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Aussies Vs the Poker World Hachem, the "one hit wonder"?
Joe Hachem, known to some as a “one hit wonder” or simply the “aussie poker player from down unda”. Could this possibly be true? Okay, of course he’s an Aussie, but how about the one hit wonder part? How do we gauge Hachem and other Aussie poker players? How are they performing in comparison to the rest of the world? First let’s have a look at some stats… Okay let’s look at 2 names, starting with Jeff Lisandro. Jeff Lisandro A well respected cash and tournament player.
Not a bad recent record, but only a few really recognise him and his efforts. He’s no Johnny Chan, Doyle Brunson, Phil Hellmuth or any of the other huge names in poker. But pro’s recognise him and know to tread carefully when sitting with him. What about the next guy? Joseph Hachem Joe Hachem, a name known throughout the poker world. He is instantly recognised around the world, even by many who don’t play or follow poker. By his own admission and like other World Champions before him would attest that he’s targeted every time he sits down at the poker table. Okay, sure… who wouldn’t want to step up to him and leave with a story to tell your mates about how you completely outplayed the World Champion and busted him out of a tournament? But think about it, it’s easy to hold Aces against their Kings and bust them. But outplaying the man in the true sense is much harder than giving a pro a bad beat. But what makes a truly great and worthy champion? Is Joe average or is he the real deal? Who knows, time I guess. But let’s have a look at how he’s going so far. Okay starting with the obvious…
Now you could say he was lucky, or maybe you could say he proved this year that he’s no fluke. Sure maybe he did get a bit fortunate to beat such a massive crowd at last years World Series of Poker. But you can’t take too much away from the champ, he was still the only man standing at the end, and that takes, at the very least, a very good poker player. Tournament results.. the true sign of a poker great?
Looking at tournament results, it’s easy to judge how good a player is, the numbers are there in black and white. The truth is, most players aren’t earning the big bucks in the tournaments, they’re making their money in the ring; at the cash tables. For some, the tournaments are just trophies to get a tangible record for others to see how good they are. So I guess looking at tournament results are just the tip of the iceberg for some. Maybe we aren’t seeing the complete truth of who is the best, if we are only just looking at the tournament results. But then again, I suppose it doesn’t hurt all that much to be wearing a World Series of Poker Championship Bracelet either. Weighing in the Aussies
So what about Aussie’s? How do we compare? I’d say better than ever before and we are starting to be respected for our efforts, but that’s not really the question we should be asking. In the scheme of things all Aussie’s (and the rest of the world) know we are a competitive nation, have a look at our sporting achievements over the last 50 years. But this isn’t really about that. I love hearing about another Aussie who made a final table at a big event or who took down a major tournament, but the game of poker is more than that. We here at AllAussiePoker.com are all about the progress of poker in Australia and around the globe, so in my eye’s a win for an Aussie poker player is a win for poker, and more so for Australian poker. As far as Hachem, Lisandro and others are concerned, well let’s just say we have some great poker players out there. Who knows maybe even you reading this article right now will be the next Aussie wearing a WSOP bracelet. It could happen. Expanding for the future
Aussie poker is thriving at the moment. There is more poker being played right now in Australia than ever before. But poker isn’t a sport of representing your country. People aren’t necessarily playing for the pride of their country when they hit the tables. There’s no national anthem being played before heads-up of a major tournament. They are playing predominately for themselves. It’s an opportunity to put their skills up against others, to be the best and win some money at the same time. But I’m not going to bore you with needless talk about why people sit at the tables. You can research that one on your own. What I will say is that you can count on Australia bringing a bigger, better contingent to the poker world over the next few years. Hachem didn’t win the World Series by learning and playing against American players, sure maybe he refined his skills a little more by playing in the States, but the fact of the matter is, his poker ability was spawned here in Oz. So there’s no reason why we wont see more players like the Hachem’s, Lisandro’s, Judah’s, Tony G’s or any of the other big names in Aussie poker mixing it up with the best in the world. What I really want to know is when will Australia have more than just the Aussie Millions? We know we have great casinos and great players, let’s start making some moves like the USA, UK and Europe are doing. It’s slowly coming up, but we are still behind the times. But after all of that is said and done, it’s easy to see that the future is bright for Aussie poker. -BM 
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