Dan Harrington’s nickname, “Action Dan”, can be seen as a bit of a joke. He is known as one of the tightest and most conservative players on the tour. He is also a busy man, he is a backgammon champion and a bankruptcy lawyer, in addition to his poker playing. His tight reputation comes in handy, because a raise on his part can be counted on to drive a player or two out of the pot. He enjoys winning, but knows it won’t happen all the time. His strategy is to stay in the game, wait for his chances, and be satisfied with a 4th or 3rd place finish. He would rather come in 3rd or 4th consistently rather than win once in a while and bust out early in the tournaments the rest of the time. His slow and steady style makes him a formidable opponent. His detractors claim that he is too predictable, and that it is easy to get out of the way of his good hands because he plays to tight. Of course, nothing impresses like success, and that is something Harrington has had plenty of in his career.
As mentioned before, he is a backgammon champion, and in 2004 he netted over 2 million dollars, mostly with his 3rd and 4th place finishes. This doesn’t mean he never wins, just that he is a solid player. And as everyone else who was entered in the 1995 World Series of Poker knows, he does win. As usual, he makes the final table, and finds himself to be one of the last two players there. He is heads up against Howard Goldfarb, and he has the chip lead. The hole cards are dealt, and he has suited connectors, the 8 9 of diamonds, certainly a playable hand, especially if it is possible to see the flop cheaply. Goldfarb had Ah and 7c, and was the first to act pre-flop. He bet $100,000, which Harrington called. The flop was 8c 2c 6d, giving Harrington top pair, and Goldfarb nothing, except possibly a flush or straight draw. Harrington, playing tight, checked. Goldfarb tried to take the pot right there, moving all in. Uncharacteristically, Harrington immediately called. It’s possible he sensed weakness and took advantage of it. Regardless of the reason, unless the last two cards changed things, Harrington was going to win. The turn was Qs, which gave no help. The river was Qh, which made Harrington two pair, and gave him the winning hand.
Dan Harrington is a poker player to take seriously. He plays the game well enough to earn a steady income from it, which is more than can be said of many players. He is a conservative player in a game that richly rewards those who take chances at long odds. Harrington may never repeat his WSOP win, but he will never go broke playing poker either.
1. Chris Ferguson - Professional Poker Player in the Biography section.