The PokerNews Profile: Peter 'Nordberg' Feldman
Peter Feldman is one of the more easygoing guys you'll encounter on the tournament circuit, though his patience was no doubt tried at this week's $10,000 L.A. Poker Classic Main Event. Up to over a million in chips with two tables to go, Feldman was poised to make a run at the final table, when his hopes were derailed, courtesy of two wicked bad beats. First his A♣10♣ fell to Blake Cahail's J♣ 10♥ when Cahail made a heart flush on the river, and then his A-K lost to A-8 when Andrew Cipman hit a runner-runner straight. Feldman was eliminated a short time later in 14th place, earning $57,796, well short of the $1.6 million first-place prize his eyes had been fixed on. Still, Feldman emerged from the LAPC with over $77,000 in earnings, also having cashed in the $10,000 buy-in Heads-Up No-Limit Hold'em event.
Peter Feldman grew up in Harper Woods, Michigan, a lakeside town north of Detroit. After his graduation from the University of Michigan in 1999, Feldman returned home to work for his father's business constructing masts for sailboats. An avid film buff, Feldman was inspired to start playing poker after watching Rounders and started playing online under the screen name "Nordberg" — a nod to O.J. Simpson's character Detective Nordberg in the Naked Gun films. Feldman concentrated on sit-'n'-goes and no-limit hold'em tournaments with the occasion foray into live games at the Motor City and Greektown casinos in Detroit. It was in September 2005, though, after winning a PartyPoker tournament for $173,000, that Feldman realized he could earn a living at poker and decided to take his game more seriously. By winning seats online, Feldman was able to get into higher buy-in tournaments without putting undue stress on his nascent bankroll. He made his first major finish at the 2006 WPT Borgata Poker Open, where he bubbled off the televised final table in seventh place. It was there that he met two pros that would become some of his best friends — Gavin Smith and Erick Lindgren.
Five months later, at the $10,000 WSOP-Circuit event in New Orleans, Peter Feldman ended up heads-up against Smith for the championship ring. The two engaged in an epic heads-up battle where Feldman overcame a chip deficit to come out on top, winning $532,950 — still his biggest score to date. Only a year later, Feldman earned himself another WSOP-C ring, winning the $5,000 Championship Event at Harrah's Rincon. Again, his buddy Smith was at the final table (Smith finished seventh) along with runner-up Davidson Matthew, Gavin Griffin, Shane Schleger, and Erik Cajelais. Feldman took home over $280,000 for his win and joined Chris Ferguson in the elite multiple-ring-winners' club.
Feldman remained consistent on the live circuit throughout 2007. He cashed the WPT Shooting Stars, made the final table of the $3,000 No-Limit Hold'em event at the Bellagio Five Star Classic, cashed three times at the WSOP including the Main Event, and went deep at the WPT Legends of Poker, finishing 13th. In '08, Feldman cashed the Aussie Millions Main Event in 33rd place and came oh-so-close to a WSOP final table, finishing 12th in the $1,000 No-Limit Hold'em with Rebuys event. Feldman also picked up sponsorship from Full Tilt Poker, where his now notorious "Nordberg" screen name was colored red. Online, Feldman remained a serious tournament threat, notching a win in the $90,000 Guarantee on Full Tilt and finishing runner-up in the PokerStars $109 NLHE with Rebuys. Primarily, though, Feldman's online bread-and-butter continued to be high-buy-in sit-'n'-goes. Playing anything from $169 super turbos to $5,000 full ring NLHE, Feldman has amassed hundreds of thousands in winnings playing SNGs alone.
Like many of his fellow pros, Peter Feldman is developing a second passion away from the poker tables — golf. Feldman is reported to be about a 12 handicap and when he's off the circuit, he can often be found on the Las Vegas links, gambling ridiculous amounts per hole with the likes of Smith, Lindgren, and Daniel Negreanu.
