Layne Flack: Professional Poker Player Profile

Layne Flack belongs to the younger generation of poker champions. Flack's playing style is known to be fast and furious. He once said that he plays without fear, and he exhibits this tirelessly. He was known at the World Poker Tour (WPT) as "poker's party boy" and "a dynamo in action."

Layne Flack has several WSOP bracelets to his name. Among these are for the 2003 $2500 Omaha HiLo and the $1,500 Hold'em Shootout. He got the nickname "Back to Back Flack" in 2002, when he won the $2000 No Limit Hold'em and $1,500 No Limit. The No Limit Hold'em appears to suit Flack's play style perfectly. Card Player Magazine gives out his philosophy in No Limit: "everything you think you should do, do the opposite." Flack's energetic play never fails to attract spectators. However, things were not always smooth sailing for this young champ.

Born in 1969 in Rapid City, South Dakota, Flack learned about poker at a very young age, when he started playing cards with his grandparents. Later he came to work at a casino as a dealer, and that was when he decided he wanted to pursue gaming as a profession. He would regularly go to another casino after work to hone his skills. He was eventually promoted to Night Manager, but he quit since he couldn't attend to a part-time job and play different casinos at the same time. Soon he moved up to playing the pro tables.

At the big leagues, he became friends with Johnny Chan, who helped him improve his game. Chan, ever the optimistic winner, consoled Flack through an enormous loss, by telling him to "get some sleep and I will stake you tomorrow." This encouraged Flack to try and recover his losses the next day, which he did. His deal with Chan was 50% with make-up. Another of Flack's mentors was Huck Seed, a contemporary who had conquered the 1996 WSOP and walked away with a $1 million prize.

Flack was always a rambunctious fellow who loved his drink, but it was only around early 2000 that he started experimenting with drugs. In 2004 he was admitted to a rehabilitation center. Daniel "Kid Poker" Negreanu, a friend of Flack who was staking him at the time, footed the $80,000 bill for his treatment. Layne Flack has since recovered and is making the rounds again. He recently placed second at the $1,500 Pot Limit Hold-Em and finished high with $185,855.