Calling their bluff: World Series of Poker events give amateurs a shot to take down game's top pros

Jeff Richgels  —  8/22/2008 9:44 pm

LAS VEGAS -- Chris Gibbons and Scott Erickson are two of the best bowlers in the Madison area.

Gibbons is a former pro who won a title on the Pro Bowlers Association Regional circuit -- pro bowling's minor league. And he and Erickson are on the team that ended up third in the top event at the 2008 United States Bowling Congress Open Championships.

That said, neither has much interest in putting up the entry fee of a few hundred dollars to compete in tournaments against top pros like Walter Ray Williams Jr. and Pete Weber in the few open PBA Tour events.

Yet Gibbons, Erickson and thousands of other amateur poker players from around the globe paid anywhere from $1,000 to $10,000 to compete against top pros like Madison native Phil Hellmuth at World Series of Poker events in Las Vegas. This despite the fact that both say their bowling skills well exceed their poker skills.

They are far from alone; almost 7,000 people entered this year's WSOP, which begins airing on ESPN on Tuesday.

Which begs the obvious question: Why are so many recreational poker players willing to pay to compete against those who make a living playing the game?

"Obviously," Erickson said, "the big draw for poker is the hundreds of thousands of dollars on top, where in bowling it's just $100,000 to win (the top events). And I think your chances playing against the top poker players in one event or at one table is better than even one game against the top pro bowlers on those (PBA lane) conditions," which are much more difficult than the typical league bowling condition.

While pros do dominate poker, the fact that a lucky turn of a card can negate even the most masterfully played hand has stoked the dreams of amateurs.

"If you don't think you can win, why enter?" said Gibbons. "Obviously, the odds are stacked against you, but amateurs win all the time and lightning can strike."

The Moneymaker effect

The most notable bolt in poker history was amateur Chris Moneymaker's victory in the 2003 WSOP Main Event. The Main Event is the Super Bowl of the WSOP series, which this year held 55 events at the Rio in Las Vegas.

Seth Palansky, director of communications for the Sports & Entertainment Division of WSOP owner Harrah's casino in Las Vegas, said Moneymaker's $2.5 million dollar win -- achieved after winning a qualifier with just a $39 entry fee -- was part of a confluence of events that led to poker's boom, which continues with another record total number of WSOP entries this year.

With the advent of the camera that allowed TV viewers to see players' hole (hidden) cards in 2002, Moneymaker's win "was really the public's first exposure to a guy who was bluffing all the way and everyone could see the crazy bluffs he was doing and that really captured people's imaginations," Palansky said.

The Internet poker boom also had begun, and those factors together helped the WSOP Main Event grow. There were 839 entries the year of Moneymaker's win; this year's Main Event had 6,844 entries and prize money of more than $64 million, Polansky said.

At this year's WSOP, pros won 38 of the 53 events prior to the Main Event, most of which are Texas Hold'em formats, with semi-pros taking three and amateurs 12. There also was an event for charity. In contrast, there have not been 12 amateur winners in the 49-year history of the PBA Tour -- a stat that backs up the sentiments of Gibbons and Erickson.

The superior success of poker pros does prove that poker is not a game of chance, pros like Hellmuth say.

"There is more skill than the world fully understands," Hellmuth said in an e-mail interview with 77 Square. "Check out how many pros are winning this year despite enormous fields! Reading players and good tactics will carry you a long way at the WSOP."

Bluffs and busts

Still, there's enough chance of success for amateurs to draw them to Vegas by the thousands.

Although he has failed to cash in three WSOP events, Gibbons did win a June 2007 tournament at Binion's, earning a spot on the wall of the famed downtown casino that was the original and long-time host of the WSOP before selling the venerable franchise to Harrah's.

Binion's runs a tournament series that amounts to a miniature version of the WSOP at the same time as the WSOP and it was one of those events that Gibbons won. The Binion's events draw some highly skilled pros, although none of the famous top pros like Hellmuth played in the event Gibbons won.

The event had a $200 entry fee — "buy-in" in poker lingo — and first prize of more than $14,000 with a field of more than 300 players. After about 12 hours of play, Gibbons was fourth among the six remaining players, with about one-third as many chips as the chip leader. Negotiations over a break about 2:30 a.m. led to the six agreeing to "chop" the prize money based in part on how many chips the players had left. Gibbons took home about $5,800, which was about the original third place prize money and $3,500 more than what he would have gotten for sixth if he had been knocked out next, which he figured was a fair deal.

The tournament played out to a winner because one player demanded that as a condition of the money being split.

Even though no money was at stake, the players played seriously and his win was not a fluke, Gibbons said.

"All of a sudden it was like lightning striking — I'm getting these hands and winning," said Gibbons, who describes himself as a serious recreational player. "That was definitely the highlight of my poker career."

Although a drained Gibbons busted out in the first hours of his WSOP event later that day, he also made it to the final table of a tournament at Planet Hollywood later that week, earning several hundred dollars as the final few players split the money and quit.

In contrast, his Vegas trip this June was a washout, with the lowlight being busting out after just 45 minutes of a $1,500 buy-in No Limit Hold'em WSOP event.

"I played the worst possible poker I could play," Gibbons said. "I played way too aggressive early. I tried to make things happen instead of waiting for things to happen. And that's not how I usually play."

