Rounders

In 1998, I watched Matt Damon and Ben Affleck win Academy Awards for co-writing Good Will Hunting. They hooted, hollered, and acted all pumped up. I loved the fact that they acted their age – they were roughly 28 years old – when they were presented the awards on stage. It was a breath of fresh air.

That's what I remembered when I heard that Matt was coming to the 1998 World Series of Poker. The next thing I knew, I found out I was invited to meet Matt and Edward Norton at the top of the Horseshoe for a Sunday morning brunch. I brought my wife and two sons with me to that brunch, and later on that evening, I gave Matt and Edward some private lessons.

These guys are both brilliant! Matt went to Harvard for a time, and Edward graduated from Yale. They both could converse philosophically, and engagingly. Whether the subject wandered toward politics, Buddhism, or the stock market, they were both sharp as a whip.

I told them both, "Play tight, but don't hold back when you have pocket kings before the flop, or when you flop a set." The next day, I was the first one of the three of us to be eliminated! It was a rare first-day exit for me in the "Big One," but I stayed to root for Matt and Edward.

A little while later, Edward was out. I asked him how he was eliminated, and he said the flop had come down 10-9-6, and he had pocket nines – but his opponent had pocket tens! Wow, with that hand and that flop, there isn't too much anyone could do about losing all of their chips.

Edward and I wandered over to find Matt and see how he was doing. It wasn't hard to find him, as the Entertainment Tonight cameras were focused on him at all times. As I watched, Matt raised from the button, and Doyle Brunson reraised Matt all of his chips from the small blind, and Matt called Doyle quickly. Matt had pocket cowboys, but Doyle had the pocket rockets! When no help came for Matt, he gave a great interview, in which he said, "I lost with a great hand to the best player in history. I have no complaints; good luck, boys."

Afterward, Matt, Edward, and I sat around chatting for a while on the rail. While the three of us were talking, Harvey Weinstein (the head of Miramax) decided to run an impromptu charity event; I'm sure it was done to keep the press around. We would play a one-table freezeout for $10,000, with the proceeds going to the winner's favorite charity.

As depressed as I was (it is always the worst poker/business day of the year for me when I get eliminated from the Big One), it helped to have two movie stars trying to pump me up for the charity event. Along with Matt and Edward, I played in the charity event even though I wanted to crawl into a hole for the day.

The three of us, Jim Albrecht, and six others made 10 players total. Sadly, Matt and Edward outlasted me again! This time, I was able to watch them closely, and they both played a very good no-limit hold'em game. I was impressed; the two of them put on a great show, especially considering they were both beginners.

Later on, after the charity game ended, we headed up to the top of the Horseshoe for a late dinner and drinks. Of course, they kept the place open for Matt and Edward until 1:30 a.m. It helps to be a celebrity. Afterward, Matt, Casey Affleck, and I headed out to the Hard Rock Café, where Matt and I drank, chatted, smoked cigars, and played blackjack all night long. I had a great time, and I was extremely impressed with Matt.

If you have to get eliminated from the Big One on the first day, I highly recommend hanging out and drinking with a movie star all night long! I hope you enjoyed reading this column. Good luck.

Editor's note: Read more of Phil's columns at philhellmuth.com, and play poker or chat with Phil at ultimatebet.com.