Billy Kopp copes with '09 ouster
A couple of weeks ago, we took a look at Brandon Steven, the poor guy who fought for six hours with 10 players remaining in the 2010 World Series of Poker main event only to be the one sent home prior to November Nine membership. That was a tough pill to swallow, right?
Hold that thought.
As tough as Steven's loss had to be to take, Steven was the short stack for most of the latter parts of Day 8 and knew he was the man on the spot for most of the late-night ordeal. When he lost, it was by attrition, and while there are those who will tell you it's better to tear off the Band-Aid rather than slowly peel it off, in poker I'm not too sure I agree.
Billy Kopp is the tear to Steven's peel. His road to redemption comes to national television on Tuesday night at 8 p.m. ET during the 2010 WSOP broadcast.
If Kopp's name is ringing a bell, it's because you saw him in 2009. On the penultimate day of play, he was chip leader for a moment before falling to second with only a seeming bumpkin named Darvin Moon having greater holdings. With 12 players left, Moon was moved to Kopp's table for the first time in the tournament. That's when Moon and Kopp collided in what may be the single most talked about hand of the 2009 WSOP.
"I raised 3d-5d under the gun and it folded to Darvin in the small blind, who just called," recalled Kopp, who's told this story a million times, perhaps a million too many. "The flop was K-9-2 all diamonds. He checked and I made a continuation bet, which I do with my whole range of hands. It was standard. At this point, it's possible he has a flush but unlikely. The turn was a deuce, which he checked again. He does that with a lot of hands. I bet again, building the pot and protecting the river. He check-raises me at that point to about six million [in chips]. There was about 10 million in the pot with his six and I had about 18 million left I think. At this point, if I just call for 4 million, I'm left with 14 million and he'll fire the river again with a bigger stack than mine. I thought there were a lot of hands in his range that he check-raises to get me to fold. In a circumstance where he had flopped a flush also, he has to fold because I'm likely re-raising with a full house. So, I shoved all-in and he snap called with just the queen-high flush."
It was a shocking hand at a point in the tournament where both players could have easily rested on their laurels and cruised to the November Nine, a fact that many consider crucial in light of the endorsement opportunities that come with that plateau. For Kopp, though, the only regret seems to be that he didn't know the man he was facing.
"It was one of those things where you're just frustrated," Kopp admitted. "I made the play so better flushes would fold. [Darvin] did interviews where he said he didn't realize the board paired. That's frustrating. If I fold the flush there, I look like a hero on national television. Still, [professional players] make a lot of money because guys don't get that a paired board makes a full house."
Kopp's attitude toward the events is remarkable. Just 24 years old, he's maintained a professional outlook despite the combined national attention and second guessing.
"Playing poker every day for four or five years, it's become a lifestyle in that I take it seriously like a job, because it is," said Kopp, a Kentucky native who moved to Las Vegas in November. "Every decision I make is made for a particular reason and I can describe each of them and why I've made them. Playing great poker for seven days and having it all come down to that one decision is frustrating, but as long as I keep making the right decisions at the time I make them, that's all I can do."
"To be honest, that hand doesn't affect him," said Kopp's roommate and fellow pro James Carroll. "I know a lot of guys who'd be affected, but for him it was just another poker tournament and he understands things won't always go his way. He's OK with it. He put it behind him and said 'That's poker.' He has a great outlook on the game."
"I think he's grown from it, 100 percent," said Ryan Welch, another close friend. "When it happens, you're stunned … dejected … but I was there with him and after about a day, he realized he'd had a great summer and a great run and he decided to move on from it. After a couple of days, he wasn't thinking about it. We went on vacation to Hawaii, regrouped and moved on from there."
There seems to be little doubt that "the hand" left Kopp with a tougher skin heading into the 2010 WSOP and it's helped him adjust to the recognition.
"Every single day, every tournament I play, I go in with the same attitude," he said. "Analyze my table and choose which strategy I want to use. I think last year actually helped me. The TV show is for entertainment, so they showed all of the crazy bluffs I made and people call me down when I have good hands. People handed me chips this year.
"I feel like I have a different style now," Kopp said of the adjustments he's made. "There's a lot in live poker you have to adjust to. There were some things I needed to fix. I talked a lot more hands this year to figure out how to extract maximum value, which can be crucial. I'm a slightly different player this year, for the better."
Like Brandon Steven after him, Kopp has coped, regrouped and moved on. The Band-Aid is off, and now it doesn't matter how it came off. On Tuesday night, you'll finally get to see how the wound has healed.
Gary Wise is a poker columnist for ESPN.com. You can follow him on Twitter via @GaryWise1.
Follow Gary Wise on Twitter: @GaryWise1