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| The Fall and Rise of Scotty Nguyen |
It had been six years since a professional poker player had won the World
Series of Poker when Carlos Mortenson did it in 2001. Since then some had
come close, with former champion Dan Harrington going out in third place in
2003 and in fourth place in 2004, Mike Matusow falling ninth in 2005 and
Allen Cunningham making it to fourth in 2006, but no one had taken the top
spot in the championship Texas holdem tournaments. In fact, it was said
among many pundits that no name pro would ever win the main event again
because of the enormously bloated fields brought on by the new popularity
of tournament poker due to hole card cams and Internet play.
The Prince of Poker
In 2007, the pro that seemed poised to disprove that theory was Scotty
Nguyen. The “Prince of Poker” was the perfect player to take the bracelet in
the modern age. He had won it all in 1998, famously goading his opponent
Kevin McBride into calling his all-in with the needle: “You call it’s gonna be all
over, baby.” He had continued to make a name for himself in poker since,
winning multiple WSOP bracelets and a World Poker Tour championship.
With only two tables remaining out of over 6,000 players, Scotty was still in
the hunt. However, he would experience a very unprofessional breakdown
that would end with him falling just short of the final table.
The Rise and Fall of Scotty Nguyen
Scotty got on a roll early as the final two tables began. One of the chip
leaders, Philp Hilm, made it 300,000 to go with KQ off-suit and Scotty called
with 99. The flop came T 5 5, Scotty checked and called a bet of 400,000 from
Hilm. On the turn came Scotty’s gin card, the 9d. Scotty cannily checked again
and Hilm picked this unfortunate time to make a move, pushing all-in. Scotty
naturally called and doubled his stack as the poker gods rubbed it in by
giving Hilm his straight with a jack on the river.
By the time it was down to 12 players, Scotty had moved into sixth chip
position with 7,620,000 and seemed to be on a collision course with the final
table. This belief was reaffirmed when he eliminated Ray Henson in 12th
place. Henson raised to over a million chips with 99 and Scotty called with KQ.
Henson’s fate was sealed when the flop came K 6 6, and Scotty was soon
sitting on a stack of roughly 15 million chips. That’s the danger of no-limit
holdem, in limit Texas holdem you rarely use most of your stack in a single
hand.
The Sudden End
Scotty’s meteoric rise made his fall all the more shocking to poker fans. The
beginning of the end came when Scotty raised to 530,00 with AQ off-suit and
Hilm called with 55. The disastrous flop peeled off Q 5 6, giving Scotty a pair
of queens with top kicker and Hilm a set. Although a K on the turn might have
saved Scotty from disaster, he chose to raise Hilm all-in, allowing Hilm to
double through him and crippling his stack.
Hilm ended up finishing off Scotty when Scotty flopped a flush draw with Tc 9c
on a 3s Kc 7c board. Hilm, with top pair and a backdoor flush draw (Ks Qc)
called, and the harmless 2h and Qs came on the turn and river to eliminate a
stunned Scotty Nguyen in 11th place.
While many poker players would have been thrilled to make it as far as
Scotty did, he knew he had a great chance to make history and was no doubt
devastated for the loss. For pros like Scotty, the only place that doesn’t
result in disappointment is first.
The Big Revenge
After the sudden fall in WSOP 2007, Scotty came back with a vengeance in
2008. The $10,000 no-limit holdem main event used to be the most
prestigious one in WSOP, but nowadays the fields are huge and it takes
more luck than skill to win it. The event that all the pros want to win is the
$50,000 HORSE event, where all the best players participate.
The players compete in mixed games (Holdem, Omaha, Razz, Seven-card stud
high, Seven-card stud high-low Eight or Better). The winner this year was –
you guessed it – Scotty Nguyen. He took home $1,989,120 after coming out
ahead of a final table containing players like Barry Greenstein, Erick Lindgren
and Huck Seed. Not a bad revenge to come back and win the most
prestigious tournament in the whole WSOP.
