Jim Bechtel is an American poker player who won the 1993 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event.
Bechtel won a second bracelet at the 2019 WSOP, winning the $10,000 2-7 Draw Championship. This win set the record for longest time between two bracelet wins - 26 years.
"I don't know if that's a real good record," he told PokerNews in 2019. "But, I'm happy to have it, let's put it that way."
Read More: 1993 WSOP Main Event Champ Jim Bechtel Ends 26-Year Drought
Biography
Bechtel was born in Gilbert, Arizona in 1952. He started playing poker near his home while working as a cotton farmer.
He cashed for the first time at the 1979 WSOP, finishing as runner-up to Perry Green in a $1,500 NLHE event. Bechtel would cash numerous times at the WSOP during the 1980s, including a sixth-place finish in the 1988 WSOP Main Event for $49,000.
1993 WSOP Main Event
In 1993, Bechtel made it to the final table of the 1993 WSOP Main Event. Sitting second in chips, he eliminated 1990 WSOP Main Event champion Mansour Matloubi at the final table, and defeated Glenn Cozen heads-up.
In the final hand of the tournament, Cozen shoved and Bechtell call blind with J♠6♠. His opponent only held 7♦4♥ and after the board came 10♥3♥8♣2♣5♦, Bechtel's jack-high was good and he won the tournament, becoming the first amateur to win the WSOP Main Event since Hal Fowler in 1979.
Jim Bechtel at the WSOP
Bechtel has cashed for over $2.1 million at the WSOP alone. In 2006, he made it to the final table of the inaugural $50,000 H.O.R.S.E., the pre-cursor to the Poker Players Championship. He finished fourth for $549,120.
He also competed in the 2009 WSOP Champions Invitational, open only to former Main Event champions. He finished fourth.
His bracelet win in 2019 earned him $253,817, his third-highest WSOP cash, and set a record for the longest period between two WSOP bracelet wins.
Jim Bechtel WSOP Bracelets
| Year | Event | Payout (USD) |
|---|---|---|
| 1993 | Event #21: $10,000 NLHE WSOP Main Event | $1,000,000 |
| 2019 | Event #21: $10,000 No-Limit 2-7 Draw | $253,817 |
WSOP Main Event Winners 1984-93
| YEAR | ENTRIES | CHAMPION | COUNTRY | PRIZE |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1993 | 220 | Jim Bechtel | United States | $1,000,000 |
| 1992 | 201 | Hamid Dastmalchi | Iran | $1,000,000 |
| 1991 | 215 | Brad Daugherty | United States | $1,000,000 |
| 1990 | 194 | Mansour Matloubi | Iran | $895,000 |
| 1989 | 178 | Phil Hellmuth | United States | $755,000 |
| 1988 | 167 | Johnny Chan | United States | $700,000 |
| 1987 | 152 | Johnny Chan | United States | $625,000 |
| 1986 | 141 | Berry Johnston | United States | $570,000 |
| 1985 | 140 | Bill Smith | United States | $700,000 |
| 1984 | 132 | Jack Keller | United States | $660,000 |
