Johnny Kampis asked: Considering the success he’s had in poker, you might be surprised that Russ “Dutch” Boyd considers himself a “low roller.”
After all, Boyd beat former WSOP champion Joe Hachem heads up last year in the $2,500 short handed no-limit Hold’em event to capture his first gold bracelet and $475,000 in prize money.
“It was very surreal,” Boyd said. “A lot of people have had the dream of playing against Joe Hachem and winning the bracelet. I was living it and it was pretty cool.”
Boyd fared well at this year’s WSOP, including a 3rd place finish in Event #25, the World Championship $3,000 buy-in Seven-Card Stud Hi-Lo tournament, which netted him $71,650 in prize money. He then finished 5th in the $5,000 NLHE six-handed event for a $169,369 score.
“I was hoping I would do really well out here and I wouldn’t have to worry about poker again,” he said of making a big cash.
Although he now resides in Culver City, California, Boyd grew up in Columbia, Missouri. It was there that his grandmother played him in poker for Tootsie Rolls when he was 10 years old.
Boyd said he hasn’t traveled around to play as much poker lately, preferring to relax back home in Missouri, but he may hit the circuit harder in the next year.
Boyd busted out on the scene at the 2003 WSOP when he was 22 years old and got plenty of TV time on ESPN. His success that year included a final table finish in Razz and a run to 12th place in the main event. He was also part of “The Crew”, the group of young poker prodigies that included Scott Fischman, Joe Bartholdi and Brett “Gank” Jungblut.
Boyd said The Crew still hangs out, though not nearly as much as when they all lived together. “The Crew will always be around,” he said.
Boyd began playing poker seriously at age 18 when online poker upstarts like Planet Poker first came into being. He was able to sneak into the Garden City Casino in San Jose and won his first live tournament at age 18, as well. Boyd worked for the casino as a prop player when he did turn 21.
“That’s the place where I really cut my teeth,” he said.
Unlike many of the Hold’em specialists, Boyd is fairly proficient in a variety of games and he considers his best games Stud Hi-Lo and Razz. He played the $2,500 HORSE event at this year’s WSOP and planned to play the $1,000 SHOE tournament as well.
While Boyd thinks there should be more mixed games in the WSOP (and was appreciative to see more added this year), he doesn’t think that a limit mixed game should be used to crown the WSOP champion, as many participants of the $50,000 HORSE tournament believe.
“I really do think the $10,000 no limit event is the best way to crown a champion,” he said. “In limit you have to showdown the best hand. In no limit you have room for creativity. I think a player can win at no limit without ever looking at his cards. That can’t ever happen in SHOE or HORSE.”
As far as long-term goals, Boyd said he’s like to win four WSOP bracelets. Why four? He said it just sounds like a nice round number.
“That’s my goal,” he said, before adding with a smile, “Preferably in one year.”
Denise
