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I
met Coach in 1970 when I began playing Bridge in Detroit. Below are
a few pictures of our friendship throughout the years. Coach has
given VCO permission to pick out "The Best" of his many Poker
columns he has written over the years to share with our VCO readers.
Marleen Marino VCO Publisher
Bob's bio from his personal Web site reads;
I was born in
Brooklyn, New York on December 10, 1940, the son of Alfred and
Marjorie Ciaffone, their only child. We moved to Baldwin, Long Island
in 1943 and to Saginaw, Michigan in 1951. My dad was the Director of
Catholic Family Service for the Saginaw Diocese for about 25 years; my
mother was a librarian. (Both my parents are now deceased.) I grew up
in Saginaw, graduating from St. Andrew High School in 1957.
My gameplaying started at an early age. I learned chess at age four,
poker at age nine, and bridge at age fifteen.
The game that influenced the course of my life the most in my early
years was pool. I first learned how to play when I was a
sixteen-year-old freshman at the University of Notre Dame. The result
was I spent a lot of time in the university poolroom, and became a
good player. Unfortunately, despite being the highest-rated person in
my class according to the entrance exams, I eventually flunked out of
school. When you are handy with a cuestick, the money comes easy, and
you have ample opportunity to get involved with other forms of
gambling.
I've never been married. Frankly, this was not a deliberate decision,
just the way things turned out.
I moved to the Detroit area in 1968 and lived there for 12 years. Some
other places I have lived are Dallas from 1980 to 1983, Las Vegas from
1983 to 1994, and Downey (in the Los Angeles area) from 1994 to 1996.
I moved back to Saginaw in May of 1996 so I could live with my father
after my mother died. The move worked out fine for me, enjoying life
with father, and having the time to devote to writing. My dad died in
July of 2003, but I am going to remain in Saginaw. I have a home which
I love, and a sleepy town is just what I need to continue writing more
books.
My lifestyle has had its plusses and minuses, but on balance my life
has been a happy one. There have been two great joys. First, I have
been able to earn a living doing something I love. Second, I have made
an enormous number of friends through my gameplaying.
Some of the places Coach is a
contributing columnist:
www.checknraisepoker.com/about/roberts_rules/
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Bob Ciaffone
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Bob Ciaffone |
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Nickname(s) |
The Coach |
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Hometown |
Saginaw, Michigan |
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World Series of Poker |
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Bracelet(s) |
0 |
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Money finishes |
5 |
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Highest ITM main
event finish |
3rd, 1987 |
Bob "The Coach" Ciaffone
(born December 10, 1940 in Brooklyn, New York) is the author
of Robert's Rules of Poker, and an American poker player,
based in Saginaw, Michigan.
Ciaffone finished third in the 1987 World Series of Poker
(WSOP) $10,000 no limit Texas hold 'em main event, winning
$125,000. In that same year, he finished fourth in the WSOP
$2,500 pot limit Omaha hold 'em event and fifth in the WSOP
$1,000 no limit Texas hold 'em event. As of 2006, his total
live tournament winnings exceed $220,000.
A regular columnist in Card Player Magazine, Ciaffone is
a noted authority on U.S. gambling laws related to poker. He
founded Fair Laws on Poker, a non-profit organization
dedicated to improving local, state, and national laws that
apply to poker. He was the president of the Michigan Chess
Association in 2003 and is the author of four books on poker
and two books on chess, as well as having been awarded the
Life Master title by the United States Chess Federation.
As of 2007, his total live tournament winnings exceed
$230,000 |
I'd like to personally welcome Coach
to the VCO family.
Marleen Marino / Publisher |
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