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• Mike Caro
• Dave Scharf
• Mark Gregorich
• Barry Tanenbaum
• Grant Pittman
• Greg Dinkin
• Jim Brier
• Louis Maconi
• Graham Duke

Mike Caro (rhymes with "arrow") is regarded as today's foremost authority of poker strategy, psychology, and statistics. He is a noted gambling expert, industry consultant, respected odds-maker on current events and politics, the author of seven books and numerous 'how to' video's. He recently founded Mike Caro University of Poker, Gaming and Life Strategy (MCU), headquartered at Hollywood Park Casino in Inglewood California. His online MCU campus is at www.poker1.com.

Born May 16, 1944, he is known professionally as "America's Mad Genius", "Gambling's Mad Genius", or "The Mad Genius of Poker". He teaches that in order to overcome any odds against you, your decisions must really matter. In that respect, games like craps, roulette, and keno, where there is no logical reason to favor one decision over another, cannot be beaten. On the other hand, games like poker, sports handicapping, and blackjack can.

Mike Caro is listed in Who's Who in America, Who's Who in the West, and Who's Who in the World. His standing-room-only seminars are far and away the best attended in poker.

Mike Caro bounded into the poker spotlight in 1978 when he contributed 50 statistical tables to the classic professional manual on poker - Doyle Brunson's Super System (A Course in Power Poker). These often-quoted tables remain the most comprehensive and accurate poker statistics ever published. His research and theories are noted in at least 50 gaming books other than his own.

In 1983, Caro developed the first artificially intelligent computer poker player able to compete at a world-class level. The achievement was chronicled in science magazines in three languages and was featured on ABC television.

In 1992 Caro brought the first world-class poker tournament to the East Coast. Held at the Foxwoods Casino in Connecticut and entitled the "World Poker Finals," this tournament was the first to use his four-color deck and to bring corporate sponsorship to poker tournaments.

In 1994 Caro received a lifetime achievement award at the Bicycle Club Casino. And in 1996, he was roasted at Hollywood Park Casino before over 400 industry leaders and players from throughout the world.

Caro resides in Southern California with his wife Phyllis, who is Director of Poker Operations at Hollywood Park Casino, and their cockatoo, Powder.

For a more complete list of Mike Caro's accomplishments, click here.

Dave is a semi-professional player. He is the author of the introductory tome, "Winning at Poker: Essential Hints and Tips" (Arcturus, 2003), a freelance poker writer, and the founding editor of Canadian Poker Player. He has been a winning poker player in ring games and tournaments since at least the mid-1990's.

He is married to a busy family physician, who does not play, care about, or understand poker, but who is kind enough to indulge her obsessed husband. They have two boys age nine and six. In addition to poker Dave is a radio host, runner, and martini drinker.

Dave is an accomplished tournament player, and wears the 'C' for Planet Poker's Team Planet.

Mark Gregorich taught high school upon graduating from Pacific Lutheran Univeristy. Mark learned to play poker in his hometown of Olympia, Washington. After three years of playing poker, he was beating the hell out of the local cardrooms and he took the plunge. Mark moved to Las Vegas and started a new life as a professional poker player. Since then he has shown nothing but talent, class and poise. Widely respected throughout Las Vegas as both a person and player, Mark was voted the #1 live game Omaha-eight-or-better player in the World by the CardPlayer Readers poll. Mark is also no slouch in the local High Limit 7-card stud eight-or-better games, 80-160 Hold'em games and has numerous final table tournament finishes (He finished 2nd in this years WSOP $5K Limit Hold'em Event, which is considered the toughest Limit Hold'em field) In short, he kicks ass! Mark resides in Las Vegas with his wife Mary and has three children.

Barry Tanenbaum moved to Las Vegas to play poker professionally after a career in computer education. Also an outstanding bridge player, Barry taught that game for seven years. Almost exclusively a cash game player, Barry has been pounding on the $30-$60 through $80-$160 Hold'em, 7-card Hi-Lo Stud and Omaha Hi-Lo games for the last few years. Highly respected as both a player and teacher, Barry gives private lessons to select students. Barry recently was a featured speaker at the World Poker Conference and is also a columnist for CardPlayer Magazine (his columns appear every other issue). You will find his insights both interesting and rewarding.