Series of Poker when Carlos Mortenson did it in 2001. Since then some had
come close, with former champion Dan Harrington going out in third place in
2003 and in fourth place in 2004, Mike Matusow falling ninth in 2005 and
Allen Cunningham making it to fourth in 2006, but no one had taken the top
spot in the championship Texas holdem tournaments. In fact, it was said
among many pundits that no name pro would ever win the main event again
because of the enormously bloated fields brought on by the new popularity
of tournament poker due to hole card cams and Internet play.
The Prince of Poker
In 2007, the pro that seemed poised to disprove that theory was Scotty
Nguyen. The “Prince of Poker” was the perfect player to take the bracelet in
the modern age. He had won it all in 1998, famously goading his opponent
Kevin McBride into calling his all-in with the needle: “You call it’s gonna be all
over, baby.” He had continued to make a name for himself in poker since,
winning multiple WSOP bracelets and a World Poker Tour championship.
With only two tables remaining out of over 6,000 players, Scotty was still in
the hunt. However, he would experience a very unprofessional breakdown
that would end with him falling just short of the final table.
The Rise and Fall of Scotty Nguyen
Scotty got on a roll early as the final two tables began. One of the chip
leaders, Philp Hilm, made it 300,000 to go with KQ off-suit and Scotty called
with 99. The flop came T 5 5, Scotty checked and called a bet of 400,000 from
Hilm. On the turn came Scotty’s gin card, the 9d. Scotty cannily checked again
and Hilm picked this unfortunate time to make a move, pushing all-in. Scotty
naturally called and doubled his stack as the poker gods rubbed it in by
giving Hilm his straight with a jack on the river.
By the time it was down to 12 players, Scotty had moved into sixth chip
position with 7,620,000 and seemed to be on a collision course with the final
table. This belief was reaffirmed when he eliminated Ray Henson in 12th
place. Henson raised to over a million chips with 99 and Scotty called with KQ.
Henson’s fate was sealed when the flop came K 6 6, and Scotty was soon
sitting on a stack of roughly 15 million chips. That’s the danger of no-limit
holdem, in limit Texas holdem you rarely use most of your stack in a single
hand.
The Sudden End
Scotty’s meteoric rise made his fall all the more shocking to poker fans. The
beginning of the end came when Scotty raised to 530,00 with AQ off-suit and
Hilm called with 55. The disastrous flop peeled off Q 5 6, giving Scotty a pair
of queens with top kicker and Hilm a set. Although a K on the turn might have
saved Scotty from disaster, he chose to raise Hilm all-in, allowing Hilm to
double through him and crippling his stack.
Hilm ended up finishing off Scotty when Scotty flopped a flush draw with Tc 9c
on a 3s Kc 7c board. Hilm, with top pair and a backdoor flush draw (Ks Qc)
called, and the harmless 2h and Qs came on the turn and river to eliminate a
stunned Scotty Nguyen in 11th place.
While many poker players would have been thrilled to make it as far as
Scotty did, he knew he had a great chance to make history and was no doubt
devastated for the loss. For pros like Scotty, the only place that doesn’t
result in disappointment is first.
The Big Revenge
After the sudden fall in WSOP 2007, Scotty came back with a vengeance in
2008. The $10,000 no-limit holdem main event used to be the most
prestigious one in WSOP, but nowadays the fields are huge and it takes
more luck than skill to win it. The event that all the pros want to win is the
$50,000 HORSE event, where all the best players participate.
The players compete in mixed games (Holdem, Omaha, Razz, Seven-card stud
high, Seven-card stud high-low Eight or Better). The winner this year was –
you guessed it – Scotty Nguyen. He took home $1,989,120 after coming out
ahead of a final table containing players like Barry Greenstein, Erick Lindgren
and Huck Seed. Not a bad revenge to come back and win the most
prestigious tournament in the whole WSOP.
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| UltimatePokerForum.com The Ultimate Poker Site |
| The Fall and Rise of Scotty Nguyen. The Prince of Poker wins the $50,000 HORSE Tournament at the 2008 WSOP |