Bill Smith (March 14, 1934 – February 28, 1996) was a professional

poker Poker is a family of comparing card games in which players wager over which hand is best according to that specific game's rules. It is played worldwide, however in some places the rules may vary. While the earliest known form of the game w ...

player who won the

1985 World Series of Poker The 1985 World Series of Poker (WSOP) was a series of poker tournaments held at Binion's Horseshoe. Preliminary events Main Event There were 141 entrants to the main event. Each paid $10,000 to enter the tournament. The 1985 Main Event final ...

Main Event.

Poker career

Smith was a staple at the

World Series of Poker The World Series of Poker (WSOP) is a series of poker tournaments held annually in Paradise, Nevada and, since 2004, sponsored by Caesars Entertainment. It dates its origins to 1970, when Benny Binion invited seven of the best-known poker pla ...

during the 1980s. He was involved in three final tables of the Main Event. At the

1981 Events January * January 1 ** Greece enters the European Economic Community, predecessor of the European Union. ** Palau becomes a self-governing territory. * January 10 – Salvadoran Civil War: The FMLN launches its first major offensiv ...

and

1986 The year 1986 was designated as the International Year of Peace by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** Aruba gains increased autonomy from the Netherlands by separating from the Netherlands Antilles. **Spain and Portugal ente ...

WSOP Smith placed fifth, but at the

he won the

bracelet A bracelet is an article of jewellery that is worn around the wrist. Bracelets may serve different uses, such as being worn as an ornament. When worn as ornaments, bracelets may have a wikt:supportive, supportive function to hold other items of ...

, and $700,000. His total tournament winnings exceeded $1,050,000. His three cashes at the WSOP accounted for $788,800 of his lifetime winnings. Smith would often play professional poker tournaments drunk. By all accounts, he was an

alcoholic Alcoholism is, broadly, any drinking of alcohol that results in significant mental or physical health problems. Because there is disagreement on the definition of the word ''alcoholism'', it is not a recognized diagnostic entity. Predomin ...

. According to fellow poker player T. J. Cloutier, Smith did not play well when he was sober or totally drunk. “Bill was the tightest player you'd ever played in your life when he was sober. And when he was halfway drunk, he was the best player I'd ever played with. No one could read opponents’ hands better than half- drunk Smith. But when he got past that halfway mark, he was the worst player I'd ever played with.” The year Smith won the Main Event, he entered the final day's play sober and just sat there while he warmed up. After he started drinking, he accumulated a huge pile of chips by well-timed aggressive play. He had so many chips once he was totally drunk that good luck led him to victory.

World Series of Poker Bracelets

Death

Smith died in 1996.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, Bill 1996 deaths American poker players World Series of Poker bracelet winners World Series of Poker Main Event winners Super Bowl of Poker event winners 1934 births