|
1995 World Series of Poker |
1995 World Series of PokerA summary of 1995 world series of poker.
While the rest of the world celebrated the Rugby World Cup in South Africa in 1995, all poker enthusiasts eyed their most awaited competition of the year, the World Series of Poker at the Binion's Horseshoe Casino on April 21 to May 18, 1995. In the 26th annual poker championship event, not all poker lovers were able to join but the total count of the participants was 273, proving that many people around the globe still cared about poker more than any event during that year. Each player willingly paid $10,000 as buy-in and all contributed to the prize pool of $2,730,000. The champion, however, did not receive everything because this prize pool was divided among the top winners.
Thus, players managed their chips and games intently to get to the money-finish round until the final game. Among the unforgettable winners during the 1995 WSOP were Hilbert Shirey from Florida, who triumphed in two consecutive events, and Men Nguyen from California, who also won a couple of events. Another unforgettable player was Starla Brodie, who finally owned the Women's World Poker Champion title during the 1995 WSOP. There were also Annie Duke and Howard Lederer, the only siblings who made it to the top ten, and TJ Cloutier, who was never left behind with his 2nd place win in the 7 Card Stud event.
However, even with these players who tried to reach the final table, there still were two names that proved to be greater than them: Howard Goldfarb and Dan Harrington. The final match between these two poker pros was quite exciting because of the big cash at stake and the pressure that pushed them. For some, though, the heads-up round was simple, plain, and predictable. Dan Harrington had the final cards with his 9 and 8 of diamonds, while Howard Goldfarb "thought" he was the man of the game with an Ace of hearts and 7 of clubs. Thinking that the Ace was enough reason, Goldfarb raised on the pre-flop with $100,000, which Harrington called. Seeing his hope on the flop with a pair of 8, Harrington bet all-in and did not care about the rest of the event. Goldfarb called this raise which gave Harrington the new 1995 WSOP title, bracelet, and the $1,000,000 cash prize.
It could be said that in this particular year of the WSOP, what really caught the people's attention was the winning game of Harrington. But for those who are seasoned in poker, this win is not really that surprising since Harrington is known for being an aggressive and cunning poker player, thanks to his background as a chess master and a lawyer. Having these trainings really helped as this poker champ proved that he deserves to win in the event. Before actually getting his hands in poker, Harrington was mainly engaged in roulette; he was even a part of the MIT team at Suffolk University. Back then, Harrington even had in his poker gang the world-renowned IT mogul, Bill Gates -- an incidence which later added prestige to his outstanding performance. After some years of playing, he strived to join some poker tourneys including the World Series of Poker.
|
