Mickey Petersen: could be the Lebron James of Poker.

Quick lesson today — from another 20-year-old kid who seems decidedly anti-baller despite going on a hella baller tear since he began his “career” two-and-a-half years ago. Now a CardRunners instructor after turning pro fresh outta high school, Mickey Petersen, known among avid onliners as Mement_mori, is in the running for CardPlayer’s Online Player of the Year at #13 … and ranks 2nd in the world over at 5+5, with qualifying results spread across 18 pages.

Though CardPlayer’s OPOY counts only $1.05 million earned with 18 final tables and two wins in the past year, Pocket Fives totals his wins at $2.7 million. But the stat I find most mind-blowing with this Gen-Z Magic player (inspired by the likes of David Williams, Eric Froehlich, and Dario Minieri to make the crossover into poker, he tells CardPlayer) … Petersen’s average cash is $1,527 … in 1,778 money finishes! Gotta think Phil Hellmuth couldn’t claim more than double that (live and online) over his entire life even if he included cash games … which says a lot because Hellmuth had already won the main event before Peterson was even born.

With Peter Eastgate retired and Gus Hansen one of the losingest players of the year (even if he takes down a WSOPE bracelet today ), seems like Mement_mori (Latin for “Remember you will die”) has easy claim as the best player in Denmark even though he has yet to cash in a live event. It doesn’t cost online players a thing to get their Cardrunners schooling with financial aid from Truly Free Poker Training. (Sign up here – promise you’ll qualify.)

Talking about actual magic here, not the Magic the Gathering… The Colorado kid found himself “addicted” to poker and subsequently became intrigued by magic tricks. He even invented a new one. And the story about finding an alternative to the “unhealthy” habit of poker evidently warranted a piece on a local television station. Guess real news about people losing their jobs and homes is in short order…

Barron Vangor Toth (right) with his Gutshot photog friend Jen B at the WSOP.

Barron Vangor Toth died last week, reportedly of cancer. He was an intelligent poster on 2+2 who would later go on to make his presence known around the WSOP writing for Gutshot … respected for his ability to capture the underlying excitement of limit hold’em and math in action. He was also the Connecticut state director for the Poker Players Alliance.

Prior to poker, Barron ran a shop selling comics and Magic the Gathering supplies … and from there became a game designer — most notably the co-creator of WWE Raw Deal (basically professional wrestling-meets-Magic) — which grew for seven years before being discontinued at the end of 2007. At the time of his death, he was site director for PlanetWWE.

Barron wrote a little about his health struggles here. He was 34.

Sincere regards.