I'm sad to report that Mike has passed away:
Nice little Obit written-up here:
http://www.pokernews.com/news/2013/11/mike-little-man-sica-passes-away-16772.htm
Mike was a good friend of mine -- someone who I had met through Shadow (Mike McAndrew) and Allen Hopkins. Mike would often stay at Shadow's place in Vegas for an entire month, usually the lead-up to the WPT Main Event. Over the years, I always tried to schedule my Vegas vacation and stay with Shadow when I knew Sica would be in town as well. That way, I KNEEEEEW it was going to be non-stop entertainment.
Mike was not only a profession poker tour player, but he would bet at anything - pool...cards...whatever. He would often bet huge sums of cash if he felt he had a chance, often against legends of the game. I've heard of stories where he would play Mizerak at his old room getting weight. He would also stake champions and make sure he managed the bets flying off the rail.
In regards to his pool game, Mike played very well - I believe he ran over 100 many years ago. Even if he was a huge underdog in a game, his MASSIVE heart carried him through a lot of gambling battles. In situations where better players should have won, they often cracked under the pressure when his game would always sustain or even click up a few notches.
He recently bet something like $15k that he would lose more weight than a friend of his. This went-off roughly 3 or 4 years ago and came to a conclusion just before the World 14.1 in New Brunswick. The story he told could have been a stand-up routine.
You'd have to picture this heavy NJ accent with a higher-pitched, raspy-voice: Telling stories of seeing the guy and buying him a drink when they ran into each other (but not one for himself).... you get the idea. Mike had the entire bar area of the World 14.1 in the palm of his hand -- everyone was gasping for air, they were laughing so hard.
In regards to his poker game, I thought Mike was a genius. I recall countless nights sitting behind him packing away my vodka and tonics while he would play in cash games on PokerStars. Mike would often be chewing on toothpick after toothpick, one after another, while playing his hands (every few toothpicks, he'd eat a peppercini pepper - he clearly had a system).
Even though I consider myself an above-average poker player and well-rounded as far as the games I play, I didn't realize how bad I really played until watching Sica in action. He would throw away cards I often played and kept cards when I definitely wouldn't. Even though he was gambling big amounts of money (for me) online, he would always welcomed questions in the middle of plays so that he could commentate exactly what his thought process was at the time. As he would explain his plays, he would be saying something like:
"Now, I'm in the 3rd position pre-flop with (such and such) hole cards, as it sits, I'm a X% favorite.
(flop comes....card...card...card....)
"Ok, now I'm only sitting at Y% based on the flop and position. First guy is betting, and I can't push in this position with this hand... so I have to fold."
For me, it was an awakening --- not unlike when I first watched Hopkins play in person when I was just starting to learn how to play pool well. It immediately reset my perspective on what "good" really was.... and Sica was a gifted poker player and gifted "gambler," in general.
They broke the mold with Mike --- I've NEVER met anyone quite like him. He was truly unique. Without a doubt, bar-none, he was the very-very best story teller I've ever met. Every single story that came out of his mouth would not only put you to tears and suffocate you (meaning, you couldn't breathe because of laughing so hard), but he would literally pull you into each and every story as if you were there. UNFORTUNATELY, I can't repeat a single story of his due to many of them involving other people and players ---- and almost each story was inappropriately funny...if you catch my drift.
Although I can't repeat any of his stories, I'll share one of my own that rates as one of the funniest moments of my entire life, without a doubt...
This was about 6 or 7 years ago, we were all in Vegas and Shadow had suggested that we all go to the "Comedy Stop at the Trop" -- which was a comedy club that tended to get top-tier comics rolling through at times. Whenever Sica went out, he dressed like a WPT player: all of his outfits were matching/coordinated from his baseball cap (he would bring like FIFTY to Vegas with him, just to match what he MIGHT wear) down to his shoes -- everything "fit" and looked like an engineered wardrobe.
When it was our turn to get seated, we slipped the usher a few sheckles and the guy sat us in the very front table, directly in front of the microphone on state. When the show got started, the lights would dim to the point where you could only really see the stage.
As I mentioned before, Mike would have a "thing" for toothpicks and often carried them in a plastic toothpick case. It didn't take long for him to go from one toothpick to the next and when he did, you'd hear the *CLACK* *CLACK* *CLACK* of toothpicks slapping the side of the case while flipping it around in his hand a few times before finally picking out the lucky toothpick and stuffing it in his mouth.
