Despite his considerable success, he’s has taken criticism from a number of pros including Luke Schwartz and Mike Sexton, for his sometimes unconventional style at the table.
During the Party Poker Premier League Mixed Game Championship last fall (which he would ultimately win), Frankenberger made a play with pocket queens that was universally panned by players at the table with Sexton even calling it one of the worst folds he had ever seen.
For those unfamiliar with the hand Frankenberger made a massive laydown with pocket queens against Yevgeniy Timoshenko with a massive portion of his stack already committed.
“It was a horrible play,” said Frankenberger. “There’s no question about it but in the context of the Premier League, there was a lot going on.”
Frankenberger explained his first mistake was over betting the pot when Timoshenko raised him.
“I hadn’t played a lot of Pot-Limit games so when I called pot, I hadn’t really thought about how big the raise was,” he said.
His next mistake was based on his focus on the unique point structure of the Premier League.
"Had it been a standard sit-n-go or a cash game, I would have snap shoved after Timoshenko five-bet,” he said. “People look at this hand and think I don't understand pot odds, but there was a lot going on here. I was focused on the points."
In addition Frankenberger had used his Double-Up card, which meant he would receive twice as many points in the round.
"I focused too much on the points," he said.
He admitted that while his decision to fold was a poor one, he was able to outlast Sexton and gain a several critical points for the final table.
“To call me an unconventional player is definitely a fair assessment but when you look at the Premier League structure,” he said. “I think you have to be unconventional to win.”
Frankenberger went on to beat Andrew Feldman to win the Party Poker Mixed Championship for $100k. His unconventional style paid off in one of the final hands of the tournament when he made a huge bluff with A-9 offsuit. The hand essentially clinched the tournament.
Despite his critics, Frankenberger continues to crush live poker and most recently made it into the final eight of the $3k Heads-Up No-Limit Hold’em/Pot-Limit Omaha event at the 2012 WSOP.
A former equity derivatives trader Frankenberger has only been playing poker professionally for the last two years and doesn’t see himself leaving the game any time soon.
“As long as I can keep winning I’m going to keep doing it,” he said.
“If I ever feel that I don’t have an edge and I’m throwing money out the window then I’m going to say goodbye to poker but I don’t see that happening. I’m pretty confident and really enjoying myself.”
The 2012 WSOP continues through July 16, 2012. For in-depth coverage live from Las Vegas check PokerListings' Live Updates brought to you by 888poker.
Visit www.pokerlistings.com