Paul Darden is Back

Paul Darden, born in New Haven, Connecticut, in 1968, didn't grow up with a silver spoon in his mouth. In fact, there aren't many silver spoons in New Haven, a dilapidated city surrounded by a sea of prosperity. Instead of a spoon to latch onto, Paul had a pool hall, Big Bettor's Place, owned by his father, Paul Sr. In the backroom, a constant stream of card sharks and hustlers kept a five- and seven-card stud game cooking around-the-clock. After his parents divorced when he was 7, this game became a part of his life. He studied it like a subject in grammar school, and learned the ins and outs of what it took to be a successful player and hustler from the older crew who embraced the sharp kid with a natural knack for taking people's money.

Paul Darden

New Haven's back alleys, barrooms, and pool halls served as the setting for Darden's rough and gritty childhood. "I grew up in the 'hood, where everyone around you was a hustler, dope dealer, or pimp," he said. New Haven, then and now, is a bleak place. Although located in the richest state in the country and on the doorstep of Yale University, New Haven is the country's fourth-poorest city and has the same infant mortality rate as Malaysia. With economic opportunities limited, Paul soon found that the best way to make a buck was on the felt.

Action was in Paul's blood. His father, who earned the nickname "Big Bettor," was a hard-working man with a lot of gamble in him. He worked in construction his entire life, but took lots of his fellow everyman's money shooting dice or pool. This money was pooled together to buy Big Bettor's Place. There, Darden said, he quickly excelled at stud, all while learning at a young age how to protect himself from the cheaters and degenerates who were naturally attracted to big stacks of cash.

Darden said that before he started working over the local games, he "was a paperboy for a minute until my cousin punched me in the eye and took all my money." He also worked odd jobs, ranging from temporary labor to promotional work in the music industry.

Nothing, however, captured his attention more than poker. With its requirement for discipline, patience, training, and control, the game, in a way, saved Darden. "Lots of my close friends got wrapped up in drugs and violence," he said. "I dabbled in drugs for a minute, but couldn't sell that poison to my own people." One incident from Paul's early childhood nearly ended the prospects for the sharp youngster to build the type of life he has for himself today. When he was 15, running with the wrong crowd finally caught up with him. He was arrested and tried for a murder he didn't commit. And even though he was acquitted, he said that incident tarnished his reputation and made it hard for him to continue school. He wound up dropping out in the 11th grade. Around that time, poker became a full-time gig.

FROM DUMBAR TO FOXWOODS

Paul credits his close friend and frequent card partner Bama, who owned the Dumbar, a New Haven watering hole, as the inspiration that kept him out of the street life. "He was the centerpiece that kept me going, a good father figure who kept me off the streets and out of drugs," he said. "Since he was such a big fish and we played every day, he helped me take care of family without having to get a nine-to-five." Constant action at the Dumbar helped Darden refine his game, and he began making big money as the action soon expanded outside just the bar. He frequented local home games. He would take road trips for action. He was a winner, and at times, would take down in excess of $10,000 a session. He was living the player's life and loving every minute of it. Paul, true to his roots, has remained a top stud player, capturing a 2001 World Series of Poker bracelet in the event, along with $141,000.

However, it seemed like all would come to an end after Bama passed away. According to Darden, he was the conduit for all the action that he gobbled up. "I was used to fast money, and when he passed away, I thought about what else I could do," he said. "I couldn't sing. I couldn't rap. I tried stand-up comedy and got booed. So, when Foxwoods opened, that place stole me away."

Darden moved his game from the backrooms to the glitz and glamour when Foxwoods opened its doors in 1992. Living about an hour from the world's largest casino, Darden used his natural instincts and ability to read his opponents like an open book to quickly move up to some of the biggest games in the East. He started with $1-$5 stud at Foxwoods and quickly found success as he moved up in limits. In addition, he began playing limit hold'em, Omaha, stud eight-or-better, and other games. "I realized that to play at high limits, you have to know mixed games." Within three years, he was beating $75- $150 games, and then he began making runs down to Atlantic City, where he battled with a young wiz kid, Phil Ivey, in the $75-$150 stud game.

Paul relaxes with his wife, Vicky, and daughter, Lauren.

"The first time we ever met, we kept playing at each other," he said. "It was scary. People thought we were setting someone up or splitting the money." They immediately hit it off, shared lunch and dinner that day, and a close personal friendship immediately took root. Ivey, respecting the raw talent he saw in Darden, was soon mentoring Paul on the ins and outs of no-limit Texas hold'em.

According to Darden, Ivey has been the most influential player in his career. He helped turn Paul's natural aggressive playing style into a winning no-limit strategy. "Phil used to say that no-limit hold'em would be the game to win millions at, and man was he right," Darden said. "Phil had a great knowledge of the game and was confident in my game, and I was confident enough to pay attention and pick his brain."

STUDENT VS. THE PROFESSOR

Under Ivey's tutelage, Darden began playing no-limit hold'em seriously in late 1999. Ivey actually spotted Paul's buy-in for the 2000 WSOP main event. Darden made an early exit, but was convinced that with study and dedication, he could be a consistent winner at the game.

