Tony G

Tony G Profile
	Nickname: Tony G TonyG Username: TonyG Web: www.tonygpoker.com Birthdate: December 17th 1973 Birthplace: Kaunas, Lithuania Residence: Melbourne, Australia Tournaments Won: 6 WSOP Bracelets: 0 Total Winnings: $2,428,558

Antanas Guoga, better known as Tony G, representing Australia, had reached the final table at the Grand Final of the 2006 Intercontinental Poker Championship. With just four players left he called from the small blind position with A♠ 2♠. ‘I want to play. I’ve got a weak hand though,’ he told Ralph Perry, the player to his left. The Russian, Ralph Perry raised the pot by 120,000 chips. ‘How much has he got?’ Guoga asked before announcing ‘All in,’ adding ‘You want to do this? Do this properly.’ Gouga’s goading worked and Perry called with all his chips, holding the weaker K♣ J♠. 2♣ 3♦ 10♠ was dealt on the flop giving Guoga a pair and reducing Perry’s chances further. The turn card was a 7♦ and though some in the crowd were calling for a king, the river was a 6♣. Guoga let out a celebratory yell and leapt to his feet. He walked around the table to berate Perry and pointing at Perry’s cards shouted ‘Look how ugly this is.’ He continued his tirade, adding, ‘you’re a terrible player. This is a disgraceful,’ before walking back towards his seat. ‘Bring the Russians on,’ he shouted sarcastically and before sitting down cannot resist ranting some more. ‘Feel the power, baby,’ Guoga yelled, looking at Perry who smiled weakly and almost inaudibly said, ‘good hand.’

As Perry left the crowd began to clap but indignantly Tony G sneered at them. ‘He doesn’t deserve any applause,’ he said. At the end, he placed second in the competition as his frequently used tactic of needling his opponents can only go so far. However sometimes Gouga can be quieter, as witnessed in a televised invitational cash game during the Aussie Millions tournament. Guoga was sitting amongst some of the biggest names in poker and it was he, Patrik Antonius and John Juanda who had called to see the flop. The pot stood at $8,500 and the flop of Q♦ 10♦ A♦ was dealt out. Guoga was holding K♦ J♦ and had flopped the best hand in poker but Juanda with K♣ Q♠, checked and Antonius with 10♠ 9♠ did likewise. Guoga slow-played and checked also and a 9♦ came on the turn. With four diamonds on the board, play was checked around once more and the Q♣ was drawn on the river. Juanda and Antonius checked again and this time Guoga, trying to get some more chips in the middle, bet $6,000 but Juanda despite having three queens folded. Antonius, with two pair thought for a while and folded also. Guoga turned over his cards to the amazement of all at the table. Sighing he said, ‘Pretty sick one, guys.’ He had won a paltry amount for the top of the flops, a royal flush.

Guoga was born in Lithuania and during his eleven years there was crowned the country’s Rubik’s Cube Champion. He left with his family left for Melbourne, Australia and now considers himself Australian. Poker came into his life when he was eighteen as did his nickname, ‘Tony G’ which is what he chalked onto the waiting list at his local poker hall. Early forays to Las Vegas were unsuccessful and required a fake ID so he returned to Europe and his game improved. He fared well in a small tournament in 2000 and was earning a reasonable living out of cash games when he decided in 2002 that his aggressive style and table manner might be more suited to tournament play. For the first couple of years, he played mostly in Austria, France and Russia and consistently reached the final table. He took a bad beat in the World Series of Poker backed 2002 Vienna Spring Festival when his pocket queens were out-drawn by a queen five and took second place.

His first victory came in a Heads Up Pot Limit Omaha tournament before he achieved a creditable fifth in the World Poker Tour’s Euro Finals of Poker main event. Famously, Howard Lederer had refused to shake his hand in this tournament after being offended by Guoga’s mouthy table manner. Later in the year, a trip to St. Petersburg, Russia, produced two victories in two days and in Paris the following year, his reputation was further enhanced when Guoga took second place in a major WPT event, pocketing $445,519. His largest cash prize to date occurred in London in August 2005, at the European Poker Championships. 2006 was arguably Guoga’s best year in terms of raising his profile. Firstly, he won the WPT Bad Boys of Poker II invitational event whilst wearing a kimono though the win was somewhat lucky when he got two pairs with 10♦ 8♦against Mike Matusow’s pocket kings.

With the Bad Boy title under his belt, he aptly displayed his nefarious nature in the Intercontinental Poker Championship with his ‘Bring the Russians on’ rant while also showcasing his burgeoning poker talent by taking second place. The following day he was sitting at his first final table at the 37th WSOP in a Texas Hold’em event. To end 2006, he won an Asian Poker Tour championship event in Singapore making it his most financially rewarding year in live tournaments. As if to prove his love of playing Russians, Guoga won the Moscow Millions in late 2007 and promptly handed his $205,000 winnings back to the organisers with instructions to pass it on to a Russian orphanage.

