Some Texas Hold'em players gripe about certain cards the dealer sends them. They hate looking at hands like 9-2 or 7-3. True, these hands aren't much and should probably be discarded.
But a closer look at the history of Texas Hold'em and the winning hands in the final play of the World Series of Poker is eye-opening. It seems that almost -- I say almost -- any two cards can win.
I wrote a column a while back about being in Phoenix and hearing about this new poker game that everybody was talking about. The word around town was that any two cards could win. They could turn into a full house, two pair, or even a single pair since each player receives only two cards.
Simplistic thinking, right? Nothing close to the strategies dreamed up by the computer analysts and experts of today.
I decided to go back through history just to find out which two cards represented the final winning hand of the WSOP. Here is what I came up with. You will love the results.
In 1971, Johnny Moss won the first WSOP with a pair of pocket 6s.
In 1972, Amarillo Slim Preston won the tournament with a hand some players toss away -- K-J.
1973, Walter 'Puggy' Pearson, my good friend, claimed top prize with his A-7 suited.
1974, Moss came back with another victory with a pair of 3s.
1975, Brian 'Sailor' Roberts, a good friend of Doyle Brunson and Amarillo Slim, won the prestigious tournament with pocket jacks.
1976, the winner was Texas Dolly Brunson with his famed 10-2 off-suit.
1977, Doyle did it again with the same hand -- 10-2 off-suit.
1978, Bobby Baldwin win with a pair of pocket queens.
1979, a player named Hal Fowler found himself with 7-6 offsuit -- and it won the WSOP.
1980, the winner was Stu Ungar who had one of the worst hands in Texas Hold'em, 5-4. But at least it was suited.
1981, Ungar won the tournament again with A-Q suited.
1982, the winner was Jack 'Treetop' Strauss with A-10 off-suit.
1983, Tom McEvoy won with pocket queens.
1984, Jack Kelly was dealt pocket 10s and claimed the big prize.
1985, Bill Smith won with pocket 3s.
1986, Barry Johnson, a pleasant gentleman, won with A-10 off-suit.
1987, Johnny Chan smiled as he raked in the final pot with A-9 suited.
1988, It was Chan again, this time with J-9 SUITED.
1989, the winner was Phil Hellmuth with pocket 9s.
1990, Monsour Maioubi's pocket 6s prevailed.
1991, the WSOP winner was Brad Daugherty with K-J suited.
1992, the winner was Hamit Dastmalchi with 8-4 off-suit. P.S. He won the first million dollar payoff.
1993, Jim Bechtel won with j-6 suited.
1994, Russ Hamilton, a bearded player, claimed the prize with his k-8 off-suit.
1995, the tournament winner was Dan Harrington whose winning hand was 9-8 suited.
1996, Huck Seed won with 9-8 suited. He must have learned something from Harrington.
1997, Stu Ungar made a comback and won with A-4 off-suit.
1998, Scotty Nguyen prevailed with his j-9 off-suit.
1999, Noel Furlong's pocket 5s were good enough to win.
2000, Chris Ferguson won with A-9 suited.
2001, Carlos Mortenson claimed the top prize with K-9 SUITED.
2002, the winner was Robert Varkonyi with Q-10 off-suit.
2003, it was the famed Chris Moneymaker when his 5-4 off-suit turned into a full house.
2004, Greg Raymer's pocket 8s won the big tournament.
2005, Joe Hacham found himself looking at 7-3 suited. The hand won.
2006, Jamie Gold walked away with the cash with Q-9 suited.
2007, Jerry Yang claimed the prize with pocket 8s.
2008, Peter Eastgate's A-5 off-suit was the big winner.
2009, Joe Costa took away the title with pocket 9s.
2010, Jonathan Duhamal won with A-J off-suit.
2011, the winner was Pus Heinz with A-K suited. Now that's a Hold'em hand.
2012, Greg Merson won with K-5 SUITED.
There have been several WSOP winners since 2012, but I think you get the picture. It isn't the cards. It's how you play them -- and the luck. Let the games begin.
Author: Geno Lawrenzi Jr.
(Geno Lawrenzi Jr. is an international journalist, magazine author and ghostwriter and poker player who lives in Phoenx, AZ. He has published 2,000 articles in 50 magazines and 125 newspapers. If you want to share a gambling story or book idea with him, send an email to glawrenzi@gmail.com ).
