Poker professional, Phil Laak was born in Dublin Ireland but today resides in the United States, splitting time between San Francisco and Los Angeles. An extremely colorful individual, there is hardly a dull moment with Phil Laak. When not playing poker, he sky dives, rides motorcycles, scuba dives and practices judo. On the felt, Laak is a bit eccentric.
Phil utilizes what he refers to as “higher order thinking” when playing poker. He believes that such thinking allows him to develop a psychic connection with his opponents. His lucid dreaming technique is another tool in his arsenal. It involves him dreaming about a particular hand over and over again so that he is able to determine the other players’ tells, both conscious and subconscious.
Lakk first begin participating in high stakes poker games in New York. A group of players would gather together regularly in an underground club. After cutting his teeth in NY, he would go on and begin to play in poker tournaments, performing quite well. Known as a bit of loose cannon when playing poker, he does value orderliness which helps to balance his eccentrics and his tendency to fly off the handle sometimes.
Phil Laak is known on the circuit as the ‘Unabomber.” Lest you get worried, he hasn’t been given this nickname because he likes to send out bombs to unsuspecting persons anonymously. No, Laak is referred to as the ‘Unabomber’ because of his wardrobe. When participating in tournaments, Laak likes to wear a hooded sweatshirt and dark shades.
In addition to poker, Phil Laak also invests in real estate and works as a part-time stock market speculator. He is trained as a mechanical engineer. Laak is a bit of a “jack of all trades.” He is able to seemingly do a little bit of everything.