Phil Hellmuth pays tribute to his dear friend and mentor, "Big Al" Emerson, the inventor of the hybrid game "Archie".

Poker legend "Big Al" Emerson has passed away at an advanced age. He was the inventor of the hybrid game "Archie" and Phil Hellmuth's first professional poker mentor. Hellmuth shared a heartfelt tribute to his dear friend on social media.

The poker world received heartbreaking news over the weekend – Wisconsin poker legend "Big Al" Emerson has passed away. His close friend Phil Hellmuth shared the news on social media.

"My friends, today I lost an old friend, and the poker world lost a good man, a cheerful man, and a lover of high and low stakes," Hellmuth wrote. "Big Al invented 'Archie'—a game where high cards qualify with 9s and low cards with 8s or better—and he was a lifelong enthusiast of our game. Big Al was the first professional poker player I met in 1986. I met him in a $10–$20 Limit Texas Hold'em game at Stardust Casino in Las Vegas. Al lived in La Crosse, Wisconsin, while I lived in Madison."

Archie is a popular hybrid game, a five-card, three-draw pot poker game with dual eligibility requirements. The pot is split between the best high cards and the best low cards from Ace to 5, but players must meet specific minimum requirements to win either half of the pot.

Hellmuth added, “Al was always the heart and soul of the party! He gave everyone a lot of action, and nobody minded losing money to him. The whole room would burst into laughter when he walked in! He might get a little depressed when he lost too much, but he never showed any sign of it except for being unusually quiet. Big Al made a living playing poker for 35 years until he found a better place after he started doing some betting. He played poker every day for decades and consistently played two to three times a week—for the past 25 years in Phoenix—until the very end.”

Big Al held such an important place in Hellmuth's life that he is featured extensively in Hellmuth's autobiography, Poker Brat.

"With Big Al, I found a professional poker player I could hang out with, learn from, and observe."

"Big Al is 6 feet 7 inches tall, weighs 320 pounds, has light brown hair and brown eyes, and has an outgoing personality. He is very popular in poker games all over the Midwest, even though he is often a big winner in those games. Big Al and I hit it off immediately, and when we returned to our hometown, he introduced me to some of the biggest poker players and the biggest poker games in Wisconsin."

Hellmuth shared examples of Big Al's wild ups and downs, how Big Al stood by Hellmuth when he collapsed at Caesars Palace, and how Hellmuth learned firsthand from him how to become a successful poker pro, since Big Al was the first poker pro Hellmuth met.

"With Big Al, I found a professional poker player I could hang out with, learn from, and observe," Hellmuth wrote.

Hellmuth also shared a story from the 1988 WSOP Main Event—the year before he won—when he bluffed all his chips at Johnny Chan.

"My old friend Big Al just happened to walk up to me at that moment and said, 'How could you bluff all your chips to Johnny Chan?! You probably don't have many chances of winning the World Championship in your life! What were you thinking?'... I immediately shouted back, 'Al, believe me, I will have a chance to win the WSOP every year for the next 50 years! My time at the WSOP is not over yet, it's just the beginning!'"

Of course, the following year, when Hellmuth won the 1989 WSOP Main Event and began his journey into the WSOP record book, Big Al was there to celebrate with him.

According to The Hendon Mob, Big Al's career tournament winnings date back to 1985, totaling $237,637. This includes his runner-up finish in the 1985 World Series of Poker (WSOP) $1,000 NLH event, just one place shy of a gold bracelet, which is his career high.

He also finished fifth in two WSOP tournaments in 1996—first in a $2,500 Seven-Card Stud Pot event, winning $14,100, and four days later in a $3,000 Limit Hold'em event, winning $25,050. Big Al also had a deep run in the 1990 WSOP Main Event, finishing 14th and earning $12,500.

PokerNews extends its deepest condolences to Al Emerson's family and friends.

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