Fresh-faced poker champ knew just when to hold 'em
By KAREN HILL
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Published on: 03/15/06
Everything looked normal Tuesday morning at Jeff Williams' home on a quiet cul-de-sac in Dunwoody. Only the constant ringing of the telephone let slip that this was an unusual day for the 19-year-old University of Georgia freshman.
"It was, it still is, insane," said a barefoot, still sleepy Williams. "When the 'Today' show called, I thought, 'Oh my gosh, this is crazy.' "
Jeff Williams, 19, of Dunwoody won $1 million on the European Poker Tour's Grand Final in Monaco over the weekend. The University of Georgia freshman says he played about 2,000 hands in the tournament, 'and everyone of them I could have gone broke on.'
Friends and media outlets began calling and visiting as soon as Williams and his parents, Dave and Cindi Williams, arrived home Monday evening from Monaco, where he won $1 million over the weekend at the European Poker Tour main event.
It was his first live tournament. He beat almost 300 other card sharks.
Williams, a soft-spoken, slender young man with a wide smile, said he remembers very little of the winning moment: "I know I yelled, but I'll have to watch the video to see what else." He said his winning hand ? an ace of spades and a 10 of clubs ? was not a bluff, and that he had played his final opponent before, online.
"I knew he was very aggressive and I knew he would go all in. I had only bet a third of my chips, so even if I lost that hand, I would still have a shot."
Williams said he played about 2,000 hands of Texas Hold 'Em during the tournament. He hasn't played since winning the pot, mostly because of visits from friends and family and calls from media outlets. He also said he needed to take a break from the intense concentration required to win.
"Two thousand hands, and everyone of them I could have gone broke on," Williams recalled. "I really had to pay attention."
Williams' parents ? mom's a real estate agent and dad's a regional manager for a security firm ? flew to Monaco to surprise him when they realized how close he was to winning the tournament.
Cindi Williams said Tuesday that she and her husband always talked honestly with their children, Jeff and his 16-year-old sister, Amanda, about everything, including gambling. That kept him from gambling behind their backs, she said.
"Basically, we've tried to make them look at the consequences of their behavior, whether it was good or bad," Cindi Williams said.
She said they also stressed that he should "never wager more than you can lose."
So far, that advice has stuck.
Williams spent just $40 to enter the first of two online tournaments that earned him a spot in the Monaco tournament. Entry into that tournament was bankrolled by PokerStars.com, which paid $12,000 apiece for the top nine players in the second online tournament to play in Monaco.
Williams said he will probably spend the remainder of this week, the last of his spring break, in New York where he was invited to tape a segment for NBC's "Today" show.
"That would be another once-in-a-lifetime experience," he said. "In one week, going from being an average college student to making an appearance on national TV."
Williams attributes his poker prowess to practice. He had been playing cards with his sister and their mother, mostly gin rummy and quarter poker, for most of his life.
He began playing online poker two years ago, but only seriously six months ago.
Williams said he preferred Texas Hold 'Em to other poker games because, "It has the most skill in it."
The math whiz was able to take on more seasoned players, he said, because he can play four to six hands at a time online.
"That gives me a lot of practice so I can kind of catch up to guys who have been playing for 20 years and it helps me see a lot of hands," said Williams, who added that he's always had a good memory for cards.
Perhaps improbably, Williams studies neither mathematics nor statistics at UGA.
He's a political science major who's already laughing about the benefits that a world-class "poker face" could bring to a desired career in politics.
"I'd like to run for office someday, but if not that, maybe something in the Department of State, or Defense," he said.
In the interim, he doesn't plan any Pentagon-size spending sprees.
Once he gets the money in hand, Williams said, he'll set aside about $400,000 to pay taxes, and plans to invest most of the rest.
"My mom's a real estate agent so I think I'll get a few condominimus that I can rent and leverage that for investments," Williams said, adding that he would put the rest in mutual funds. He also might treat himself to "a few good dinners," although there's not yet a girlfriend to share them.
"I thought about a new car, something pretty and fast, maybe an Infiniti, but I'm not going to do that now."
The 1993 brown Honda Accord sitting in his driveway "is just fine," he said, "for now."
