Of the greatest lowball poker players the name Billy Baxter would shine in fine splendor. Even at a very young age he took to gambling as a career, to begin with in the ambiance of a pool hall. When he was 18, Baxter was attracted towards poker and as many poker players concentrated on Stud or Holdem; he had great skill in Lowball poker.
The World Series of Poker in 1975 was the launching point for Baxter as he won his first bracelet in 2-7 Lowball. In 1978 he proceeded to win the $10,000 Lowball event as well. He repeated the feat in 1981 in the same event. The same year he won Ace to Five Lowball Event. He seemed to make it a habit to win 2-7 Lowball Event bracelets as he did so in 1987 and 1993. It was not until 2002 the he would win something besides lowball by winning the $1,500 Razz event. Though this game is a lowball variation of Stud, it provoked Max Shapiro to warn players against doing two things, and those were tugging on Superman’s cape and playing Baxter in a lowball game.
Apart from 7 bracelets, Baxter has to his credit 9 cashes in lowball at the WSOP. Of the 16 total cashes, two were final table and two were runner-up slots. Even the recent 2008 WSOP lowball saw him cash though he lost by a whisker to make it to the final table. But his virtuosity is not limited to Lowball as he has shown exceptional skills in No Limit Holdem as well. It must be remembered that his skills in NL were subsequent acquisitions. This year alone he has bagged two NL events and had been in the finals for two more events. His consolidated earnings in tournaments have exceeded $1.7 million. It is likely that the actual amounts could be more because full figures not connected with World Series are unavailable. He reached the peak of glory in 2006 when he was ushered into the Poker Hall of Fame.
It is interesting to recall that though a champion poker player, Baxter’s gift to the game came from outside the ambit of the game in the form of a lawsuit. Professional gambling earnings were subjected up to 70% tax prior to 1986 when William E.Baxter Jr. v. United States case ruled that it could attract just 50% as a business. The judgment of a Nevada Court enables professional gamblers to have the same tax structure as small businesses.
A permanent place is assured to Billy Baxter in poker with lowball. This should be seen in the light of his 7 world titles. He gauged the direction of the many changes in poker and remained a powerful figure. It is no exaggeration to say that his fierce advocacy has changed the status of professional gamblers. He is quite active in poker at the age of 68. With his ability to adapt and expand his knowledge of poker, there would be no surprise if Baxter did not win another couple of titles before the end of his illustrious career.
Every year poker players converge on Las Vegas to compete for World Series of Poker bracelets. As poker has become popular we have become familiar with a lot of the tops professional players in the world. Every year we expect to see guys like Phil Hellmuth, Phil Ivey, Daniel Negreanu and Scotty Nguyen on WSOP programming. All of those players are great and deserve all the publicity they get, but there are other great players you just don’t hear a lot about. Players who have won multiple bracelets, but aren’t as visible as the television professionals. Its time these guys get a little attention of there own for the great accomplishments at the WSOP.
Billy Baxter - Baxter has seven World Series of Poker bracelets and a lot of people don’t even know who he is. Billy is a true legend of the game, winning his first bracelet in a 1975 deuce to seven lowball event and has went on to cash 28 times so far. He won 5 of his seven titles in the 80′s , but only won 1 in the 90′s. He captured his last bracelet in 2002 and has made seven cashes since. The reason you may not be familiar with Baxter is because his wins have come in less popular games like deuce to seven lowball, Razz and Ace to Five draw. Most recently in 2008 he had a final table in event 40 and proved he is still a great player. With 7 bracelets and more then a million in WSOP earnings, Baxter deserves his spot amongst the poker greats of all time.
Layne Flack - You might know who Layne is, but I bet you don’t know that he has 6 WSOP bracelets. Flack has been on television a few times, but isn’t a regular on popular programming. He has more then $2.2 million in career World Series earnings, with 19 career cashes. He won his first title in 1999 in a pot limit holdem event for more then $220 000. His career would take off from there winning bracelets in no limit holdem, Omaha hi/lo and pot limit Omaha rebuy. In 2008 Layne won his first bracelet in 5 years and took home more then a half a million dollars. Throughout his career Flack has 6 titles and has finished in the top five, five times, he had won a couple of those tournaments he would be right up there with career bracelets. Flack is a great holdem player and I hope we get to see more of him in the future.
Berry Johnston - Berry is a main event winner and a lot of people don’t know him. In 1986 Johnston won the main event taking home the bracelet and $570 000. In total Johnston has 5 bracelets and has cashed an amazing 56 times in his career. He has won titles in limit/no limit Holdem, Omaha, Razz and in Heads up. He cashed 3 times in 2008 with his best finish being 10th in the World Championship of Omaha. With over $2 million in career earnings Johnston has definitely had a great career. Johnston is known as one of the tightest and most solid players in Texas Holdem history. The way he plays Johnston is bound to get a lot more cashes in his career and compete for more bracelets. You won’t see him on television a lot, but he definitely is one of the best players.
