 Josh Arieh won his first World Series of Poker bracelet in 1999, but it was actually his third place finish in the WSOP Main Event in 2004 that put him on the map - though not necessarily in the way he would have liked.
When the Main Event final table aired on ESPN, Arieh was made out to be the "bad guy" at the table. His trash talking, blaring headphones and aggressive play may come across as poor table etiquette, but he isn't sorry for his overall demeanor at the poker table. Though he's a young player, he comes from an "old-school" poker background that is all about doing anything within the rules to throw off your opponent's game. "I mean, that's just me," Arieh said in a PokerListings.com interview. "I don't think of myself as a badass, but I'm not going to lay in bed at night and regret getting somebody off their game, because they're not going to pay my bills for me."
It was 2004 that hurled him to the forefront of the poker world with his third-place finish in the WSOP Main Event. Not only did he gain notoriety for his table image, he walked away with a huge payday of $2.5 million. The win allowed his wife, Angela, to be able to quit her job and help manage his poker career, and Arieh says it helped him take his game to another level.
Arieh uses Bodog.com to hone his poker tournament skills when he's not in a live tournament. He used to play online more than 50 hours per week and has said the Internet provides a good place for people of all ages to learn and recognize situations that come up in poker tournaments.
One of the things Arieh has learned that have made him so successful is bankroll management. He recommends sticking to levels your comfortable playing and developing blinders in the casinos so you don't get sidetracked by the other games and betting going on that can create a leak in your bankroll that's hard to plug.
 His second piece of advice is to take the game more seriously than your opponents. He's spent thousands of hours working on his game - at home, online and in live games - in order to get to the level he's at now.
When not busy on the road or working on his poker skills, Arieh enjoys golf and playing pool back in his hometown of Atlanta along with spending time with his wife and three children. |
