01-21-07, LearnTexasHoldem:

1979 WSOP

In 2003, the face of poker was changed when Chris Moneymaker, a rank amateur, won the World Series of Poker. However, he was far from the first amateur to achieve this feat. In fact, just the year before, Robert Varkonyi, a retired banker from Brooklyn, took the title. With the proliferation of satellites and budding Internet stars, thousands of WSOP participants, including last year's winner Jamie Gold, can be said to have been amateurs, although many will claim, often truthfully, to have logged many hours of play before being catapulted into fame.

Top 3 Beginner Rooms

More on the WSOP:

WSOP Satellites
New 2008 WSOP Events
2008 WSOP Schedule
WSOP Player Profiles
WSOP History
WSOP Winners
H.O.R.S.E.: The Player's Championship

An Amateur at the Final Table

In 1979 though, an amateur had never won the event. In fact, very few amateurs would even consider playing, with a $10,000 entry fee, quite a tidy sum at the time, and a field of pros to fight through. However, 1979 was the second year that a structured prize payout system was enacted, meaning you didn't have to beat every pro to make money at the event. Just making the top five was good enough for a profit. Perhaps it was this that resulted in a record number of amateurs, eight, signing up for the 1979 World Series of Poker main event.

Amazingly, one of those amateurs, Hal Fowler, a 52 year old P.R. man from Los Angeles, made that 1979 final table. Very few amateurs would have the stomach for the formidable lineup that Fowler faced at that final table. Sitting between him and WSOP glory were the previous year's champion, Bobby Baldwin, his runner up Crandall Addington, the most prolific WSOP champion in history Johnny Moss, and one of the games most gifted players, Bobby Hoff. Rounding out the final table of eight were poker pros Sam Huber, Sam Petrillo and George Huber. On top of all this, Fowler was the short stack, with only 2,000 of the 540,000 chips in play. Fowler truly had his work cut out for him.

A New Strategy Was Born

The new structure allowed Fowler to employ a strategy that is still popular today. Rather than make a desperate mistake, he just strove to stay alive while the others knocked each other out. In previous years, this made little sense, since only the winner was awarded any money. Now however, if Fowler could just hang in there until three players dropped, he would nearly triple his $10,000 investment. Fowler was helped out when possibly his greatest concern, Bobby Baldwin, flopped a set of eights and ran into a set of aces, eliminating him in eighth place. Without his foil from the previous year, Addington dropped out soon after. Now only one more player going would mean cash for Fowler.

It's possible that being an amateur worked to his advantage. All the other pros at the table expected to win, and were thereby going all out to do so, risking their stacks in the process. Fowler, on the other hand, was in all likelihood just happy to make some money and probably never dreamed of aggressively pursuing the title.

The next two to butt heads were Bobby Hoff and Johnny Moss. Moss moved in with AQ, a very strong hand short handed to be sure, and was called by Hoff, the chip leader. Moss had Hoff with AT dominated, but the poker gods were on Hoff's side this day. A ten came on the river, Moss was gone, and Fowler was in the money.

Fowler Shifted Gears

Bolstered by the confidence of knowing he was a winner, Fowler shifted gears. He knocked out Moon and Huber and found himself face to face with the very talented Bobby Hoff. Karma was truly working, as Hoff had knocked Fowler out the previous year early on, and Fowler was ready for revenge. He moved all-in early in heads up play with a total bluff and managed to get all his chips in again with top pair later on. Although Hoff held two pair, Fowler hit a bigger two pair on the river to double up.

Finally, late in the match and with Fowler leading, Hoff looked down at the golden hand, pocket aces. He made a nice sized raise and Fowler, with merely the 7s 6d, decided to call and take a flop. Hoff moved in half his stack on the flop of Js 5h 3c, and Fowler made a play that no pro would make in a million years. He called with only a gutshot straight draw. Unfortunately for Hoff, that fatal 4 came on the turn, and when the rest of his chips went in the middle, it was all over. Decades before Chris Moneymaker, an amateur, Hal Fowler, had shocked the poker world and become the 1979 WSOP champion.

1979 WSOP Tournaments and Winners

EventWinnerPrizeEntrants
$10,000 Championship Event Hal Fowler $270,000 54
$1,000 No-Limit Hold'em Dewey Tomko $48,000 N/A
$1,500 No-Limit Hold'em Perry Green $76,500 N/A
$10,000 2-7 Draw Bobby Baldwin $90,000 N/A
$500 Seven-Card Stud Gary Berland $24,000 N/A
$1,000 Seven-Card Stud Split Gary Berland $20,400 N/A
$600 Mixed Doubles Doyle Brunson/Starla Brodie $4,500 N/A
$400 Women's 7-Card Stud Barbara Freer $12,720 N/A
$1,000 A-5 Draw Lakewood Louie $22,200 N/A
$2,000 Draw High Lakewood Louie $22,800 N/A
$1,000 Razz Sam Mastrogiannis $22,200 N/A
$5,000 Seven-Card Stud Johnny Moss $48,000 N/A

WSOP Year By Year

2000's

1990's

1980's

1970's

2007 WSOP 1999 WSOP 1989 WSOP 1979 WSOP
2006 WSOP 1998 WSOP 1988 WSOP 1978 WSOP
2005 WSOP 1997 WSOP 1987 WSOP 1977 WSOP
2004 WSOP 1996 WSOP 1986 WSOP 1976 WSOP
2003 WSOP 1995 WSOP 1985 WSOP 1975 WSOP
2002 WSOP 1994 WSOP 1984 WSOP 1974 WSOP
2001 WSOP 1993 WSOP 1983 WSOP 1973 WSOP
2000 WSOP 1992 WSOP 1982 WSOP 1972 WSOP
  1991 WSOP 1981 WSOP 1971 WSOP
  1990 WSOP 1980 WSOP 1970 WSOP

Your rating:

Click on the clover of your choice

User Rating: (0 Votes)

  • Share on Facebook
  • Print
  • Digg
  • Del.icio.us