Marcel Luske

Labelled “The flying Dutchman”, for his frequent travels all over the world in the early years of his poker career, Marcel Luske is one of the most colourful characters in the game. At the age of sixty one, he is still one of the most popular poker players in the world, and one of the biggest ambassadors for the game. Unlike many modern players, Marcel Luske did not start playing poker until his late thirties. Before that he spent many years in the business world, running bars and clubs, and eventually started his own pub. In 2003, however, Luske started to play poker more actively and made the decision to end his business career at the expense of poker. Now, eleven years later, he sits at the top of the Netherlands All Time Winnings list, with over $4.3 million in winnings. He is perhaps the most notable player in the game who has never won a WSOP bracelet, despite coming close on numerous occasions. Early in his career, he made 14th and 10th place at the WSOP Main Events in 2003 and 2004, and has since made several final tables in a variety of poker games, demonstrating his versatility. In 2005 he won the 10k Hall of Fame Poker Classic in Paris for over $140,000. In 2006 and 2007 he won back to back Five Star World Poker Classics at the Bellagio, for a total of over $500k. Other then these big scores, he has also made countless other final tables and money finishes in poker events all over the world. He says his poker goal is to win the WSOP Main Event, and he claims Dave Ulliot as the player he has the most respect for. Despite all of these results, Marcel Luske is still more known to many for his interesting style on and off the table. In most situations, he can be seen wearing a suit and dark glasses, which he often wears upside down, and it is no rare occurrence to hear him sing at the table. Despite these quirks, most who have played with him will tell you that he is one of the classiest players they have ever sat at the table with. Singing is another hobby of his and in 2006 he realized his dream of releasing a singing record, which consisted of songs related to poker. He also has a black belt in Karate, which is another one of the numerous hobbies of this fascinating Dutch. In 2007, Marcel was one of the founders of the Federation International de Poker Association, and he created The International Poker Rules, which are used by many prominent poker rooms in the world. In 2008 he was awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award by the European Poker Tour and in 2009 he joined Pokerstars as a member of their Team Pro. In 2013, the father of two was nominated for The Poker Hall of Fame, but was not inducted. The nomination alone is a great honor, and he is one of the most probable future inductees into this elite group.