Nick Frangos

Seven Card Stud was considered primarily an older person’s game in Atlantic City. That is until Nick Frangos came along. Known as “Big Nicky” when he first started, Frangos brought the aggression of No Limit Holdem to the Stud tables and quickly started rising through the cash game ranks in Atlantic City. Over the years, Frangos lost a lot of weight and now is known as “Little Nicky,” but the man still carries a lot of game.

Frangos prefers to live in Mays Landing, NJ, which is just a short drive to Atlantic City. He says that he likes living on the east coast and has everything that he could need. One thing that Atlantic City has a lot of that you won’t find in Vegas is 7 Card Stud. Stud is primarily an East Coast game, although you can find games spread in Los Angeles. The Trump Taj Mahal is one of the biggest stud rooms in AC. Borgata has some stud, but primarily at the higher limits, and mostly on the weekends.

Frangos is not just a stud player. He is a great player in all the games, but he is considered one of the best Stud players around. He isn’t as big of a household name as other players due to the fact that he does not play as many tournaments as many of the pros on the circuit. Frangos has a bad back and his doctors have told him that he cannot sit for long periods of time. This does not affect him that much in a cash game, but in a tournament, it is difficult to constantly be moving around and still be able to play effectively.

While Frangos does not play a lot of tournaments, he has had a degree of success. He has won over $800,000 in live tournaments and 11 cashes at the World Series of Poker. His two best WSOP finishes were in Stud events. He finished 4th in the Stud World Championship in 2004 and 2nd in the $2,000 Stud Event in 2007.

Frangos once said in an interview that he stays away from some of the mixed games in Vegas because they usually include some type of game such as Badugi or Triple Draw Lowball. He thinks that those games involve a lot of luck and not much skill. He admits that Stud indeed has a variant of luck, much like any poker game, but you can still be very skillful in the game.

Frangos has risen through the ranks in the stud capital of the world to become one of the best stud players on the planet today. From his winnings, he has been able to buy a home and make a nice life for himself and his family. If you decide to play at the higher limit tables, keep an eye out for Frangos. If he is at your table, you may want to move to another table or stick with Holdem.