Ted Forrest

Ted Forrest
Ted Forrest at the 2006 World Series of Poker
Nickname(s)	Professor Backwards The Suicide King The Hitman Spooky
Residence	Las Vegas, Nevada
Born	(1964-09-24) September 24, 1964 (age 60) Syracuse, New York
World Series of Poker
Bracelet(s)	6
Money finish(es)	31
Highest ITM Main Event finish	408th, 2006
World Poker Tour
Title(s)	1
Final table(s)	5
Money finish(es)	11

Ted Forrest (born September 24, 1964) is an American professional poker player, currently residing in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Tournament wins

In 1992, Forrest won two tournaments at the LA Poker Classic and one at the World Poker Finals in Mashantucket.^[1][2][3] Forrest won three bracelets at the 1993 World Series of Poker (WSOP).^[4][5][6] After the mid-1990s, Forrest turned his attention full-time to cash games. He made a triumphant return to the WSOP by winning two bracelets at the 2004 World Series of Poker.^[7][8] Since then he has moved his focus from seven card stud to hold 'em with some success, including reaching five final tables on the World Poker Tour and winning a championship on the Professional Poker Tour.^{[9][10][11][12]}

Forrest competed in the second season of Poker Superstars Invitational Tournament, where he advanced to the quarter-final stage.^[13] He did not fare as well in season three, being mathematically eliminated early in the preliminaries. He played in the first two seasons of the GSN series High Stakes Poker.^[14]

In March 2006, Forrest won the annual National Heads-Up Poker Championship, defeating (in order) Erik Seidel, Chad Brown, Ernie Dureck, Sam Farha, Shahram Sheikhan and Chris Ferguson to win the $500,000 first prize.^[15]

Continuing with his history of tournament success, in March 2007 Ted won the Bay 101 Shooting Stars Tournament, outlasting J. J. Liu in the longest heads up duel in World Poker Tour history. For the victory, Forrest collected the first prize of $1,100,000.^[16]

In June 2014 Ted defeated notable poker player Phil Hellmuth in the final table of the WSOP Razz event,^[17] bringing his total number of WSOP bracelets to six.^[18]

As of August 7, 2015, his total live tournament winnings exceed $6,200,000.^[19] His 31 cashes as the WSOP account for $1,922,990 of those winnings.^[20]

Strategy differentiation

Forrest's no-limit Texas hold 'em strategy vastly differs from that of many other established pros who believe that pre-flop one should always raise or fold, Forrest has repeatedly stated and demonstrated in his play, that limping, or simply calling a raise, is not a bad play and should be frequently employed.^[21]

Andy Beal Showdown

Forrest is well known as a competitive high-stakes gambler. He has been a key part of a consortium of poker players who pooled their money together to play Texas billionaire Andy Beal in a series of very high limit, heads-up, Texas hold 'em games, with limits ranging anywhere from $20,000/$40,000 to $100,000/$200,000.^[22]

World Series of Poker bracelets

Year	Tournament	Prize
1993	$1,500 Seven Card Razz	$78,400
1993	$1,500 Omaha 8 or better	$120,000
1993	$5,000 Seven Card Stud	$114,000
2004	$1,500 Seven Card Stud	$111,440
2004	$1,500 No Limit Hold'em	$300,300
2014	$1,500 Seven Card Razz	$121,196

Forrest's first three bracelets were stolen. He gave one of the remaining two to his daughter; and has the other locked away. Ted also owns one WSOP championship bracelet that formerly belonged to Hamid Dastmalchi, which he purchased from Dastmalchi after the 1992 World Series of Poker world champion complained that the bracelet wasn't worth what the Binion family claimed. Hamid told him, “They say it’s worth $5,000, but I’d take $1,500 for it” to which Forrest replied "Sold" and tossed him three $500 chips.^[23]

Bad check charges

In September 2016, Forrest was charged in the Las Vegas Justice Court with two felonies: drawing and passing a check without sufficient funds with the intent to defraud, and theft.^[24]

References

1. "LA Poker Classic, 1/2 Hold'em 1/2 Lowball". The Hendon Mob. Retrieved April 21, 2024.
2. "LA Poker Classic, 1/2 Hold'em 1/2 Stud". The Hendon Mob. Retrieved April 21, 2024.
3. "1992 World Poker Finals, Limit Seven Card Stud". The Hendon Mob. Retrieved April 21, 2024.
4. "24th World Series of Poker - WSOP 1993, Seven-Card Stud". The Hendon Mob. Retrieved April 21, 2024.
5. "24th World Series of Poker - WSOP 1993, Seven-Card Razz". The Hendon Mob. Retrieved April 21, 2024.
6. "24th World Series of Poker - WSOP 1993, Omaha 8 or Better". The Hendon Mob. Retrieved April 21, 2024.
7. "35th World Series of Poker - WSOP 2004, Seven Card Stud". The Hendon Mob. Retrieved April 21, 2024.
8. "35th World Series of Poker - WSOP 2004, No-Limit Hold'em". The Hendon Mob. Retrieved April 21, 2024.
9. "World Poker Tour - WPT Championship, WPT Championship - No Limit Hold'em". The Hendon Mob. Retrieved April 21, 2024.
10. "2005 Mirage Poker Showdown, WPT No Limit Hold'em Championship". The Hendon Mob. Retrieved April 21, 2024.
11. "Foxwoods Poker Classic 2008, No Limit Hold'em - WPT Event". The Hendon Mob. Retrieved April 21, 2024.
12. "2005 Mirage Poker Showdown, PPT No Limit Hold'em Final". The Hendon Mob. Retrieved April 21, 2024.
13. "Poker Superstars Invitational Tournament Season 2, Quarter Final 1". The Hendon Mob. Retrieved April 21, 2024.
14. "High Stakes Poker Reviewed: Ted Forrest Runs It Back Up". PokerNews.com. November 20, 2018. Retrieved April 21, 2024.
15. "2006 National Heads-Up Poker Championship, Heads Up No Limit Hold'em". The Hendon Mob. Retrieved April 21, 2024.
16. "World Poker Tour - WPT Bay 101 Shooting Star, WPT Championship Event - No Limit Hold'em". The Hendon Mob. Retrieved April 21, 2024.
17. Welman, Jessica; Dalla, Nolan (June 2, 2014). "Ted Forrest Bests Phil Hellmuth To Win Sixth Bracelet". WSOP.com. Retrieved April 21, 2024.
18. "45th World Series of Poker - WSOP 2014, Seven Card Razz (Event #7)". The Hendon Mob. Retrieved April 21, 2024.
19. "Ted Forrest's profile on The Hendon Mob". The Hendon Mob Poker Database. Retrieved December 8, 2023.
20. "Ted Forrest". WSOP.com. Retrieved March 24, 2024.
21. Craig, Michael (September 20, 2005). "Ted Forrest: The Education of a Suicide King". CardPlayer. Retrieved April 21, 2024.
22. "The Banker, The Boss, The Junkman and The Warrior Queen Part 3". ESPN.com. April 18, 2006. Retrieved April 21, 2024.
23. Monroe, Billy (July 24, 2008). "Where Are They Now – Hamid Dastmalchi". PokerWorks.com. Archived from the original on January 27, 2009.
24. Ferrara, David (September 2, 2016). "Arrest warrant issued for six-time WSOP bracelet winner in bad check case". Las Vegas Review-Journal. Retrieved December 30, 2016.

External links

• Card Player profile
• Hendon Mob profile
• WPT profile
• WSOP profile