Poker Player Online, CA
May 4 2005
World Series of Poker Event #6: Words of Wisdom
by Nolan Dalla filed under Tournament Reports
WSOP Circuit: Event #6
Boyd Fricke gives us all something to think about:
When you grow up in open spaces, you always wonder what is on the
other side of the hill. — Boyd Fricke
Every poker decision is truly unique. Every poker hand is unique.
Every poker tournament is unique. And, every single poker player is
unique. Given the millions of poker players, one would be hard pressed
to find a man with a more interesting background or an individual
filled with as much personal conviction as a 54-year-old Reno man
named Boyd Fricke.
– Fricke was born into a very poor family on a farm in North
Dakota. His boyhood home had no electricity, nor indoor plumbing.
– Fricke joined the United States Marine Corps and served in Vietnam.
– Fricke has two uncles. One was a B-24 pilot in World War II.
The other was a prisoner is Stalag 3-B, on which the movie ‘The Great
Escape’ was based. He was one of the men who escaped.
– Fricke worked for a company after graduating from college, but
decided very early that he wanted to work for himself, instead. So, he
started his own company – which was ultimately quite successful. Later,
he retired from his business and decided to ‘see the world.’
– Fricke has backpacked around the world – twice. He trekked
from Lisbon Portugal to Shanghai, China in 80 days on his first
circumnavigation. On his second trip, Fricke backpacked in the
opposite direction, going through Khazakstan, Turkmenistan, and other
out-of-the-way places. “I have visited all 50 states, and have seen
even more countries,” Fricke says.
– Fricke was married, but following his divorce — he raised
his children alone. Today, Fricke’s daughter is serving on the city
council where she lives and his son is preparing to start law school
at the University of Notre Dame.
– And now, Fricke is the latest champion on the World Series of
Poker Circuit.
Lake Tahoe’s $1,000 buy-in no-limit hold’em event attracted 84
entries competing for $81,480 in prize money. Day One resulted in the
elimination of 75 players. The nine finalists returned on Day Two,
with Tony O’Hagan and Chris “The Armenian Express” Grigorian as the
chip leaders. Finalists arrived with the following seat positions
and chip counts:
SEAT 1 Bert Cardenas McAllen, TX 20,500
SEAT 2 Greg Cash Tunica, MS 11,600
SEAT 3 Keith Collins Portland, OR 15,800
SEAT 4 Tony O’Hagan Las Vegas, NV 38,600
SEAT 5 Eric Cloutier Mont-Laurier, Quebec 11,200
SEAT 6 Boyd Fricke Reno, NV 21,700
SEAT 7 Chris Grigorian Los Angeles, CA 32,600
SEAT 8 Sam Lam San Jose, CA 12,400
SEAT 9 Yuctan Hodge The Valley, Anguilla 3,800
Players were eliminated as follows:
9th Place – Yuctan Hodge, a retired businessman from the Caribbean
island nation of Anguilla arrived lowest in chips, had J-J and lost
to A-K when a king flopped. Hodge earned $2,445 for 9th place.
8th Place – Bert Cardenas, a 27-year-old contractor from McAllen,
TX took a bad beat and went out next. He had A-A and was ‘all in’
against Tony O’Hara’s 6-6. Just when it appeared Cardenas would double
up when the turn showed Q-9-8-K, a six fell on the river giving O’Hara
a set and Cardenas was eliminated. Cardenas earned $3,260.
7h Place – Eric Cloutier doubled up and took the chip lead over
Chris Grigorian when his A-Q spiked an ace, crushing Grigorian’s
pocket jacks. Greg Cash wasn’t so fortunate. A short time later,
the Tunica, MS-based player who has won numerous poker tournaments
was short-stacked and lost to Grigorian’s two pair. Grigorian got
some of those chips back and it was a two-way tie for first in the
chip count. Meanwhile, Cash cashed for $4,075.
6th Place – Sam Lam desperately needed to double up and decided to
make a stand with 2-2. The tiny pocket pair lost to A-K when an ace
flopped, and Sam went on the lam in 6th place, good for $4,890.
