Best tournament player of all time

[nolanfan34]

I voted for Phil, but I am impressed by Madsen for sure. His Stud/8 performance might be enough to bump him up in my eyes.

I think people are seriously underestimating the skill involved in 8-or-better games. Yes, No Limit Texas Hold Em is clearly the benchmark for identifying great players. But don't underestimate the skill involved in the split pot games. To win you have to be very skilled at avoiding situations where you can get "counterfieted" on the last card, or situations where you end up being "quartered".

The players who can nagivate those minefields really raise their game to another level. This isn't a card catching contest like Razz or something.

Therefore a player like Madsen should get some credit for doing well in these games, compared to Hellmuth, who has never won a bracelet in a non-hold-em event.