T.J. Cloutier Captures 2002 Player of the Year Honors By Jeff Shulman

Veteran tournament player T.J. Cloutier walked off with the Card Player 2002 Player of the Year award. In reviewing the year, I will not go into as much depth as in the past, because there is an extensive Player of the Year section at www.cardplayer.com. Go to the database there and have some fun.

Point System Changes for 2003

1. Weighting of the place finished ¡ª In the past, points have been awarded as follows: 100 for first place, 90 for second, 80 for third, 70 for fourth, and so on through nine players. A final table consists of nine players, unless it is a stud event, in which case eight players get points. In 2003, first place will get 120 points, second place 100 points, third place 80, fourth place 60, fifth place 50, sixth place 40, seventh place 30, eighth place 20, and ninth place 10. This puts greater weight on finishing in the top three places. After all, that is where most of the money is in a tournament.

2. Rebuy events ¡ª The weighting of the buy-in itself will not change. However, a $300 buy-in tournament with 1,000 rebuys should count more than a $300 buy-in tournament without rebuys. Thus, in 2003, the buy-in weighting for a rebuy tournament will be calculated by dividing the total prize pool (without added money) by the number of players. For example, if a tournament has a $300 buy-in, 100 players, and 200 rebuys at $300 each, it would count as a $900 buy-in event. The calculation is as follows:

$30,000 (buy-in money) + $60,000 (rebuy money) ¡Ç 100 players = $900

2002 Player of the Year Review

1. T.J. Cloutier ¡ª 6,144 points. T.J. won the POY award in 1998, also. He made 20 final tables and won $318,202 at these final tables. He made eight limit hold¡¯em final tables, five no-limit hold¡¯em final tables, and others in pot-limit hold¡¯em, pot-limit Omaha, Omaha eight-or-better, and seven-card stud. T.J.¡¯s diversification helped him in winning the award, as did his ability to make final tables in big events. T.J.¡¯s only win was in Bellagio¡¯s $1,500 pot-limit Omaha event in December. His largest payday was $70,720 for third place in the World Series of Poker $1,500 no-limit hold¡¯em event.

2. John Juanda ¡ª 5,927 points. John was the 2001 runner-up, as well, and had a chance to win the award both years with a win in the final event of the U.S. Poker Championship. He made the most final tables (22) of any player, and won $618,023 at these final tables. John won his first WSOP bracelet in the $1,500 triple-draw lowball event, and also won a no-limit hold¡¯em tournament at the Legends of Poker, a lowball event at the Hall of Fame, and a pot-limit hold¡¯em event at the Hall of Fame. John¡¯s largest payday was $278,240 when he finished second in Bellagio¡¯s $10,000 no-limit hold¡¯em championship in May. He made seven no-limit hold¡¯em final tables.

3. Scotty Nguyen ¡ª 5,600 points. Scotty made 21 final tables and won $378,612 at these final tables. He had two wins in Omaha eight-or-better (L.A. Poker Classic and Four Queens) and two in stud eight-or-better (LAPC and Legends), and won two events at the Hall of Fame (no-limit hold¡¯em and limit hold¡¯em). He made seven final tables in limit hold¡¯em, five in stud eight-or-better, and four in Omaha eight-or-better. That isn¡¯t too bad for someone who has won the world championship in no-limit hold¡¯em. Scotty had four wins of more than $40,000 each.

4. Layne Flack ¡ª 5,363 points. Layne made 13 final tables and won $815,509 at these tables. Incredibly, he won two no-limit hold¡¯em events at the WSOP, and finished second in the World Poker Finals championship. He made final tables in six games, but six of his final tables were in no-limit hold¡¯em. Layne had three paydays of more than $185,000. If you are going to win, it might as well be in big no-limit events.

5. Men ¡°The Master¡± Nguyen ¡ª 5,137 points. Men made a valiant attempt to defend his 2001 Player of the Year title. He made 21 final tables and won $342,902 at these final tables. He had nine wins, including three at the Legends, and back-to-back Omaha eight-or-better wins at the Orleans Open. He made five final tables in stud, five in Omaha eight-or-better, four in limit hold¡¯em, and three in stud eight-or-better. His largest payday was $70,085 in a limit hold¡¯em event at the Legends.

6. Phil Ivey ¡ª 5,092 points. Phil made 15 final tables and won $602,566 at these final tables. He won seven times, and three of them were at the WSOP (stud, stud eight-or-better, and SHOE). He won three mixed-games events, and had five wins of more than $75,000. Phil is a great all-around player with an unmatched intensity. Phil is now in the money lending business.