5th Place – Keith Collins had A-3, moved ‘all in’ and was covered by
Grigorian, with A-J. Neither player made a pair and the jack played.
Collins a business owner form Portland, OR collected $5,705.
4th Place – At this point, Tony O’Hagan was the chip leader, by virtue
of a few big hands. Then, Chris Grigorian started off with 7-7 and
was ‘all in’ against Cloutier’s A-K. The ‘coin flip’ hand turned
out very well for Cloutier, when an ace flopped. Grigorian, a.k.a.
“The Armenian Express” was derailed in 4th place, which meant a payday
of $6,520.
3rd Place – Tony O’Hagan lost a few pots and gave up the chip lead.
Then, he committed his final chips with 10-6 when a 10 was the
high-card on the turn. Unfortunately, Boyd Fricke (holding 3-4) had
flopped trip 4s and that pretty much settled the hand. O’Hagan, who
finished 4th previously here in Lake Tahoe, took 3rd place this time.
He collected $8,965.
The heads-up duel between Boyd Fricke and Eric Cloutier began with
Fricke holding a 2 to 1 chip advantage. Cloutier had been in this
spot before, finishing second in Event #4. The Quebec-born former
Boston Bruins (NHL) player hoped to avoid repeat bridesmaid status,
but was doomed to yet another finish as the runner up. Just a few
hands into play, Cloutier moved ‘all in’ with A-9 and was called
by Fricke holding A-7 suited. The two spades in Fricke’s hand were
the difference as the turn brought a third spade – giving Fricke the
flush and a WSOPC victory. Eric Cloutier took the ‘loss’ in stride.
He received $16,295 and has won over $50,000 this year at Lake Tahoe.
Following his victory, Fricke had a number of interesting comments
about poker, and life:
ON WINNING:
“It’s quite simple: The tournament winner is usually the most
aggressive player who hooks up with cards.”
ON HOW THE GAME IS CHANGING:
“I think the average player coming into the game is better than
he/she was five years ago. But they tend to have certain traits,
which are predictable.” One Tip: “They tend to overplay A-K.”
ON PLAYING IN BIG CASH GAMES:
“You shouldn’t play if the money is going to change your life (one way
or another). The guy who is playing for his rent money is a huge dog.”
ON TOURNAMENT POKER:
“The sport needs to clean up its act and stop the bad behavior. You
see these guys on TV and some of them look and act like they’re
(criminals). They pump their fists in the air and jump up and down.
The worst thing is, younger kids see this and they start to emulate
that sort of behavior.”
ON POKER TRENDS:
“I think they should do away with sunglasses at the final table. I
mean, where does it all end? Does it mean I can play poker wearing a
welding mask?”
ON THE POKER SCENE IN RENO AND LAKE TAHOE:
“I don’t like playing in a game where the atmosphere is not
hospitable. The games in Northern Nevada tend to be polite. This is
why I prefer playing here.”
ON KEEPING THINGS IN PERSPECTIVE:
“It’s all just a game of cards. That’s all poker is. I had one guy
tell me, ‘I’m not afraid of anything.’ I said, ‘Oh yeah? You ever
been shot at?”
ON BEING A WORLD TRAVELER:
“You learn about people and you learn about yourself. When a guy gets
upset at the table, and we’ve all been disappointed before, remember –
unlike three-quarters of the rest of the world — you can actually
afford to sit down and buy into a poker game. You have nothing to
complain about. Every day you get up in this country, you are on a
freeroll. If you live in America, you have won life’s lottery.”
At the end of a long night, when Fricke was asked if he plans to play
more major tournaments, including the World Series of Poker in Las
Vegas which begins next month, his answer was predictable. “If it
doesn’t conflict with some travel plans, maybe I’ll play.”
Indeed, for Boyd Fricke, there is always another hill to cross,
to see what’s on the other side.
Report by Nolan Dalla – World Series of Poker Media Director
World Series of Poker Circuit Director – Ken Lambert
World Series of Poker Tournament Director – John Grooms
Harveys Poker Room Manager – Vince Contaxis
Harrah’s Full Service Games Manager — Steve Schorr