Before poker spread across the United States, before Europe and the rest of the world, there was Texas. Sure, the game was played elsewhere, but the toughest games in the world could only be found in the lone star state; tough to beat and tough to survive.
Getting the cards was the least of a professional’s concerns back then. Spotting the cheats, catching team ups, getting out of an establishment without being robbed and getting out of the county alive were slightly larger issues. To make it in the Texas poker world, you had to be smart, tough and savvier than your average bear.
A few of the great old Texan pros never won their World Championship in a time where it was thought it was theirs to take turns holding; Jessie Alto, who made five WSOP final tables; TJ Cloutier, the former football player who’s still fading the white line today; guys like these never got their win, but no one came as close without grabbing the brass ring as Crandall Addington.
Called “Dandy” for his always fanciful dress, Addington finished runner up to Johnny Moss in 1974. A rich man from the oil trade, Addington had gotten close enough to get a small taste of the title, and he’d constantly yearn for his moment in the sun. He came closest in the 1978, where he was felled in the final by the game’s rising star, Oklahoman Bobby Baldwin.
With the event being recorded for television for the first time in five years, the old boys network got together and decided a little showmanship for the good of the fans would be in order. With the professional world largely unknown and still holding a stigma to outsiders, it was decided they should create a David vs. Goliath atmosphere; Bobby would be the calculating pro. Crandall would be presented as the enthusiastic amateur. It fooled a lot of people for a long time.
After Baldwin took a major chip lead on a hand for another day, things were getting desperate for Addington. This was a man for who the money didn’t mean nearly as much as the title and the respect it would mean amongst his peers. Still, wanting doesn’t always mean having, and with just $55,000 in front of him, he was down to the point where he needed to double up fast. Pocket nines looked like a pretty good opportunity to make that happen.
He raised the $2,000 blind to $6,000 and Baldwin almost immediately put it to $20,000. Crandall paused for a moment, but it had been a long and frustrating day. He declared himself all-in, remarking that he’d need a chip to protect his cards. With a smile hidden by a big cigar, he leaned across Bobby to the masses of chips that had collected and liberated one, dropping it on his cards. It didn’t bring him the luck he was hoping for; Baldin had pocket queens.
The flop was a heart attack: Qs-9h-Ks. They’d both hit their sets, leaving Addington needing the forth nine or running jack-ten. The turn As was no help; neither was 10d on the river. Baldwin was the champion; for Addington, other honors awaited. He was inducted into the Binion’s Hall of Fame in 2005.
Gary Wise
gary@wisehandpoker.com
