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#856 – Heaven and Hell on Ted Forrest’s Speed-Dial
I would never want to say who has been my most valuable contact in poker. The book, articles, and blogs I’ve written, and the poker lessons I’ve learned, have come from my good fortune in making many wonderful friends inside poker. But the list of finalists would have to include Ted Forrest. His generous cooperation made SUICIDE KING a success. In the four years since, Ted has unselfishly shared numerous details of his private life (for your eventual entertainment).
When Ted Forrest calls, I always want to be there to answer. On the other hand, being on Ted’s speed-dial is not without its drawbacks. First, I don’t pretend to understand the man. Second, I owe so much success to him that I never want to say no, but he is liable to call ANYTIME and ask about ANYTHING. It’s easily worth it but the fact is I never know what’s going to happen when I hear from Ted.
At the 2009 World Series of Poker, Ted played the first event, the $40K NLHE. On the second day of the tournament, he didn’t show up after the dinner break. He had a decent chip stack but the blinds and antes were high enough that nobody could afford to get anted off like that. The tournament director, Jack Effel, emailed me from the floor, asking if I knew Forrest’s whereabouts. I immediately tried both cell numbers I have for Ted, as well as his former girlfriend and business partner, without success. At 8:54pm I sent Jack the following email: “I’ve just tried the two numbers I have and didn’t get an answer from either. And, surprise! The voicemail box on both is full. Since you’re calling me on this and I am like the next of kin, can I play his stack in the meantime?”
Just a few minutes later Forrest showed up and Effel sent me this reply: “LOL … He showed up two minutes ago. He told the tournament supervisor that he fell asleep with both phones turned off, and security had to go up and knock on his door to wake him up. Another chapter in the Ted Forrest Saga … add it to your book.”
Ted, apparently refreshed from his slumber, rebounded to become one of the Day 2 chip leaders. The following day, he sent me a text message asking, “Do you have a copy of Gus Hansen’s on book on you?” I actually had a copy back at the house I was renting but by the time I could retrieve it Ted no longer needed it. He lost a big pot late on Day 3 and made the final table, but was low on chips.
I wanted to watch him at the final table but I overslept and he was the first player eliminated. Then I didn’t see him for the rest of the Series. I especially wanted to thank him for his Razz advice after I finished second in that event but I never saw him around.
The next I heard from Ted was almost a month after the end of the World Series. He sent me a trio of text messages at 2am expressing his interest in writing a book or a series of books laying bare his adventures in gambling. I didn’t see the messages at the time but we spoke on the phone soon after. I explained to him a number of limitations: I had a job and other commitments, the book publishing business stinks, none of the big publishing houses want poker books, etc. But I also told him, “If you want to tell stories, I want to hear them. I don’t care if there is money in it for me or where or when. Just tell me where to go and I’ll be there ready to work.”
So guess what? Ted Forrest called me at 11:30pm the other night – from Thailand. What was he doing in Thailand? What about the book idea? None of those things came up. Forrest wanted to give a friend the two books and three articles I had written with his cooperation or collaboration and he needed them sent to Thailand right away. It cost me almost $100 to send the books the next morning and there’s no guarantee they will arrive while he is still in Thailand or at his destination. But I would do almost anything for Ted and I suppose if that includes fielding his requests from Thailand, eighty-eight bucks is probably getting off easy.
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