Covers Expert Stephen Nover filed this report on the eve of the 2004 World Series of Poker World Championship at Binion's Horsehoe Casino in Las Vegas.
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With a king on the board to go with the king in his hand, Phil Hellmuth felt confident. So Hellmuth, one of the world’s best hold’em players and a past World Series of Poker champion, kept betting.
By the time the last card came out everybody had folded to Hellmuth except one person. After careful consideration, the player not only saw Hellmuth’s bet but pushed his remaining stack of chips in, forcing Hellmuth to call the raise with the rest of his chips or lose the hand. The board showed nothing but a king, three low cards and a jack that had come on the river.
Damn, Hellmuth said to himself, here’s another donkey with no clue.
“You don’t know me, but I know you, Phil Hellmuth,” the unknown player said.
Hellmuth’s kings may be a winner, but a wrong call here and he’s eliminated from the World Series of Poker the first day. The amateur probably was chasing Hellmuth’s kings with two jacks and caught the third one at the end.
So Hellmuth couldn’t chance it. He folded. Amateurs have nothing to lose in the World Series of Poker, going on this week at Binion’s Horseshoe Casino in Las Vegas. They aren’t expected to do well. It’s different for professionals.
Six hours into the tournament, last year’s runner-up, professional gambler Sam Farha, was eliminated.
“They’ll call you down with anything,” Farha said about all the recreational poker players competing in the WSOP. Last year the field was 839. This year there were a staggering 2,576 entries. The field was so big the tournament had to be split in two groups, with half starting this past Saturday and the other half going Sunday. The final table will be determined Friday, with play continuing until a winner is decided probably some time on Saturday.
The World Series of Poker is the most prestigious poker event in the world. But it’s turned into a joke with this many players. Luck is by far the overriding factor now.
“When I started playing in 1987, I had a vision that if you became one of the top players you could expect to win the championship,” said Howard Lederer, who some will argue is the best poker player, in an Associated Press story. “Even if I’m the favorite, I’m still 200-1.”
Have a U.S. Open for poker players if you want, but don’t mix amateurs, high rollers and celebrities with the world’s finest for the World Series of Poker. Tournament publicity has never been higher, but there never has been more randomness. Top players are getting knocked out by clueless idiots pulling two-out miracles on the final card with hands they had no business playing.
The way it is now anybody who wants to ante up $10,000 can play. Half the field entered that way, with the other half earning their way in by winning some kind of satellite tournament. That’s how Chris Moneymaker, last year’s champion, got in. The accountant from Tennessee put in $40 and won a satellite tournament on the Internet. Moneymaker had never even played in a face-to-face big tournament before.
Moneymaker, by the way, was eliminated this year within the first few hours. Robert Varkonyi, the champ from two years ago, may have been even a more unlikely WSOP winner with his miracle draw outs. There were stories Varkonyi couldn’t even hold his own against amateurs in some of the poker rooms.
My point isn’t to rip Moneymaker or Varkonyi. However lucky they were, they deserve accolades for their achievements. I just believe the tournament would be more true to its roots if it limited the field to about 300. Then it would be more like a real World Series rather than the NHL playoffs.
A points system could be initiated that would determine placement. Various select satellite tournaments could be held so some deserving amateurs could also earn their way. But allowing in any egomaniac who wants to waste $10,000 is ridiculous. Don’t look for things to change, though. The question of putting a ceiling on entrants was asked.
“Its Everyman’s tournament, and I want to keep it that way,” said tournament director Matt Savage.
Somewhere Stu Ungar, Johnny Moss and “Nick The Greek” are rolling around in their graves.
To see who won the 2004 World Series of Poker, click here.
Nobody is wired more into the sports betting scene than Stephen Nover. Nover has been covering sports gaming in Las Vegas since 1984, and his guaranteed picks can now be found at Covers Experts.