Originally Posted by COCOCHANEL
Ok ok. Look. I've never read any of this thread before now. But I'm gonna start this post by saying outright, there's a ton of Bulsht being posted here.
I've played with Ted on several occasions, and here are some first-hand observations/anecdotal accounts:
1. The idea that Ted isn't a SICK SICK SICK, one-of-the-all-time-best poker players is just ridiculous. Chip respected this man's poker mind, and that alone says a hell of a lot. If you've ever played with him--in any kind of game, for any amount--the fact that he is a f'ck'ing genius becomes wholly evident to anyone with a double-digit IQ. He is usually far and away the smartest player at the table, and you can watch him analyze and soul-read every damn hand that he's involved in.
2. His stud game is the stuff of legend. Stud hi is an incredibly difficult game to master. Even those of us thinking players who played it (well) almost exclusively pre-NLHE-cash boom are constantly learning new and challenging nuances specific to that game. Stud 8 is considered by many to be the most sophisticated form of poker when played at the highest levels, and some of the sht I've seen Ted do in stud 8 hands were just beyond next level meta mind ****. He may be the best living stud player.
3. Ted is also adept at all of the other games in the mix. My recollection is that he doesn't love PLO 8, but I could be wrong? I think that's his least favorite form, and I'd still pick him to win in just about any lineup if he's on his A-game and is concentrating on the game play.
4. Ted is a MF'in gentleman. Say what you will about his degen tendencies, but just because he loves action doesn't mean he's a "socially challenged" man, or any of that other **** other people have posted about how "weird" and "cranky" he is because he's "old" and "confirmed busto." Again: he is incredibly bright, so if he's in a game where he has to think, he will remain charming and engaged. He knows that to keep the fish coming back for more, you need to charm the **** out of them, and he's really good at it. He gets cranky--like we all do--if he's played a marathon session (which he enjoys doing) and is running bad. But he's never been outright rude to anyone in any context that I've seen... to the contrary!
5. He has been playing on the East Coast more frequently over the last couple of years. He plays the bigger action games at Borgata, Parx, Maryland Live! Casino, and the MGMNH. The last time I played with him, we were playing 75/150 LHE with a kill and (outright brag here), he took a seat change to get position on me in the game, and he was right to because I was on my A-game that night. We ended up talking about all kinds of **** that night, and his conversational/social skills are, I assure you once more, the nuts.
6. The last time I played mix with him was a couple of years back at the Rio, towards the end of the Series. Cindy Violette and a couple of other old school AC players were in the game, and we were having an awesome time just talking about old times and ****. Next thing I know, we've all been playing for 2.5 days, non-stop. (I don't think any of us even thought to eat during that session--it was one of those kind of degens-unite and let's play poker at a high level and laugh and **** kinda games.) I realized that I had to check out of my room at the Rio right away, or I'd get charged a crazy ******* tax for overstaying. So I went up to my room, got my luggage, and Ted let me in through one of the side doors, and I continued to play for another 12 hours with my bags stashed under the table (which casinos don't like, btw, but **** it--it was an epic game, so...). I finally reached a point of full-on delirium, and announced that I would only play one more round of each of the games in the mix. The last hand I played, I was dealt A-2-3-4-x, capped it pre, drew one, hit the 5 for the wheel, and had the A-2-3 for a 3-card badugi. I raised and capped and 10-bet or whatever with the nuts for the lo and 3-card badugi freeroll. By the last draw, it was me and Ted heads up. I bet, he calls, I turn over my wheel and 3-card, and Ted says, "William: you know we're playing badeucey, right?" OBV I thought we were playing badacey. Ted tells the dealer that he has a smooth 8 but that he can't beat my 3-card, A-high badugi, so she should split the pot and ship half to each of us. After she does this, he turns over his hand and shows that he had 2, 3, 4, 8 badugi, winks at me, and says, "Have a safe flight, man!"
CLASS.
(And yeah: he hangs in the pit, ok? But who the **** cares?! He lives the way he likes, and he's got the nerve to do it, so don't ****ing hate.)
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