Jeff Haney on the buddies and top students of the game who went to the wire

By Jeff Haney (contact)

Wednesday, March 5, 2008 | 2 a.m.

Cultivating a look that crosses an Old West gunslinger with a glam rocker, Chris Ferguson cuts an imposing figure in a poker room.

The black leather trench coat, the dark sunglasses, the long hair and beard, the cowboy hat. Even the famous nickname: “Jesus.”

The intimidation factor alone is enough to give Ferguson a potent psychological advantage against some opponents across the table.

It does not work, however, against Andy Bloch, Ferguson’s opponent in the championship round of the National Heads-Up Poker Championship.

The fearsome Ferguson, it turns out, is also Bloch’s golfing buddy.

“He’s probably my best friend in poker,” Ferguson said after beating Bloch, 2 matches to 1, to win the fourth National Heads-Up tournament Sunday night at Caesars Palace. “We’ve spent a lot of time together. It kind of surprises me we haven’t played more heads-up against each other.”

Bloch was torn between rooting for his friend on the opposite side of the tournament bracket and dreading facing Ferguson in the finals.

“As far as a challenge, Chris is one of the toughest opponents for me to play,” Bloch said.

The championship match featured two men with similar styles, each embracing a methodical and cerebral approach to heads-up no-limit Texas hold ’em.

About 12 to 15 years ago Bloch and Ferguson, working independently, developed a mathematically optimal strategy for heads-up poker through rigorous research and testing. Later, when they met and compared notes, they found their results were almost identical.

“We had the same chart,” said Bloch, who published his findings last year in “The Full Tilt Poker Strategy Guide: Tournament Edition.”

“Of course I was able to refine it a little bit after getting Chris’ advice, and maybe he used some of my advice. There are small differences in our games, but the similarities outweigh them.”

It was no surprise, then, the best-of-three title match went the distance or that it ended in riveting fashion. On the final hand, Ferguson went all-in after fourth street on a board of 10-7-3-7, two spades. He had Bloch covered.

Bloch thought it over for more than five minutes, even flipping a coin at one point to help with the decision. He finally called with the 10-4 of spades — top pair and a flush draw. Ferguson had pocket jacks and the victory after another 7 fell on the river.

“I was very happy when he went into the tank, because I knew he didn’t have a 7,” said Ferguson, runner-up in the National Heads-Up event in 2005 and 2006. “I was fortunate to beat him. Andy’s a great player, and there were a couple times where if he made his draw, he probably would have been the winner.”

Ferguson, known for a gentle and thoughtful demeanor that belies his outlaw get-up, attributed his success to good luck — but also to the massive amount of heads-up poker experience he gained while earning a doctorate in computer science at UCLA.

“I’ve played so much heads-up, I really don’t have to train to get ready for a tournament like this,” said Ferguson, who collected $500,000 for his victory in the 64-player field. “As soon as I sit down, I’m comfortable.

“If I know who I’m playing, I’ll prepare for those specific opponents. What have I seen them do? What have they seen me do? Maybe who they are getting advice from for playing against me. Knowing those kinds of things can give me an edge.”

For Bloch, the compelling heads-up match against Ferguson was reminiscent of an earlier mano-a-mano meeting. In 2006, Bloch engaged Chip Reese in an all-night heads-up skirmish at the final table of the inaugural $50,000 World Series of Poker HORSE tournament.

Reese, who died last year at age 56, outlasted Bloch at the Rio in a match now considered a classic.

“My mind definitely traveled back to the game against Chip,” said Bloch, who has two electrical engineering degrees from MIT and a law degree from Harvard. “Chip was one of my poker idols, even before I got into poker.

“At the final table of the HORSE tournament, I would have picked Chip to play against, just like I would have picked Chris to play against in this one. It’s an honor to lose to guys like that, because they’re great players and gentlemen.”

Ferguson and Bloch advanced to the final table from an all-star final four that also included Huck Seed, the 1996 World Series main event winner, and Phil Ivey, regarded by some as poker’s No. 1 player.

“To see the best players come through a very tough field, it shows you poker is a true game of skill,” said Jon Miller, executive vice president of NBC Sports and a creator of the National Heads-Up tournament.

Producer Mori Eskandani was also there when the event was conceived and planned out — “basically on the back of a napkin” — four years ago. (Since then, it has become TV’s highest-rated poker program.) The heads-up format provides a balance, Eskandani said, allowing skill to predominate but luck to play a supporting role.

“Let me put it this way,” Ferguson said. “I was all-in against John Juanda in the first round with king-9 against pocket 10s, and that was going into the river. I hit a king on the river to beat him. If that king doesn’t come on the river, I’m out.”

Jesus raised his arms, palms up, in the universal “whaddya gonna do?” gesture.

“How can I say I didn’t get lucky?”