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From The Desk Of Andy Beal
Dallas, Texas
Date: September 2004
To: Doyle Brunson, Chip Reese,
Todd Brunson, Jennifer Harman,
Howard Lederer, Chau Giang,
Barry Greenstein, Ted Forrest,
Gus Hansen, Lee Salem, John
Hennigan, Ming La, Lyle Berman,
Phil Ivey, Johnny Chan, Hamid
Dastmalchi
I
recently read a story in the
New York Daily News that is
an unfair mischaracterization of
my recent poker experience in
the "Big Game" played at
Bellagio.
No
mention was made that I won more
than $10 million in the largest
game ever played,
$100,000-$200,000 limit holdem,
on May 12 and 13, 2004. No
mention was made of the fact
that most of the above-mentioned
professional players have
substantial overall individual
net losses after having played
many hours against me. I concede
that I am a net overall loser in
the Bellagio games, although the
extent of my losses is often
exaggerated and
mischaracterized.
These stories have become like
fishermen's tales, in which the
fish is always getting bigger
every time the story is told. I
spent four years learning the
game from the best. Does it
surprise anyone that I was an
overall net loser during that
period? Now, you want to reduce
the stakes and refuse to
continue to play at the previous
betting limits. Does it surprise
anyone that I have little
interest in traveling to play in
smaller games? My interest has
always been the intellectual
challenge of competing with the
best, in games in which the
amount bet is material to the
people involved. I have played
the best in the largest game
ever played, and I won. I had a
great time and a wonderful
experience, but I have little
interest in continuing to play
the game, because of the time
commitment and travel required
to maintain excellence.
Call me naïve (I've been called
worse), but I believe that I am
the favorite in a heads-up limit
high-stakes game against most of
you. For the record, I challenge
you to put up or shut up about
your "professional play." Come
to Dallas and play me for four
hours a day and I will play
until one of us runs out of
money or cries uncle. If your
play is so great and your wins
have been as large as you claim,
you should have plenty of
bankroll and be jumping at the
chance to come and play another
$100,000-$200,000 game and win a
lot more money. I should add
that you can bring your own
independent dealers and your own
cards, and can play in a
different location of your
choice every day if you wish.
You should provide a slate of
any six or more of the above
players and I will pick from
your slate who plays. Observers
should be free to attend in
order to record exactly what
happens at this game, so it
won't turn into another
fisherman's story.
My
money says you will decline, and
that says it all. If you accept,
the resulting game will say it
all. Either way, I will get to
stop reading fishermen's
stories.
Andy Beal
P.S. This challenge is for now
(starting September 2004), not
weeks, months, or years from
now. |