Tournaments aside, his steady poker income comes from playing poker online, where his records show he often brings in $10,000 a week. He sometimes can be found playing at Ultimate Bet as ‘wraptduck’ and Full Tilt Poker as ‘Tony G.’ He also has part ownership of the information sites, Pokerworks.com, Pokeraffiliateworld.com and Pokernews.com. However it is on his own site, which he started at the height of his fame in 2006, that he devotes most of his online playing time to and he hosts many tornaments and cash games at TonyGPoker.com. The site contains a disclaimer though as Guoga apologises to visitors for the fact that they will be unable to hear the needling side of his game play. In truth, people who meet him away from the poker table say he is very congenial which proves one thing. Tony G, the mouth from down under, is actually Antanas Guoga’s poker-playing alter ego and a talented one at that.

Tony G Tournament Wins
	Event* Date Position Winnings 39th WSOP 2008 Event 18 - No Limit Deuce to Seven Lowball Draw Jun 9th 2008 6th $78,076 Moscow Millions Nov 28th 2007 1st $205,000 WSOP Europe WSOP Pot Limit Omaha Championship Sep 8th 2007 3rd $176,934 NPL Global Poker Circuit UK Open Event 1 Aug 12th 2007 3rd $3,468 38th Annual WSOP Event 45 - WSOP No Limit Hold'em Short Handed Jun 28th 2007 10th $58,852 38th Annual WSOP Event 42 - WSOP Omaha Hi/Lo Jun 25th 2007 29th $5,345 38th Annual WSOP Event 31 - WSOP Heads Up - World Championship Jun 19th 2007 55th $9,212 Betfair Asian Poker Tour  Championship Nov 17th 2006 1st $451,700 Lithuanian Open Summer Festival No Limit Hold'em Aug 17th 2006 1st $10,818 37th Annual WSOP Event 34 - WSOP Jul 23rd 2006 9th $46,805 Intercontinental Poker Championship Grand Final Jul 22nd 2006 2nd $ 150,000 37th Annual WSOP Event 21 - WSOP No Limit Hold'em Short Handed Jul 13th 2006 68th $4,255 37th Annual WSOP Event 14 - WSOP Jul 8th 2006 22nd $11,589 WPT Bad Boys of Poker II   Feb 26th 2006 1st $ 25,000 2006 Crown Australian Poker Championship Event 3 - Championship Jan 8th 2006 10th $1,291 Monte Carlo Millions Nov 23rd 2005 8th $53,000 European Poker Championships Main Event - European Championship Aug 7th 2005 1st $487,422 Party Poker World Open  Grand Final Apr 3rd 2005 4th $80,000 Mirage Poker Showdown WPT Season 3 Aug 1st 2004 7th $67,505 Rendezvous a Paris WPT Season 3 Jul 21st 2004 2nd $445,519 35th Annual WSOP Event 6 - WSOP Pot Limit Hold'em Apr 27th 2004 30th $2,000 35th Annual WSOP Event 3 - WSOP Limit 7 Card Stud Apr 24th 2004 24th $2,140 5th Annual Jack Binion World Poker Open WPT Season 2 Event 18 Limit Hold'em Jan 24th 2004 8th $6,351 5th Annual Jack Binion World Poker Open WPT Season 2 Event 14 - Limit 7 Card Stud Hi/Lo Jan 21st 2004 7th $2,973 2003 Five Diamond WPT Season 2 Pot Limit Omaha Dec 13th 2003 3rd $28,518 2003 Five Diamond WPT Season 2 Limit Hold'em Dec 3rd 2003 9th $5,797 Moscow Open Pot Limit Hold'em Oct 15th 2003 4th $5,343 White Knights Poker Festival Jun 28th 2003 1st $9,166 White Knights Poker Festival Pot Limit Omaha Jun 27th 2003 1st $10,152 White Knights Poker Festival Pot Limit 7 Card Stud Jun 25th 2003 6th $1,287 Austrian Masters Jun 7th 2003 2nd $9,397 Vienna Spring Festival Mar 26th 2003 8th $3,923 Vienna Spring Festival Pot Limit Omaha Mar 18th 2003 3rd $4,929 Euro Finals of Poker WPT Event Season 1 Main Event Feb 15th 2003 5th $20,970 Euro Finals of Poker WPT Event Season 1 Feb 2nd 2003 4th $6,553 Worthersee Trophy & Casino Velden Masters 2002 Jul 20th 2002 8th $4,364 Summer Tournament Event 31 - Limit Omaha Hi/Lo Jun 20th 2002 4th $2,031 Austrian Masters Pot Limit Hold'em Jun 13th 2002 5th $3,866 Austrian Masters Pot Limit Hold'em Jun 10th 2002 7th $2,333 Austrian Masters Limit 7 Card Stud Jun 7th 2002 7th $1,337 Vienna Spring Festival The 6th Annual WSOP Trail Mar 14th 2002 2nd $57,969 Crown Summer Week Mike Comer Classic Pot Limit Omaha Jan 7th2000 5th $7,214

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