Canadian born and bred Grant Pittman began his professional poker career after a nine-year stint as a Toronto area police officer. A graduate of Conastoga College with a degree in Criminology, Grant learned much about human psychology in his years on the beat. A great reader of people and hands, Grant started his poker career playing the charity casinos in the Toronto area, graduating to the Las Vegas scene about six years ago. Fearless in life and poker, mentally and emotionally tough as nails, Grant plays all games and plays as high as $300-$600 and also plays pot-limit and no-limit games. He is a consistent large winner in the Bellagio's $80-$160 Limit Hold'em game. Grant has been a huge winner on the Internet poker scene, understands its subtleties and differences to brick and mortar play.

GREG DINKIN is an author, literary agent, and Card Player columnist, who currently lives in Los Angles. A former prop player at the Bicycle Casino, his best games are limit Hold'em, Omaha/8 and Stud/8.

He is the author of The Poker MBA: Winning In Business No Matter What Cards You're Dealt, which was published by Random House's Crown Business imprint in May, 2002. He also authored The Finance Doctor and is currently writing the memoirs of larger than life gambling legend Amarillo Slim Preston. The book, entitled Amarillo Slim in a World Full of Fat People, will be published by HarperCollins in May 2003.

Greg is also the founder of Venture Literary, an agency that helps writers find publishers for their books and producers for their screenplays. He has sold more than a dozen gambling books to major publishers. Visit www.ventureliterary.com to learn more his agency and www.thepokermba.com to learn more about his book. He can be reached via e-mail at greg@ventureliterary.com.

Jim Brier was born and raised in Los Angeles. He obtained his engineering degree and went to work for the Federal Government - initially as a civilian engineer, and ultimately as a government manager. He retired from the Johnson Space Center in February, 2000 after a 31-year career. He promptly moved to Las Vegas where he has been playing hold'em poker ever since.

In 2001, he began writing his "Hold'em Essentials" column for CardPlayer magazine. His column has proven very popular with the CardPlayer readership. Earlier this year, he co-authored a book with Bob Ciaffone entitled "Middle Limit Hold'em Poker" which has been a top selling poker book. Jim enjoys discussing hold'em hands and has been a prominent poster on some of the internet poker forums.He is currently working with New Rank Publishing, a games book publisher based in England, in preparing a hold'em poker book aimed at low limit players.

Born May 14, 1967, and raised in The Bronx, MozMan relocated to Arizona in 1990, looking for bigger opportunities and a warmer climate. Now living in Mesa with his children, Moz is a software developer and happily divorced father of two.

Moz earned his Bachelor’s degree in Information Technology from University of Phoenix in 2002, and is currently working on his Master’s degree (anticipated graduation April, 2004). Work, school, and two kids make for a hectic life, and playing poker regularly provides a much-needed outlet for stress relief. When asked why he plays, Moz tells people, “Poker is my sanity!”

Never much of a gambler, Moz found himself in Las Vegas for the first time in 2002, where a friend taught him to play Blackjack, among other casino games. Moz loved the games and the casino atmosphere, but all that was available in Arizona casinos at the time were slots and poker. Tiring of slots, and disappointed in the new Blackjack games that Arizona casinos had to offer, Moz decided to learn to play poker in January 2003. The most common games were Texas Holdem, so he bought some books, practiced online, and a new amateur poker career was born!

Moz plays almost exclusively at Casino Arizona, as well as online at Ultimate Bet. He attributes the majority of his success to the strategies and concepts he learned from players at UPF.

Graham Duke (stdioh) was born in 1978 and raised in a family with four poker playing grandparents. His poker education began before he began elementary school. By the fourth grade he was hosting home games in his parents' basement in Vancouver, BC, ammassing hockey cards and video games from his classmates. At age 18 he moved to Ontario where he got a degree in Mathematics and Computer Science from the University of Waterloo, playing in disorganized home games throughout his schooling, also making money playing backgammon and cribbage. He is a regular player at the Brantford Charity Casino in Brantford, Ontario, where he can usually be found playing the $10-$20 hold'em game.