The Rest of the Story

I recently wrote two columns on the induction of Stu Ungar into the Poker Hall of Fame. One story involved longtime poker pro, Al J. Ethier. In the story, Al J. was portrayed as a "rock." Ungar, on the other hand, was known for playing a lot of hands and constantly raising the pot.

In case you missed it, here's a summary of that story: One day, I was talking with Stuey when Al J. was walking toward us. Stuey loudly proclaimed, "I had the worst nightmare of my life last night. I'm not kidding you. I dreamed I was playing Al J. a heads-up no-limit hold'em freezeout with no blinds and no antes." Here's the rest of the story:

Al J. Ethier has been around poker in Las Vegas since the '70s. He is a steely-eyed, prideful man who is known amongst his peers as being a "solid" player. He also has "heart." He played in the toughest no-limit hold'em games for years. Furthermore, he gambled with his own money. (He wasn't staked and didn't sell pieces of himself.)

Al J. also invested in himself and put up his own money to play in the major tournaments. In 1984, he ponied up $10,000 to play in the championship event at Amarillo Slim's Super Bowl of Poker in Lake Tahoe. He was doing fairly well (he had more than $30,000 in chips) when the tournament got down to four tables. Stu Ungar was moved to his table, and Ungar was the defending champion.

Ungar, who also had more than $30,000 in chips, started raising every pot, and no one was making any effort to slow him down. (Ungar with chips was a sight to see.) Ethier could see that unless someone tried to stop him, Ungar would steamroll the game.

For about 15 consecutive hands, Ungar raised and made it $1,000 to go, and everyone always folded. Ethier, like everyone else, was being anted off and decided to make a stand. He called Stuey's raise on the button while holding the Q 9. The flop came Q-10-4 with the 10 4, giving Al J. the top pair and a flush draw – a great flop for him. Ungar bet $2,000 and Ethier moved all in. Ungar thought for a while and called. The J came on fourth street and the 9u on the river. Al J. had made two pair (queens and nines), but the board was very dangerous, as it now contained a Q-J-10-9. Stuey, who had raised so many hands without getting any action, actually had two aces and lost the monster pot to Al J.

Ethier went on to finish third, but made a deal when it was down to threehanded for further financial benefit. For years, Stuey teased Al J. about being a "rock," but he never forgot him calling his preflop raise with a Q-9. Ungar always said that pot cost him the tournament and the defense of his title. Maybe he was right. And now you know the rest of the story.

A writer was talking to some top poker players during the recent World Series of Poker. As I was walking by, they called me over to answer a question. The question was, "If you were heads up in the $10,000 world championship event with the same amount of chips as your opponent, and your opponent said that you could have first-place money plus another $500,000 if you would allow him to win the bracelet and the title, would you do it?" (You would be gaining more than $1 million with this proposition.) Whew! What would you do?

They were essentially asking, "Is there an amount of money for which you would dump off the world championship?" Or, to put it another way, "Is there a price for selling your dream?"

For most poker players, our dream is to become the world champion. That's why it's hard to imagine making a deal that would not include playing for the title. But, it is also the dream of most players to become millionaires and provide security for their families.

Consider this situation: Suppose now that you were heads up against a billionaire, to whom money was no obstacle, and he offered you $5 million to let him win. Would that make a difference to you? Frankly, my dream is to get in that situation.

I would like to think that I would never prostitute "playing" for the world title. However, I wouldn't hold it against any player for taking the extra $1 million. Financial security for life (for you and your family) does have some substance to it. And suppose that you are getting staked. Is it fair to your backer(s), who provided you the opportunity to play, not to take the extra million?

I believe the answer to this question will vary among players, and will vary based on one's financial status. If you took a poll, I think "taking the money" would be the favorite, but I could be wrong. The players at the table where I was who were asked this question were split in their answers.

As long as the prize pool is strictly the players' money, I can't fault any player for doing what he thinks is best for him. Take care.

Mike Sexton can be reached by E-mail at: [email protected].