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By KAREN HILL
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Published on: 03/15/06
Everything looked normal Tuesday morning at Jeff Williams' home on a quiet cul-de-sac in Dunwoody. Only the constant ringing of the telephone let slip that this was an unusual day for the 19-year-old University of Georgia freshman.
"It was, it still is, insane," said a barefoot, still sleepy Williams. "When the 'Today' show called, I thought, 'Oh my gosh, this is crazy.' "
Jeff Williams, 19, of Dunwoody won $1 million on the European Poker Tour's Grand Final in Monaco over the weekend. The University of Georgia freshman says he played about 2,000 hands in the tournament, 'and everyone of them I could have gone broke on.'
Friends and media outlets began calling and visiting as soon as Williams and his parents, Dave and Cindi Williams, arrived home Monday evening from Monaco, where he won $1 million over the weekend at the European Poker Tour main event.
It was his first live tournament. He beat almost 300 other card sharks.
Williams, a soft-spoken, slender young man with a wide smile, said he remembers very little of the winning moment: "I know I yelled, but I'll have to watch the video to see what else." He said his winning hand ? an ace of spades and a 10 of clubs ? was not a bluff, and that he had played his final opponent before, online.
"I knew he was very aggressive and I knew he would go all in. I had only bet a third of my chips, so even if I lost that hand, I would still have a shot."
Williams said he played about 2,000 hands of Texas Hold 'Em during the tournament. He hasn't played since winning the pot, mostly because of visits from friends and family and calls from media outlets. He also said he needed to take a break from the intense concentration required to win.
"Two thousand hands, and everyone of them I could have gone broke on," Williams recalled. "I really had to pay attention."
Williams' parents ? mom's a real estate agent and dad's a regional manager for a security firm ? flew to Monaco to surprise him when they realized how close he was to winning the tournament.
Cindi Williams said Tuesday that she and her husband always talked honestly with their children, Jeff and his 16-year-old sister, Amanda, about everything, including gambling. That kept him from gambling behind their backs, she said.
"Basically, we've tried to make them look at the consequences of their behavior, whether it was good or bad," Cindi Williams said.
She said they also stressed that he should "never wager more than you can lose."
So far, that advice has stuck.
Williams spent just $40 to enter the first of two online tournaments that earned him a spot in the Monaco tournament. Entry into that tournament was bankrolled by PokerStars.com, which paid $12,000 apiece for the top nine players in the second online tournament to play in Monaco.
Williams said he will probably spend the remainder of this week, the last of his spring break, in New York where he was invited to tape a segment for NBC's "Today" show.
"That would be another once-in-a-lifetime experience," he said. "In one week, going from being an average college student to making an appearance on national TV."
Williams attributes his poker prowess to practice. He had been playing cards with his sister and their mother, mostly gin rummy and quarter poker, for most of his life.
He began playing online poker two years ago, but only seriously six months ago.
Williams said he preferred Texas Hold 'Em to other poker games because, "It has the most skill in it."
The math whiz was able to take on more seasoned players, he said, because he can play four to six hands at a time online.
"That gives me a lot of practice so I can kind of catch up to guys who have been playing for 20 years and it helps me see a lot of hands," said Williams, who added that he's always had a good memory for cards.
Perhaps improbably, Williams studies neither mathematics nor statistics at UGA.
He's a political science major who's already laughing about the benefits that a world-class "poker face" could bring to a desired career in politics.
"I'd like to run for office someday, but if not that, maybe something in the Department of State, or Defense," he said.
In the interim, he doesn't plan any Pentagon-size spending sprees.
Once he gets the money in hand, Williams said, he'll set aside about $400,000 to pay taxes, and plans to invest most of the rest.
"My mom's a real estate agent so I think I'll get a few condominimus that I can rent and leverage that for investments," Williams said, adding that he would put the rest in mutual funds. He also might treat himself to "a few good dinners," although there's not yet a girlfriend to share them.
"I thought about a new car, something pretty and fast, maybe an Infiniti, but I'm not going to do that now."
The 1993 brown Honda Accord sitting in his driveway "is just fine," he said, "for now."
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