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When Instinct Should Outweigh Tradition
In January 2004, my wife and I jetted off to the land down under. The trip to Australia was primarily a vacation, but also coincided with a major poker tournament hosted by Melbourne’s Crown Casino (a five-star hotel that lives up to its billing). The “Australasian Championship” featured a $10,000 Aus dollar (about $7,200 U.S.) buy-in no-limit Hold’em final tournament that’s considered one of the most important events on the European Poker Tour.
About 130 players entered the three-day main event. After day one, I had about doubled up, and was in good stead. Late in day two, with 22 players remaining, I was in full-control of my table and running quite smoothly with $70,000 in chips when I faced a perplexing hand. With the blinds (required bets) at $1,000 and $2,000, and the antes at $300 a player, I opened for $6,500 with Ad-10d. I was called by a local player, and immediately thought that he had a pair somewhere between 10s and 2s, or A-Q. I read him for a strong hand because everyone at that table seemed to be afraid to play even a semi-strong hand against me.
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How to Play Two Kings
Plenty of history and prestige were at stake at the World Poker Tour’s no-limit Hold’em Championship at the Bellagio in December 2004, not to mention a first-place prize of $1.8 million dollars. On the third day of the five-day marathon tournament, the following hand came up between Player X (an amateur) and me.
Everyone had been randomly reshuffled to new tables at the $15,000 buy-in event, with 45 players remaining (out of 400 entrants). With the blinds (required bets) at $3,000-$6,000 and a $500 a man ante, Player X (with $164,500 in chips) opened for $15,000 in the 7-seat, and, sitting in the 3-seat, I looked down at K-K (holding $285,000 in chips).
What to do? Although I loved having pocket kings, I couldn’t decide how to play them. Should I “smooth call” (underbid) the bet and hope to extract a lot of chips from my opponent later on in the hand? Or should I re-raise the bet before the flop and give the amateur a chance to re-raise me?
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Finding Tells with Guts and Feel
On Super Bowl weekend in 2001, all of the players had been eliminated from the $5,000 buy-in World Poker Challenge’s Championship event except renowned player Mike Laing, with $200,000 in chips, and unknown Bill Eichel, who had $630,000 in chips. The two were locked in a one-on-one poker duel and the game was no-limit hold’em, where you can bet any amount at any time.
With 166 entries, first place in this event would pay $331,000; second place $166,000. Not bad for two days work at the Reno Hilton! Besides the money, a measure of history was at stake. This event figured to be one of the top-six “Prestigious Poker Events” of 2001. If it were pro golf, we would call it a “major.”
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Texas Hold’em Basics: Here’s the Deal
Texas Hold’em poker takes five minutes to learn but a lifetime to master — so says traditional thinking. From the outset, it appears simple: After the four rounds of betting are complete, each player forms the best possible five-card hand by selecting three cards from the five “shared” community cards and his or her two hidden “hole” cards.
Granted, there’s a little more to the game than that.
First, we determine whose deal it is (it’s the player left of the last dealer), and award that person the white round plastic “dealer’s button.” Then the person to the left of the button posts the “small blind” required bet and the person two to the left of the button posts the “big blind,” which is almost always set at double the amount of the small blind. (By the way, blind size determines the betting level of the game.)
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Greg’s Dillemma
Greg Pierson is the man! No, you haven’t heard of him yet, but mark my words: GP’s new company, IoVation’an internet security company–will have a billion dollar valuation by 2008. Considering how much respect I have for Greg, and considering the fact that I’m lucky enough to be an investor in IoVation, I vowed to Greg that he could get some private lessons from me anytime.
Greg was playing in the $10-$20 blind no limit Hold’em game at the Bellagio when the following hand came up. He had run his $1,000 buy-in all the way up to about $4,200, and limped in with 9s-7s. When the fellow behind him also limped, and the aggressive played behind both of them made it $100 to go; Greg called the bet as did the fellow (Player B) behind him. So far so good, I told Greg. There’s nothing wrong with taking a flyer here or there for 2 1/2 % of your chips.
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Carlos Takes the Pot Odds
OK I admit it. I skipped the $10,000 buy-in WPT (World Poker Tour) no limit Hold’em tournament at the Bellagio, and a slot on”Primetime”(the ABC News program) to attend, of all things’a baseball game. Now bear in mind that my brand new book”Bad Beats and Lucky Draws”and my new DVD”Phil Hellmuth’s Million Dollar Poker System”had just been released into retail. My wife thought I was being a bit self-destructive, but what the heck man, couldn’t it just have been a guy wanting to catch a Yankees-Red Sox ALCS game (American League Championship Series–game five) at old school Fenway Park”
After watching a 14 inning classic while rooting home the Red Sox–not rooting against the Yankees, just rooting for the Sox’to victory, I had no regrets. I went with my heart this time, not with my head. In any case, I had to go to the Bellagio for business reasons the very next day where I witnessed the following big hand come up between Carlos Mortenson, John Juanda, and another fellow (player B) I didn’t know.
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