$2,000 Pot-Limit Hold'em: Dancing With the Devil in the Pale Moonlight

Editor's note: This is one in a series of articles originally written for an Internet website for the 2001 World Series of Poker tournament events.

In the 1989 movie Batman, Jack Nicholson, playing the dual role of Jack Napier and The Joker, always asks his prey, "Ever dance with the Devil in the pale moonlight?"

Michael Keaton, as Bruce Wayne/Batman, doesn't know quite what to make of this line, and with a three-quarter moon hovering outside Binion's Horseshoe in Las Vegas during the World Series of Poker $2,000 pot-limit hold'em championship, Dave "Devilfish" Ulliott didn't quite know what to make of his dancing opponent, Burt Boutin, a hyperactive 33-year-old stockbroker who spent almost as much time out of his seat as in it, and who, at one point in the heads-up duel, danced right over from the other side of the table and fired both arms out toward Devilfish as if he were John Travolta practicing a new pose for a remake of Saturday Night Fever.

You'll have to endure just one more movie reference before we get down to the poker, if you want to get a good mental picture of what Boutin looks like, because the handsome, slightly built, prematurely gray fellow was a dead ringer for Klaus Maria Brandauer as the supervillain Maximilian Largo in the 1983 James Bond flick Never Say Never Again, right down to the bone-colored sports coat worn over the bone khaki pants and shirt.

The Never Say Never Again script wasn't that great, but Brandauer played one of the less one-dimensional Bond foes, and he and Sean Connery hook up fairly early in the movie in a one-on-one 3-D video game for the championship of the entire world, which was worth (if memory serves) $367,000.

Facing down Devilfish Ulliott, a Brit who's certainly cool enough to play secret agent, I was getting that déjà vu all over again feeling, except that not only did Boutin/Brandauer win this duel, I seriously doubt that Boutin would (as Bond did in the movie) "settle for one dance with Domino" (Kim Basinger).

OK, enough Siskel and Ebert. Let's get to the poker, because there was a lot of it.

A total of 270 players started this tournament, and when we started play at the final table, the seats and chip counts were:

Seat Player Chip Count

1 Mike Sexton $14,500

2 Roger Easterday $30,000

3 Dave "Devilfish" Ulliott $110,000

4 Freddie Deeb $42,500

5 Chris Tsiprailidis $48,500

6 Glenn Hughes $17,500

7 Cy Jassinowsky $16,000

8 Burt Boutin $50,500

9 Men "The Master" Nguyen $210,500

We started play with 60 minutes left at the $1,500-$3,000 blind level, which meant a raiser could bring a pot in for as much as $10,500. Hands No. 2 and No. 3 of the final table resulted in Mike Sexton and Roger Easterday not being around to see any dancing.

On hand No. 2, Sexton raised under the gun, and Men The Master, sitting in the big blind with the comfortable ease that owning nearly 40 percent of the chips will bring, raised Sexton back his last few chips before the flop. A-10 for Sexton, 9 7 for Nguyen, and the 7-5-4-5-K board sent the Tournament of Champions co-founder out ninth.

You Have to Give the Cards Back, Men

On hand No. 3, The Master raised from the button and Easterday reraised almost all in. Once again, Nguyen forced his opponent to put his last few chips in before the flop, and once again, Nguyen turned over the 9 7. This time, his opponent had a little more ammo: A-A. The board came down K 10 8, giving Men a straight draw, but then running clubs on the turn and river gave him a flush instead, and his stack had swollen to more than a quarter million before anyone could settle into his seat (Boutin didn't bother settling into his seat for the entire six-hour match).

"Hey, they don't call me 'The Master' for nothing," Nguyen said of his ability to outcatch his opponents.

Two hands later, Nguyen raised again, this time to $9,000, and Deeb called from the button. The flop came 5 5 4, Men thought a long, long time, and decided to bet $19,000. Deeb thought only briefly before raising back his last $20,000. Men took his time again, and decided to fold.

To Heck With the Underdog – Go, Devil, Go!

The very next hand, Ulliott brought a hand in for $8,000, and Hughes raised all in for his last $19,000. Devilfish called. A Q for Hughes, 7-7 for Devilfish, but the board came A-5-3-A-K, doubling the short-stacked Hughes through. People on the rail often root for underdogs and all-in players in this tournament, unless the hour is growing late, but as soon as the first ace hit the flop, a big segment of the very big crowd (having stars like Nguyen and Devilfish in the chip lead will do that) went "Awwwww," as in "Aw, nuts!" The Devilfish had quite a few fans.

