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Johnny
Chan’s fingerprints are all over the movie
Rounders. Although he appears in only two tiny
scenes, totaling less than 3 minutes of screen
time, they are both pivotal moments. In the
first instance, Mike McDermott sits down at the
same table as Chan in a cash game at the Taj
Mahal. Mikey says the tourists are just throwing
their money at Chan, but he decides to play
back. In one hand, Mikey raises Chan’s bet.
Chan reraises, and without hesitation Mikey
reraises right back. Chan thinks for a minute
and then mucks. He looks across the table and
asks Mikey, “Did you have it?” Mikey looks
back and says, “I don’t know, John. I
can’t remember.” Mikey, of course, had
nothing, and this encounter sets him up for his
disastrous first game with Teddy KGB.
In
the second scene, Mikey is feeling depressed
because his girlfriend has left him and Worm’s
debts are spiraling out of control. Mikey has
holed up in his bare apartment, and he is
drinking scotch and watching television. When
the camera pulls in, we see what Mikey is
watching. It is the final hand of the 1988 WSOP
Main Event. Johnny has just flopped the nut
straight, while Erik Seidel has flopped top
pair. Johnny checks the nuts to the river,
inducing the young Seidel to move all in. Johnny
calls and the place erupts. Mikey has drawn
inspiration from watching the best poker player
in the world, and this is a role that Johnny has
played throughout most of his poker career.
Johnny
Chan’s poker accomplishments are the stuff of
a Hollywood movie. He has won 10 WSOP bracelets,
a record he shares with Doyle Brunson (I would
argue that Chan’s 10 are even more impressive,
since none came in the early days of small
fields and questionable events). He won the Main
Event in back-to-back years (1987 and 1988), and
then placed second the following year, surely
one of poker’s greatest feats. And he is not
simply a Texas Hold’em specialist. Johnny’s
bracelets have come in a variety of events, from
No-Limit and Limit Hold’em, to Seven-Card Stud
(1994), Deuce to Seven Draw (1997), Pot Limit
Omaha (2000) and Heads-Up Match Play (2002).
Johnny is regarded as one of the best all-around
players in the world, and he has excelled at the
highest-stake cash games for a number of years.
Another
thing that should be said about Johnny is that
he has blazed a trail for Asian poker players.
Nowadays, Asian players are so commonplace that
it barely warrants mention. There are a number
of great players, including John Juanda, Scotty
Nguyen and Tuan Le. But when Johnny started in
poker the idea of a great Asian player was still
novel, and he took many people by surprise.
Johnny Chan’s success in poker has opened a
lot of doors. As a result, he is idolized by a
generation of Asian players.
I
recently watched Johnny in the Poker Superstars
Invitational, and I enjoyed his presence. He
wore funky Hawaiian shirts and he was always
smiling and joking. He looked like a man who was
completely comfortable with his place in the
poker world, and the kind of guy you would want
to have a beer with. He also showed some serious
game, playing a trapping style that netted him
some serious pots against aggressive opponents
like Gus Hansen and Barry Greenstein. He brought
a game plan and he stuck with it, coming within
one coin flip of winning the whole thing. The
Poker Superstars showed Johnny is still at the
top of his game, and that he will continue to be
a force in the years to come.
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