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Please Hold’em!
In the $3,000 buy-in no limit Hold’em tournament at the World Series of Poker recently, I managed to win my ninth bracelet, which tied me with Doyle Brunson and Johnny Chan for the all-time lead. $410,000, a WSOP Championship, and the all-time lead, oh happy day! I am still feeling really blessed and happy.
It was almost as smooth a sailing as it has ever been with me, except for when Erik Seidel started running me over like I was a Hyundai, and he a Mack truck. I would open for $8,000 – $15,000, and he would reraise me $30,000 to $50,000 more. Time and time again this happened, so that finally I decided to make a stand with A-J for his $50,000 raise.
But then, as I was about to move all-in, I thought better of it. I thought, “I know he has it this time, and if I move all-in he’s going to show me Q-Q. Patience Phil, patience; I know were down to $120,000 from over $400,000, but the blinds are only $2500-$5,000.” I kept thinking, Erik has nearly $800,000, but show them a hand, don’t panic, and you’ll still have a chance to win.
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Did I Deserve Better?
Here comes an article that I have been dreading writing for the last couple of weeks. I’m going to tell you exactly how I went out in the “big one” this year. First, I would like to say, “Please don’t feel sorry for poor old nine-time World Series of Poker (WSOP) Champion Phil Hellmuth jr.!” After all, I don’t even feel sorry for myself.
You see, I feel blessed with great health for me and my family, a hot new book, nine WSOP wins, etc'(Jeff Shulman cut me off here!)
First off, after winning two Hold’em bracelets at the 2003 WSOP, I liked my chances in the big one. You see, I don’t always play great poker, and sometimes I don’t even feel like a great poker player, but occasionally I play spectacular poker for a month or two. And the WSOP in 2003 was my time to play spectacular poker!
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Layne Style!
This is the first Hand of the Week” that Mr. Hellmuth has allowed me to write 100% on my own. How fitting that it has pocket nines involved as we all know; and I mean, we all know who this hand really belongs to; right Phil’
It was the 2002 WSOP (World Series of Poker). I had won the first no limit tournament which had 628 or so players in it. The talk was, “Oh Layne won another no limit, yada, yada, so what right.” Now comes the second no limit tournament with 549 players and I find myself in contention to win another bracelet.
We come to a close on the first day and after a hard day of playing and drinking–these tournaments require solid focus, hence the drinking–I look up, after paying little attention to the other tables to see how tough the road to victory is about to be. I mean, how much worse could it be! I already had Johnny Chan to my right and Eric Siedel to my left! (This tournament really showed me again, that no limit does bring out the best at the WSOP and they do rise to the occasion.)
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2004 WSOP Eliminations
Last time I told you how Annie Duke, Russ Hamilton, Erik Seidel and Antonio Esfandiari went out of the 2004 WSOP (World Series of Poker). Now were on to a few more players of note-Howard Lederer and Doyle Brunson.
When I reached Howard Lederer (“Bub” to his friends), he had just won $9.3 million playing heads-up poker at the Bellagio on the sixth day of the WSOP’s big one, in a $100,000-$200,000 match. As a side note: Jennifer Harmon Traniello and Todd Brunson also have done well playing heads-up for those kinds of stakes.
Howard was eliminated around 400th place by someone who is no stranger to anyone in the poker world today. “It was very strange, I happened to get high-carded to the TV table alongside Doyle; when the TV table went to eight handed, and I happened to be in the big blind, and nearest to the TV table. My tournament had been pretty uneventful, I ended day 1 with $13,000, and then I was up to $50,000 making steady progress. I bluffed a bit too much, found myself at $10,000 or so, and when I moved to Doyle’s table I had roughly $30,000.”
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Andy Glazer Followed His Dreams
It is with a heavy heart that I write my first article since the passing of one of my two best friends-Andy Glazer. I am proud of the fact that I have handled myself with the highest honor and integrity over all of my adult life and Andy and I were like minded in this way. We both saw how the other acted “When the chips were down.” It is difficult for me to lose one of only a few people that really knew me.
Thank you Andy, for all of the love, support, and help writing “Play Poker like the Pros.” Andy’s sister is starting an “Andy Glazer Scholarship Fund.” This will be funded, in part, by 10% of the royalties on the above mentioned book, as well as with Andy’s new “Idiots Guide to Poker,” which was a plum writing assignment for Andy to pick up. The “Idiot” book that Andy had just finished writing will be out by September.
As I page through month old Card Player magazines, I see a big picture of Andy on the inside of the back cover, various other pictures of Andy, as well as two huge articles per each issue. Much like Andy’s impact in Card Player was his impact on the poker world: he was everywhere! He covered more tournaments a year than I played in. He was a big part of the modern poker world and his passing will leave a hole which no one will be able to fill as well as Andy, with his great writing style and gentle persona. He had everyone’s respect, and I have never, ever, heard anyone say anything bad about Andy.
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