Posted by Steve Rosenbloom
LAS VEGAS - The carnage was hellacious in the first week of the World Series of Poker main event. Big name after big name busted out, many in less than a day, starting with 10-time bracelet winners Doyle Brunson, Johnny Chan and Phil Hellmuth.
Oh, it might've taken a second day in some cases, maybe three, but you get the point. Great player after former champion Harrington, Ferguson, Seed, Mortensen, Raymer, Greenstein, Lederer, Ivey, ad infinitum seemingly -- made the most dreaded walk in poker.
Denise Truscello/WireImage.com
But you look up, and Allen Cunningham was still playing on Day 4 Saturday.
Of course, Allen Cunningham was still playing. It's what he does, even if few people outside poker circles know him, mostly because when he's on television, he's just there to play poker, not act like he's auditioning for the Jerry Springer show.
"That's one of the drawbacks of poker on television," Daniel Negreanu said. "If a guy's wearing a chicken suit and beating his chest, they'll film it. Allen is just a quiet, mild-mannered guy, so he doesn't necessarily make for great television.
"But it's no coincidence that this year when there was a vote of who the most underrated poker player in the world was, he wins it going away. And he always will."
OK, so who is this 30-year-old guy from Riverside, California? Just try to find out. Dare ya.
Allen, can I talk to you at the first break?
"If I feel like it," he said. "I might want to get some air."
Understand, there's nothing haughty or mean about Cunningham's response. There could never be anything haughty or mean about him. I mean, if he's not the nicest person in poker, he's certainly in the team picture.
It's just that Cunningham is all about poker, not a lick about self-promotion. It's a shame, too, what with his marvelous skills and terrific record.
So, if the object is to tell the Allen Cunningham story, it will be told by everyone except Allen Cunningham.
And there are few better places to start than Negreanu, who was part of a "Gang of Four" of young, great poker players that also included Cunningham, John Juanda and Phil Ivey that hit the scene about six or eight years ago.
More than their individual talent, which would've made them good if not great players anyway, you have the group dynamic that made them all dangerous to your stack.
"Being able to discuss strategy with these guys, we all made each other better," Negreanu said. "There's a reason why all of us became successful. It's a testament to us helping each other out. You see now a group of Swedish kids that do the same thing. There's about eight of them, and they talk, they discuss strategy, and they all get better because of it. Other people aren't privy to that information, and it's very powerful.
"We'd always help each other when we were down. Allen was always even-keeled. Me and Phil were crazy. Me and Phil were broke. We're more wild by nature. John was more like the papa: 'Daniel, you know you shouldn't do that.' 'Come on, just give me $10,000.' 'But Daniel, I'm disappointed in you. Very disappointed in you.'
"But Allen was always like, 'All right, I'll give it to you.' Allen was always a really good friend to have."
They are all different in many ways, but all the same when it comes to winning poker.
"Me and Phil, we had more of a loose-aggressive approach," Negreanu said. "Juanda was more conservative. And Allen was just right. He just knew everything. He'd read [David)] Sklansky's books, and he knew where the mistakes were. He understands the fundamentals of poker better than anyone I've ever met. Absolutely. There's no question. If he wrote a poker book, everyone should buy it.
"When we would have questions - me or Phil or John - we'd go to Allen, and he's right. Not to say that he's better than us. Allen was always the authority. He's the one we'd go to for the right answer."
If Cunningham is an oracle, he's a very unassuming oracle.
"He's a lot more shy," Negreanu said. "Of the four of us who have gone on to be successful, he's the one who doesn't get as much attention, but if you look at his results, he's right up there with all of us."
A month ago, Cunningham won his fourth WSOP bracelet, taking down the $1,000 buy-in, no-limit Hold 'em event, along with $625,830, in a field of 752 players. He also came in sixth in the $5,000 buy-in, no-limit, 2-7 lowball tournament -- adding another $58,202 to his bankroll.
In April, Cunningham won a $1,000 buy-in no-limit hold' em tournament at the WSOP Circuit stop at Caesars Palace, a victory worth $106,161. In December, he copped the $3,000 buy-in, no-limit Hold 'em event at the Bellagio. He also walked off with the $3,000 buy-in, no-limit Hold 'em event at the Ultimate Poker Challenge last July after a World Series where he made four final tables, won one bracelet and took Player of the Year honors.
Of his four bracelets, two are in no-limit hold 'em events, one is in 2-7 lowball and one in stud. He's got game. He's got all the games.
A big name to poker people -- a feared and respected name -- Cunningham is mostly a no-name to the general public that tunes in for the TV poker soap opera.
"You never hear him make a peep," said Barry Shulman, a tournament regular and head honcho of Card Player magazine. "He doesn't say anything. He's friendly. He's only under the radar because he hasn't won a lot of events on TV, but he's certainly won his fair share of major events."
He almost won a big event from Shulman, as a matter of fact. At the Four Queens five years ago, Shulman played Cunningham heads-up for seven hours before finally winning the $5,000 buy-in, no-limit hold 'em tournament back when everything was no more than $5,000, except the WSOP main event.
"It was brutal," Shulman said. "He's great. He's absolutely fantastic."
Call it putting the cunning in Cunningham.
"He seems to know what you have," Shulman said. "It makes it very hard playing against an opponent who knows what your cards are. One of the things about the great no-limit players is, when they have the best hand, they seem to know how to get the most out of the person they're playing against. He's an outstanding reader [of people and hands].
"In the ring games, he knows when to get involved, who to get involved with. When he's got the best hand, especially against amateur players, he knows how to maximize what he gets from them, and that's quite a trait."
Just one of many quality traits that make Cunningham a formidable opponent.
"Allen's a great player," Mike "The Mouth" Matusow said. "Very solid. He picks his spots well. He doesn't play big pots without the nuts. He plays poker the way it's supposed to be played.
"He's not under the radar. He's so quiet, but he's not under the radar. He doesn't play that many pots, so they don't come charging after him like they do me. I'm the one they come firing at."
Cunningham's quiet demeanor and studied, unemotional ways reek of an old-school poker table image.
"You don't want people to think you're as great a poker player as you are because you want people to play with you," Andy Bloch said. "On the other hand, you can try to act like you're the best player in the world so people will want to take on the best. Allen is much too modest, I think, to go that route."
Don't get the idea that Cunningham is some kind of poker bot. He can be an easy conversationalist when he wants, and those who know him say he has a sharp sense of humor.
"He's extremely funny," Negreanu said. "But he's eccentric, in a sense. He reads a lot of books. He's very well-educated. Very health-conscious. He's very witty. His sense of humor is one that laymen might not understand. He doesn't tell funny jokes. You have to look deeper with him, almost like Dennis Miller. Dennis Miller will tell a joke, and stupid people will be like, 'What? What does he mean? Who's Ayatollah?'
"He's a great friend. Almost like a pushover. Very loyal. Not confrontational, not boisterous. That's why he doesn't get as much coverage."
Cunningham might not have won over the public, but he certainly has won over poker people. In fact, Shulman extends perhaps the greatest compliment one poker player can offer another:
"He can play with my money anytime."
Poker
