Age Is Just a Number: Guy Holtzman’s Incredible WSOP Journey

Cards and card games can be traced back to as early as the 9th century in China. It is believed that from there, playing cards spread throughout the world, and people in different regions created their own games and card variations. The one thing all of these cards and games have in common is that they were meant to bring people together. Whether it was family-friendly games of Whist or the Persian gambling game, an early precursor to poker, As-Nas, cards have been bringing people together for centuries. Generally, the games are simple enough to teach that the youngest kids can learn, but many have a depth and complexity of strategy, like bridge or poker, that it takes years to master. The most amazing part about card games is age doesn’t matter. Sure, in some more strategic games, having more experience makes a difference, but the cards themselves do not care, to them, and by extension, the people playing, your age is just the number of years you waited before you started playing. One such person Guy Holtzman.

Late Bloomer at 43

Guy, who is 58 years young, lives in Israel, and only started playing poker 15 years ago. “We (my friends and I) started playing for fun. We would all go to someone’s house and start playing. Three-card, four-card, it didn’t matter. We were playing for fun,” he reminisced while sitting in the GGPlatinum lounge. Guy’s presence is quite reserved. Although of average height and relatively slender, you can tell, both from the way he speaks and his composure, that he is thoughtful, caring, and bright.

While he did enjoy poker, the game awakened something within him. It was from this that he chose to further pursue poker and joined the Israeli Poker Academy. The Hebrew language poker school taught him the strategy and sharpened his game. During his time at the school, he became close with one teacher in particular, Omri Ram. “He was a great poker player, coach, and friend. He taught me so much of what I know and without him I wouldn’t be able to compete here.”

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Playing for Omri’s Memory

Omri, a well-liked poker player and coach, as well as an avid surfer, was one of the unfortunate victims of the October 7th attack in Israel. “This year I play for him. I am wearing a medallion for him, in his memory.” While at the WSOP this year, he spent time at a table with Michael Mizrachi, whom he gave a copy of the medallion as a memorial.

It was just five years ago that he jumped into online poker, signing up at GGPoker. “I like GGPoker. There’s always a game to play, and it’s easy to find what I want.” GGPoker was the first online poker site that Guy joined, and from what he has achieved, including qualifying for the Main Event, it will always be his favorite site.

The $20 Miracle Run

This is his second year playing at the Main Event. Last year, he finished 927th, surviving for a while past the bubble. This year, entering Day 6, he long surpassed that result and is guaranteed no worse than 202nd and a payout 3 times bigger. “Last year was good, but this year I am playing for Omri. This year will be better.” Although he was already guaranteed to do better this year, the statement had an air of knowledge that, if you heard it, you would think that he had already won.

His qualification this year started with just a $20 buy-in, from which he qualified for a $250 satellite tournament, and from there, won his seat to the Main Event. “I enjoy being here,” referring to being in the GG Platinum Lounge, “but it would be nice if there was more here, but it’s peaceful and relaxing. And the WSOP+ app is the best upgrade here. It makes everything so easy. I love it, and my friends have said the same thing.”

Taking Down Phil Laak

Guy went on to talk about his time at the tables, and watching him speak about his experiences, you could see the memories floating in his eyes. The way he remembers and retells the stories, each word meticulously chosen for effect, draws the listener in and engages them within the narrative. His positivity is infectious. “I was at a table with Phil Laak for a while on Day 4. He was playing short and shoved. I called him with sevens or eights. He showed Ace-King and missed, and I took him out. I was also at a table with JC Tran and Will Kassouf but didn’t get into any hands with them.”

We did ask what his plan was for the day, and he responded, “I’m just going to play my game. I’m a bit on the short side, but I still have more than enough chips to just play.”

And that was Guy Holtzman. As we shook hands, he departed, leaving us all with a few final nuggets of advice: “With AK, just pay the raise. Just because you have an ace doesn’t mean you have an advantage. This is the best tournament structure in the world; you just have to wait for your hands. Patience, patience, patience.”

$70,000 Dream Complete

Unfortunately, Guy’s run ended on Day 6 in 131st. While he was featured on the featured tables for a while, he was never really able to get it going and busted out. Still, he did manage to turn a $20 buy-in into a $70,000 windfall. Guy, if you’re reading this, we know you’ll be back, and we will be waiting for you.

Article written by: Shawn Altbaum
Photographs by Tim Ash and are owned and are the exclusive property of GGPoker.