7-7 wasn't a good number for Devilfish in the early going. On hand No. 9, he and Nguyen called Jassinowsky's last $8,500 and checked the hand to the river, but neither of them could beat Jassinowsky's pocket sevens, and he tripled up.

If it sounds like Men "The Master" Nguyen was playing a lot of pots early, he was. He limped in on a few others, and when he bet out, people kept playing back at him and he had to lay the hands down. I was starting to think "Men The Faster" might be a better nickname, not because he wasn't masterful, just because he was playing very, very fast, and the other players spotted it and didn't let him get away with it.

"American Only, Please!"

I love watching Men play, because he doesn't just play well, he plays to the crowd well, too. He and Devilfish are quite a pair when it comes to showmanship. I think I give the showman title to Devilfish this time, thanks mainly to his grabbing the microphone twice to sing to the crowd during the final table, once before we got started, and once in the middle of the tense duel at the finish, although Men scored quite a few points when he told Devilfish, "Speak English!" one time when Dave said something that was a bit tough to understand through his British accent, a very comic and sweet revenge for all the times Men and his Vietnamese brethren have been told, "English only" at the tables.

Despite the roaring, two-players-out-in-three-hands start, we finished the first hour with seven survivors, and after the break, we came back playing with $2,000-$4,000 blinds, allowing a maximum bring-in of $14,000.

Because this table took 177 hands to complete, I'm skipping a great many of them (you're welcome), but throughout the early going, almost every time Boutin (pronounced boo-tan, of French origin) raised, he went through all sorts of histrionics with his chips and raising announcements. Usually his hands trembled on the raises, which is usually (but not always) a sign of a big hand. The other players, particularly Deeb and Ulliott, seemed to notice this, and I caught them glancing at each other during these displays, as if saying silently, "I guess we'll know when he has a big hand, won't we?"

Big Hand, Meet Bigger Hand

Deeb got to see on hand No. 31 when he opened the pot for $11,000, and Boutin called, with the usual histrionics, from the small blind. The flop came A 7 5, Boutin checked, Deeb bet $10,000, Boutin announced, "I'm going to raise it," and they calculated he could raise a maximum of $44,000.

He put the $44,000 in, tremble and all, and Deeb immediately moved in, calling the $44,000 and raising his last $5,500 on top of it. Boutin called, and Deeb turned over A 7, top two pair, but beware the tremble: Presto, Boutin turned over 5-5, a set. As Boutin leapt from his seat and started running in circles while yelling, "No ace, no 7!" the board finished off 8 9. Boutin yelled, "Yes!" and Deeb was out seventh at 5:40 p.m., probably having figured Boutin for A-K.

Just three hands later, Nguyen lost his chip lead when he brought a hand in for $10,000, and Hughes called from the big blind. The flop came J 7 3, Hughes checked, Nguyen bet $16,000, Hughes raised all in for about $20,000 more, and Men called. 7-7 and a set for Hughes, K-J for Nguyen, who was still losing when he turned a king, and a 7 on the river gave Hughes a mere four sevens and almost $100,000.

K-J Not Men's Hand

If you think K-J was bad news for Nguyen this hand, tuck it away for future reference.

On hand No. 39, Nguyen brought it in for $10,000, and Jassinowsky, who hails from Johannesburg, South Africa, called for his last $8,500 from the small blind. 7 6 for Nguyen, Q-J for Jassinowsky, and the board came J-3-2-10-J, doubling him up.

Devilfish turned around and whispered to me, "They ought to call him 'The Termite' (practically every good poker player in England has a nickname, just ask Aces, Devilfish, Reindeer, and the Lizard), the South African Termite," he said, "'cause you can't get rid of him; did you ever try to get rid of termites? He's had one stack the whole tournament."

We might have to hold off on that new nickname, or otherwise change Devilfish to The Exterminator, because just three hands later, Jassinowsky brought a hand in for $14,000, Devilfish raised the $13,000 necessary to put him all in, and Jassinowsky called. A-10 for Jassinowsky, 9-9 for Devilfish, and as the board came down 4-4-3-4-6, Men was wandering behind Devilfish saying, "Picture, picture," meaning he didn't want to see an ace or a 10 and was rooting for Devilfish.

Be Careful What You Wish For

The Master got his wish, in that Devilfish won the hand, but as they say, you have to be careful what you wish for. Jassinowsky was out sixth at 6 p.m.

