Now, That is Poker!

The trend continued at Commerce Casino: Once again there was a World Poker Tour event, and once again it set a new record for entrants; 382 players entered the $10,000 buy-in no-limit hold'em championship at the L.A. Poker Classic, and first-place prize money was $1.4 million. Those who made the TV final table were: David Benyamine, Adam Schoenfeld, Billy Gazes, Mike Keohen, Vinnie Vinh, and Antonio Esfandiari. When it was all said and done, Antonio (the official magician of the WPT ) had won his first championship event and $1.4 million to go with it. I had a chance to play with Antonio for several hours of the championship, and he not only played great, he played with class. Great job, Antonio!

Halfway through the second day of the event, I witnessed the greatest hand of poker that I have seen in my brief poker career. At the time, there were about 150 players left and the two involved in the hand were both in the top five in chips with about $70,000 each. The blinds were $500-$1,000 with a $100 ante. Everyone folded to the small blind, whom I'll call Rock because he was tight and never got out of line, and he called for another $500. The big blind, whom I will call Bully because he was overly aggressive, raised it to $2,500. Rock reraised to $10,000, and Bully instantly called.

The flop came with a king and two small spades. Rock bet $6,000 into a pot that already had more than $20,000 in it. Bully called immediately. At this point, I thought Rock had A-K and Bully had flopped a set.

A 10 came on the turn and Rock checked. Bully thought for about a minute and bet $10,000 into a pot of more than $32,000. Now, I was quite sure that Bully was milking Rock with a set and was trying to get every last penny out of Rock.

The 6 came on the river, putting three spades on the board. Rock checked, and Bully instantly moved his remaining $39,000 into the pot. Rock thought for about five minutes and finally said, nervously, "I call." Before the hands were flipped over, someone at the table mentioned that we were about to have a huge chip leader.

I then called out both hands. I said that Rock had a pair of kings with an ace kicker and Bully had flopped a set. To everyone's astonishment, Bully said, "You caught me," and flipped over Q-8 (no pair), while Rock had 10-6 for two pair. After the flop, the player who was behind in the hand on each street did the betting. Now, that is poker!