Joe Hachem was born in 1966 in Lebanon and lived there until he was just six years old which is when his family moved to Australia. Joe lived in Australia for most of his life and still lives there now as he resides in Melbourne. You may have noticed that he has an Australian accent when he talks and this is because he grew up there and not Lebanon which is where he was born. Hachem graduated from school and then he started working as a chiropractor. After working as a chiropractor Joe needed to retire due to a blood disorder which is when he started working on his poker game.
Hachem quickly became an excellent cash game poker player and earned a lot of money from the very beginning of his poker career. After playing cash games for a few years Hachem started entering many of the big poker events. In 2005 Joe finished in tenth place in a $1000 NL Holdem WSOP Event winning just over $25,000. The same year Joe continued his success and shocked a lot of people by winning the 2005 $10,000 NL Holdem WSOP Main Event bracelet which is currently his only WSOP bracelet. Hachem won a total of $7.5 million from his first place finish in the WSOP main event and assured his spot in poker history.
Joe Hachem is sponsored by the Poker Stars.com Team and sometimes you will see him playing online in the Poker Stars room under his alias. In 2006 Hachem continued dominating the poker scene and managed to earn himself a pair of final table appearances in the WSOP and his first WPT title. Hachem has a total of one WSOP bracelet and one WPT title in his career thus far, but he should win more in the years to come. Hachem also finished in the money nine times in the WSOP and three times in the WPT. Joe also finished in the money once so far in his career on the EPT circuit.
Joe Hachem has appeared on multiple television shows in the past few years including Poker After Dark, Poker Superstars III and a couple other shows. Joe isn’t the most outspoken player in poker, but he does like to have a fun time at the poker table and he is also always dressed to impress. Joe may also have a movie based on his main event bracelet win in 2005, but nothing has been finalized yet.
Hachem has made over $10,000,000 in Full Tilt Poker tournament winnings over his career with most of that coming when he won the 2005 main event championship. Joe currently sits third place in history for the most live tournament winnings by any player only behind Daniel Negreanu and Jamie Gold. We have seen Joe Hachem compete against the best players in the world on the poker tables and he always has a chance of winning the event. He can handle any playing style and he has exceptional reading skills and often can tell when a player is bluffing and when a player has a good hand which is what makes him so good.
With so many internet poker rooms out there and more being started every year it’s difficult to choose the right online poker room. Most of them have a great place to play poker and have excellent support, but that isn’t enough nowadays with so much competition in the market. Online poker room are constantly competing for our business and quite a few poker rooms spend millions every year to entice us to play poker in there poker room rather then the others.
When you’re looking for a poker room or online blackjack site to play in you should look for rooms that use some or all of the methods mentioned below. The reason you want to do this is because it’s a lot more pleasant to play in a room that spends money looking for players. You don’t want to play in a poker room that doesn’t do anything to attract and retain players in there poker room, because these poker rooms just don’t care enough to waste time playing there.
I always look for online poker rooms that offer nice bonuses, promotions and special prizes. A loyalty program is also a must before I join a poker room because so many have them nowadays I could never see myself playing in a poker room without a loyalty program. Nowadays there are also a lot of poker rooms which offer rakeback which simply means you get some of the rake they take back each month as a reward for playing in there poker room. These are some of the main points I look for in a poker room, and now I’m going to list some other things you should look for in a poker room.
* Some poker rooms market there brand heavily and sooner or later it becomes a household name. For instance PokerStars has tons of advertising in North America and therefore they’ve managed to become the biggest online poker room out there. I feel poker rooms that spend time branding there room are great to play in because you know there not leaving any time soon. For to often I see poker rooms shut down and open up under a new name, but the staff is the exact same as the poker room that just shut down.
* As mentioned earlier a nice welcome bonus is a must if the poker room expects to get my business. Most poker rooms do offer a bonus, some offering more than others, and you’ll need to find one that works for your situation.
* A rakeback program is essential if you plan on playing quite a bit of poker each month. Generally you’ll see players receiving anywhere from 30-100% rakeback for playing in a certain poker room. Make sure you find out about the rakeback program before making your account though as most poker rooms only allow new accounts to use rakeback.
* Most poker rooms have a refer program as well where they pay you a flat rate for every friend you get to join the poker room and make a deposit. This can be a great way to increase your bankroll and you should look into this before joining a poker room, so that you can see how much you’ll get per player.
Las Vegas Poker Trip Rip-Offs
If you decide you want to go on a poker trip to Las Vegas then you’ve made a wise choice because the action in Vegas can’t be imitated anywhere else in the world. The city is meant for casino gambling and you can’t find a better place for playing poker during any time of the year. With the economic difficulties we’re having right now in North America most of us don’t have a lot of cash to waste on trips and there are some things in Vegas that are definitely a rip-off and are hard to avoid. We’re going to spend a bit of time looking at the things you should be prepared for when you arrive in Vegas for your poker holiday.
Taxis
Vegas taxi cabs are amongst the most expensive in the world and there are only a couple cities in the country with higher taxi fares. The taxi drivers also like taking the long routes and they admit to taking tourists the long way when possible to add to the fare. If you know you’re going to be going around the strip and visiting things throughout your trip you might be better off renting a car or taking public transportation.
Hotel Fees
There are plenty of hotel fees and surcharges which they’ll hit you up with during your stay at there hotel and I hate this. It’s bad enough the initial room price, but by the time you check out there will be plenty of small fees and charges which add up. There is nothing you can do about this, but it does suck to have to fork out the extra dough.
Car Rentals
Car rentals can be also very expensive in the Vegas area and it’s why you have a tough choice between renting a car and taking cabs. You’ll need to determine how long you’ll be staying before you can make a good decision about this. Insurance is also expensive for your cars in Vegas due to the high volume of traffic in the city.
Tips
Tipping in Vegas becomes a bit ridiculous if you ask me and everyone seems to be looking for a small tip for doing something. I don’t like the fact that many employees go out of there way for tips when there is no service needed. However I do like tipping when people deserve it and I will tip certain service people. Here’s a tip for you all, get the latest poker download from Stars and start winning some money today.
Bank Fees in Casino
If you plan on using your ATM card then make sure you do so before entering the casino because they’ll hit you up with a hefty fee of $3.50. This isn’t worth paying every time you need money and you’re much better off just taking money out before heading into the casino to play.
There are a lot of rip-offs you need to be prepared about before you visit Vegas, but it doesn’t change the fact that it remains one of the best tourist locations in the world for sports gambling and blackjack fans. You’ll find tons of action and if you do well enough at the poker tables then the rip-off fees and charges won’t bother you nearly as much.