Lexington's Kluchman Cashed in Poker's Main Event

Knowing when to hold ‘em and when to fold ‘em is only part of the game. After a certain level of poker, knowing how to make your opponent fold ‘em when he or she should hold ‘em becomes a big part of the game.

That’s the game that David Kluchman plays.

A Lexington resident, Kluchman cashed at the 2012 World Series of Poker’s Main Event Texas Hold’em tournament earlier this summer and flew home from Sin City with stories about getting a competitor to muck pocket Kings pre-flop and running his own Aces into pocket 8s that had no business being in the hand but tripped up on the flop. He also earned $128,384 for his 63-place finish. 

Kluchman was one of 6,598 total entrants who made the $10,000 buy-in when the tournament began play on July 7. Along the way he bet and checked beside poker pros and even busted Robert Varkonyi, best known for winning the main event in 2012.

“Having a lot of chips help you overcome the intimidation,” Kluchman told Patch after returning home to Lexington. “My first day I had a pretty soft table and was able to accumulate a lot of chips with some good luck and some good play.”

In the beginning, his goal was to survive “Day One,” but when he tripled his stack within the first day of play, his goals became more ambitious. With chips to blow by midway through Day 3, he started thinking about making the money. Five days in and sitting a chip stack in the millions, Kluchman started thinking about the final table and being among the October 9.

But it was not to be, and Kluchman’s luck eventually ran out. His solid starting hands started running into even better starting hands and his Aces suffered a messy and crippling bad beat against 8s. Eventually, he busted out with a suited 6,4 against a pocket QQ that called blind.

“It’s very bittersweet,” Kluchman said. “I did so much better than anyone could expect. But when you can see how close you are to the final table, well, it’s a little bit like the Celtics’ season this year. You don’t expect to get there, but then you’re so close and to take that away from you it’s disappointing.”

From Nickels and Dimes to Online to the Main Event

The road to Las Vegas and the World Series of Poker was paved with nickel, dime and quarter home games. Kluchman, now 47, grew up playing poker with his family, wagering pocket change during their summertime home.

“I always liked it,” he said. “And when playing online was legal a few years ago I started playing and got into some online discussions. Most of my enjoyment of poker is the competitive mental challenge.”

Playing and chatting online led to occasional meetings at casinos. Kluchman tinkered with his style and improved as a player to the point that he’s played in the Main Event a few times now with the support of backers.

ESPN’s coverage of the WSOP’s Main Event begins next Tuesday, Aug. 14, at 8 p.m. Kluchman said he’s not sure if he’ll be on television, but a few of his hands were definitely picked up by the television cameras.

While Kluchman fell short of the final table, Massachusetts will be represented among the October 9. Jesse Sylvia of West Tisbury, is the chip leader with about 44 million in chips heading into the final table, which resumes play on Oct. 28.