Mexican-born poker pro J.C. Alvarado took up poker in his teens. A member of the generation of players who became hooked on poker by the cult classic Rounders, Alvarado differs from his peers in that it wasn't until he saw Greg Raymer take down the 2004 WSOP Main Event that he began to take poker seriously.

A group of J.C.'s friends started up a weekly home game that soon become a bi-weekly and then a daily event. After several months of raking pots around the kitchen table, J.C. heard about online poker and went in for the kill.

He began depositing and losing money but eventually...

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Mexican-born poker pro J.C. Alvarado took up poker in his teens. A member of the generation of players who became hooked on poker by the cult classic Rounders, Alvarado differs from his peers in that it wasn't until he saw Greg Raymer take down the 2004 WSOP Main Event that he began to take poker seriously.

A group of J.C.'s friends started up a weekly home game that soon become a bi-weekly and then a daily event. After several months of raking pots around the kitchen table, J.C. heard about online poker and went in for the kill.

He began depositing and losing money but eventually improved and started to beat the online games. When he turned 21 in 2006 he went straight to the WSOP. Undeterred that he didn't cash in any events that summer, J.C. decided to permanently make the switch from online to live play. He began to tour the live circuit playing mostly No-Limit Hold'em WPT events. A smart decision by any estimation.

After a year of live play, he had three WPT cashes to his name, including a second-place finish in the WPT Season 5 World Poker Challenge main event for a $366,798 payday. He followed that up with an eighth-place win in the WPT Season 6 Mandalay Bay Championship and two cashes in the 2007 WSOP.

Humble but confident, J.C. encourages young rounders new to the live tournament scene to be patient. He believes it takes time to adjust to live play when you are used to the online environment, and cautions newcomers to study physical tells and learn how to read opponents. Though he was a non-believer in these aspects of the game when he first started playing live, he now admits this knowledge has made all the difference in his own ability to take down pot after pot at the green felt.

Alvarado continues to split his time between his home in Las Vegas and the international tournament trail. Fans can keep abreast of his wins, losses and thoughts through his PokerListings.com blog or by visiting his Web site.