Dennis Phillips – Most Underrated Poker Player?

When you sit at a poker table what is the very first thing you do, even before have a quick chip shuffle? You survey your table and look for any players you may wish to avoid playing pots with. You will probably not relish seeing Phil Ivey, John Juanda or Daniel Negreanu at your table (other than being happy to get to play them) but whilst certain professionals are lauded with respect, others seem to be cast aside from the plaudits and given the moniker of “just being quite lucky” in their past successes. Dennis Phillips is a player to whom I think this most certainly applies.

Dennis made his name by making the final table of the 2008 World Series of Poker Main Event, going into that year November Nine as chip leader at the start of play. Dennis was an accountant of a trucking company and certainly looks the part of a trucker, this perhaps contributed to him not being taken seriously as a poker force. He was eventually eliminated from proceedings in a fantastic third place which earned him $4,517,773 from his $200 investment (he won a satellite to earn his main event seat). Phillips was probably the most supported player at the final table, with a large crowd cheering his every move – most wearing a Red Cap in honour of the St Louis Cardinals baseball team of whom Dennis is a loyal fan. He also won fans support by donating some of his win to charity after he was eliminated.

For many players who make the final table of this very large event this is the last that is heard from them in relation to poker. Not Dennis. He went on another really large run in the main event of 2009, finishing in 45th place after his Aces were given a bad beat, earning $178,857. His collective outlasting of over 13,000 players over the two years is now a WSOP record. Was this just an amazingly lucky two events?

The answer is no. This man really knows how to play poker. In January 2009, along with 272 others Dennis put up the $4800 buy-in at the Pokerstars Carribean Adventure tournament. Dennis finished a credible 17th place for $19,100 in a final two tables that included players like Terence Chan, Justin Bonomo, Chris Moorman and the eventual winner Peter Eastgate, who took away $343,000 for his win.

After Dennis made his run through the main event he flew to England to participate in the EPT High Rollers Event which sported a big £20,000 buy-in. Only the best players entered this event. Some of these players included nosebleed stakes professional Illari “Ziigmund” Sahamies and eventual winner Matthew Glantz. Dennis finished this event in an excellent 7th place, to earn £60,000 or just over $90,000. These cashes in other events aside of the WSOP has given Dennis a much higher level of credibility within the poker community. You can understand why he was dismissed. He was a 53 year old trucker. Fans of Darvin Moon can take heart that this man proved himself over time and Darvin will be looking to do the same thing next week when he shoots for the big one at the final table of this year’s main event.

Dennis’s success at the poker table earned him a deal as a Team Pro of a major online poker site and he is seen regularly playing in the larger weekly online tournaments. Having railed him a little, I can tell you that this man is no fish; he plays hard even when very short stacked after suffering a beat. Dennis shows us that even an amateur player can win big in this wonderful game of poker. Hopefully we all have a chance to take home a big score and enjoy a once in a lifetime shot at life changing money. Dennis certainly shows you that if you are good enough, there will be a way for you to break through.

By Malcolm Clarke