So Who Started Tournament Poker?
As I have already said in a previous article, the first WSOP was a ballot whereby Johnny Moss recieved the majority of votes. The first actual Tournament was in 1971, it was a $5000 entry Freezeout (Poker had previously only ever been played as a cash game). The original reason for the start of tournaments was mainly down to the fact that a vote isn’t conclusive, only a freezeout tournament would determine the best player. The reason No Limit Texas Hold’em was chosen, is for 2 reasons. It is the easiest variant to run a competition, and the majority of players had grown up playing Hold’em.
Apparently according to Jack Binion, the first suggestion of a freezeout came from Amarillo “Slim” Preston, although other players claim the right to have suggested it first. The person who in my opinion is the big unsung hero of poker, is the person who all the responsibility fell to deliver this original game Eric Drache, although he officially wasn’t named as the WSOP Tournament Director until 1973, as 1972 only had 8 players and 2 events now, No Limit Hold’em and Five Card Stud. There were no increase in Blinds and it was a game until someone eventually had all the chips.
All the players in these early games knew each other very well, and there was honour amongst these players, although most of them could be considered rogues. In the words of Amarillo Slim, “If a player then told you a duck could pull a plough, you could hook it up. Nowadays someone will piss up your leg and tell you it is raining”.
In 1973 the tournament game had evolved as Drache now had introduced timed blind increases in this year, and he also introduced four more events, a Razz, Stud , and Deuce to 7 draw event, and a smaller buy-in No Limit Event. It was also Drache that introduced satellites to the world of poker, in 1978 he was watching a high stakes cash game. There came a point whereby all 10 players had over $1000 in front of them, he stopped the game and asked if they all wanted to play a “mini” tournament after taking all the money off the table (bar £1k) and playing for a seat in the Championship Event. Each year the WSOP grew and grew, In 1989 the event had grown to 178 players.
1989 was also the year that Steve Wynn had asked Eric Drache to run his new cardroom, which Drache accepted, even though poker was still not very popular at all, the name of this hotel ……. The Mirage.
As croups do, he got in trouble with debt and IRS, and he got prosecuted for tax evasion, he lost his gaming licence. Eventually he left Las Vegas as he allegedly owed a great deal of money, he always acknowledged his debts, but never had the means to pay them (It was stated that Drache was the seventh best stud player in the world, but: “His problem is that he only likes to play with the top six.”) and disappeared to L.A.
He reemerged after the internet boom, and ended up working as a consultant on many of the top rated poker television shows, including NBC’s “National Heads-Up Challenge”, FOX’s “Poker Superstars”, GSN’s “High Stakes Poker”, and CBS’s “International Poker Championship.” He was also the Producer of the 2008 November 9 final, some say this idea was also his brainchild.
He was/is also a prolific player his results include;
Major Tournament Results:
01-Feb-1991 $ 500 Limit 7 Card Stud
Amarillo Slim’s Superbowl Of Poker, Laughlin 6th $ 2,47510-Mar-1989 $ 500 Pot Limit Hold’em
Golden Oasis Tournament, Marrakech 1st09-Mar-1989 $ 500 Limit 7 Card Stud
Golden Oasis Tournament, Marrakech 1st08-Mar-1989 $ 500 Pot Limit Draw
Golden Oasis Tournament, Marrakech 1st06-Mar-1989 $ 500 Limit Hold’em
Golden Oasis Tournament, Marrakech 1stNov-1988 Pot Limit Hold’em
The Malta European Poker Championship, Silema 8th $ 1,098Jan-1987 $ 10,000 No Limit Hold’em
Grand Prix of Poker 1987, Las Vegas 6th $ 45,000Dec-1984 $ 3,000 No Limit Hold’em – Match Play
14-May-1981 $ 5,000 Limit 7 Card Stud
12th World Series of Poker (WSOP) 1981, Las Vegas 2nd $ 30,000Feb-1981 $ 1,000 Seven Card Stud
Amarillo Slim’s Superbowl Of Poker, Las Vegas 4thFeb-1979 $ 5,000 Seven Card Stud
Amarillo Slim’s Superbowl Of Poker, Las Vegas 2nd $ 13,20004-May-1973 $ 4,000 Limit 7 Card Stud
4th World Series of Poker (WSOP) 1973, Las Vegas 2nd $ 4,000
Influential ………. you bet your Ass!!
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[...] admin wrote an interesting post today onHere’s a quick excerptFeb-1981 $ 1000 Seven Card Stud Amarillo Slim’s Superbowl Of Poker, Las Vegas 4th. Feb-1979 $ 5000 Seven Card Stud Amarillo Slim’s Superbowl Of Poker, Las Vegas 2nd $ 13200. 04-May-1973 $ 4000 Limit 7 Card Stud … [...]
[...] unknown wrote an interesting post today onHere’s a quick excerpt… person who all the responsibility fell to deliver this original game Eric Drache, although he officially wasn’t named as the WSOP Tournament Director until 1973, as 1972 only had 8 players and 2 events now, No Limit Hold’em and Five Card Stud. … 10-Mar-1989 $ 500 Pot Limit Hold’em. Golden Oasis Tournament, Marrakech 1st. 09-Mar-1989 $ 500 Limit 7 Card Stud Golden Oasis Tournament, Marrakech 1st. 08-Mar-1989 $ 500 Pot Limit Draw Golden Oasis Tournament, Marrakech 1st … [...]
[...] admin wrote an interesting post today onHere’s a quick excerptAs I have already said in a previous article, the first WSOP was a ballot whereby Johnny Moss recieved the majority of votes. The first actual Tournament was in. [...]
[...] unknown wrote an interesting post today onHere’s a quick excerpt06-Mar-1989 $ 500 Limit Hold‘em. Golden Oasis Tournament, Marrakech 1st. Nov-1988 Pot Limit Hold‘em. The Malta European Poker Championship, Silema 8th $ 1098. Jan-1987 $ 10000 No Limit Hold‘em. Grand Prix of Poker 1987, Las Vegas 6th $ … [...]
[...] Howard Swains wrote an interesting post today onHere’s a quick excerptAmarillo Slim’s Superbowl Of Poker, Laughlin 6th $ 2475. 10-Mar-1989 $ 500 Pot Limit Hold’em. Golden Oasis Tournament, Marrakech 1st. 09-Mar-1989 $ 500 Limit 7 Card Stud Golden Oasis Tournament, Marrakech 1st … [...]