar is an English
professional poker
player.
Vladar has been a regular at Europe
an poker tournament
s since the mid-1990s, with numerous finishes in the money in London
, Dortmund
, Vienna
and Birmingham
before the end of the decade
.
This led to him playing in the Late Night Poker
television series' third season in 2000. Vladar finished 2nd in his heat to Phil Hellmuth Jr
and earned a place in the semi-finals. Vladar also played in the fourth season, finishing 3rd in his heat (ahead of Dave "Devilfish" Ulliott
and Charalambos "Bambos" Xanthos
.)
In January 2002, Vladar won the £750 no limit
hold'em event at the Grovesnor Grand Challenge in Luton
.
In 2003, he cashed 3 times at the Dundee Spring Poker Festival in Dundee
and 6 times at the St Maarten Open.
In 2004, he won the €500 no limit hold'em event at the World Heads-Up Poker Championship
, defeating a field including "Rocky" Ross Boatman
, Kirill Gerasimov
, Surinder Sunar
, Barbara Enright
and Nic Szeremeta
.
More recently, he won the $1,000 no limit hold'em event of the Caribbean Poker Classic over a field including Marcel Lüske
and Tony Cascarino
.
As of 2008, his total live tournament winnings exceed $480,000.
Vladar is married to fellow poker professional Xuyen "Bad Girl" Pham
. They are both sponsored by William Hill Poker.
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
professional poker
Poker
Poker is a family of card games that share betting rules and usually hand rankings. Poker games differ in how the cards are dealt, how hands may be formed, whether the high or low hand wins the pot in a showdown , limits on bet sizes, and how many rounds of betting are allowed.In most modern poker...
player.
Vladar has been a regular at Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
an poker tournament
Poker tournament
A poker tournament is a tournament where players compete by playing poker. It can feature as few as two players playing on a single table , and as many as tens of thousands of players playing on thousands of tables...
s since the mid-1990s, with numerous finishes in the money in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, Dortmund
Dortmund
Dortmund is a city in Germany. It is located in the Bundesland of North Rhine-Westphalia, in the Ruhr area. Its population of 585,045 makes it the 7th largest city in Germany and the 34th largest in the European Union....
, Vienna
Vienna
Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
and Birmingham
Birmingham
Birmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a...
before the end of the decade
Decade
A decade is a period of 10 years. The word is derived from the Ancient Greek dekas which means ten. This etymology is sometime confused with the Latin decas and dies , which is not correct....
.
This led to him playing in the Late Night Poker
Late Night Poker
Late Night Poker is the pioneering television show that helped pave the way for the explosion of interest in poker in the 2000's. With it's ground breaking use of "under the table" cameras that enabled the viewer to see each player's cards, the show became a cult hit on Channel 4 UK when it first...
television series' third season in 2000. Vladar finished 2nd in his heat to Phil Hellmuth Jr
Phil Hellmuth
Phil Hellmuth is an American professional poker player. He is best known for holding a record 11 World Series of Poker bracelets, for winning the Main Event of the 1989 World Series of Poker and for his temperamental, "poker brat" personality...
and earned a place in the semi-finals. Vladar also played in the fourth season, finishing 3rd in his heat (ahead of Dave "Devilfish" Ulliott
Dave Ulliott
David A. Ulliott , known by the nickname Devilfish, is an English professional gambler and poker player. Formerly, Ulliott was a minor figure in the Hull underworld, but went on to become a World Series of Poker bracelet-winner, and a mainstay of televised poker...
and Charalambos "Bambos" Xanthos
Charalambos Xanthos
Charalambos "Bambos" Xanthos is a Greek Cypriot hotel and restaurant owner based in London, England. Following on from being a backgammon player, he became a semi-professional poker player in 1993.Xanthos learnt poker from his father in 1960....
.)
In January 2002, Vladar won the £750 no limit
Betting (poker)
In the game of poker, the play largely centers on the act of betting, and as such, a protocol has been developed to speed up play, lessen confusion, and increase security while playing...
hold'em event at the Grovesnor Grand Challenge in Luton
Luton
Luton is a large town and unitary authority of Bedfordshire, England, 30 miles north of London. Luton and its near neighbours, Dunstable and Houghton Regis, form the Luton/Dunstable Urban Area with a population of about 250,000....
.
In 2003, he cashed 3 times at the Dundee Spring Poker Festival in Dundee
Dundee
Dundee is the fourth-largest city in Scotland and the 39th most populous settlement in the United Kingdom. It lies within the eastern central Lowlands on the north bank of the Firth of Tay, which feeds into the North Sea...
and 6 times at the St Maarten Open.
In 2004, he won the €500 no limit hold'em event at the World Heads-Up Poker Championship
World Heads-Up Poker Championship
The World Heads-Up Poker Championship is an annual elimination-format poker tournament of one-on-one no limit Texas hold'em matches. The tournament was co-created by Late Night Poker's Nic Szeremeta, PokerInEurope's Jon Shoreman, and gaming journalist Rich Geller.The event has run since 2001 and...
, defeating a field including "Rocky" Ross Boatman
Ross Boatman
Ross Boatman is an English RADA-trained actor, professional poker player and a member of the poker-playing foursome known as The Hendon Mob.-Acting:...
, Kirill Gerasimov
Kirill Gerasimov
Kirill Gerasimov is a Russian professional poker player.Gerasimov worked as an insurance salesman in Moscow, and started entering poker tournaments throughout Europe in 2001...
, Surinder Sunar
Surinder Sunar
Surinder Sunar is a British professional poker player based in Wolverhampton, who gained fame as a three-time finalist in the Late Night Poker television series....
, Barbara Enright
Barbara Enright
Barbara Enright is an American professional poker player, motivational speaker, and Editor-in-Chief of Woman Poker Player magazine. She has won three bracelets at the World Series of Poker and has made it to the $10,000 No-Limit Hold'em Main Event final table.Enright was the first woman to win an...
and Nic Szeremeta
Nic Szeremeta
Nic Szeremeta is a poker player of mixed English/Polish descent, noted as a former editor of Poker Monthly magazine, and creator of the popular Late Night Poker television series -Early Life:Nic's father, who used to play draw poker himself, was a rear gunner who went missing during World War II.He...
.
More recently, he won the $1,000 no limit hold'em event of the Caribbean Poker Classic over a field including Marcel Lüske
Marcel Lüske
Marcel Lüske is a Dutch professional poker player. He finished 10th in the 2004 WSOP main event and as of 2009, his total live tournament winnings exceed $3,700,000 USD...
and Tony Cascarino
Tony Cascarino
Anthony Guy 'Tony' Cascarino is an former association football player who played as a forward for various British and French clubs and internationally for the Republic of Ireland national team, with whom he competed in the 1988 European Football Championship and two World Cups in 1990 and...
.
As of 2008, his total live tournament winnings exceed $480,000.
Vladar is married to fellow poker professional Xuyen "Bad Girl" Pham
Xuyen Pham
Xuyen "Bad Girl" Pham is an English professional poker player.Pham was introduced to poker by playing Texas hold 'em in her local casino in Luton....
. They are both sponsored by William Hill Poker.