A 43-Bracelet Table

Date: 2007.05.14 | Category: Hand Of The Week | By: Phil Hellmuth   

Last week, I played NBC’s “Poker after Dark” (PAD) with T.J. Cloutier, Doyle “Texas Dolly” Brunson, Layne “Back-to-back” Flack, Eric Seidel, and Chris “Jesus” Ferguson. What a lineup!

It featured 43 bracelets — (Doyle and I at 10 apiece, Seidel at seven, Cloutier at six, and Ferguson and Flack at five each) — some serious bling!

First Flack went out, then Ferguson; followed by Seidel; then I put a bad beat on Cloutier. But before we get to that hand, let’s talk about the hand (or two) that I misplayed. With the blinds at $800-$1,600, I opened for $4,500 with Ad-Qd on the button, Cloutier folded and then Doyle raised it up, making it $10,000 more to go. I sort of felt like he had A-J, or A-10 or something weaker; but I just wasn’t sure enough. And, I hate A-Q. I asked Brunson how much he had left, and he said “about $20,000.” I studied a long time, remembering that Brunson hadn’t come over the top of me in a long time. Finally, I decided to fold. As it turns out, Doyle had 8-2 off suit (nice play Dolly!), and if I had reraised him (all in), then I would have won the pot right then and there. Sigh. I didn’t have a strong read, so there’s no use in crying over split milk. However, if I had moved all-in, then Brunson would have been forced to fold, and I would have had a healthy chip lead. Not too mention that Brunson would have been left with only $20,000.