Of course, sitting in that seat resulted in us being "targeting" by the comedians. We'd often be the butt of jokes and insults and the entire audience would erupt in laughter and all through the night, you would hear the constant *CLACK* *CLACK* *CLACK* of Mike's toothpick case, signaling the expiration of the previous toothpick and the acquisition of the new one. Thinking back, the "clacking" was pretty often -- it's almost as if he sucked on it and chewed on it for about 2 mins and went for another one. As this was happening, I really thought nothing of it.
The last comedian pulled the, "What's your name sir - what do you do for a living?" move to Mike, thinking he would be an easy target. Mike replied with something like, "Little Man.... I'm a poker player."
This gave the comedian all the fuel he needed: "LITTLE MAN!?!?? ***looking creeped-out to the audience*** ( implying that Mike... well, ya know)
"Poker player, eh? That prob means you got a ton of money... pretty rich guy, eh?"
Mike laughed and screamed out, "Yeah right... I'm flat broke!! You should stake me!"
I was like, "Mike - why'd you say you were flat broke and let that guy make an ass out of ya with a smile?" He whispered, "Because I want to leave with my money." He then huddled the table together and said something to the effect of, "If I stood on my knot I'd be 8 inches taller than this nit" and when he said that, we all cracked-up. The comedian saw we got a good belly laugh and he didn't even get to his joke yet, so he asked what was so funny and Mike blurted out in his high-pitched NJ-raspy voice: "Who's paying who???" and the timing was so perfect, the entire audience lost it and it totally threw the comedian into a funk.
The show ended and the lights came on and people started to make their way out of the comedy club. Out of nowhere, Shadow starts laughing so hard, he's literally crying ... he can't even tell us why he's laughing so hard.... all he could do was point. He pointed to the floor and under the table where Mike was sitting had LITERALLY 200 toothpicks sticking out of the carpet.
As he pulled the old toothpick out, he flicked it hard to the ground and just got a new one. He must've flicked them hard, because each one was vertical and he never did it by looking, that's for sure. It looked like they literally "grew" out of the carpet.... I've never seen anything like it. This would be the point where I would post a picture of the toothpicks, but I didn't take one because we were all in stitches.
Rest in peace, Mike.... and thank you for the ride and the experience.
Nice little Obit written-up here:
http://www.pokernews.com/news/2013/11/mike-little-man-sica-passes-away-16772.htm
Mike was a good friend of mine -- someone who I had met through Shadow (Mike McAndrew) and Allen Hopkins. Mike would often stay at Shadow's place in Vegas for an entire month, usually the lead-up to the WPT Main Event. Over the years, I always tried to schedule my Vegas vacation and stay with Shadow when I knew Sica would be in town as well. That way, I KNEEEEEW it was going to be non-stop entertainment.
Mike was not only a profession poker tour player, but he would bet at anything - pool...cards...whatever. He would often bet huge sums of cash if he felt he had a chance, often against legends of the game. I've heard of stories where he would play Mizerak at his old room getting weight. He would also stake champions and make sure he managed the bets flying off the rail.
In regards to his pool game, Mike played very well - I believe he ran over 100 many years ago. Even if he was a huge underdog in a game, his MASSIVE heart carried him through a lot of gambling battles. In situations where better players should have won, they often cracked under the pressure when his game would always sustain or even click up a few notches.
He recently bet something like $15k that he would lose more weight than a friend of his. This went-off roughly 3 or 4 years ago and came to a conclusion just before the World 14.1 in New Brunswick. The story he told could have been a stand-up routine.
You'd have to picture this heavy NJ accent with a higher-pitched, raspy-voice: Telling stories of seeing the guy and buying him a drink when they ran into each other (but not one for himself).... you get the idea. Mike had the entire bar area of the World 14.1 in the palm of his hand -- everyone was gasping for air, they were laughing so hard.
In regards to his poker game, I thought Mike was a genius. I recall countless nights sitting behind him packing away my vodka and tonics while he would play in cash games on PokerStars. Mike would often be chewing on toothpick after toothpick, one after another, while playing his hands (every few toothpicks, he'd eat a peppercini pepper - he clearly had a system).
Even though I consider myself an above-average poker player and well-rounded as far as the games I play, I didn't realize how bad I really played until watching Sica in action. He would throw away cards I often played and kept cards when I definitely wouldn't. Even though he was gambling big amounts of money (for me) online, he would always welcomed questions in the middle of plays so that he could commentate exactly what his thought process was at the time. As he would explain his plays, he would be saying something like:
"Now, I'm in the 3rd position pre-flop with (such and such) hole cards, as it sits, I'm a X% favorite.
