Prahlad Friedman
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 Prahlad Friedman at the 2006 World Series of Poker |
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| Nickname(s) | Spirit Rock, im sleeping |
|---|---|
| Hometown | Los Angeles, California |
| World Series of Poker | |
| Bracelet(s) | 1 |
| Money finishes | 4 |
| Highest ITM main event finish | 20th (2006) |
| World Poker Tour | |
| Titles | None |
| Final tables | None |
| Money Finishes | 0 |
Prahlad "Spirit Rock" Friedman (born May 20, 1979) is an American professional poker player from Los Angeles, California.[1]
Friedman won a World Series of Poker (WSOP) bracelet in 2003 in the $1,500 pot limit hold'em event earning him $109,400. Later, at the WSOP circuit event at Harrah's Rincon in 2005, he won the second place prize of $363,165. At the 2006 WSOP Main Event, Friedman outlasted over 8,700 other players, finishing 20th and securing his largest single payout to date of $494,797.
During the tournament, Friedman was noted for an incident with Jeff Lisandro, in which Friedman felt that Lisandro had not put in his ante, worth 5,000 chips, in a hand. (In posting one of the blinds, a third player at the table forgot to put in his ante; the dealer corrected his mistake.) Friedman and Lisandro argued constantly through the hand, with the dealer telling them both to stop bringing it up. Friedman would not stop, and inferred that Lisandro "robbed" the other man of the 5,000. Lisandro was very upset to hear that, and argued with Friedman, telling him he would "take your bloody head off". Friedman tried to settle things with Lisandro afterwards during play, but Lisandro refused to talk to him.
In 2006 Friedman also accused well-known online poker player Brandon Adams of being a cheater. The incident centered around AIM conversations Adams had in which he discussed how it was possible to exploit flaws in online poker sites. Adams has gone on the record as saying that he never actually exploited these flaws.
As of 2006, his total live tournament winnings are just below $1,200,000.
Friedman (no relation to fellow WSOP bracelet winner Perry Friedman) was an ethnic studies major at UC Berkeley. It was there that he played a lot of poker for the first time.
At the Oaks Club, Friedman honed his game at the $15-$30 limit hold'em table, before switching to the no limit game at the Lucky Chances casino.
Friedman's usual online limits are $25-$50 and $50-$100 no-limit hold'em and pot-limit Omaha games. On Full Tilt Poker he plays under his nickname "Spirit Rock." He can also be found playing on Ultimate Bet under the names "Mahatma", "im sleeping", and "Aplusgame247" or on the Prima network under the name "Zweig". He is well known on the internet for his fearless and aggressive playing style.[verification needed]
Friedman is also well known on internet poker message boards for his raps. He has rapped for ESPN for a "The Nuts" segment (Poker is fun/For every-one/Except my opponents/They're not big proponents/Of actin' not just in the moment/But thinkin' of those possible future problems/And how they're gonna solve them!) at the WSOP circuit event at Harrah's Rincon in 2005, the Main Event in the 2006 World Series of Poker, and also for the poker website RakeBreak.
