(Distributed May 16, 2006)
WHAT’S YOUR TOUGHEST FINAL TABLE IMAGINABLE?
Imagine the television cameras are rolling and you’ve somehow made it to the final six at a World Poker Tour event. Your heart is pounding, your mouth is dry, and you couldn’t riffle poker chips with your shaky hand if your life depended on it.
As you look around the table, you realize it’s the toughest lineup possible. Who would those opponents be?
Scotty R., my poker traveling partner and a former professional poker dealer, asked me that question recently. So, we each came up with the Top 5 toughest players we’d hate to see eyeballing our chips. Our choices are based on actual tournament combat against most of these players and from watching them on television.
Here’s Scotty’s lineup:
HOWARD LEDERER — Cool as they come, with an icy stare. Uncanny ability to “read’’ opponents and put them on a particular hand. The “Professor” rarely makes a mistake.
JOHNNY CHAN — Back-to-back world championships in 1987-88! Won a record 10th World Series of Poker bracelet last year in pot-limit Omaha. Commands, and deserves, respect at any table.
T.J. CLOUTIER — An amazing World Series record. Forty-three WSOP money finishes and six bracelets through 2005. Widely considered one of the best tournament players ever, and THE best never to have won the WSOP main event.
PHIL IVEY – Tall of stature, long on game. Aggressive and dangerous. Probably would have won the 2003 World Series championship if eventual winner Chris Moneymaker hadn’t snapped his full house, one hand shy of the final table. Holds five bracelets and 20 money finishes in WSOP action.
ANNIE DUKE – An interesting choice. Perhaps the best woman player today. Not afraid to mix it up with the big boys. Don’t let her charming personality trick you; she’ll bust you in a heartbeat.
My Top 5 list has two repeats from Scotty’s — Chan and Ivey. Here are my other picks:
PHIL HELLMUTH – OK, he’s a crybaby with an annoying style players hate, but you have to respect his success. Holds nine bracelets (champ in ’89 to deny Chan a third straight title), 47 WSOP money finishes, and 2005 national heads-up champion.
JOHN JUANDA – Intent, dangerous and fearless. Three WSOP bracelets and 27 money finishes. Knocked me out of a stud tournament in Las Vegas after I’d survived three all-in hands against Men “The Master’’ Nguyen. Bummer. Has said he might go to med school some day.
HUMBERTO BRENES – Impressive in every way. A cool customer who knows when to gamble and when to lay low. Holds two WSOP bracelets. Watched him a long time at the 2004 World Poker Open in Tunica, Miss., and he was always in control of the table.
Either of these final-table lineups could blow you away, but just imagine the thrill if somehow you could beat them all! So who’s on your list?
Just for kicks, Scotty and I then came up with our “most fun” final table. We agreed completely on these five great characters:
David Levi – A likable and successful California-based player who kept us in stitches at a stud final table at Hollywood Park in Los Angeles a couple of years ago.
Men Nguyen – It’s pronounced “win’’, and the “Godfather of Asian Poker Players’’ certainly does a lot of that. Colorful, playful, and a whiz at every form of poker, which is why he was Card Player magazine’s 2005 player of the year (his fourth POY award!). Holds 6 WSOP bracelets.
Scotty Nguyen – “Yeah, baby.’’ Nobody has more fun at the table than this 1998 World Series champion with the fancy wardrobe, except maybe the next guy on the list.
Daniel Negreanu – Genuinely friendly; magnetic personality. I’ve never seen him get mad at a tournament, even when I knocked him out of a stud event at the Four Queens in Las Vegas!
Sam Farha — Dangling cigarette and all, Sammy is the coolest. Finished second behind Moneymaker in the 2003 World Series main event. Many link that epic battle with poker’s popularity explosion.
Now that’s a final table that would crack you up!
E-mail your poker questions and comments to russ@luckydogpoker.com for use in future columns. To find out more about Russ Scott and read previous LuckyDog Poker columns, visit www.creators.com.
COPYRIGHT 2006 RUSS SCOTT
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