Tom McEvoy - Another main event winner, Tom took home the title in 1983. He has 4 bracelets in total and 36 career World Series of Poker cashes. He has career earnings of more then $1.2 million and continues to play in the series every year. McEvoy is on a big bracelet drought not winning one since 1992, but he has cashed 7 times in the last three years. 1983 was his best year when he won two events including besting Doyle Brunson at the final table of the main event. His four bracelets are in four different games Limit Holdem, No Limit Holdem, Razz and Omaha. In 2008 in finished in the top 30 twice and made more then $12 000. McEvoy is an excellent player and deserves his spot in poker history.
Chau Giang - Chau is one of the best characters in poker and I wish we could see more of him. He has 46 career cashes and has won 3 bracelets. Giang had an amazing 2008 with 8 cashes with 3 top 15 finishes. Giang is getting older, but is still an excellent poker player and can win every time he plays. His first bracelet came in 1993 and most recently won a 2004 Pot Limit Omaha event. Chau is a cash machine, finishing in the money 17 times over the past 3 World Series of Poker’s. His biggest cash was in 2006 when he finished 3rd at a Pot Limit Omaha event for almost $300 000. Career earnings of close to $1.5 million Chau is one of the most consistent and best players in the world.
These players may be lesser known pro’s, but they all deserve there place in poker history. All these guys listed have the same or more bracelets then bigger names like Mike Matusow, Howard Lederer, Jennifer Harmon and Sammy Farha. The World Series of Poker has a great history and if you are a true poker fan you should educate yourself and learn about the greats of the game. The WSOP has changed a lot since the boom, now a days players have to beat thousands of players to win a bracelet. Back in the day, the fields were smaller, but they were full of professional players which made it very difficult to win. Winning a World Series of Poker bracelet is an amazing thing and winning multiple will put you in great company. Watch, play and enjoy the World Series of Poker.
Over the next couple of entries, I will review with you the top 10 bracelet winners of all time. Many names you will recognize, while a couple you likely will not. I’m starting my list in reverse order.
Four of the top 10 in bracelets are actually tied with six bracelets each. I will rank them based on the last time they won a bracelet
Layne “Back to Back” Flack earned his nickname in 2003 when he won bracelets in consecutive tournaments he entered. He holds two bracelets in No Limit Holdem, one in Pot Limit Holdem, one in Pot Limit Omaha, one in Omaha Hi-Lo, and one in the Limit Holdem Shootout. His most recent bracelet was his Pot Limit Omaha bracelet that he won at the 2008 World Series of Poker.
T.J. Cloutier is recognized by many as an expert on the game of Omaha. Half of his six bracelets are in Omaha. He holds a Limit Omaha, Pot Limit Omaha, and an Omaha Hi-Lo bracelet. His others are in Pot Limit Holdem, No Limit Holdem, and Razz. His most recent was the No Limit Holdem bracelet in 2005.
Men “The Master” Nguyen is known as much for his demeanor at the table and on camera as for his success at the table. His bracelets are as varied as his personality. For years he has been a top ranked Seven Card Stud player. He holds two bracelets in Seven Card Stud and one in Stud 8 or Better. He also holds bracelets in Omaha Hi-Lo, Limit Holdem, and Triple Draw A-5 Lowball. His last bracelet win was in 2003 when he won both a Stud and Lowball bracelet.
Jay Heimowitz is only one of two bracelet winners to win a bracelet in each of the last four decades. In 1975 he won the first World Series of Poker tournament he entered when he won the $1,000 No Limit Holdem event. After that win, he didn’t win another bracelet until 1986 when he won the $1,500 Limit Holdem event. Five years later in 1991, he took the $5,000 Pot Limit Omaha bracelet. 1994 saw him win his fourth bracelet in Pot Limit Holdem. In 2000, Heimowitz won the $5,000 Limit Holdem event to give him at least one bracelet in the last four decades. His last bracelet was in the 2001 Seniors No Limit Holdem event. At 71, Heimowitz is still going strong. He has cashed several times since his last bracelet win, including the $2,000 Omaha Hi-Lo Event at this years WSOP.
Coming in at #6 on our all time bracelet list is Billy Baxter. Billy Baxter holds 7 bracelets, and they are all in a form of lowball poker. It was written once about Baxter that, “You never tug on Superman’s cape, and you never play Billy Baxter in a lowball game.” Baxter holds a record 5 bracelets in Deuce to Seven Lowball. His other two are in Ace to Five Lowball and Razz. Baxter is the only other player besides Jay Heimowitz to win bracelets in each of the last four decades. Two of his bracelets came in the 70s, three came in the 80s, one in the 90s, and his last bracelet came in 2003. Baxter also shows no signs of slowing down either. He missed the final table of this year’s 2-7 Lowball event by one spot and won two WPT preliminary events earlier in the year.
Tomorrow, we will look at the top five bracelet winners of all time.
Of the greatest lowball poker players the name Billy Baxter would shine in fine splendor. Even at a very young age he took to gambling as a career, to begin with in the ambiance of a pool hall. When he was 18, Baxter was attracted towards poker and as many poker players concentrated on Stud or Holdem; he had great skill in Lowball poker.
