Dead Money ... I Don't Think So. There is a New Professor in the House!

A few weeks ago I was watching the World Series of Poker on television. I was a little upset about a feature called "Dead Money." First of all, it isn't very nice referring to people as "dead money." For those who don't know the expression, dead money in poker can be defined as a person who cannot win. It doesn't mean there is a 1 percent chance of winning – it means there's a zero percent chance of winning. I have used the expression once before, stating to a friend that someone was dead money. Of course, that person won the event and I felt like a fool. Since then, I have opted against using the term. Now, if I were to compete in a putting contest with Tiger Woods, I would be as close to dead money as possible, but I still wouldn't be totally dead money. On the other hand, if I were to compete in a slam-dunk contest with Michael Jordan, I would be dead money. The reason is, I can't dunk – and never will be able to.

Recently, Bellagio hosted three days of no-limit hold'em events with buy-ins ranging from $1,000 to $2,500. The Bellagio poker room attracts great drop-in business. There were many unfamiliar people who just happened to walk by the poker room and put up $2,500 to play in a tournament. That was great, and unexpected.

Anyhow, let's get back to dead money. On TV, Maureen Feduniak was referred to as dead money at the WSOP. At that time, I did my own research and discovered that she had made four final tables and won more than $120,000 in poker tournaments this year. That is pretty amazing, considering that she doesn't play as much as most tournament players. Maureen is a classy lady who has been playing for only a few years, but has received many pointers from her husband, Bob, and tournament coach, T.J. Cloutier.

Maureen ended up getting head up with Howard "The Professor" Lederer in the $2,500 buy-in no-limit hold'em event. I sat next to Howard that day and he informed me that after all of his television appearances, everyone thinks he is a professor. I said, "You may be a professor of waking up with pocket aces after three people have moved in." So, I was thinking of changing his nickname to "The Professor of Aces" or "The Professor of Ace-Ace." Either one is appropriate, but this story is about Maureen, not Howard. Anyhow, Howard had Maureen outchipped almost 20-1, and she came back to win. I didn't write this to make fun of "The Professor" for losing, because he has one of the best records in tournament poker, and is one of the best, if not the best, all-around players in the world. I wrote this to give credit to Maureen for winning again and proving the critics wrong. She has now won more than $160,000 this year, and we are only in August. Good job, Maureen. Maybe we should call you "The Professor."

Also, I would like to welcome back Lee Jones as a Card Player columnist. His first column appears in this issue. I hope you will enjoy his columns as much as I do.