Welcome to the first part of a multi-part series I like to call “Amazing Feats in World Series of Poker History”, where I take a look back at past years and amazing accomplishments throughout the history of the World Series of Poker (WSOP). Who better to christen this felted ship than “Action” Dan Harrington. If you don’t know of the name by now, you are an idiot. Made famous for his insightful Harrington on Hold’em book series, which is arguably the most valuable poker asset for a no-limit hold’em player, he would go on to achieve the impossible: back-to-back Main Event final tables.
Harrington’s rise to greatness began back in 1987, when he placed 6th out of 152 players in the first of the Main Events later won by Johnny Chan back-to-back. Forward to 1995, when in only his second cash ever at the WSOP, he outlasted a 285 person Main Event field to take down the Main Event and take home heaping stacks of hundos in the amount of $1,000,000. He would defend his title nobly the following year in 1996, finishing 17th for $23,400.
While the debate is always made that older players couldn’t hold their own in fields of present day, Harrington knocked the cynics right out of their seats with what is considered by some to be the greatest feat in WSOP history.
The year of Moneymaker in 2003 saw Harrington returning to the Main Event final table, a place he had called home through the mid-90s. His run through the 895 players in the field came to an end in 3rd place when Moneymaker raised enough to put Harrington all-in on a 2d-6d-10d flop. Harrington called holding the second nut flush draw and a pair of sixes with Kd6s, Moneymaker the 10-9 offsuit. Moneymaker’s pair of tens would hold, and Harrington would ride off into the Vegas sunset, $650,000 the richer. Moneymaker would ride on to win the bracelet, a monkey he was never able to brush off his back in all the years of mediocre accomplishments following the explosion he set off with his poker boom.
The turnout of 2004 would speak volumes regarding the impact Moneymaker had on WSOP registration, as showcased by the first Main Event field for the first time being in the thousands (2,576). It would also speak volumes of the man who published his own take on hold’em. His elimination in 2003 would prove to be a short ride into the sunset.
A field triple the size of the previous year played no obstacle for Harrington, who inconceivably made it to booth the 2003 and 2004 Main Event final tables, an accomplishment not thought feasible and one that is statistically improbable. He would later place 4th after uncharacteristically bluffing all-in against David Williams’ two-pair for $1,500,000. Regardless of never capturing a championship in either final table appearance, such an illustrious feat was proof that he had already won before he even sat down to play.
Between now and then, Harrington would go on to place 2nd at the World Poker Tour Season 4 Doyle Brunson North American Championship for $620,730 while going on to win the the World Poker Tour (WPT) Season 6 Legends of Poker Championship for $1,634,865. With his largest victory to date, he joined Joe Hachem, Doyle Brunson, Scotty Nguyen, and Carlos Mortensen as one of the only WSOP Main Event champions with WPT bracelets.
A resume laced with consistently deep runs against large fields highlighted by achieving back-to-back final tables stands as a testament for Harrington’s stance on old age against young guns. $6,111,422 in winnings later, Harrington forever stands at the pinnacle of poker achievements. Hell, he put the flag at the summit.
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