Who is the "very mediocre" WSOP champ who inspired Sklansky's system

[lunchmeat]

In the chapter on "The System" in TPFAP, Sklansky mentions that a "very mediocre" WSOP champ won by frequently going all-in. Any guesses as to who this is?

I believe the book pre-dates Varkonyi & Moneymaker, and most of the winners I can think of before then had excellent reputations... My guess is Johnny Moss. Anyone know for sure?

[bernie]

i believe it was chris ferguson. though i dont know enough about him to call him mediocre. after all, he came up with a plan by himself that worked.

b

[tpir90036]

ferguson is quoted on the back cover of the book, so if it was him than it sucks that he gave an endorsement only to be called mediocre.

[bernie]

i think it was Dan N who mentioned fergusons plan. he was explaining how limit is more complex than n/l. i think it was in his column aways back. that's where i heard about the basic all in thing before sklansky publicly created his system.

b

[mike l.]

i think it says in the book the guy got second place in the wsop a couple years back. so who are the past ten second placers? im interested to know who it is as well.

[lunchmeat]

It says in the book "A few years earlier a very mediocre poker player had won the World Championship...". So I'm pretty sure Sklansky is referring to a 1st place finisher.

[Greg (FossilMan)]

Chris Ferguson is FAR from mediocre, and I also very much doubt that Sklansky considers him mediocre.

I thought the System was developed for Bob Stupak's daughter's use in the main event. I do not recall any champions or runner-ups who used an extensive all-in strategy to get there, but maybe there was such that Sklansky had in mind.

Later, Greg Raymer (FossilMan)

[Greg (FossilMan)]

I don't know about the few years part, but there was a guy names Hal Fowler who won in the late 70s or early 80s (I think) who I've often heard referred to as a terrible player who got lucky. I do know he got all-in with the worst of it quite a few times in the heads-up play, and got lucky each time.

Later, Greg Raymer (FossilMan)

[Andy B]

My copy of TP4AP is in my car just now, but I thought that he was referring to a runner-up, not a champion. I think he meant Kevin McBride, who finished second to Scotty Nguyen in 1998. If I'm mistaken, I'm sure someone will straighten me out.

[JTG51]

I don't know if he's considered a "very mediocre" player, but I've heard people say Noel Furlong played super aggressive and got really lucky to win, and '99 seems like about the right time frame to be fresh in Sklansky's mind when he was working on The System.

[Mason Malmuth]

Hi Mike:

The person referred to who finished second was Howard Goldfarb in 1995, the year Dan Harrington won. He literally terrorized the field by moving in a lot before the flop. However, he played very well and earned the respect of his opponents and those who were watching.

best wishes,
Mason

[J.R.]

While I think Kevin Mcbride's "I'll call and then make the best hand" strategy is unbeatable when correctly applied, I doubt it can be applied by anyone less skillful than the great suckout master /images/graemlins/smile.gif. While McBride's strategy wasn't bad from a game theory perspective given his skill relative to his opponents (ie Scotty Nguyen or T.J.), his all-ins were calls more often than bets if I recall correctly.

[CrackerZack]

Well, if you read the thread in the general forum, people won't even call you with AA if its early. This move is ingenius.