Who da Man in Poker? Ted or Chris?

"You da man! You da man! You da Man!" I remember hearing this phrase a lot a couple of years ago while watching the PGA Tour television broadcasts. Who is "da man" in golf right now? Everyone knows it's Tiger Woods. Who is "da man" in poker right now? Is it Mike Laing, after winning the big one in Reno? No. Is it Young Phan, after winning the big one at Commerce Casino recently? No. Is it David Pham after being named "Player of the Year" in 2000? No. Is it the reigning World Champion of Poker Chris Ferguson? Maybe. All of these players' accomplishments are awesome in tournament poker, but there is more to the poker world than just tournaments. For instance, did you hear about the nice little side game they had at Bellagio recently? No? Well, a couple of the world's toughest side-game players sat down to play a little $20t-$40t limit hold'em. You might ask, what's so great about that? You play $20-$40 limit hold'em yourself. Oh, I see, I forgot to mention that the game was $20,000-$40,000 limit. Yep, bring the deed to your house to this game and you might make it through one hand or so! When a nice little $10,000-$20,000 game was going the previous night, Ted Forrest jumped right in to play awhile. Every other world-class player in the game had given up a percentage of themselves so that they wouldn't incinerate their bankrolls in one night, and here came Teddy playing 100 percent of his own money. Ted was the big winner that night, as well as the next day in the $20,000-$40,000 limit hold'em game, although he probably wouldn't want me to tell you how much he won. To me, this signals the passing of the torch from David "Chip" Reese and Doyle "Texas Dolly" Brunson to Ted Forrest as "da man" in side-game poker. Perhaps Ted was already da man in side-game poker, based on what he has been doing to the poker world the last couple of years, but to me, this performance makes it official. The past couple of years, Ted has been destroying everyone in his path on his way to becoming "da man." He has been playing with anyone, for any amount, in any poker game, and he's been taking care of business.

You're now asking, what about Chris Ferguson? Good point. Personally, I would rather win a World Series of Poker event and a mere $300,000 for first place than $6 million (I don't know how much money Ted has made the last 16 months), although I'm sure that I am in the minority. On the one hand, I believe that I will always have money, and the WSOP is my chance to make history. On the other hand, most people believe they can retire with a few million. What am I saying, then? Simply this: To most poker players, Ted Forrest is "da man" in poker right now. To me, though, this distinction is limited to side-game poker only. To me the reigning world champion of poker, Chris Ferguson, is "da man" in poker. Who do you think is "da man"?

On a personal note, I want to send my congratulations to my sister Ann, who just won a gold medal in speed skating in the worldwide Special Olympics Winter Games in Alaska. Way to go, Ann! Ann won a gold medal in both the Special Olympics Summer Games (in swimming, in North Carolina in 1998) and the Winter Games. Awesome job – I'm not the only world champion in the family anymore!

Editor's note: Phil Hellmuth was voted "The Best Poker Tournament Player in the World" by his peers in the only such poll ever taken a couple of years ago. To learn more about Phil, read more of his "Hand of the Week" articles, or listen to last year's audio broadcast from the World Series of Poker, go to www.philhellmuth.com.