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Before the poker boom – before the world finally clued into
how great the game really is – there was Rounders. The
film, starring Matt Damon and Ed Norton, introduced an
element of glamour in poker to the outside world.
Rounders showed poker as more than a game of luck. It
spawned the internet’s early generation of online players
and taught the world about the passion it didn’t yet know
it had. On top of that, it taught us about Johnny Chan.
When Mike McDermott watches Chan on TV, he’s watching the
epitome of everything he wants to be: the true pro, the center of every
poker room, the immovable object. In fact, the one time Mike actually
sits with Chan, the one hand he wins becomes his driving vision, his
reason for believing in his own ability. To beat Chan, even once, you
just have to be that good.
In total, Chan has managed to win ten WSOP bracelets in six different
poker variants. His WSOP win this year over Phil Laak made him the
first to achieve double digits, and he’s now tied atop the list with Doyle
Brunson, who won his tenth a few days later. By Chan’s own estimates,
he should actually have more. If he’d known how important bracelets
were over the years, he’d have probably shown up for more World Series
events, instead of chasing the side action.
To call Chan a master may be an understatement. Born in Hong
Kong, he moved to the States with his family in 1968. He won the
World Series in 1987 and ’88, and then followed his consecutive victories
with a second place finish to Phil Hellmuth in ’89. No player,
before or since, has had as strong a stretch.
Most notable among those who’ve been run over by the Orient
Express is Erik Seidel. A graduate of New York’s now legendary
Mayfair Club, Seidel’s name will be, unfortunately for him, forever
associated with losing what may be the most famous hand in poker
history, at the conclusion of the ’88 Series. It’s a fact that will always
affect our view of one of the true greats of the game.
When the ’88 final table started, Seidel was the one unknown quantity.
Along with Chan, TJ Cloutier, Humberto Brenes, Ron Graham, and
Jim Bechtel were all established players, making Erik a virtual afterthought.
But Seidel’s aggressive approach, combined with the other
players’ wariness of one another, worked to his advantage. Soon it was
down to just Erik and the defending champion.
With Chan holding a slight chip lead on the small blind, he limped
in with J.9. to Erik’s Q.7.. The flop was perfection: Q-T-8 rainbow,
giving Chan the nuts with minimal chance of an opposing flush, while
Seidel had caught enough of a hand to pay him off. Looking to trap,
Johnny made a nice $40k bet after Erik checked. Seidel immediately
replied with a $50k check-raise. Chan just called, happy to have Erik
take control of the betting.
When the turn brought the brick both players were looking for,
Seidel checked to see where Chan was at. Chan’s call on the checkraise
suggested he had more than two cards and a dream, so Seidel
needed to proceed with caution. Chan checked also, hoping to instill
in Seidel a sense of security. When the river was another brick,
Seidel was ready to make his move.
With his eyes obscured by that now-famous, slightly skewed orange
visor, Erik barely paused before using both hands to move his stack
into the pot. Chan exploded from his chair and slapped his hand on
the table before Erik’s chips had finished moving. Tournament
Director Jim Albrecht watched in the background as the shell-shocked
Seidel weakly raised himself from his seat and shook the champion’s
hand, admitting to cameras afterwards he’d been outplayed.
Did Seidel make a mistake? His raise on the flop didn’t get him all
of the information he’d have liked. Chan’s call suggested he had something,
but if Erik had bet more, the call would have been more meaningful.
Chan’s call probably read as a lesser pair and a gutshot to
Seidel, which would explain his decision to go all-in after the bricks
hit the turn and river. One thing’s for sure, Chan played his man perfectly.
At that moment, he was, without doubt, the best poker player in
the world.
While the hand's a remarkable one, it wouldn't be quite so notorious
if not for the Rounders re-cap. It's interesting that protagonist
Mike McDermott himself a young New Yorker recovering from a
massive poker beat identifies so well with Seidel, who has become
something of a Bill Buckner figure. A lesser player would have been
crushed by the defeat, not to mention its cultural renaissance a decade
later. That Seidel survived and thrived through those circumstances
speaks volumes about him as a man. Of course, to know about Chan,
you just need to look at his wrists.
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