1993 World Series Of Poker Champ Jim Bechtel: Rules Against Talking, Showing Cards Are 'Stupid'

With less than 150 players remaining during the late afternoon on Sunday on day 5 of the 2015 World Series of Poker main event, the only former winner of the tournament still alive was Jim Bechtel, who took gold in the 1993 no-limit hold’em championship.

The 63-year-old doesn’t play much poker these days, but he didn’t miss a chance this summer to search for his third career main event final table.

“I played a lot of poker when I was young,” Bechtel told Card Player during a break. “I haven’t played that much over the past 10 years. There is not a game in Arizona that suits me, at the level or limits I like to play in. I don’t like to travel, so I don’t play a lot.”

What’s especially cool about Bechtel’s run this year is that he hadn’t recorded a cash at the WSOP since 2006. Bechtel last cashed in the main event in 2001.

Bechtel still loves poker, but he doesn’t agree with rules that prohibit players from talking about their holdings during a live hand, even if heads-up. Card Player spoke to him about his tournament run so far, as well as his criticism toward how poker has evolved over the years.

Brian Pempus: How is your day five going so far?

Jim Bechtel: Well, I could have gone broke the first hand [of the day] but I only lost about half my chips. My opponent flopped a set and I had aces in the hole. I did all the betting. He never raised. Had he put a bet in I would have probably moved in. So, I am on a freeroll. It feels good to still be here.

BP: Can you talk about how you’ve seen this tournament grow over the years?

JB: Well, there were 6,400 people and probably half of those players are excellent poker players. Most of them are very aggressive, and it’s tough to get through. There might be 1,000 weak players in this tournament when it starts, but there’s at least 3,000 very good players.

BP: What kind of table image do you have? Do people usually give you credit because you are a former main event champion?

JB: I don’t think these good players get intimidated, they play their hand, they play their game. So, there are some players who this helps with, who want to try to beat someone who has a reputation or a bracelet. Sometimes this can be an advantage for me.

BP: One thing often talked about is the amount of tanking in tournament poker these days. Is this something you have an issue with at times?

JB: Well, I am surprised that the tankers weren’t all that bad in this tournament. There were a few who I thought tanked too long. I think it’s better today than it was two or three years ago. I don’t think it makes a lot sense for some people to tank like they do. The great players I’ve always played with know almost instantly what they’re going to do. When guys freeze up and want to take five minutes, what the hell are they trying to figure out? They are going to come to the same conclusion that they had in the first 15 seconds, in my opinion.

BP: In the early 1990s, when you won the main event, did the game move a lot quicker?

JB: Yeah, the game was quick. There were tough decisions where people did tank, but these situations were humorous because people could talk. You had the banter. Now they won’t let you talk about the hands. Back in the old days, when they tanked, guys would talk to each other. It made a big difference. They should allow that in [the 2015 main event] and allow people to show cards. The game would be a lot more fun. Guys say a lot of funny things when they are in these spots with the money in. For whatever reason it has been outlawed. If you want to see some good poker on TV, allow talking during hands. You’ll see the characters in poker. It’s stupid that if a guy wants to show a card he can’t. If he wants to, fine, let him show it. It’s the way we always had played it.

BP: If you were to reach the final table in November, would that be pretty surreal to make it again in this era of poker?

JB: The magnitude of 6,400 people, it’s actually hard to imagine that nine get through. When you take three buildings as big as football fields and fill them up for three separate [starting] days, that’s a lot of people to get through. Nine guys will though. They will all be good players. There will be nine great players there. I guarantee it.

For more coverage from the summer series, visit the 2015 WSOP landing page, complete with a full schedule, news, player interviews and event recaps.

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