Erik Seidel, an East Coast poker legend, faced Johnny Chan in a legendary heads-up battle in 1988 that made the famous Rounders movie. Seidel has been active in the poker industry since then.
The New York grinder and Poker Hall of Famer anticipated last weekend's $3,500 buy-in World Poker Tour (WPT) Seminole Hard Rock Poker Showdown that occurred in Hollywood, Florida.
The High-Roller Win
Seidel has won a total of $39.2 million in live poker so far, and he holds fourth place on the all-time money list. The Hendon Mob claims that he is a heater.
The player led a high-stakes field during the U.S. Poker Open at a $25,000 No-Limit Hold'em event and won $472,500. He beat Phil Hellmuth, another Hall of Famer, in a heads-up play. Seidel had finished fifth twice in two $10,000 No-Limit Hold'em events in the series.
The nine-time World Series of Poker (WSOP) bracelet champion got his first win on a live felt in 2015 when he pocketed $2.2 million at the 2015 European Poker Tour (EPT) Grand Final €100,000 Super High Roller.
Seidel informed PokerNews last Friday that he felt proud after leading a recent poker tournament with a tidy sum of money. He said that poker enthusiasts enjoyed watching his legendary heads-up battle. Yet, he felt fine beating "The Poker Brat" just like he does after defeating other opponents.
Even so, Helmuth's viral final table action overshadowed Seidel's victory after he called him off his queen-four offsuit. The latter accepted that Hellmuth attracted a lot of attention in the event.
His Move From Las Vegas, New York to Florida
Seidel dominated the U.S. Poker Open and returned home before traveling to Florida for last weekend's WPT Seminole Hard Rock Poker Showdown. He revealed in an interview with PokerNews that he likes that stop and always goes there whenever he gets that opportunity.
The poker pro played for several hours on Day 1a and didn't get a bag. Seidel entered Day 1b early, being determined to increase his chips against talented opponents like Alex Foxen, Brian Altman, Chance Kornuth, Kristen Bicknell, Yuval Bronshtein, and Matt Berkey.
The Day 1b field had 1,035 participants in the $3,500 buy-in poker event. It was an amazing transformation from $25,000 and $10,000 events. Seidel agreed that the Poker Showdown is different as it is difficult to play such a tournament's Day 1.
The players in the event use different styles than those in high-stakes roller events. This requires everyone to do their best and closely track their opponents.
Seidel's Run Is Cut Short
Seidel was at the Hard Rock Grand Ballroom's back corner crossing his legs when he shuffled almost 40,000 chips in the starting stack. He pushed all-in when the button went around to him and got folds.
The blinds increased to 1,000/1,500/1,500 fast, and the player went all-in for 32,000 from the hijack. But he got a buyer in Brek Schutten, the event's defending champion who won $1,261,095 last year.
The event's late registration has been closed. So, someone else will win the first-place prize and WPT title.