In that 2000 WSOP no-limit hold'em event, Paul had pocket tens and, according to him, a player with pocket kings slow-played him out of his stack after an 8-7-6 flop. "I don't like being milked out of my money," he said. "From that point on, I was determined not to make the same mistake." He credits Ivey and other players such as John Juanda and Daniel Negreanu for being open to talking about hands and giving him answers to the many questions he had about his play.

"In 2001, at an event at the Taj, I laid down pocket tens preflop against David Pham. I showed my cards. After the hand, David came up to me and complimented me for a great laydown. He had pocket queens. This proved to me that I was really improving my game."

After Darden's first stab at the 2000 WSOP main event, Ivey began calling Darden number two until he won the 2002 New England Poker Classic. "I finished second in so many tournaments. I'd play great, then I would get eager and rush the action when heads up." He asked his old mentor for some more tips on improving his heads-up play. However, Darden said, Ivey flatly rejected. "He told me I was getting too good and that he could not tell me any more!"

Darden has played on the tournament circuit now for about seven years, and his prediction about being a consistent winner was correct. He won the New England Poker Classic's main no-limit hold'em event in 2002, and in 2003 he won the World Poker Tour Gold Rush tournament.

After grinding it out on the tournament circuit for many a year, Darden said his favorite place to play tournaments is at Bellagio. "There, tournaments run nice and smooth, and they give you plenty of chips. I am a firm believer that tournaments need to provide more starting chips to fade a lot of early luck. In the early phases, it is about 75 percent luck and 25 percent skill. As the tournament progresses, these numbers even out."

Darden is now a recognizable face at the TV tables. His street roots, hip-hop swagger, and aggressive play earned him a place in the World Poker Tour's Bad Boys of Poker event last September with Antonio "The Magician" Esfandiari, Phil "The Unabomber" Laak, David "Devilfish" Ulliott, and Gus "The Great Dane" Hansen. Paul finished second.

The bad boy moniker fits Darden very well. "Before poker, I was the typical average kid from the ghetto," he said. "I was rough and mean all the time. However, poker humbled me and provided me with the discipline necessary to make me a better person."

HEATING UP AGAIN

While Darden struck quickly with a series of high profile tournament victories after starting the tournament circuit, he acknowledged that he hit a brick wall last year. "I was telling myself that if I survived 2004, I would make history in 2005," he said. "Last year I kept my bills paid, but had no major successes."

Paul's cold run began in the worst way. During the 2003 World Poker Tour Championship event at Bellagio, Darden and Alan Goehring were two of the chip leaders with the field down to three tables. Paul had his A-A cracked by Goehring's 7-3. Alan, gambling in the small blind, flopped a 7 and rivered trips. "That hand was my graduation," Darden said. "I learned that when you have chips, you don't tangle with the chip leader."

This lesson was on display during a hand in the recent World Poker Tour PartyPoker.com Million IV event. With the field down to 18 players, Darden's K-J flopped the nuts when A-Q-10 fell. Paul had position on David Minto, who had a huge stack. Minto led out with a bet on the flop, the turn (10), and the river (blank). Minto's A-10 filled up and Darden lost only the minimum. Misplaying this hand probably would have kept Darden from making the final table.

Overall, Darden is feeling great about his game and says he is primed to take down one of the big tournaments. "The tweak is over," he said. "I weathered the storm, and now I am the storm. The cream is going to rise to the top, and this cream is dark."

Already in 2005, Darden raked in a big score when he took fifth place in the PartyPoker.com Million IV event. With 735 entrants and a $7.4 million prize pool (the largest limit hold'em prize pool in history), Darden's finish won him $300,000. Paul pulled off an amazing comeback late in the tournament, masterfully playing his short, short stack, which was at one time down to just $25,000 with the limits at $20,000-$40,000. "When there is a million and a half on the street, you have to make a run at it," he said. After a two-hour rush, Darden was up over $1 million with only 18 players left, and he easily coasted to the final table of six.

At the final table, he got burned by a runner-runner straight after he moved all in on a flop of 10-9-7 with two spades for his last $500,000. He received two callers, Michael "The Kid" Gracz, who won the event, and Adam Csallany. The turn brought the 8 and the river the Q. Gracz's J-10 made the straight and he was on his way to winning $1.5 million.

KILLER INSTINCTS IN THE BLOOD

Darden, who has earned a reputation as a solid and intense player, says poker has always just naturally come to him. His strengths lie in his ability to read other players and wait patiently for the right opportunity to charge at their stacks.

"I think patience is the most important skill in being a successful poker player," he said. "Without it, you are always going to make more and more mistakes or go on tilt." He admits that, in the past, patience was not his strongest virtue. "A while back, I would go on tilt easily. However, at three major limit hold'em tournaments, I was down short and was forced to be very patient, and I made the final table because I was patient and didn't steam once a hand was over."

Darden's recent performance in the PartyPoker.com Million IV is proof that his patient, aggressive play is a recipe for success. "For the four days, I never really had any hands. I let my instincts carry me through the tournament. I played aggressive enough that as long as my opponent didn't hit the flop, I won the hand."

