Chuck Blount: Poker: Pearson left legacy as unmatched icon Published: 2006-04-27
Last week's passing of Walter Clyde "Puggy" Pearson left the poker world with one less icon, but the stories of the old road gambler and the contributions he made to the game will live on.
Puggy got his nickname because of his pug-like nose, which was a result of a childhood accident. He was walking around the house on his hands performing a trick and hit a loose floorboard that wasn't nailed down. It came up and popped him in the nose like a hammer.
He grew up poor in Tennessee and had to drop out of school in fifth grade to help his family of 11 out financially.
He often said he didn't know what shoes were until he left home, and that his family had to move when rent came due.
Puggy picked up the gambling bug in the Navy, which he joined when he was 17. He was a man who would bet on anything.
Like Amarillo Slim Preston, Pearson was almost unbeatable in a game of pool. He played scratch golf and was notorious for consistently shooting one or two strokes lower than his opponent (whether the player shot 75 or 100) to keep the action hot for a rematch.
Puggy's theory, quoted from a 1998 article in "Fast Company" magazine: "Keep him in the game and let him think he's got the best of you. First milk him. Then nail him."
Doyle Brunson once said with confidence that Pearson was a better putter than the likes of Jack Nicklaus and Ben Crenshaw.
He purchased a tour bus that he drove all around the country. He called it "The Roving Gambler," which was also the name of a song he often sang. The words that turned into Pearson's signature line were painted on the bus: "I'll play any man from any land in any game that they can name for any amount that he can count."
And like any natural gambler, Pearson scribbled in tiny letters under the bold statement, "Provided I like it." Puggy always made sure he was on at least the 60-40 end of any wager.
Pearson's contributions to the poker world are a key reason why the game is as popular as it is today. He invented the "freezeout" tournament structure, where players start with the same number of chips and are eliminated once they lose them all.
This is the structure of nearly all the major tournaments, and the freezeout format helped explode the popularity of the World Series of Poker. The World Series was essentially a glorified cash game in its early years, where the winner was elected by the players.
After coming up short in 1972 with a second-place finish in the Main Event of the World Series (Pearson lost a close match to Preston), Pearson was able to win the world championship in 1973 and the $130,000 prize that went with it. He defeated fellow legend Johnny Moss when his As-7s held up against Moss' Kh-Js in the final hand.
One of Pearson's final major poker appearances came at the 2005 World Series of Poker, where he sang the "Roving Gambler" at Binion's before play at the final table started.
Phil Hellmuth said it was a part of the tradition of the tournament that made it great.
"It's nice that you all remember me," Pearson said to Jennifer Harman, who was doing audio commentary of the event.
Her response: "How could we ever forget you, Puggy?"
Winner of the 888.com Women's Poker Tour Crowned Published: 2006-04-24
UK -- (PRESS RELEASE) -- The search for the worlds first winner of the women's poker tour, the 'Queen Of Diamonds', has reached its climax with Eunice Waterfield from Dudley in England taking the title, the $40,000 prize money and the stunning $20,000 Women's Poker tour diamond ring.
Despite stiff competition from thirty six of the world's finest female poker players, including satellite winners from across the globe and celebrities Tina Hobley, Stephanie Beecham and Angela Griffin, Eunice marked her short poker career with an incredible victory.
Qualifying in a satellite to participate in the final, with just five and half months playing experience the 43 year old held her nerve against the 5 other finalists to take the lion share of the $108,000 pot.
As the World's first ever women's only poker tour final unfolded at the famous 'Poker Den' in East London the viewers of Challenge witnessed Eunice's plucky performance and skill in one of the most exciting finals ever.
Other finalists who scooped the pot included
Kristy Gazes - $8000
Pippa Flanders - $9000
Deborah Rogers -$11000
Terasa Doherty Docherty - $14000
Claire Gooda - $20000
888.com Marketing Manager Matt Robinson, says - "The concept of the Women's Poker Tour is entirely new to the world poker scene and when we heard about it we jumped at the chance to support it. Women are every bit as good as the guys on the card table, maybe better and the quality of the games on this tour just proves it - it's only a matter of time before we have a female world series of poker champion"
888.com is the world's No.1 online casino and poker room. They have in excess of 23 million members worldwide who enjoy an online gaming experience like no other.
Founded in 1996, 888.com offers two market leading products "Casino on Net" the worlds No.1 on line casino offering all the thrills of the big games in Vegas from your pc and "Pacific Poker" where you can enjoy the excitement of competing against your friends and fellow members in any of the poker rooms. Both games are available to play in real money and practice mode.
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