World Series Of Poker Main Event Day 2C -- Jamie Gold: 'Pretty Depressing' That Players Can't Talk At The Table Like They Could In 20062006 Main Event Champion Also Explains His Bracelet Being Sold |
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Love him or hate him, Jamie Gold is one face that always stands out during the WSOP main event. Gold, the winner of a $12 million first-place prize in 2006, made his debut at the 2013 WSOP by entering the main event. On Wednesday afternoon he had a healthy stack on Day 2C.
Back in 2006, Gold found himself in the midst of arguably the most improbable run in the history of tournament poker. He assumed control of the chip lead on the third day of play and never lost it over the next seven days of action. In other words, he never lost a hand big enough to knock him off the top spot, and he was never all-in for his tournament life.
“People I respect a lot – Doyle Brunson and Johnny Chan – had told me that that won’t ever be done again,” Gold said Thursday. “I have no idea, but it sure felt pretty special at the time.”
Gold embraced a playing style of talking about his hands to try and throw people off their games. He would routinely tell the truth about what he held, and somehow it worked in getting his opponents to make poor decisions and, in many cases, just give Gold their chips. He seemed to tilt people like no one else had ever done. In one televised instance, Gold flashed his opponent a card during a hand, and the move worked to his advantage.
He said his strategy — some others would call it antics — has led to restrictions on what is permissible to say about your hand or other players’ hands at the poker table.
“The WSOP changed the rules after I won, so you aren’t allowed to do that anymore, which is pretty depressing,” Gold said. “You can’t speak like that anymore, which makes it kind of boring for people watching on TV and more challenging for players like me.”
There is something else he struggles with on the felt — people always think he is bluffing.
“People think I never have anything, like they saw on [High Stakes Poker] on TV, but in tournaments I’m rarely bluffing,” Gold said. Indeed, his 2006 run didn’t contain many big moves.
Gold hasn’t parlayed his main event win to a lot of success on the tournament circuit. He has only cashed for about $180,000 since, which includes just four WSOP cashes.
Despite the lack of WSOP validation, Gold has been a regular in huge private cash games, and also has dabbled in business projects related to the gambling subculture.
Gold said that these days he is “a partner” with Island Breeze International, which, according to Gold, is developing gambling facilities around Florida and will eventually do so around the world. He said he has been working hard on this new venture.
“For some reason they are calling it the ‘Jamie Gold Poker Room’,” he said of the current plans.
Everything hasn’t been great for Gold, despite him saying he is at a solid point in his life right now and that he’s “appreciative of what [winning the main event] has done for me.”
When asked about his bracelet, which in May found itself scheduled for auction, Gold explained:
“It’s a legal issue that I can’t talk about, but what I can say is that I am not selling it. I would never do that. It’s really unfortunate what has been happening. It is out of my hands, but it’s not something I wish was happening. I am not purposefully selling; I am not involved in the auction and will not be making $1 if it does end up being sold.”
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