By Sean Chaffin
Heads-up legend John Smith is in the house for Day 2 of the WPT L.A. Poker Classic. Over the last several years, Smith has become a sharpshooter when it comes to the $10,000 Heads-Up Championship at the World Series of Poker, his favorite event by far – and for good reason.
His first big run in the event in 2014 when he finished 11th for $26,584. Two years later, he improved to runner-up for $198,192 and followed that up in 2018 with another runner-up finish for $200,538.
Smith has been playing seriously more than 50 years, and began playing in casinos as a hobby since the mid-2000s. He now has career tournament winnings of more than $1.3 million, and is looking to continue his nice run here in Los Angeles.
Making Adjustments
While he may only jump in three or four events a year, Smith enjoys playing when he can get some time away. Here at the WPT L.A. Poker Classic, the 72-year-old recipient from the Los Angeles area is having to adjust his game. Not just because everyone now knows his skills at the table, but also because he’s more accustomed to high-stakes heads-up tournament play.
“It’s very difficult playing non-heads up,” he says. “They all know who I am now and have seen how I play. They catch on real quick.”
Heads-up may be his main game, but he’s had plenty of success at full tables as well. That includes several wins and final table appearances at events in California.
On the WPT, Smith has notched several cashes through the years and has $177,310 in winnings on the tour. His best finish came in Season IX in 2010 when he took ninth at the Legends of Poker at the Bicycle Casino for $29,000.
By the third break in Day 2, Smith had built his stack up to 110,000 and was hoping to keep his run going deep in his local casino.
Soldier to Businessman
Married with a grown son and daughter, Smith enjoys spending time with his grandchildren and fishing on his boat when in his free time. That doesn’t come often. Smith owns an asphalt company in Los Angeles and works as a road contractor throughout California. Being the boss keeps him busy.
Business has been good in recent years and he’s curtailed some of his card playing. He enjoys playing at Commerce, and thought the WPT offered a nice chance to get back in the action.
“I used to play here quite regularly, it’s a great place,” he says. “But this is my first time I’ve been here this year. I play a lot of cash games with friends.”
As a young man, Smith served in the U.S. Army after graduating high school and spent two years in Vietnam from 1966-67. In ‘67, just a couple months from being sent home, the tank he was in hit a mine. He had been halfway out the top of the vehicle during the explosion and believes that saved his life.
Everyone else in the tank was dead and Smith earned a Purple Heart for his service. A chatty and personable player, his experience certainly keeps the occasional bad beat in perspective.
Back in the Game
While poker may have been put on the back burner in recent years, Smith is still planning to be back in Vegas this summer looking for another deep run in the $10,000 Heads-Up. He also plans to play in the WSOP Main Event as he did last year.
While winning that heads-up bracelet is his ultimate goal, heading to Sin City for a WPT final table would also be a nice bullet point on his poker reumé.
“That would be great,” he says. “One day I hope that happens.”
Business and family keep Smith occupied, but he has no plans to slow down and retire. It’s just not in his nature, he says.
“I’m so busy in my business right now I don’t have a lot of time for poker,” he says. “And I’m just going to work until I die. I enjoy work and that’s what I do.”
Sean Chaffin is a freelance writer in Crandall, Texas, and his work appears in numerous websites and publications. Follow him on Twitter @PokerTraditions.
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