The Devilfish has split audiences in the UK for a while now. To some, he's one of the best poker players this country has ever produced, a legend of the game whose profile and celebrity helped take the game's popularity to another level, but, to others, he's little more than a caricature, a comical character whose constant grumblings have merely served to highlight that the game is passing him by.
Whatever your view is, there's no doubt that the Devilfish has played a role in poker: despite his years, if you surveyed the poker world of the UK's most famous exports, he'd undoubtedly be the first name on everyone's lips, whatever the audience. From his triumphant stints in Late Night Poker to his WPT win in Tunica, he's one of our few homegrown players to have made his presence felt on both sides of the Atlantic. In many ways, he was the first UK pro to break through to an American audience.
When I first saw the Devilfish on TV, I thought he was the coolest cat in the yard. His slick back hair and tinted shades melded with a sharp wit, unparalleled self-confidence and penchant for the younger lady made me embrace the game with both arms out-stretched. Devilfish was ol' school, and I loved it. A few years on and he opted for an image change, seemingly echoing the fashion sense of poker's latest generation - gone were the suave suits and leather jackets, to be replaced by glittery T-shirts, hoodies and a unkempt hairstyle that has absorbed its fair share of derogatory comments. In the blink of the eye, the Devilfish looked like a totally different person.
It wasn't just his image that people became suspicious of. With the introduction of strategy books, online tutorial sites, private mentoring and so on, players became more educated on the intricacies of the game, and the old guard like the Devilfish were easy cannon fodder. In a world where everyone is an expert, and despite a near six million in tournament winnings, Devilfish was no longer considered one of the game's strongest assets. But although he might not know what a four-bet snap shove is, or how to use PokerTacker, he still boasts more live experience than most, and every now and then he'd surprise people by picking up a big score, such as first in the 2006 Diamond Classic, a third place finish in the 2007 WPT Doyle Brunson Classic and, most recently, his win in the 2009 Euro Finals of Poker - results you simply couldn't ignore.
Regardless of the aforementioned performances, the modern poker player is judged on bracelets, and a win in Vegas would surely put the Devilfish back on the map. Having won his first and only bracelet way back in 1997, when fields were supposedly small and weak, I sense the former safebreaker from Hull has been itching for another bracelet of late, if only to prove to the 'kids' that he is better than they think, and still capable of out-playing the very best.
With that in mind, I was personally elated to see him make the final of Event #46's $5,000 Pot Limit Omaha High-Low freezeout, with decent chips and in with a great chance of adding bracelet gold to his already star-bangled wrist. What was more pleasing, perhaps, was that the Devilfish character seemed to be in fine form from his never-ending banter, his shameless f-bombing and his continual efforts to entertain. On the opening day he told the table, "So this guy says, 'Devilfish, you look like my dad.' So I said, 'If I were your dad, you'd be twice as good-looking and twice as smart.'"
On Day Two, the Devilfish was involved in an amusing fracas with serial Poker Brat Phil Hellmuth when he eliminated him eight spots away from the money. On a paired board, Hellmuth moved all in with trip tens and Devilfish called with an open-ended straight a flush draw before making his flush on the river. "This mother fucker," ranted Hellmuth. "This mother fucker. What you doing, fish? You're a fucking moron. You know you're not supposed to call with that!" Devilfish just laughed his way through the confrontation, repeating Hellmuth's words back to him and adding, after he'd left, in his gravelly northern twang, "Well, he shouldn't have called with ace-six-fucking-king."
On the final table, the Devilfish was as relaxed as I'd seen him and was clearly enjoying his return to the spotlight. He'd recline in his chair, put one leg up on the table, play up to the crowd, and forever be cracking jokes and making quotable comments. Sadly, and despite a dogged performance, Devilfish would be forced to settle for third when he was eliminated by eventual winner Chris Bell. With Bell making it 150,000 with Ah-Qh-8d-4h in the small blind, Devilfish called in the big blind with Ad-Td-5c-3h leading to a flop of Jd-Qd-3c. After Chris Bell check-called 300,000, he moved all in on the 2h turn and Devilfish called for his remaining 330,000. A 7h river gave Bell the nut flush and sent Devilfish home. It was a killer card, but Devilfish had proven that he was still a prominent character on the scene, as well as guy who could still pull out those big results in a world dominated by young online whiz kids.
