Hasan Habib - Fourteen 2004 Final Tables and Counting

Soft-spoken, mild-mannered, but fiercely competitive Hasan Habib beamed as he explained how blessed he feels: "In early 2000, I had to scrape together $25 a day for a room at Crystal Park; today, I own three new homes, one World Seriesgold bracelet, and a newfound confidence."

Prior to the year 2000, Hasan was known as a high-limit cash-game player. In 2000, he made a name for himself in tournament play by making the final table at the main event of the World Poker Open (April), the World Series of Poker (May), and the Tournament of Champions (July), an impressive feat by any measure.

After his inspiring accomplishments in 2000, he failed to finish in the money in the small number of tournaments he played during the next few years. Then in 2004, he reappeared with full force and vigor, like a starved animal hungry to win. This year alone, Hasan has raked in almost $2 million from tournaments by impressively playing his heart out and making 14 final tables. What he treasures most is winning his first WSOP bracelet in May of this year when he won the seven-card stud eight-or-better tournament. After he won, he mused: "Money may come and go, but the gold bracelet is something I will always cherish."

2000: It was a Very Good Year

Hasan has long been a familiar face in big cash games. A few years ago, he ventured into his first tournament, and won it. Then, he won his second tournament. In 2000, he seemed to be in the money again and again. The late Andy Glazer described Hasan's results as "marvelously impressive."

In April of 2000, Hasan entered the World Poker Open no-limit hold'em championship event in Tunica, Mississippi, and finished second to Phil Hellmuth, pocketing $26,966. They battled it out for nearly an hour before Hellmuth won. Hasan commented at the time that it was the first time he had ever been heads up against a world champion. Although the chip lead went back and forth, Phil won the final hand with A-3 against Hasan's A-2, a showdown that would usually result in a tie.

Then, Hasan took his first stab at the WSOP $10,000 buy-in championship event and finished fourth, taking home his biggest win ever, $326,000. Coming off those impressive performances, in July of 2000 he entered the Tournament of Champions final event and finished seventh for $23,940. His last hand, pocket fours, didn't hold up against Josh Arieh's 10-8 when a 10 hit the board. In December, Hasan played at the Trump Taj Mahal's U.S. Poker Championship, tying for 18th with the inimitable Erik Seidel for pocket change, $3,975. It was not a bad year for a novice tournament player.

The Time-Worn Lesson

Then, came the bad news. Hasan came to understand the time-worn lesson with which all professional poker players have to come to terms. Simply put, notwithstanding all the skill in the world, it is tough to win a tournament.

So many gut-wrenching examples abound: In the 2000 WSOPchampionship event, victory was stolen from T.J. Cloutier with the turn of the final card. T.J. held an imposing A-Q against Chris Ferguson's A-9. T.J. was a colossal 73.4 percent favorite, but lost when a 9 came on the river. (To calculate this and other poker odds, go to www.cardplayer.com and use the free Hold'em Calculator.)

Then, there was Jeff Shulman, who made a great read and went all in with pocket sevens against pocket sixes, only to see a 6 come on the flop. And who can forget the 2001 WSOP championship, when Paul Phillips lost with pocket aces two hands in a row, once to jacks and once to nines? Barbara Enright will certainly never forget the 1995 WSOP when Brent Carter knocked her out with 6-3 against her pocket eights. In the 2002 main event, after Robert Varkonyi knocked out Phil Hellmuth with an inferior hand, Hellmuth, commentating for ESPN, claimed he would shave his head if Varkonyi won! Poor bald Phil was quite a sight!

Regrettably, Hasan had his own devastating experience in February of this year in the Commerce Casino's $10,000 championship event. He played his heart out for three days. He described the loss as his worst tournament moment thus far: "I was the chip leader, having had a nice stack all the way through the tournament. At the end of the third day, there was no play, as the blinds were too big compared to the chips left on the table. Then, the most sickening thing happened. I got knocked out one short of the final table (10th). I moved all in with 10-10 and was called by A-K. When an ace came on the turn, I was out. It was so very disappointing getting knocked out one shy of the final table. I just went home to lick my wounds and come back another day – there was nothing else I could do."

Those Who Believed in Him

After taking a thrashing, Hasan's confidence waned. He explained, "I love the challenge of international competition, even though tournaments can be grueling and painful. The painful part is when you play your best and the other guy gets lucky. It's difficult to remain confident when that happens."