Gibbons said poker and bowling have several similarities: a significant luck factor that is slightly higher in poker (hitting cards in poker and pin action in bowling), the fact that you're competing with "imperfect information" (other players' hidden hole cards in poker and invisible lane oil in bowling), and making educated guesses (betting decisions in poker and adjusting to the lane conditions in bowling).

Whatever the game, the thrill of competition is what it's about, Gibbons said.

"It's a rush hitting that card or getting that bluff to win that pot -- it's like striking out in the 10th (frame) to win a game," he said. "You get instant gratification. You also get the other end of it, too, which I've had more than my fair share of."

An indescribable scene

At the WSOP, thousands of players compete at dozens of tables in one gigantic room that is incredibly brightly lit but also quite chilly. Aside from the occasional player outburst or official announcement, the only sound is the constant clicking of players "riffling" their chips.

Charismatic stars like Hellmuth, Phil Ivey and Daniel Negreanu draw large crowds around their tables.

"It's definitely something I don't think you can do justice to by describing -- the money that's in that room and the action that's going on is nothing like I've ever seen before," said Erickson, who played in the same WSOP event as Gibbons in 2007 but failed to cash and didn't play this year. "I tried not to but I think I probably played a little less aggressive then if it was something local or a smaller buy-in. Realistically, I tried to have a good time, play as well as I could and go as far as I could, but it was more of a recreational thing. I don't regret it but it would have been nice to play a little longer than I did."

Meanwhile, Ryan Beckwith, took a shot at a $1,500 Buy-in No Limit Hold'em event at the WSOP in early July after winning enough in other tournaments to cover his expenses.

Beckwith lasted several hours before a tough loss crippled him. In that hand, his hole cards of an ace and a king were superior to his foe's ace and six, but the three community cards included a 6 that gave his foe the win.

"It's something I've wanted to do for a long time," Beckwith said of competing in the WSOP.

He said the scene was "pretty amazing," but didn't change how he played.

"I think I was a little bit nervous when I first sat down but once we got going 20 minutes in it was just another poker tournament," he said. "I think I played pretty well."

The loss didn't dampen Beckwith's desire. He plans to return in 2009.

Swimming with the 'sharks'

The chance to play against famous pros like Hellmuth is one of the obvious draws of the WSOP.

"That's what makes this so unique," said Palansky, the Harrah's publicist. "You can't buy your way onto an NBA court but you can buy your way here and be sitting next to the Michael Jordan of poker -- Phil Hellmuth -- or someone else at that level."

Beckwith got to play a few hands with famed pro Humberto Brenes, an ESPN and fan favorite who carries a little shark with him that he uses as a prop when he is munching on opponents and chips.

"He didn't have many chips when he came over and he only lasted about three hands before he busted out," Beckwith said. "When he came over, I said, 'Oh no, the shark is coming.' And he said, 'No, the shark is sleeping today.' He was still pretty funny even though he must not have been having any luck."

"If he'd had a lot of chips I might have tried to avoid him," added Beckwith, who plans to play again at the WSOP. "If you get one of those guys at your table I don't think you want to play a lot of pots against them. There's better people to play against."

Gibbons, who has played against some very good pros but none of the most famous ones, said he'd welcome the opportunity — at the right time.

"I'd like to play against them but deeper in the tournament," Gibbons said. "It's like bowling against Pete Weber in the first match of a (bowling) tournament — you want to play him in the semifinals."

Hellmuth: Bring 'em on

Hellmuth, 44, whose nickname is "Poker Brat" for his legendary blow-ups, some of which have come at the expense of amateurs he's played against, advises the novices at his table to "have fun and enjoy the moment."

"Those 'Poker Brat' moments are purely the heat of the moment for me. I love the amateurs that challenge themselves to play with the best. As far as I'm concerned, the more the merrier!" said Hellmuth, who has written instructional books on poker and recently rolled out an online course, "How to win the World Series of Poker."

The huge numbers of entrants make it harder to win WSOP titles than years ago. But Hellmuth, the all-time leader with 11 titles, said he prefers today's version.

"It was more of a convention back then where all of the great players gathered to play for bracelets, history, and cash," he said. "I love the spotlight of the world on us now, illuminating the skill, subtlety, and beauty of Texas Hold'em."

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WORLD SERIES OF POKER EVENTS ON ESPN

ESPN begins its telecasts of the World Series of Poker on Tuesday, with two hours of coverage every Tuesday night through Nov. 11.

The shows will air from 7-9 p.m. through Sept. 30, then 8-10 p.m. Oct. 7 through Nov. 11.

The Main Event began July 3 and ran until the final table of nine players was decided Monday, July 14. In a controversial change detailed on captimes.com on May 4, those nine players will return to decide the title Nov. 9-10, with final action airing on ESPN on Nov. 11.

Madison's Phil Galfond earned a whopping $817,781 in winning the $5,000-entry Pot-Limit Omaha game with re-buys last month, although it's uncertain if any of that event will be part of ESPN's coverage.

Disclosure: Jeff Richgels, Chris Gibbons and Scott Erickson are friends who traveled to Las Vegas for the World Series of Poker. Richgels did not compete in the event.

Jeff Richgels  —  8/22/2008 9:44 pm