Asian Journal- The Filipino-American Community Newspaper

CALLING Pinoy poker player Alfredo "Toto" Leonidas’ bluff is not always a good idea.

Just ask poker living legend Phil Hellmuth.

Hellmuth, the owner of 11 World Series of Poker (WSOP) bracelets and arguably, one of the best poker players in the world, called Leonidas’ bluff during the final table of the 2003 United States Poker Championship (USPC) and found himself with no more chips and his head buried in his hands in shock afterwards.

Hellmuth will always remember that moment as the championship that got away.

"Like I went crazy when he eliminated me… this time I picked him off and he outdrew me," Hellmuth said to ESPN.

"It was a good win for me. I think ESPN still shows that tournament," said Leonidas to the Asian Journal during an event at the Bicycle Casino, where they honored him as the team captain of the Philippines in a world team poker format.

Leonidas is one of the few Pinoy professional poker players in the WSOP circuit and World Poker Tour (WPT). He is perhaps the only Filipino to ever win a WSOP bracelet; one of the most coveted prizes a poker player can win. He’s also won several other poker tournaments including the 2003 USPC.

Known in the poker circuit as an aggressive and unpredictable player who makes calculated risks, Leonidas has earned more than $2.6 million in a 14-year professional poker career. Last year, Leonidas said he made more than $700,000 in poker tournament earnings and cash games.

The 48-year-old originally from Bacolod City, Philippines began a professional poker career in the mid-90’s. As a waiter and bartender at a local Los Angeles casino, he often served people while they played the card game. Poker never really interested Leonidas.

"I’m not a gambler," he said. "If I didn’t know there was a skill in poker, I would have never played it."

But after he quit his job, he worked as a poker "prop house player" for another casino. Back in the early and mid-90’s, poker was just a game played by a few customers and didn’t have the glitz and glamour nor the TV coverage that it has now.

Leonidas said during that time, casinos would hire "prop house players" to play and fill out the poker tables in the casino.

Leonidas’ job was to fill the empty seats to make it appear that the game was full. He was being paid $15 an hour to play poker. It is also where he honed and crafted his skill in the game.

Leonidas was doing so well in these games that he decided to turn it into a career.

With a few thousand dollars in his pockets, he ventured out to Las Vegas to play against the pros.