Then, things took a marvelous turn. Although he didn't play in January 2004, between February and March, Hasan made eight final tables. Still, he had not scored a gigantic win. One day he found himself on a plane sitting next to poker player extraordinaire Barry Greenstein. Barry told Hasan that he was going to win something big. He told Hasan that he could win, that he has what it takes. It boosted Hasan's confidence to hear that a player he greatly respects had confidence in his play. The following month Hasan won second place in the $25,000 buy-in WPT Championship at Bellagio, for a cool $1,372,223.

Barry Greenstein explained: "Hasan can be a very competitive and volatile opponent. In a side game, sometimes he wins all the chips. He is emotional and dangerous. When I see a player like that, I know he can be a great tournament player. He knows how to get ahold of chips quickly. That kind of style is conducive to tournament success. I told Hasan that he has the perfect style of game, because he is unpredictable and fearless."

Another Hasan supporter and friend is Daniel Negreanu. Hasan said that before the Bellagio championship event, he and Daniel discussed the fact that instead of staying at the hotel, Hasan should rent a house and bring his cat so that he could stay relaxed and focused. That week, he played the best poker of his life.

Daniel and Hasan are first and second in Card Player's"Player of the Year Standings." Daniel told me that if anyone can overtake him, it is Hasan. Daniel considers Hasan not only a kind man, but also a formidable opponent.

Re-establishing His Tournament Presence

Hasan has re-established his tournament career this year with his 14 final-table finishes thus far, to the tune of almost two million big ones in prize money.

Let's look at Hasan's extraordinary 2004 record:

A Million Big Ones

Prize pools have been astronomical this year; Bellagio's $25,000 buy-in 2004 Five-Star World Poker Classic was no exception. With 343 players and a whopping $8,342,000 in prize money, this event proved to have the biggest payout in tournament poker history until this year's WSOP. Hasan played fabulous poker, and in the end, Martin de Knijff's pocket tens beat his A-5. Hasan described taking second as a bittersweet moment. After all, he won $1,372,223, but he wanted the respect that comes with the title. And an extra $1.4 million wouldn't have been too bad, either!

Besides becoming an instant millionaire, the near-victor received something more valuable. With more than a million big ones in his pocket, he beamed with a renewed sense of confidence. What could be more important for a professional poker player who already had the necessary skill?

The Coveted WSOP Bracelet

Let's face it, anyone who knows anything about poker tournaments wants a coveted WSOP gold bracelet. Two weeks after winning more than a million dollars, Hasan's appetite for that glorious gold bracelet was insatiable. He felt unstoppable when he entered the $1,500 seven-card stud eight-or-better event at the 2004 World Series of Poker.

Prior to this tournament, he had a reputation of dominating cash games with his aggressive style. Since seven-card stud eight-or-better is a game of finesse and patience, Hasan wasn't considered a favorite to win. He explained that he worked on his game, adding different dimensions: "I've learned to rely on other important skills besides raising every hand, like reading my opponents, better hand selection, and making plays at the right time."

After four long hours of heads-up play, Hasan clenched the victory, $93,060, and that beautiful, gleaming WSOPgold bracelet, signifying that as a poker player, he had arrived.

A Tennis Pro

Hasan was born in Pakistan. He is the oldest sibling, with one brother and two sisters. When he was 14 years old, he was a great tennis player, winning the Pakistan 14-and-Under National Championship.

When he turned 18, he wanted to attend college in America and learn about cultural differences. The first thing that shocked and delighted him when he arrived was the presence of so much skin! Women weren't all covered up. He said that although he comes from a very conservative background, seeing all that skin was just awesome.

Being a tennis player, he naturally wanted to attend a school with a good tennis team, so he chose the University of Redlands. Besides having a good athletic program, the school was rated the most competitive for business. Since his family was in business, there was an assumption that he would ultimately end up in the family business.

Hasan explained that he came to America wanting to make it without the financial assistance of his family. Upon further probing, he stated in his refined way that he didn't know how to talk about his family in a way that didn't sound immodest. The details had to be meticulously extracted from him. The most impressive facts were retrieved from the Internet, as Hasan neglected to mention some salient particulars about his family.

The Apple Falls Near the Tree

It's not hard to understand why Hasan is such a classy, understated, polite man who behaves with dignity. This guy is simply nice through and through – without a mean bone in his body. As it turns out, he comes from a long line of regality and overwhelming philanthropy.

In 1941, his grand-uncle Seth Mahomed Ali Habib incorporated the Habib Bank in Bombay (now Mumbai), India. However, the partition of India in 1947 brought in its wake one of the greatest massacres in human history, killing and displacing millions of Hindus, Muslims, Sikhs, and Dalits.

When these people were forced to leave their ancestral homes and flee with only the clothes on their backs, many flung bags of money into the Habib Bank with only a handwritten family name on the outside of a bag, blindly trusting in the Habib name. They had no choice.

