Also involved in the mix is two-time GPI Player of the Year Alex Foxen. Chamani, an investor in the company, is seeking $500,000 in the lawsuit. Alex Foxen Nevada Poker and the Law.
Also involved in the mix is two-time GPI Player of the Year Alex Foxen. Chamani, an investor in the company, is seeking $500,000 in the lawsuit. While not named as a defendant, Foxen is labeled in.
Alex Foxen is crushing 2018 on a global scale. The 27-year-old owns High Roller wins from the L.A. Poker Classic and Asia Pacific Poker Tour stop in Macau. The ambitious streak within Foxen led him to rise in the poker ranks to fifth in the current Global Poker Index standings. Foxen’s game grows every time he plays and he is far from satisfied with his current status in the game.
Real-life couple Alex Foxen and partypoker pro Kristen Bicknell, who have been killing it everywhere from Las Vegas to Macau lately, don’t have to imagine this scenario. They just went through it in that MSPT Venetian Main Event.
Not here by accident
The work ethic administered by Foxen to move from playing three digit buy-in events just a few years ago to beating the best in the world on a consistent basis is a series of small additions made to his game over time.
Foxen enrolled in the Chip Leader Coaching program in the fall of 2016 and noticed ways he could make himself better. Those changes grew in Foxen’s game with every tournament entered. There was no “lightbulb” moment for Foxen, who is pleased with the long-term changes he made between then and now.
“I think that everything in poker is progression and you need to improve small things,” Foxen told USPoker. “Over that period of time, it’s been a steady progression making minor changes in small spots and it makes a significant change as a whole.”
Facing off against the best in the world on a regular basis, Foxen is devoting his non-playing time to study in order to stay ahead of top-notch pros. At the Macau final table, Foxen defeated Rainer Kempe, Patrik Antonius, and Brian Rast to claim the $963,880 first-place prize.
“I hate to lose,” Foxen stated. “When everyone in poker is trying to get better. You need to try and stay ahead of the curve. The constant focus is on trying to improve and looking at things I might have done wrong. When you have success, it’s easy to think you have the game figured out. You play a session of online or a tournament and [other players] think about what they did well and I think about what I didn’t do optimally.”
Inexperience has its advantages
The first $25,000 High Roller event played by Foxen was over a year ago. Foxen’s volume increases with every quarter and his game is still fresh relative to the players who have battled in the same streets for the better part of the decade.
Foxen studies the game using solvers and charts but finds the simple act of peer-to-peer discussion to be the best recipe for success.
“I think the number one thing to do is to talk to other players,” Foxen iterated. “Solvers have a lot of value in that you can understand what the best option is to take in certain situations that are understanding assumptions that are rarely true. Solvers are done under an assumption. Even the best players aren’t going to respond the way the solver thinks. Players understand the way people think about the game.”
The two players Foxen credited for being his go-tos to talk strategy with are Chance Kornuth and Nick Petrangelo.
Foxen also noted that his Kristen Bicknell has been helpful in this process. The two players started dating earlier in 2018 and Foxen says that having someone to immediately go over with hands is beneficial. Bicknell herself is a two-time World Series of Poker bracelet winner and former SuperNova Elite on PokerStars.
When Foxen enters a high roller, there is a basic gameplan to his process but it morphs per his competition at the table. Foxen doesn’t fear any player, regardless of results, stating that a player’s results from a few years ago have no bearing on that tournament day.
“I think my start, in general, is go in with a baseline and adapt the players at the table. It’s all about being fluid and responding by deviating from your baseline going in,” Foxen told USPoker. “It’s important to realize how the game has evolved when someone might have had a few scores a few years ago. You understand that these people are playing at a high level and understanding where their head is at. You realize that it’s just another poker game and there’s nothing to be afraid of.”
Shooting for the stars
There is no limit to the buy-ins Foxen is willing to play. After he won the High Roller in Macau, Foxen jumped in the HKD$2.1 million ($268,000) Super High Roller Bowl China event. Registering for one high roller caused Foxen to miss another one.
Due to the time difference between Macau and the United States, Foxen mixed up the deadline to register for the Super High Roller Bowl lottery. A last-minute plea did not help his case and Foxen waits for next year.
However, the $1 million Big One For One Drop is fresh on Foxen’s mind. Foxen acquisition of a group of investors gives him no hesitation is registering for the event. The only hurdle for Foxen is the 11 percent rake of the event.
“The rake is pretty absurd right now. I get where they’re coming from. As someone who is selling to it, it’s hard to be profitable for investors. If they change the rake, I would definitely be in. You need confidence from other players to play those tournaments. It feels good to be able to play them.”
The big picture
Foxen’s current plan is to travel the world in search of more tournament glory and GPI points. Next up on his list is the partypoker Barcelona MILLIONS series which includes a €25,000, €50,000, and €100,000 event.
The first step after he lands in the United States for a period of time is to formally move to Las Vegas where he can play the ARIA High Rollers.
The former college football player is more concerned with the GPI crown than any immediate monetary gain. A fire burns within Foxen to be the best in this challenging game.
To become the best means to continue to learn and keep his sharp game refined. The work ethic required is already second-nature to Foxen who came up from $300 tournaments to $300,000 in the most demanding time in poker history.
