WSOP 2006

Author: Simon Dexter

In the space of eighteen months, online poker has become the nation’s favoured topic of conversation, spawning a new language as people discuss everything about poker games games; from poker hands, to ‘gunshot straights’ and ‘pocket pairs’ at work, in the pub or on the bus. Earlier this week, I was even sent a BBC script from one of the corporation’s daytime TV soaps and asked to advise upon the accuracy of its poker content before actors play the game in several forthcoming scenes.

In truth, internet poker’s accessibility is part of its attraction and I maintain that a good amateur player is perfectly capable of holding his own in the most exalted poker company. This was proved beyond doubt (again) at the 2006 WSOP in Vegas.

Take Jamie Gold, the appropriately named television producer from California, who saw off 8,772 challengers to claim internet poker’s greatest prize after heading into the WSOP’s final table of nine as the clear chip leader. The ecstatic 36-year-old initially learned to play poker from his mother and by taking part in regular home games, although he has also clearly benefited from the expert poker tuition he received from Johnny Chan.

As if to emphasise poker’s burgeoning popularity, everything about this year’s WSOP was bigger than last - the first prize in particular was an incredible $4.5 million higher than that won by Joe Hachem (another unexpected victor) in 2005. Even the player finishing the poker game in 873rd place won $14,597.

It was on Tuesday, as the final 60 poker game participants were whittled down to 27, that the action really began to heat up; after all, finishing in 27th place still guaranteed a $494,797 pay-out. However, having got this close, the aim of everyone on those closing-stage tables was to make it to Thursday’s final nine, even though it was possible to become a dollar millionaire by ending the tournament as ‘low’ as twelfth.

The final table comprised the usual collection of Swedes (Erik Friberg), insurance agents (Rhett Butler), academics (Michael Binger) and even a professional poker player in the form of Allen Cunningham, who started with the second-highest chip count behind Gold. Note the amateur presence.

It was Binger who so nearly captured the world poker game crown after starting in eighth place; he had moved up to third when he found himself head-to-head with Gold. Having caught a pair of tens on the flop, Binger bet an audacious $3.5 million which prompted Gold to go all-in. This was an outrageous play by Gold who had 3c,4s,5s and 6s before the turn which presented him with his seven (of clubs) to complete the straight. Binger was eliminated but still walked away $4 million richer.

This left Gold to face Paul Wasicka, a 25-year-old former bartender, who found himself at a serious disadvantage with just $11.2m in chips compared with Gold’s colossal $78.9m.

Sure enough, Gold hammered his advantage home, although not without taking one particularly serious risk.

As hand number 235 was dealt, Wasicka held a pair of tens to Gold’s unsuited Q,9. When the flop came (Q,8,5), the younger man bet $1.5m, whereupon Gold drew gasps from the crowd when he went all-in. The tension mounted once the dealer revealed an ace on the turn; at this point, Gold must have thought he had lost as he paced anxiously around his chair, conscious that he could have made the biggest mistake in WSOP history. Yet the River card was kind, a four of clubs ensuring untold riches, fame and an adrenalin rush he will probably never again match.

Wasicka, who had started the final table in fifth position, collected $6.1 million, whereas Gold was ecstatic as he picked up his cool $12 million. Not bad for a few week’s work eh? Like so many others present in Vegas, Gold had never played in the WSOP before, but by learning how to play online and by sharpening his skills in various home games, he was crowned world champion.

Few people are prepared to pack in their jobs in search of the poker game’s riches, preferring a ‘back-door’ online satellite tournament approach which actually suited literally thousands of WSOP qualifiers in Vegas. There are many big-money events for which the internet poker enthusiast can qualify without having to cross the Atlantic. If those latest estimates prove accurate, many more of us will be punting for significant poker pay-days in the near future; who knows, in time, we may eventually discover who the best player in the world really is. Whether that’s an established pro remains to be seen.

Tags: Joe Hachem, Johnny Chan., World Series of Poker, WSOP

This entry was posted on Thursday, June 1st, 2006 at 12:34 pm and is filed under Poker Tournaments.