Devilfish wasn't the only member of the 'old guard' on the final. In fact, he wasn't the oldest player full stop as Perry Green adopted that mantle with ease. A retired furrier from Anchorage, Alaska, Green is a three-time bracelet winner who came second to Stu Ungar in 1981. This was his first final in 13 years, and if he'd won, would have been the longest gap between bracelet wins with the last coming way back in 1979 when Green won a $1,500 No Limit Hold'em event for $76,500. 31 years on and Green was back in the Rio poker factory to remind everyone who he was and the history he'd written over the years.
Bell, meanwhile, boasted a story of his own. Penniless and down on his luck, Bell's future in poker was in severe doubt until an established pro started staking him into tournaments: "I want to thank Erick Lindgren," he said graciously. "I would not be in Las Vegas right now if it weren't for Erick. A lot of people had given up on me the last year or so. But Erick didn't. He's never told me 'no'. He will beg and borrow for friends. I appreciate him giving me this opportunity. Without a friend like him, I would not be here right now."
Watching avidly from the sidelines was Bell's close friend Gavin Smith, who himself had broken his WSOP duck by taking bracelet gold only one night prior. "I wanted Gavin to win more than anybody," beamed Bell. "This is something we can talk about for the rest of our lives. We will always be friends. When I was playing the other day, I almost could not concentrate because I was paying attention to what Gavin was doing. I know how bad he wanted it. He is such a good guy. Last year, I was broke. That was a pretty low moment. That's another thing Gavin and I had in common. We stayed broke together for the last year. I think this will give a lot of poker players hope out there. If Gavin won one and I won one, then they can win one too [laughs]."
The final table started at 8.45pm, but it wasn't until 5.45 in the morning that Bell echoed the success of Roland De Wolfe from the year prior to triumph over a field of 284. The unlucky runner-up was Dan Shak, who was supported by James Dempsey, Shannon Elizabeth and Michael Binger on an otherwise sparse rail. Dan Shak - who donated $368,738 to the Darfur cause along with Brandon Moran when they co-won the inaugural Ante Up for Africa charity tournament in 2007 - was visibly devastated by the loss. However, despite his close-but-no-cigar encounter, he took home a respectable $202,142 for his second place finish.
"Tournaments are very tough," confessed Bell. "Everybody plays good now. I was excited about WSOP. I play a lot of Pot Limit Omaha back home. When you get heads-up and you are playing this high, a lot of it just depends on who runs better. When we were heads-up, I ran better than him and I got lucky on one hand. But Dan Shak will get there."
Much like the UK's latest bracelet winner, Bell came into the World Series wondering if he had what it takes to be a professional player, yet this win proved that he was capable of overcoming a tough field which included all of poker's likely lads. A father of twin girls, Bell lost his son last year. This victory won't recuperate that loss, but it will help him finish the rest of the year with a level of confidence and self-belief that he won't have had last year. It's amazing what a bracelet can do.
As for the Devilfish, let’s hope this final table is one of many more to come, as a poker world without the Devilfish is a much less entertaining place. Until you’ve witnessed him tickling the ebony and ivory and singing Great Balls of Fire with a beer in his hand, you just haven’t lived.
image courtesy of Rob Mathis/WSOP
1st Chris Bell -- $327,040
2nd Dan Shak -- $202,142
3rd David Ulliott - $150,925
4th Joe Ritzie -- $113,444
5th Erik Seidel -- $85,800
6th Leif Force -- $65,311
7th Rob Hollink -- $50,014
8th Perry Green -- $38,549
9th Jeremy Harkin -- $29,886
Previous Bulletins: Vegas Blog Entries: May 23: My Old School Teacher
Employee of the Month
Fairytale Endings
Must Be Nice
Make Mine a Double
Blonde on Blonde
Summer of Sam
Chuft to Bits
Under the Radar
Taking Notice
May 31: Welcome to America; Let the Institutionalising Begin
June 1: Pleasure & Pain
June 5: 100% British Beef
June 9: Alphabetti Spaghetti & Giant Meatballs
June 13: Colour Me Up
June 14: The Crying Game
June 20: Last Gasps
June 24: Dancing With the Devil
June 30: The End of a Streak
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