In late September, almost every great poker player on the planet descended upon the Empire Casino in London to try to win millions of dollars and a WSOPE (World Series of Poker Europe) bracelet. The poker world pretty much unanimously agreed that each of the four WSOPE bracelets would count as a coveted WSOP bracelet, and almost every great poker player wants bracelets, baby! The main event had a £10,000 buy-in, approximately $16,000, and first-place prize money was more than $1 million.
I pulled my usual shenanigans and rode 10 blocks through the heart of London in a chariot, dressed as Caesar! It was pretty weird, and way over the top, to be riding through the streets with double-decker busses whizzing by, thousands of people on the streets snapping photos and wondering what was going on, and paparazzi running alongside me. Yes, I did feel a bit stupid, and I felt like it was too much, but I manned up and played Caesar because I think my entrances are fun, good for me, and good for poker. When I arrived at the Empire Casino, I was escorted into the tournament by 11 models attired in white Roman dresses, and that was a lot of fun. There are videos and photos of my entrance at all of the poker sites.
After arriving, I turned my attention from playing Caesar to playing great poker — or I should say that I tried to turn my attention toward playing great poker. You see, I just haven’t been playing my best poker, primarily because I have been trying different tactics over the last year or two. I have migrated away from tight, patient tactics and moved toward looser, more aggressive tactics, with mixed results. I still managed to make six cashes at the WSOP this year, but I made zero final tables for the first time in like 10 years. Ouch!
The problem with calling raises and reraises with the 8
7 is that you put yourself in a tough position most of the time, and playing these types of hands puts you in spots in which you have to make more decisions. Do you call a big bet when it comes down J-8-2, or fold? Of course, occasionally the 8 7 yields a huge winning result, but more often than not, you can get buried with this hand. There is no doubt that playing these suited connectors causes huge swings. I don’t like huge swings. I like being a steady rock! I like showing my opponents extremely strong, sometimes unbeatable hands when I put my big chips into the pot. I like to play from a position of strength, not weakness or uncertainty.
Anyway, at the WSOPE, I raised with the 10
7 from under the gun, and was called by four players. The flop was 10 9
6, and I opted to bet out 1,500 into the 3,000 pot. The gentleman behind me made it 3,000 to go, everyone else folded, and I decided that I had to go with this hand, as I had only 8,500 more, and this gentleman was a very loose player. So, I moved all in, and he called and showed me 10-9; ouch! I now needed an 8 or two spades to hit. The turn was the miraculous 8, and now my opponent couldn’t win with the 9, as it would give me a straight flush. When the river was another harmless 8, I felt very fortunate to still be in the tournament. I also re-evaluated this style of play. I used to be able to go days without ever being all in, and with this style, I was all in on day one! So, now I am going back to my super-tight, “Classic Phil” strategy — and look out, poker world, you’re going to need some dynamite to knock me out of a poker tournament in the next few years!
Learn more about Phil by going to his website, www.PhilHellmuth.com, and visit his webstore at www.PokerBrat.com.