Ever the controversial character, Luke “__FullFlush1__” Schwartz has made few friends in his rise through pokers cash game levels. He is outspoken, brash and cocky and simply says what he thinks no matter whether people like it or not. In fact, the more edgy the comment the happier this young man seems to make it. He is a cash game player who has won a lot of money online, although the online community does not seem to like how he goes about it. It is unusual for a player who is successful to court negative opinion about themselves so openly and Luke does seem to have put a target on his back by being so abrasive.

He has received credit (of a fashion) for being the same person in real life than he is online. Unfortunately for Luke, or more accurately those around him, he has a large chip on his shoulder and is unpleasant to be around. It does not appear like this is a persona he has developed for poker like Tony G does. Tony is known to be a gentleman off the table but when playing he likes to berate his opponents and put them on tilt. Fullflush just rubs people up the wrong way and does not seem to care about it. One of my close poker buddies cannot even stand the mention of his name, which is the extent of feeling some people have towards him. My friend even commented that if he was a new player starting out he would try really hard to learn poker so he could try and bust him. Perhaps this is Lukes strategy, put people on tilt and then win their money.

Luke is very critical of many of the top online players, in particular Tom “Durrrr” Dwan whom he claims to have a massive edge over. Most knowledgeable poker players accept that Durrrr is one of the finest cash game players in the world both live and online and has more than held his own in the biggest games including those held at Bobby’s Room against the likes of Doyle Brunson, Patrik Antonius and David Benyamine. When asked for a one word opinion on Durrrr Luke replied “Gay”. This was highly disrespectful and this contributed to Luke’s growing unpopularity in Poker.

Karma is often fickle. Fullflush has a high opinion of himself and when people have this type of high self-opinion other people enjoy knocking them down. At the EPT London this week Luke bust out of the tournament and decided that as a VIP he was entitled to a free sandwich. I believe the Grosvenor probably want rid of him anyway and they challenged him to pay for the sandwich. Luke had not been awarded any type of VIP status by the casino but still refused to pay for the sandwich, believing he should be given it as a VIP. He was escorted from the premises by security and subsequently banned from participating in the EPT and from entering any Grosvenor Casinos.

It has been speculated that this was a deliberate attempt by Luke to have himself banned from high roller events to protect his bankroll. Internet forum members would love this to be the case. Luke is very vocal in his criticism of high stakes players that he can apparently easily beat but is rarely seen taking them on in the high stakes games where the top players are happy to face anyone who has the relevant buy-in.

So it appears that Luke is banned from future EPT events. Few will see this as a particular problem for the premier poker tour in Europe. It is ironic that a sandwich has done what many players wanted to do and eliminate Luke Schwartz from poker (at least in the high stakes EPT tournaments). It must have been a lovely sandwich…

By Malcolm Clarke

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