By: Jeff Barnes
"A fish acts strong, he's bluffing—acts meek, he has a hand."
When people think of poker, they think of the World Series of Poker held annually in Las Vegas, Nevada. Every year, thousands of card players put their money on the line for a shot at millions of dollars and the bracelet, the desire of every competitive poker player. The event has grown exponentially through the years, with the number of entrants growing every year and around-the-year sports coverage on ESPN.
When the character of Mike McDermott, played by Matt Damon, gave those words of advice in the 1998 poker film Rounders, he was referring to the different styles of poker play. But he could have just as easily been referring to another sport often compared to competitive poker: beer pong.
In the world of beer pong, Jordan McAllister is about as meek as one can get. If beer pong players were awarded senior superlatives, McAllister would easily win “Talks the Least, but Says the Most.” He doesn’t engage in the intense trash talk and wild antics that most of the top players take part in. He just hits cups. A lot of them.
He’s probably the best player that most people have never heard of or wouldn’t recognize if they were facing off against him on the beer pong table. Yet he’s the reigning Maryland 1-on-1 State Champion, the reigning Maryland State Champion in doubles with brother Ryan, and has placed in or near the top 20 in almost every major he’s played in. But he’d be the last one to tell you.
“I think people do misunderstand me,” says the 27-year-old from Carroll County, Maryland. “People mistake my calmness or quietness for being a jerk. It’s not intentional.”
“You play for a living, it's like any other job. You don't gamble, you grind it out.”
After making his debut at The World Series of Beer Pong II™ with friend Randy Shreck, the two started making the Maryland Beer Pong rounds. It wasn’t until a weekend Randy went away that Jordan enlisted the services of his brother Ryan. The two placed second.
While many beer pong players fight like brothers on and off the table, the McAllisters are brothers. It’s been a recipe for success. The two finished in the Top 10 of World Series of Beer Pong V, followed it up with a Top 3 finish in World Pong Tour’s Atlantic City Beer Pong Championship, and then capped it off with a Maryland state title. Not bad for two brothers playing together.
“There’s a lot of unspoken stuff,” Jordan says about playing with Ryan. “We just know what the other one is thinking and what the other one wants to do.”
The duo seemed poised to make a deep run this year in Las Vegas. But after some cold shooting early on the final day of competition, the McAllister brothers were eliminated.
“I am competitive, to a fault,” Jordan says. “It doesn’t show on the table, but I’m a pretty sore loser.”
“The rule is this: you spot a man's tell, you don't say a fucking word.”
Last year, Jordan was ranked number four in the controversial Top 25 rankings by Death of Elbow Rule (D.O.E.). Although most players in Maryland already knew Jordan as a top player, the ranking was affirmation that McAllister was a force to be reckoned with.
“I kind of felt like I got more than I thought I would have gotten from D.O.E. and whatever,” Jordan says of his ranking. “But I’m not arguing it, nor do I really care about where I am on the poll.”
While he doesn’t get too caught up in the hype, Jordan does admit that his low-key personality may affect how people perceive his play.
“I just don’t get into it,” he says.
“Always leave yourself outs. Applies to a player's life away from the game same as it does at the table.”
Despite his accomplishments in 2010, Jordan found his D.O.E. ranking drop all the way from four to eleven following McAllister’s disappointing finish this year in Las Vegas. In addition, many speculated if that was the last we would see of the McAllister brothers in national competition.
While his ranking may have dropped, his stock has remained high amongst other top players. Jordan will be teaming up with Michael “Pop” Popielarski while his brother Ryan will team up with Pop’s former partner Ron Hamilton in this weekend’s Drunken Bear $10,000 tournament.
Despite the drop in ranking, Jordan says he isn’t worried, although he will have to adjust to his new role for the tournament.
“I don’t think I have to prove anything to anyone, except Pop really,” Jordan says. “The only difference will be playing the role of second fiddle to him.”
Following the Drunk Bear tournament, Jordan will be playing the SJ Pong $5,000 tournament with Kevin Kessler and then World Pong Tour’s Atlantic City Beer Pong Championship with Austin Lanham. And Jordan still has plans to play with his brother, too.
“We can't run from who we are. Our destiny chooses us.”
Beer pong attracts different players for different reasons. For some people, it satisfies the competitive itch that has remained unscratched since high school. For others, the time spent on the beer pong table is the escape from the day to day responsibilities of life. Everyone wants to win, but ultimately players love the game for different reasons.
Jordan has no qualms about his motivation.
“It’s always been mostly about the cash,” Jordan says. “Playing with Kessler or Pop isn’t even a question to me.
“A lot of poker pros will say they’d rather have the bracelet than the cash,” he says. “It’s nice to have the title, but no one’s that well off they can’t use the money.”
The stakes have never been higher, and Jordan McAllister has a winning hand.
