There’s something about the quiet, tall form of Erik Seidel sat at a table which belies the sophisticated competitiveness of the seven-bracelet-holding tournament whiz. He’s not one of the loudest of the Full Tilt team (whose shirt he sported throughout this year’s WSOP) – that’s hard when Mike Matusow is part of the lineup – nor a player whose style is instantly recognisable. But that’s because he himself points to his adaptability as his main asset, a way of playing whereby the situations and players he finds himself up against determine how he acts. Patient and selectively aggressive, a player of the games he knows best (Pot Limit and No Limit) as well as those he’s still working on (Stud, for example) Erik Seidel’s tournament results sheet reads like a showcase of a talented student and master of the game.
His World Series jewellery was obtained in the following range of events: $2,500 Limit Hold’em (1992), $2,500 Omaha eight-or-better (1993), $5,000 Limit Hold’em (1994), $5,000 Deuce-to-seven draw (1998), $3,000 No-limit Hold’em (2001), $1,500 Pot-limit Omaha (2003), and the $2,000 No-limit Hold’em (2005). That’s quite a rundown, considering that for the early years, Erik was still working full time and playing in a few high buy-in events a year. And winning them – the ’92-’94 bracelet-a-year must have given him some indication that professional playing might be a sustainable lifestyle.
Back before poker, Erik was another of those backgammon prodigies who as a teenager was already winning his living on the backgammon circuit. It seems that a good bunch of people who discover poker on the back of other competitive games show a natural ability – Paul Magriel (X22), one of the influences on Erik’s backgammon career, is another. So is Gus Hansen; the similarities of lifestyle in the touring from place to place, meeting many new opponents are evident, and Erik’s success in one skilful game seems to have led naturally to his success in another.
Born and raised in New York, he kept his trading day-job for a lot longer than one might expect. As is so often the case, a trip to Las Vegas for another reason turned into the first real taste of poker, and he returned to New York keen to learn the game with the players at the Mayfair. The presumably sharp learning curve of the people around him kept him interested, and soon he was being encouraged to have a go at the big tournaments. What bigger than the World Series? And in the Championship event, to finish second on the first stab at it – that must have been encouraging.
The story of that first final table is immortalised (in greatly abbreviated form) in the movie ‘Rounders’ wherein Johnny Chan pops up as himself, and the final hand is shown on a TV. The relatively inexperienced Seidel of 1988 has been seen by millions betting out with Queens into Chan’s made straight, which sealed the deal and got him second place. What it didn’t show (because it would have involved time travel) was that in the 2001 $3,000 No-limit Hold’em it was none other than Johnny Chan whom Erik Seidel beat to claim his fifth bracelet.
While covering the 2005 World Series, I saw Erik Seidel playing in many events, including the $10,000 Pot Limit Omaha, in which he finished eighth. His patient approach and self-contained demeanour never detracted from his aggressive play, when the situation arose. He was eventually busted going all in with the double suited Aces, and having hit the Ace was rivered by a straight. He made his exit with exactly the good grace one would expect from such a no-nonsense gentlemanly player, and presumably signed up straight away for the next one. I am not surprised that he counted players such as Howard Lederer earlier on as advisors, and now as friends. His constant evaluation (and criticism) of his own game must be an advantage in a world where the Poker Ego can only get you so far.
Nowadays he can be found in Las Vegas (where else) and on the Top 10 All-time money lists for both the WSOP and Bellagio. Or you could track him down on the Full Tilt website, where you can play him online for a little less than you’d usually need to get sat next to one of the poker greats. Otherwise it’s the televised WPT and the World Series where you get to have a peek at his hole cards (something he’s never been entirely comfortable with) but if televised finals float your boat, there are worse players you could seek to emulate.
