Poker Mom

I just finished watching the ESPN televised version of the 2008 WSOP $50k HORSE tournament and have to say that Scotty Nguyen’s behavior was despicable.  Scotty Nguyen is known as the Prince of Poker and is usually a pretty easy-going guy (at least on the televised games I’ve seen).  In the 2007 WSOP Main Event he was sitting pretty on the chip stack going into the two final tables and then fell from grace going out in 11th place.  He handled that much more graciously than he handled himself in this year’s HORSE tournament.

The HORSE tourney has been named after Chip Reese who won the inaugural event in 2006.  Chip Reese was a true poker ambassador and Doyle Brunson commented that he doesn’t recall ever hearing Reese raise his voice.  To see the bickering and one-upmanship that occurred during the 2008 HORSE tourney is really not keeping with Reese’s legacy.

I don’t recall a time where I’ve ever heard so many bleeps due to cursing.  Even when Phil Hellmuth has a blow-up after a bad beat, bad call or whatever gets his goat – the censor doesn’t have to go as crazy as he did during the two hours of the $50k HORSE event final table that was televised.  Early on in the airing, he slow rolled trip 7s against Barry Greenstein.  Totally uncalled for Scotty!

Whether Nguyen was complaining about a delay in getting his beer or being upset about a call another player made, he just got worse as the show went on.  I know that he ended up winning but I was rather disappointed.  Even Michael DeMichele, who started off the evening fist pumping his victories, acted better at the end.

I can’t image Nguyen looking back on this win and being proud of his self.  If he is then I say that he needs to be dethroned of his Prince of Poker title because during that final table he was definitely not a Prince – more like the court jester.