Poker's Best 'Amateurs'

Discussions about who the best poker players are come up frequently during poker games. Usually, a discussion centers around professional players – those who are successful in tournaments vs. those who are successful in cash games. When it comes to discussing who the best "amateur" players are, however, the answer is one in the same.

There are two guys who jump off the page as being the best "amateur" poker players. They are Jay Heimowitz and Lyle Berman. I can assure you that they are not considered "amateurs" by the top professionals in any sense other than they don't make their livings playing poker. Both are very successful businessmen who have a hobby of playing big-time poker. Both have had tremendous success at the World Series of Poker – Heimowitz has won six bracelets and Berman three. And, truthfully, they don't play many tournaments. They prefer playing high-stakes cash games.

Heimowitz and Berman represent the best of the poker world. They not only are sensational players, they conduct themselves impeccably both at and away from the table at all times. They set a standard of behavior that all of us should emulate. In this column, I'll focus on Heimowitz, and will talk about Berman, "businessman extraordinaire," in the next issue.

Heimowitz is 63, has been married for 41 years to his wife, Carole, and has four sons (two of whom play poker) and five grandchildren. He is a health nut who stays in fantastic shape. He eats right, exercises every day, is an expert skier, and likes to fish.

Poker has been an important key to success in the life of Jay Heimowitz. He had a goal at an early age to go into business for himself. He learned to play poker at a young age and made more than $10,000 playing poker in the Army. He took that money and bought a small beer company and soda bottling plant in New York for $50,000, and then worked very hard. (His motto is, "Take pride in your work – whatever it is.") Within 18 months, he acquired a distributorship for Budweiser. He was the youngest Budweiser beer distributor in the United States at 23 years of age. He never looked back.

Heimowitz has quite a documented poker history. Incredibly, he won the first poker tournament he ever played in. It occurred on his first trip to the World Series of Poker in 1975. The event was the $1,000 buy-in "nonprofessional" no-limit hold'em tournament. (Due to the difficulties in distinguishing between professional and nonprofessional players, this event has been extinct for years.) He captured his sixth bracelet at this year's WSOP by winning Oklahoma Johnny Hale's inaugural no-limit hold'em Seniors World Championship of Poker. Only Johnny Moss (8), Doyle Brunson (8), and Phil Hellmuth (7) have captured more WSOP bracelets than Heimowitz.

Heimowitz also has more appearances in the $10,000 WSOP championship event than just about anyone else. He has played in every championship event at the WSOP since 1977 (with the exception of 1990, because of a car accident). His highest finish in the main event was third in1980. I can assure you that Heimowitz remembers that tournament vividly. With three players left (Heimowitz, Doyle Brunson, and Stu Ungar), he played a monster pot with Doyle. He had two aces and Doyle had two jacks. All the money went in before the flop. Doyle was actually out of his seat and grabbing his jacket when, "Bingo," he outdrew the aces and knocked Heimowitz out.

Here are some of the things Heimowitz says about poker:

• "It's terrible to criticize others for how they play a hand."

• "Talented players should never get out of line."

• "I would like to see Tex's TEARS with the last five players and no deals."

• "I'm very much in favor of discipline penalties."

• "I admired Sarge (Fred Ferris – a member of the Poker Hall of Fame) a lot because he didn't give away one crumb. He never showed his cards or gave away any information. He was the consummate pro."

Heimowitz says, "Poker has been great for Jay Heimowitz." The truth is, Jay Heimowitz has been great for poker. Take care.