7. Daniel Negreanu ¡ª 4,551 points. Daniel made 15 final tables and won $429,192 at these final tables. He had seven wins, and they came in spurts. He won two at the Legends, three at the LAPC, and two at the Hall of Fame. He had nine cashes of more than $20,000, and made five limit hold¡¯em final tables. His largest payday was $85,400 when he finished second in the $5,000 Omaha eight-or-better event at the WSOP.

8. Huck Seed ¡ª 4,472 points. Huck made 14 final tables and won $224,961 at these final tables. He won three events: two in stud and one in stud eight-or-better. Almost half of Huck¡¯s final tables were in limit hold¡¯em, even though his best game is no-limit hold¡¯em. I think he is a limit hold¡¯em spook.

9. Erik Seidel ¡ª 4,294 points. Erik made 13 final tables and won $545,910 at these final tables. He won a pot-limit hold¡¯em event at the Hall of Fame and the TOC-format event at Bellagio, and was runner-up in two championship events (World Poker Open and USPC). Of his 14 final tables, six were in no-limit hold¡¯em and four were in pot-limit hold¡¯em. His largest payday was $258,020 at the WPO.

10. David Plastik ¡ª 4,260 points. David made 12 final tables and won $272,656 at them. He finished second in six of these events. Two of his second-place finishes were in big rebuy tournaments at Commerce Casino. He made four limit hold¡¯em final tables and three no-limit hold¡¯em final tables. His largest payday was $85,215.

Brief highlights of those players finishing 11th through 20th:

11. Barry Shulman ¡ª 3,867 points. His claim to fame is that he is my father. He made four Omaha high final tables.

12. Kathy Liebert ¡ª 3,837 points. Kathy was the first lady to win a $1 million event (PartyPoker Million).

13. Randy Holland ¡ª 3,691 points. Randy made 16 final tables and had three wins, including a win of more than $165,000 in limit hold¡¯em at the LAPC.

14. David Levi ¡ª 3,637 points. David made 17 final tables, and won three limit hold¡¯em events and the inaugural event at Bellagio ($3,000 no-limit hold¡¯em).

15. David Pham ¡ª 3,618 points. David made 17 final tables, eight of which were at the Legends of Poker during a three-week span.

16. Vince Burgio ¡ª 3,515 points. Vince made 14 final tables, and five were in large-field no-limit hold¡¯em events.

17. ¡°Miami¡± John Cernuto ¡ª 3,440 points. John had five wins in 16 final-table appearances. He won the seven-card stud championship at the USPC.

18. Phil Hellmuth Jr. ¡ª 3,344 points. Phil made 13 final tables and finished third in the PartyPoker Million. He had six finishes of more than $25,000.

19. Joseph Belofsky ¡ª 3,278 points. Joseph made 16 final tables and won the lowball event at the California State Poker Championship. He made 11 no-limit and pot-limit final tables.

20. Chris Bjorin ¡ª 3,270 points. Chris won the ¡°Nice Guy¡± award for the millionth straight year. He was the only non-American in the top 20. He had three wins, all in different games, and made seven no-limit hold¡¯em final tables.

Final tables ¡ª Four players made more than 20 final tables: John Juanda, 22; Scotty Nguyen, 21; Men ¡°The Master¡± Nguyen, 21; and T.J. Cloutier, 20.

Winnings ¡ª 12 players won more than $500,000 at final tables, and three won more than $1 million (Robert Varkonyi, Kathy Liebert, and Julian Gardner).

Individual Game Winners and Runners-Up

Limit Hold¡¯em
1. T.J. Cloutier
2. Huck Seed

Lowball
1. O¡¯Neil Longson
2. John Juanda

Mixed Games
1. Phil Ivey
2. John Hennigan

No-Limit Hold¡¯em
1. John Juanda
2. Layne Flack

Omaha Eight-or-Better
1. Men ¡°The Master¡± Nguyen
2. Greg Mascio

Omaha High
1. Humberto Brenes
2. Barry Shulman

Pot-Limit Hold¡¯em
1. Dennis Waterman
2. Erik Seidel

Stud
1. Toto Leonidas
2. Men ¡°The Master¡± Nguyen

Stud Eight-or-Better
1. Scotty Nguyen
2. Phil Ivey

Good luck in 2003!