Things you might not know:
- Amit grew up in a close Israeli family that didn't approve of his gambling at first.
- Amit started traveling to the United States to play cash games once he outgrew the Israeli poker scene.
- Amit's success has led to his family's support and view of playing poker as just another type of business.
- Amit has the distinction of being the only player to suffer a penalty while heads-up at a WSOP final table for swearing. He was given a 10-minute penalty during heads up play for saying the F-word to his opponent Vinny Vinh.
- Amit continued to vent during his penalty, mocking other players and trash talking his opponents from afar. He had lost 200k worth of chips in forced antes but was still able to come back for the $511k victory.
- Amit made headlines and was interviewed by USA Today who portrayed Amit as a new breed of poker rock star player.
- Amit's 2005 $500k win at the WSOP gave him the bug to start playing more WSOP events each year.
- Amit cashed in six events, final tabling two of them in the following year, 2006.
- Amit made a chop at the 2007 event he won because he was also playing the Pot-Limit Omaha championship simultaneously.
- Amit was a regular in the online high stakes PLO games on Full Tilt as "Howisitfeellike" over the years.
- 2008 was a banner year on Full Tilt as Amit won $2.8 million through September, behind only Phil Ivey, David Benyamine, and Phil Galfond.
- Amit has a reputation as a volatile and emotional player that knows how to needle opponents. He has had outburst online with Urindangers, Brian Hastings and Viktor “Isildur1” Blom.
- Amit, playing as "refaelamit" on PokerStars, booked a $262k profit through the end of 2010, he has steadily returned to the bigger PLO games on PokerStars.
- Amit enjoyed his biggest winning month in February 2011, booking a $562k win at the tables.
In a USA Today interview Amit admitted his early days in poker were tough
"In Israel, if you're a poker player, it's like you're a drug dealer. My family was like, 'You're losing your money, you're losing your mind.'"
With his continued success in online and live environments, acceptance has increased. August and September have seen his cash winnings increase by $1 million in the active PokerStars games. Amit is poised to join the world's elite in the game if his winnings continue.Three Amit videos; a WSOP interview and two segments of a 2006 WSOP final table:
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