While playing in the $1,000 buy-in pot-limit hold'em tournament in Bellagio's Five-Star World Poker Classic, the following series of events unfolded (here and in Part II) in which I made one of the stupidest moves I have ever made in a poker game! This column, Part I, shows that you should never give up in a poker tournament.
From two off the button with the blinds at $100-$200, I opened the pot for $600 of my remaining $900 with K-9. Max Stern, holding 10-10, just called from the small blind because he was afraid to reraise and possibly run into a big hand from the big blind. I don't blame Max for just calling at this point in the hand; after all, it looks like he's going to get my last $300, in any case.
With a flop of A-10-8, Max checked, and I checked. By the way, if he had bet my last $300 here on the flop, I would have called fairly quickly because of the pot odds; after all, he could have a small pair here, as well. The turn card gave Max four tens, and he checked. At this point, I'd fold my hand for a $300 bet. Also, I'd fold no matter what hit on the river – although a king would have tempted me to call. The last card was a 3, and now Max bet my last $300, and I folded quickly.
With $300 left, I folded my next two hands, and shut my eyes to maintain my focus; I was upset that I was going to be eliminated. However, if I was going down – and with $300 left, it sure looked like I was going down – I at least would give myself a chance and go down calmly. From under the gun, I moved all in with the A
10, and was called by the button and the big blind. I scooped the $1,000 pot when the board came down A-K-Q-5-7. In the big blind, I folded the A 4 for a $400 raise. (Again, I wanted to give myself the best possible chance to double up, and A-4 wasn't it!) The next hand, I was in the small blind, Kenny "Skyhawk" Flaton – a great player but an even greater guy – raised from two off the button with 7-7, and I moved all in for $800 total with the A
Q. When a queen hit the board, I won the $1,800 pot.
The next hand, I was on the button with Q-Q and raised one player who had called the $200 blind. Everyone folded, and now I had $2,300. The very next hand, I picked up J-J and moved all in when someone else opened with A-Q. The A-Q called me, and my J-J won the $4,900 pot. Three hands later, I was under the gun again, this time with A-A. I opened for $600, and Skyhawk raised me $2,400 more from the small blind. I moved all in, and Skyhawk quickly called and flipped up Q-Q. My A-A held up, and now I had exactly $10,000!
I had started the round with $300, and ended it with $10,000! Wow! "OK," I thought, "I must not lose a big pot, as I oftentimes do when I make a big comeback like this." But, no, I couldn't help what happened next, although I should have been able to. I raised with 9-9 and was called by A-A (smooth-calling with A-A can be very dangerous). After a flop of 8-6-4, I bet out and was raised. I didn't know my opponent from Adam, and decided that he probably had A-8, so I moved him all in. Knowing your opponent can make all the difference in the world in a situation like this. After playing with him the rest of the day, I will fold in the same situation next time. He called, his hand held up, and I was down to about $3,000 again.
After being down to $300, $3,000 seemed like lots of chips to me, and I felt confident that I would run it up again. I fought and fought and fought, and by the time we reached the final table, I had the chip lead with more than $60,000. Part II will detail one of the worst plays I have ever made in my life, as well as what happened at the final table with Howard Lederer, Jeff Shulman, and Daniel Negreanu.
I hope you enjoyed this Hand of the Week. Good luck playing your hands this week.
Editor's note: Phil can often be found playing $4-$8 limit hold'em online at UltimateBet.com, table "philhellmuth." For more info about Phil or more Hand of the Week columns, go to PhilHellmuth.com.