(flop comes....card...card...card....)
"Ok, now I'm only sitting at Y% based on the flop and position. First guy is betting, and I can't push in this position with this hand... so I have to fold."
For me, it was an awakening --- not unlike when I first watched Hopkins play in person when I was just starting to learn how to play pool well. It immediately reset my perspective on what "good" really was.... and Sica was a gifted poker player and gifted "gambler," in general.
They broke the mold with Mike --- I've NEVER met anyone quite like him. He was truly unique. Without a doubt, bar-none, he was the very-very best story teller I've ever met. Every single story that came out of his mouth would not only put you to tears and suffocate you (meaning, you couldn't breathe because of laughing so hard), but he would literally pull you into each and every story as if you were there. UNFORTUNATELY, I can't repeat a single story of his due to many of them involving other people and players ---- and almost each story was inappropriately funny...if you catch my drift.
Although I can't repeat any of his stories, I'll share one of my own that rates as one of the funniest moments of my entire life, without a doubt...
This was about 6 or 7 years ago, we were all in Vegas and Shadow had suggested that we all go to the "Comedy Stop at the Trop" -- which was a comedy club that tended to get top-tier comics rolling through at times. Whenever Sica went out, he dressed like a WPT player: all of his outfits were matching/coordinated from his baseball cap (he would bring like FIFTY to Vegas with him, just to match what he MIGHT wear) down to his shoes -- everything "fit" and looked like an engineered wardrobe.
When it was our turn to get seated, we slipped the usher a few sheckles and the guy sat us in the very front table, directly in front of the microphone on state. When the show got started, the lights would dim to the point where you could only really see the stage.
As I mentioned before, Mike would have a "thing" for toothpicks and often carried them in a plastic toothpick case. It didn't take long for him to go from one toothpick to the next and when he did, you'd hear the *CLACK* *CLACK* *CLACK* of toothpicks slapping the side of the case while flipping it around in his hand a few times before finally picking out the lucky toothpick and stuffing it in his mouth.
Of course, sitting in that seat resulted in us being "targeting" by the comedians. We'd often be the butt of jokes and insults and the entire audience would erupt in laughter and all through the night, you would hear the constant *CLACK* *CLACK* *CLACK* of Mike's toothpick case, signaling the expiration of the previous toothpick and the acquisition of the new one. Thinking back, the "clacking" was pretty often -- it's almost as if he sucked on it and chewed on it for about 2 mins and went for another one. As this was happening, I really thought nothing of it.
The last comedian pulled the, "What's your name sir - what do you do for a living?" move to Mike, thinking he would be an easy target. Mike replied with something like, "Little Man.... I'm a poker player."
This gave the comedian all the fuel he needed: "LITTLE MAN!?!?? ***looking creeped-out to the audience*** ( implying that Mike... well, ya know)
"Poker player, eh? That prob means you got a ton of money... pretty rich guy, eh?"
Mike laughed and screamed out, "Yeah right... I'm flat broke!! You should stake me!"
I was like, "Mike - why'd you say you were flat broke and let that guy make an ass out of ya with a smile?" He whispered, "Because I want to leave with my money." He then huddled the table together and said something to the effect of, "If I stood on my knot I'd be 8 inches taller than this nit" and when he said that, we all cracked-up. The comedian saw we got a good belly laugh and he didn't even get to his joke yet, so he asked what was so funny and Mike blurted out in his high-pitched NJ-raspy voice: "Who's paying who???" and the timing was so perfect, the entire audience lost it and it totally threw the comedian into a funk.
The show ended and the lights came on and people started to make their way out of the comedy club. Out of nowhere, Shadow starts laughing so hard, he's literally crying ... he can't even tell us why he's laughing so hard.... all he could do was point. He pointed to the floor and under the table where Mike was sitting had LITERALLY 200 toothpicks sticking out of the carpet.
As he pulled the old toothpick out, he flicked it hard to the ground and just got a new one. He must've flicked them hard, because each one was vertical and he never did it by looking, that's for sure. It looked like they literally "grew" out of the carpet.... I've never seen anything like it. This would be the point where I would post a picture of the toothpicks, but I didn't take one because we were all in stitches.
Rest in peace, Mike.... and thank you for the ride and the experience.
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