I’m going to admit something that may make me a pariah in all thinking poker circles. Something I’ve yet to find anyone without a vested interest who agrees with me on. Something so bad I should probably whisper it. Really quietly… I don’t want Phil Ivey to win the 2009 WSOP Main Event.
It’s nothing personal
I’ve met Ivey. I’ve been to his house and shot pool with him. Away from the tables he’s a friendly, witty, surprisingly humble guy. And at the tables I have the utmost respect for him. He’s a destroyer of passive play and arguably the greatest reader of the game alive today. It’s also not because I want a British winner, although I would love to see James Akenhead walk away with the glory. It’s not because he is rich, for make no mistake Ivey is very rich indeed. But he’s earned his money the hard way, and he’s not extravagant with his cash. I remember he had to be begged to be photographed in his old McLaren SLR as he ‘didn’t want kids thinking having expensive things is a measure of success.’ Try getting that kind of thoughtful humility from the Devilfish.
No, Phil Ivey is a great poker player and a good guy. And he fully deserves his place as the number one poker icon in the world. I’d rather one Phil Ivey than a hundred Phil Hellmuths – but none of this makes me want him to win the Main Event. The thing is, poker doesn’t need an icon in the same way tennis or golf does, simply because tournament poker can’t sustain one. There is just too much luck involved.
Winning ticket
Sport needs its icons so there are heroes to cheer for and villains to boo. Poker tournaments don’t. Phil Ivey has already proved he’s great, and winning the world’s largest donkament will just send a false message about skill always triumphing in poker tournaments, when we all know that isn’t true.
Winning the Main Event may cement Ivey’s place as poker’s greatest player, but will it really do anything for the game? Poker’s success was built on the ‘it could be you’ concept. That with a bit of skill and a chunk of luck you could make the final table of poker’s biggest stage. And this year is no exception, with the role of Chris Moneymaker played by Darvin Moon. I hope he makes it to a heads-up showdown against Ivey. I know who I will be cheering for. No offence Phil!