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When Gavin Smith made the final two of the fourth event of the 2007 World Series of Poker, it started up the conversations over who the best player in the world without a bracelet is. It’s a dubious club to be in; no one wants to be on the wrong side of that kind of variance, and the suggestions that you just can’t get it done in the spotlight have to be irritating.
Amongst those whose names came up early and often in the debate was John “Razor” Phan. Born in Vietnam before moving to America in his teens, Phan is a ten-year veteran of the tournament circuit from out of his home base in Los Angeles. It wasn’t until the poker boom, though, that he shifted his focus from cash games to tournaments, and it showed; he was second in the Card Play player of the Year raced in 2005.
Phan, who’s known for liking a Corona at the table, started getting strong finishes only to come up just short of a televised victory. He came 4th in the 2005 WPT championship, then second again in a $1,000 event at the 2006 WSOP, then cashed twice more at the WPT in the last year before making two final tables at the 2007 WSOP. Still no jewelry to show for it.
John’s closest call to date came in event 19 - $2,500 no-limit hold’em at this year’s WSOP. Surviving a strong final table including Humberto Brenes, Alex Bolotin, Devin porter and Lars Bonding, Phan got to the final against Francois Safieddine before being eliminated in a crushing hand that had to leave him wanting for another Corona.
Phan was fighting back from a major deficit when Safieddine moved all-in from the small blind with 4h-4d. Phan called immediately and flipped over Ah-As. He was feeling good when the flop came Js-8c-2c and better when the turn was 5h, but the river was the cruelest of all cards; 4s gave Safieddine the set, the pot and the win, stunning the audience into silence. Phan is still near the top of that list. The hope here is he gets off of it soon.
Gary Wise
gary@wisehandpoker.com