“I’ve always loved competition and it’s something that has come naturally to me. You learn a lot of life lessons and I just really enjoy it. If I’m not competing, what’s the point?”
Lead image courtesy of World Poker Tour.
ICM considerations can make for strange bedfellows.
In poker, taking it easy on someone, otherwise known as soft play, is considered collusion. Obviously, collusion is against the rules. However, short-handed at the final table of a tournament, there may be several situations where it simply makes sense to play a little softer against an opponent than one normally would.
Imagine you were three-handed in the $5,000 buy-in Mid-States Poker Tour Venetian Main Event this past weekend. Finish third and you’ll earn $120,000. However, there’s a big pay jump up to second, where you’ll earn $169,000. Plus, an even bigger one if you can win and collect the $270,000 first-place prize.
Now imagine you have 45 percent of the chips in play, one opponent has 45 percent as well, and the other player holds just 10 percent. It just makes sense to avoid confrontation with the player holding an equally big stack. You’re naturally going to focus on getting rid of the short stack first. That means playing a little softer against that equally stacked player, and by definition, you would be guilty of collusion.
Collusion or standard practice?
However, it’s the kind of collusion that seems to be standard practice in poker. Perhaps because it’s just common sense, this kind of collusion has even been deemed acceptable.
Now imagine that player is a good friend. Perhaps you have a backing arrangement, or maybe you’re in a relationship together.
Real-life couple Alex Foxen and partypoker pro Kristen Bicknell, who have been killing it everywhere from Las Vegas to Macau lately, don’t have to imagine this scenario. They just went through it in that MSPT Venetian Main Event.
Aussie standout Kahle Burns was in the unfortunate position of third wheel as they battled it out on a Twitch live stream for some pretty hefty sums of cash.
Colluding on camera?
With the cameras watching at all times, Foxen and Bicknell appeared to say and do very little that would indicate any kind of collusion, outside of normally acceptable practices. However, they are indeed a couple, making increased accusations of soft play almost inevitable.
Three-handed play lasted close to four hours. Burns was finally sent packing and Foxen and Bicknell chopped, playing a couple hands for the title and an additional 10 percent of the remaining prize money they were forced to set aside and play for.
But not before one big hand played out three-handed, filling the Twitch chat with numerous accusations of collusion.
Burns was relatively short, holding about 750,000 in chips at the time. Foxen and Bicknell looked to be about even in chips, on about 2.2 million each.
Foxen raised the button with two jacks. After Burns folded the small blind, Bicknell saw two aces in the big blind and three-bet. Foxen called and hit top set on the flop. Bicknell bet 200,000 and Foxen just called before a king came on the turn.
Bicknell checked, then snap-called when Foxen bet 375,000. She also checked a brick on the river quite quickly and Foxen took a minute before sliding out a bet of 600,000. Bicknell took her time about it, but eventually opted to fold. Foxen showed the set, and Bicknell confirmed she had aces when a clearly disappointed Burns asked.
Two players not involved in a relationship would have been all in there, according to several commentators in the Twitch chat. Most pointed to the hand as a clear indication of the couple’s collusion.
Alex Foxen Poker Player Bio And Wife And Kids
Perhaps they were, but isn’t this a clear example of the same kind of acceptable collusion any two players would be guilty of in a three-handed scenario with similar stack sizes?
Bicknell said as much to MSPT staff after the tournament ended:
“Kahle was really short. Regardless of who it was, two chip leaders don’t want to get in a big battle when there’s a short stack.”
Foxen made specific reference to the ICM implications and steep payouts. Something he said would normally be an incentive to chop. Burns twice declined to chop during three-handed play.
Both Bicknell and Foxen said part of the reason the hand played out the way it did is an intimate knowledge of each other’s thought process. Unlucky for Burns, but certainly not an indication of anything untoward.
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Of course, that didn’t stop some members of the poker community from taking to Twitter to voice their concerns.
Burns’ friend, fellow Aussie and World Series of Poker bracelet winner James Obst, said he was aggravated seeing his friend forced to play against a team three-handed. He went on to say the couple’s behavior was not blatant, but also not representative of two people trying to beat each other:
Haven't had a shred of negative energy this summer, but watching Kahle Burns get screwed by a team 3handed has gotten me seriously aggravated ????
— James Obst (@JamesObst) June 18, 2018
Intrinsic collusion in three-handed play
Obst’ accusations don’t change the fact this came down to what amounts to a very common situation once three players are left in a tournament.
Alex Foxen Poker Net Worth
The two big stacks made the careful and considered decision not to play for stacks in a big hand. By definition, it’s collusion. But it’s the kind of collusion that appears to be acceptable, and at the very least, unavoidable. It likely would have happened whether they are a couple or not.
Bicknell made the mistake of whispering something in Foxen’s ear soon after the hand. She needs to learn this kind of behavior only helps fuel the fire of those who would suggest the couple are guilty of something and never do it again. They appeared to show each other a good number of hands as well. Something two players who should have been aware of the scrutiny they’d be under might want to avoid next time.
However, that’s all just optics. It changes nothing about intrinsic collusion in three-handed play. Nor does it make poker’s newest power couple guilty of anything more than that.