Darden is a master at reading his opponents. He said, "You have to pay close attention to your opponents and see if you can pick up tells in different situations." While he thinks players have an advantage by wearing sunglasses at the table, Darden says he zeroes in on physical characteristics. "In big hands, I look at a man's hands, throat, and chest. I read body language and movement. I try to put myself in their hands and play at myself. It's amazing what you can learn by carefully studying your opponent's slightest actions," he said.

When asked about his favorite starting-hand types, he said that his game isn't really about the cards, but position. "To me, the key to my game is position. I think a lot of players do not understand this," he said. "I always want to have position. After seeing the flop, if I am last to act, I know what is going down. I can see how the hand is going to unfold."

While Darden is soft-spoken and mild-mannered, there is one thing you can do to get on his idiot list. "When I am playing live, I don't like anyone standing over my shoulder," he said. "Once, a long time ago, this old lady was standing behind me and saw my hand. I had quads. I checked, and she said out loud, 'Why are you checking with four of a kind?'"

DARDEN'S PROPS

When asked about the players he respects the most in the game, Darden wasn't shy about giving props to those he respects.

"Phil Ivey eats, sleeps, and lives poker, and it has paid off very well for him," he said. "He is a genius poker player." Paul said that he most admires Howard Lederer. "I think he is the best player out there: A very firm and solid player will not let a marginal hand knock him out." Amir Vahedi gets Darden's award for being the resident maniac. "If you check, he is always going to bet you, and you never know what he is going to have." As for the up-and-comer to watch out for, Darden said the newest member of the young millionaires club, PartyPoker Million IV winner Michael Gracz, is going to be a great one. "His understanding of the game is very impressive. He knew when he was on a rush and played his rushes great. He also has a perfect poker face."

He said playing with aggressive players such as Phil Ivey, Erick Lindgren, Daniel Negreanu, and John Juanda is tough. "It's like pulling teeth … you have to go all the way with it. What is an extra million to these guys?"

Darden likens the proliferation of poker strategy books to "giving out all the ancient Chinese secrets." He said that rather than read what others are saying, he sticks to what he knows best: instincts and common sense.

GIVING A BIT BACK

Using his ascension from ghetto hustler to superstar poker player, Darden is serious about using his leverage and exposure in the poker community to increase poker in the black community. "Blacks will come out and play more when they see Paul Darden win," he said. "I am that real black guy who grew up where they grew up, and who shares the same universal experiences as them. They can all relate to me. I am not David Williams, who went to Princeton. There is going to be salt and pepper throughout the casino when they see me win a big event."

ALL FOR THE FAMILY

Darden played with a photo of Lauren behind his chip stack at the PartyPoker.com Million IV event.

Family, and providing a comfortable life for them, is Darden's main objective for being in the poker business. He said his focus is "letting my family see life, letting them grow up better than I did, and starting the silver spoon for them." He has four children, including Lauren, 5, whom he had with his partner of 10 years, Vicky, who is now his wife. Children from previous relationships include Whitney, 16, Justin, 13, and Davonne, 13. He played with a photo of Lauren behind his chip stack during the recent PartyPoker.com Million IV event.

Paul welcomes being able to spend more time with his family. While he has not yet begun playing poker online, he said that he was going to buy a laptop and start playing. Darden paid the $10,000 buy-in for the PartyPoker.com Million IV, while many on board, including three of his fellow final-table opponents, made it there for less than $20. "With more 25-year-old Internet players turning into millionaires, this thing is just going to keep exploding," he said.

Vicky, who travels with Paul on the tournament circuit, is no slouch herself. She routinely plays $5-$10 and $10-$20 no-limit, and enjoys winning big pots. "She is going to be my next lethal weapon," Paul said. "She has a great poker face, and once she learns to be a bit more aggressive, she will be better than me."

Darden now lives in Hamden, Connecticut. However, his plans call for relocating to Las Vegas or Southern California in the near future, for "different scenery and more live action."

THE TRUTH

Paul's nickname is "The Truth." "That was going to be my stand-up comedian nickname," he said. "That is how I give it to you: You are always going to get the truth from me no matter how brutal it is."

You could say his life overflows with raw truth. Darden used to wear headphones at the table, but said bumping to the beats of Jay-Z, Usher, Biggie Smalls, and Tupac distracted him. "I'm listening to my stories when I hear their music, my stories that I couldn't put into rhyme." Paul keeps a tape recorder around and would like to do a story about his life. "I live two worlds," he said. "There is the poker world, and the world at home, where I grew up. When I go home, I am the superstar. At home, nobody has pockets, and I always pay. It's so different."

However, before it's all over, if Darden has his way, he'll keep adding more "truth," and more stories. Maybe he'll take down a few major tournaments and start a nightclub or a record label. Maybe he'll get back on stage and give it a go as a comedian.

One thing is certain, though: Everyone who has a chance to play with Paul Darden knows it isn't funny when he is sitting across the table from you with a pile of chips, dangerous and decked out in fly fashions. He's been there before, is confident about his game, and knows what it takes to be a winner in all aspects of the game of life, as well as poker.