Luck or Destiny - Part II

Luck certainly plays a role in poker. Here are three hands that occurred in the main event of the World Series of Poker. The winners all got lucky and "drew out" in these hands. They then went on to become world champions. Many people might say they took advantage of their luck and created their own destiny. It would be hard to argue with that.

Let's start with a hand I was in with three tables left in the 1993 WSOP. We were "in the money," but there were still many mountains to climb. The blinds were $1,500-$3,000 with a $200 ante. I was in the big blind with only $28,000, Bobby Hoff was in the small blind with $46,000, and Jim Bechtel was on the button with $50,000. Everyone folded to Bechtel, and he made it $12,000 to go. Hoff went over the top of Bechtel and moved all in. I folded. Bechtel thought for a while and then called. Hoff turned over the K Q. Bechtel turned over K-10 offsuit! He then spiked a 10 to win the pot and knock Hoff out of the championship. Bechtel certainly took advantage of this break, as he went on to become the 1993 world champion.

Sadly, I was knocked out of this tournament 20 minutes later. I went to valet parking feeling a bit dejected, and ran into Hoff. He had his suitcase packed and was waiting for his car to make the drive back to L.A. He was in a daze. I really pained for him – even more than for myself. He looked at me, and without whining about the bad beat, asked, "Mike, how could he call me?" I said, "Bobby, I honestly don't know." Bechtel later told me that he just couldn't let Hoff continue raising him, and that he decided to make a stand. There is one thing I do know: Timing is everything.

The second hand occurred with seven players left in the 1998 world championship event. Back then, only six players returned for the final day's action, so this was the "bubble" with respect to who would make it to the finals and the TV program. The pressure at this stage of the tournament is obviously quite intense. It's white-knuckle time. The players are playing for serious jumps in money at every position at this point, and they can feel the world title within their grasp.

Here's how the hand (and history) played out. The short stack moved all in. Scotty Nguyen, the chip leader, was on the button and called with the A Q. Then, "Gentleman" Ben Roberts from London, a sensational player who is admired and respected by everyone, moved all in out of the big blind. The pot odds (and his chip stack) dictated that Scotty call, and he did. The short stack turned up two tens and Ben turned up two aces!

Electricity filled the air. The crowd was pulling for Scotty, but he was going uphill here, and it was a steep hill, at that. The flop came Q-X-X with two diamonds, and Scotty exclaimed, "Don't worry about a thing, baby!" A blank came off on the turn, and Scotty hollered, "Turn up a diamond!" Voila! There it came, just as though he had ordered it from Sears. Two players were gone. For the first time in WSOP history, only five players would return for the final day. With that break, Scotty never looked back. It was smooth sailing to the world title.

In the 1987 WSOP, I was watching from the rail when five tables remained in the competition. Johnny Chan raised the pot from near the button and Richard Klamian, who had more chips than Chan, called him from the big blind. The flop came 4-3-2 with the 3 2. Klamian checked and Chan moved all in. Klamian quickly called and turned over the A 5, a straight with a straight-flush draw! Chan, who looked dismayed when seeing Klamian's hand, turned over A-J offsuit. The best Chan could do was draw out and get a tie by catching a 5 (and that's if he could dodge a heart on the other street).

Chan stood up as the 8 hit on the turn. He was dead to a "three-outer" to stay alive in the tournament. He sat back down when the 5 came on the river, giving him a straight and a split pot. He got the break he needed. What an omen this turned out to be.

Chan not only went on to win that tournament to become the world champion, he successfully defended that title the following year and finished runner-up to Phil Hellmuth the year after that! In three consecutive years ('87-'89), Johnny Chan placed first, first, and second in the World Championship of Poker. It is without question the greatest run in WSOP history, and something I doubt we will ever see again.

Johnny Chan is a poker legend. Luck or destiny?

Take care.