Max Pescatori plays online at Full Tilt Poker.

A native of Milan, Italy, Max is as colorful as the clothes designed in his hometown. Known as the "Italian Pirate" because of his trademark Italian flag bandana, Max is considered one of the most likeable - and ruthless - players in the world.

Max has been a games player since he was young and would often skip opportunities to go to the beach or nightclubs with his friends so that he could stay home and hone his skills. Ultimately, his dedication would lead him to the card capital of the world - Las Vegas.

On the Strip, Max worked during the day and honed his poker skills at night. By playing cash games, his poker IQ grew and his moonlighting gig began turning a respectable profit. Then, in 1998, he sought the advice of Valter Farina - the first Italian to win a World Series of Poker (WSOP) bracelet. Farina agreed to mentor Max and, after a year of training, Max left his day job and turned pro.

At first, Max's professional career was based only on cash games. However, the winds of change began to blow when he won a trip to the World Poker Tour tournament in Aruba. Although Max didn't place in the tournament, he ended up winning something far more important: the friendship of fellow Italian Marco Traniello and his wife, Team Full Tilt's Jennifer Harman. When they returned to Las Vegas, Jennifer started Max's poker education all over again. It's a time Max describes as a new chapter in his career.

Jennifer invited Max to watch her play in the Big Game at the Bellagio, where she regularly faced off against Phil Ivey, Doyle Brunson, and Chip Reese. Most importantly, she showed him her cards before each hand, giving Max a rare insight into how she played against the biggest names in poker.

Jennifer's lessons, which were more about the poker psychology than calculating odds and percentages, changed how Max thought about poker and enabled him to play on a whole new level. Max quickly moved from playing $30-$60 cash games to $80-$160. Then, further encouraged by his success, Max decided to jump headfirst into the world of tournament poker. It was a decision that would pay off a pirate's ransom. Max's solid play quickly earned him two World Poker Challenge wins in 2003, the start of a long string of victories and final tables that continues through today.

In 2004, he had two money finishes at the WSOP and made eight final tables in the Ultimate Poker Challenge. In 2005, he did even better. Max made the final table of the L.A. Poker Classic, finished second in the Mirage Poker Showdown, and had six WSOP money finishes. Based on these accomplishments, Max was ranked ninth on Cardplayer's Player of the Year list in 2005, the highest ranking ever achieved by an Italian player. Then, at the 2006 WSOP, Max earned his highest honor yet when he won a gold bracelet in the $2,500 No-Limit Hold 'em event - adding more than $682,000 to his winnings.

Max continued to experience great success in 2007, cashing in three more WSOP events and one WPT event in addition to his other tournament accomplishments. But it wasn’t until the 2008 WSOP that Max struck gold again. After cashing in two prior events, Max took down the $2.5K Pot-Limit Hold ‘em/Omaha event. In addition to besting a field of 457 opponents, he earned over $246K – and his second bracelet.

Since his bracelet wins, Max "The Italian Pirate" continues to pillage the poker world, one table at a time. When he's not plundering chip stacks in live games, you can find him online, playing at Full Tilt Poker.