Champion of Poker

“He was the best player in the world when he was half drunk.” Those were the words spoken by T.J. Cloutier about Bill Smith. Smith started his poker career like most poker players, by playing in back room poker games that were illegal in most areas. In fact, Smith had the dubious honor of being arrested for the same crime three times in one day when he was arrested for playing in an illegal card room. After being arrested for the crime, he went back twice more and was arrested both times.

It was said about Smith that when he was completely sober that he was an extremely tight player. He was the definition of a rock and played extremely solid poker. When he was buzzed however, things changed. He could make plays that made him a world class poker player in anyone’s definition. When he was totally drunk, Cloutier said he was one of the worst players that you would ever see, and that he gave his money away.

Although Smith was an up and down player, he still enjoyed a lot of success at the table. His greatest accomplishments were at the World Series of Poker. In 1981, he finished 5th at the final table that saw Stu Ungar win his second Main Event title. He again made the final table of the 1985 World Series of Poker Main Event which included 2 future Main Event champions in Berry Johnston and Hamid Dastmalchi. T.J. Cloutier was also at the final table. Cloutier holds 6 WSOP bracelets and has the most poker tournament wins in history.

Smith came to the final table sober and from accounts sat at the table while people started knocking each other around. As he started to drink, he started to play. When Berry Johnston went out in 3rd place just left T.J. Cloutier and Smith to play for the title. Cloutier later would say that he thought that he had the advantage as Smith was supposedly too intoxicated to play. Cloutier had the lead heading into heads up play but soon lost it when his pocket nines ran into the pocket kings of Smith. Then Clouiter moved in his chips with an A-3 and was called by pocket threes of Smith. The threes were good and Smith took home the bracelet and the prize of $700,000. At the time, this was the largest Main Event prize in history.

Smith would make the Main Event final table again in 1986 where he again finished 5th but this would prove to be his last major tournament cash in his career. Smith was able to win some preliminary events at the Super Bowl of Poker, Jim Dandy, and the Grand Prix of Poker, but none would ever come close to his Main Event title.

In the end, Smith’s drinking cost him his bankroll and he was having trouble entering low buy-in tournaments. He passed away in 1997. While being buzzed may have seemed to help Smith to some in the end, his drinking destroyed his poker bankroll and his career. Alcohol and poker just don’t mix. While Smith was still able to become a World Champion on Poker, no one really knows how much that his drinking hindered him from becoming an all time great.