When I was a Donk: Ted Lawson

Ted Lawson has been a fixture of the tournament circuit since his breakout WSOP bracelet win in 2004. He’s gone on to rack up a total of seven final-table finishes at the WSOP, WPT and EPT and to date, has earned over $2.6 million in tournament earnings.

Here, Lawson relives one of his early mistakes and explains what he learned from it.

“Unfortunately for me, my biggest poker mistake happened in a crucial spot at the 2004 World Series of Poker and was televised by ESPN. We were three-handed for the $5,000 pot-limit Omaha title when I misread the board.

“All three of us check to the turn on a board reading 10-7-4-10. For some reason, even though I was holding 9-8-8-5, I thought I had a straight. Freddy Deeb led out with jacks, Lee Watkinson raised holding K-Q-10-6 for trips and I put him all in with my straight. I was convinced.

“Of course, Freddy folded and Lee eventually called. When the 2 hit the river, I still thought I had won, but when the pot was being pushed Lee’s way, I stood up to get a better look and realized that I had misread my hand. Even though it was a little embarrassing, it didn’t affect the outcome of the tournament. I was able to come back and win the bracelet and the $500,000 first-place prize.

“That mistake did wind up teaching me a few lessons, however. For one, I wear my glasses at the table to make sure I know what I’m looking at. Secondly, because re-checking your cards can give off tells, I make sure that I have my cards and suits memorized after I’ve decided to play the hand.

“But most importantly, I recognized that in that particular situation, my bluff almost worked. I’m convinced that the reason it almost worked was because Lee could see how confident I was in my hand, because the truth is, I was confident in my hand. After all, it was possible that I could have held a full house. So now, when I’m running a bluff and want my opponent to fold, I try to do the same thing. I convince myself I’m holding the nuts, which generally gives off a sense of strength. A lot of pros can pick up on that.” ♠