Bill Smith

Bill was a great no-limit poker player, a dangerous player, and it seemed like he never worried about anything, including whether or not he had any money. He featured on 3 final tables at the WSOP Main Event, winning the World Championship in 1985 and coming 5th in both 1981 and 1986. If he hadn’t drunk so much he would have had many more titles.

Bill was the tightest player you’d ever played in your life when he was sober, when he was halfway drunk, he was the best player you could ever played with. But when he got past that halfway mark, he was the worst player you could ever play with. It’s a pity that he never cared about that “halfway mark.” It seemed that he did not even care whether he had money or not. He just gambled and that’s all.

Of course Smith played poker in the backrooms as poker was prohibited. Once he even set a record for being arrested for illegal gambling. He was playing poker with his friends and the police went in and put all the players in jail. As soon they got out of it (which happened on the same afternoon) they immediately began another game. The police was here again and again arrested the whole company. Guess what they did, when they got out of jail for second time several hours later. And guess what the police did. He was arrested three times on that day.

Bill passed away in 1997.

Bills’s winning WSOP hand: 3s3h

TJ Cloutier moved all in with A3, Bill called. The board showed 45T5J helping neither player, and Hills pair of 3’s won a World Championship.

Career Wins:

• 1981 – NL Holdem – 5th
• 1985 – NL Holdem (Championship Event) – 1st
• 1986 – NL Holdem – 5th