Live poker’s mainstay

Howard “Tahoe” Andrew, one of poker’s elder statesmen, passed away Wednesday at the age of 86. While not a household name to casual poker fans, Tahoe was a fixture in the poker world for longer than many of us have been alive.

played in every World Series of Poker Main Event from 1974 through 2018

A consummate gentleman known to provide great laughs at the table, Tahoe holds one poker record that will not be broken for a very long time. He played in every World Series of Poker Main Event from 1974 through 2018, cashing many times and topping out with an eighth-place finish in 1984 for $26,400.

A math major and industrial engineer, the 1978 WSOP Media Guide called Tahoe “one of the World Series of Poker’s most formidable non-pros” and a man with a “daredevil reputation.”

Nothing but love

The poker community has paid its public respects to Tahoe this week. ESPN WSOP commentator Lon McEachern said: “Played with him so many times and always a wonderful demeanor and caretaker of a great deal of poker history while making it himself. I will miss you Tahoe.”

Poker reporter Dan Ross lovingly recalled the time recently when Tahoe had him go get milkshakes for the final table because they needed the fuel:

Speaking to Tahoe’s longevity, Todd Brunson tweeted: “Tahoe was an old timer when I was underage, sneaking around, playing poker. Always a true Gentleman.”

Poker Hall of Famer Linda Johnson, “The First Lady of Poker,” called Tahoe an “asset to the poker industry,” adding: “I enjoyed competing against you over the years. I enjoyed traveling the world with you on many cruises. I am proud to call you my friend and I will miss you.”

And then there was Jeff Walsh, who tweeted a story about a time he had pocket Kings against Tahoe at Bay 101 and Tahoe made a show of it:

To a person, everyone who has said something publicly about Tahoe has said he brought a light to the poker table that was unmatched. His love for the game and its people was apparent every time he bellied up to the felt.

Back-to-back WSOP bracelets

Tahoe earned $1.5m in his live tournament career, which is not all that much compared to players nowadays, especially considering his career started in the mid-1970’s, but keep in mind that massive prize pools are only a recent phenomenon. Fascinatingly, his first two recorded cashes were his two World Series of Poker bracelet wins in 1976, which also came on back-to-back days.

Howard Andrew’s largest cash was $250,000, when he finished second to Jim Doman in the 1987 Grand Prix of Poker $10,000 Main Event. It was his only six-figure payday. He won a $200 No-Limit Hold’em event at Amarillo Slim’s Superbowl of Poker – once the second-most prestigious poker festival after the WSOP – that same year for $86,400.

Later in his career, Tahoe was a frequent player on the WSOP Circuit. He won a ring at the 2008 WSOP Circuit Grand Casino Tunica and his final cash came in an event at the WSOP Circuit Thunder Valley stop just before the pandemic last year.