As we near the money line in the World Series of Poker Event #13, once again we see PokerStars player Jason "strassa2" Strasser near the top of the leaderboard. There's something about this kid I can't quite put my finger on. He's relaxed at the tables, like he's been sitting at World Series tables for a decade. In fact, a decade ago, he was more likely to be sat at the kids table on Thanksgiving. A decade ago, Strasser was just eleven years old. Now, he's here at the 2006 World Series and consistently going deep in events.

Strasser, tracking his progress through the blind levels

A quick story about Strasser: Last year, I was standing in line at the Vic in London. Suddenly, the guy who only lives a couple of hours away from me in the States, was standing behind me in Europe. Last year he wasn't old enough to play poker tournaments in the U.S., so he went to Europe to beat up on people there. Thing was, Strasser wasn't aware that some European casinos frown on the relaxed American casino-dress. Our young friend was wearing sandals.

A supercilious doorman took one look at Strasser's feet and shook his head in disapproval. It wasn't long before Strasser was asked to leave until he had some "proper" footwear. Strasser returned an hour later in some loafers. I wish I had looked to see if he was wearing socks. Now, he sits here in the top 20 in chips as the players get close to the money.

Other PokerStars players still on contention include Tom McEvoy, Terrence Chan, and Eric "vogman42" Vogelstein.


Terrence Chan, not sleeping, but eying his pile of chips


Tom McEvoy, behind a pair of...shades?


Vogman42 looking to cash in his second WSOP event this year