Those who made it safely to Karachi in West Pakistan found that instead of being ruined and having to start all over again, the Habib family had safeguarded their money, thereby lessening the suffering and tragedy of displacement. Habib had become a household name. Hasan told this story with pride, as well he should.

When Prime Minister Bhutto nationalized all Pakistani banks in 1972, the Habib family figured they received about half the fair market value of the 900 banks they owned.

Official Documentation of the Habib Family

An Internet search revealed official documentation of the Habib family's philanthropy:

"Seth Mahomed Ali Habib is best remembered for the blank check on Lloyd's Bank that he presented to the Quaid-e-Azam (founder of Pakistan) in the wake of the Partition when the Pakistan Treasury was empty and the Indian government procrastinated in depositing the share from the exchequer(British Treasury) of undivided India."

"The Habibs ran the bank like a family business. All decisions were centralized with family members and working hours were long and hard … Key elements … in the Habib Bank include a close-knit family structure for management, high salaries and benefits to motivate employees …"

"Born on 15th May 1904 in Bombay, Mahomad Ali Habib was the founder of Habib Bank Ltd (August 1941), the largest and the most important bank of Pakistan. A successful businessman, Mahomed Ali Habib created a business empire in a short span of time, employing more than 7,000 people. After creation of Pakistan, he extended financial assistance worth hundreds of millions of rupees interest free to the cash-strapped government. He established more than 20 benevolent trusts for various social causes."

One story explained why a long-overdue commemorative stamp was finally issued with Hasan's grand-uncle's picture in 2000:

"As a philanthropist, among his landmarks left are charitable trusts, and the cemetery of Khurasan Bagh where he himself and his wife are buried. Other institutions include: Dawood Habib Home for Girls, Habib Public Boys and Girls Schools, Masoomen Hospital, Khoja Masjid, in all 18 charitable organizations were established by him that today cater to the posterity.

"Born in Bombay on May 15, 1904, the legendary banker and philanthropist passed away in Karachi, at his residence Habib Cottage, on March 30, 1959, at a relatively young age of 54, to be mourned and remembered by the Nation. He has left an indelible impression."

A Privileged Life

The Habib family is one of the most successful and well-respected families in Pakistan. The family now manufacturers a stabilizer called guar gum, grown in India and Pakistan from the month of July through December. Guar gum is a thickener and stabilizer approved for use in a wide range of foods, cosmetics, and pharmaceuticals. Currently, the Habib family owns a fair share of the entire world market.

If Hasan didn't love the thrill of poker so much, he would return to Pakistan to live the privileged life with his loving family. He misses home and speaks with his family about five times a week. He also likes to go home many times each year; he loves his family time. He laughed while adding: "Having 17 servants isn't too bad, either." But Hasan is so sweet and refined, he is quick to ask in that sing-song, charming Indian accent: "Does that sound bad?"

Hasan's Cat

Since his family is so far away, Hasan's cat has become his family. His cat adds stability to his life. It is a reason to go home. The cat needs feeding; the cat needs attention. And best of all, the cat never argues with him!

When we first began speaking, I asked Hasan about a previous interview in which he was asked what he does in his free time. His answer was simply that he plays with his cat. I asked him if that is allhe does, and his eyes sparkled as he explained that he has many varied interests, but that his cat isvery important to him.

Those varied interests include a girlfriend (sorry, no details), movies, sports, and time with close friends. He is also an avid reader. And he loves to go dancing, adding that since he was an agile tennis player, at least hethinks he is a good dancer.

What Goes Around Karmas Around

Hasan comes from a long line of good family values. Included in that value system is a desire to be a good person. Raised as a Muslim, Hasan has great respect for all other religions because they teach good, solid moral values. "All religions teach people to do the right thing, and that is what really matters. What is most important is how you treat other people." Hasan was proud to tell me that he coined the phrase: "What goes around karmas around."

"If someone is good to me, I neverforget. I don't take things for granted and I never forget someone's kindness." He told me that he just wants to be judged by who he is. Since 9-11, when he goes to the airport, he is stopped, searched, and looked at as if he is a terrorist. He usually tries to be lighthearted about it. During a recent airport visit, when a cute female agent stopped him, he innocently inquired as to whether she would like him to strip for a proper search. He jokes that if he changed his name, he could save about a half-hour at the airport. Would he give up the Habib name? Never.

For now, Hasan's life consists of poker, his friends, his cat, taking joy in remodeling his homes, and a loving family to return to whenever he misses all that goes along with a very big, loving, influential family.