Episode #31 - July 7, 2008 

Pokercast Episode 31 - Nick Grudzien & Bryce Paradis

Live from the Two Plus Two Studios - The 2008 World Series of Poker Main Event is finally underway. Mike and Adam wrap up all the day one info including chip counts and notable survivors. Adam also shares some of his day one stories and talks about some interesting hands he played on his way to day two. The featured guests this week on Pokercast were Stox Poker pros Nick Grudzien and Bryce Paradis who came on the program to talk about the Polaris Project. Polaris is a Texas hold 'em poker playing program developed by the computer poker research group at the University of Alberta, a project that has been under way for over 16 years. Mike and Adam also talk some forum static and of course give away the password for the July 13th Poker Stars VIP Club freeroll. Discuss this Pokercast on the 2+2 Forums

Pokercast Theme - Demitone Productions Inc. - © 2007 : Vampire Weekend - The Kids Don't Stand A Chance - Vampire Weekend © 2007 : Klaxons - Isle Of Her - Myths Of The Near Future © 2006 : Alphabeat - Digital Love (Daft Punk Cover) © 2007

Nick Grudzien

Nick "Stoxtrader" Grudzien Nick worked as a Wall-Street trader for ten years before leaving to play poker professionally, co-author Winning in tough Hold’em Games, and to spend more time with his wife and two children. He currently invests his time playing high-stakes, online cash games and traveling to a few of the bigger WPT and WSOP tournaments.

Equally competent in limit and no-limit play, Nick continues to study the game intensely. He started playing poker seriously in the fall of 2003 and rapidly moved up in limits until the spring of 2005 at which point he reached the highest cash games online. These are the games Grudzien has continued to play in. As Nick moved up in limits, he had the luxury of a stable job and initially considered poker to be recreation. Bankroll requirements and risk objectives can be much more lax when the limits you play are small relative to your current earning potential – this is a big reason Nick was able to move up in limits so quickly. Once Nick started playing $100-$200 limit hold 'em online, bankroll considerations started taking a somewhat more serious perspective. Since then he has always had 1,000 big bets in his bankroll for any limit hold 'em game in which he has played.

Nick founded Stoxpoker.com, which would later be acquired and merged with CardRunners.com.

He posts under the handle "Stoxtrader" on 2+2. Learn more about Nick Grudzien

Bryce Paradis

Bryce Paradis, known by his online handle “Freedom25”, is a former professional poker player known for his massive success in high stakes heads up limit games, including a (now legendary) $1000/$2000 match against David Benyamine.

At age 23, Bryce announced his retirement from professional online poker, choosing instead to focus on other interests including real estate investment. Bryce is still actively involved in the poker community through coaching and his involvement with the University of Alberta’s Computer Poker Research Group – developers of the “Polaris” poker AI. Learn more about Bryce Paradis