My rough estimate of the chips at this point was:

Hughes – $135,000

Boutin – $130,000

Devilfish – $90,000

Nguyen – $120,000

Tsiprailidis – $65,000

That last name, or "Syracuse Chris," as most people call the heavyset mustachioed Greek wearing the traditional Syracuse University orange, hasn't been missing because I've been hesitant to type "Tsiprailidis" (I can paste it in with a my word processor). Tsiprailidis, usually an aggressive player, had been playing it rather close to the vest compared to his action comrades.

Perhaps he thought, and I would find it hard to disagree, that as fast as they were playing, he could afford to sit back and let them bring the action to him. Perhaps he also never caught any cards, because I never saw him turn over much in the way of a hand.

We lost Tsiprailidis a dozen hands later when, down to his last $30,000, he and Nguyen got it all in before the flop. K 10 for Chris, K Q for Nguyen, leaving Chris in serious trouble. The flop didn't help: A-K-5, but the turn did, a 10, giving Chris two pair. An ace hit the river, though, counterfeiting Chris' two pair by giving Nguyen aces and kings with a queen vs. Chris' aces and kings with a 10. Tsiprailidis exited fifth.

Hey, We All Suck

One of the other players needled The Master for his escape on the end, and Men said, "Hey, everybody sucked; he sucked on turn, I sucked on river." In case you're not familiar with the terminology, Men was not criticizing their play. "Sucking out" is poker shorthand for "catching up when you're trailing badly."

The round ended on hand No. 73 with The Master not sucking out, but winning a hand he'd been leading all along, and Devilfish catching a final card just good enough to cost him $20,000. Nguyen opened the hand for $11,000, and Devilfish called from the big blind. The flop came Q 8 7, and both checked. The 9 hit the turn, Devilfish checked, and Nguyen thought a long time before he also checked. A fourth diamond, the 2, hit the river. Devilfish checked again, Men bet $20,000, and Dave called pretty quickly. A J, the nut flush, for The Master, and K J for the Devilfish.

Hey, How About One for Me?

I would really like to get me one of these "The" nicknames like "The Master" or "The Devilfish," but I'm afraid of what some of my opponents would come up with. Oh, wait, I already have "The Poker Pundit"; that's better than what my opponents would come up with ("The Guy We Love to Have in the Game?"), but I don't think it will strike fear into anyone's heart.

The costly fourth diamond left the chip positions as follows when the players went on break:

The Devilfish – $41,000

The Calm Glenn Hughes – $126,000

The Jumping Boutin – $163,500

The Master – $208,500

Hughes gets "The Calm" because he looked like someone reading a book on an airplane most of the game, even when he was raising. If you averaged him and Boutin out, you'd get a typical poker player.

When we returned, the blinds went to $3,000-$6,000, allowing an initial raise to $21,000. A couple of hands into the new round, Men raised from the small blind, and Devilfish reraised all in from the big blind, with Men calling. A-6 offsuit for Devilfish, Q-10 offsuit for the Master, and when the board came 8-4-2-3-K, Dave had doubled to $82,000.

Take it Outside, Boys … Oh, Never Mind

Devilfish took a few chips more from Nguyen coming over the top, and around hand No. 85, the four players started chatting. Devilfish and Hughes each had around $100,000 (perhaps $110,000 for Dave), and Boutin and Nguyen each had around $160,000. Tournament Director Bob Thompson asked them to take their chat outside, but they just kept chatting merrily away at the table, and eventually agreed to take $80,000 each, leaving $54,000 and the bracelet for the winner. Devilfish, although getting the better of the deal as one of the shorter stacks, had been the least eager to deal.

"I just took the pressure off these guys," Ulliott said.

"Hey, I have a job." said Boutin. "You didn't take any pressure off me."

Pressure off or not, we were actually not even halfway through this tournament, in terms of number of hands played, but (you're welcome) I won't be detailing as many of the hands from here on.

Hughes ran into trouble on hand No. 94 when Devilfish limped in from the button and Hughes limped in from the small blind, with Boutin checking to let us see a three-way flop of 10 5 4. Hughes checked, Boutin bet $18,000, Devilfish folded, and Hughes, after a considered pause, called. The 9 hit the turn, Hughes checked again, and Boutin bet $30,000. Hughes again took a long pause, and again flat-called. At this point, I'd have bet a million dollars that he either had a set of tens or a big drawing hand, with most of my equity on the big drawing hand.

A Draw Proves Costly, as Usual

The 6 hit the river, both players checked, Boutin turned over a black J-10, and when Hughes hesitated, Boutin started making a waving motion with his right hand, as if saying, "Gimme the pot, gimme the pot, he was on a draw." Hughes mucked, and then said, quite credibly, that he'd held the 7 6, an open-end straight flush draw, but a very costly draw indeed, as drawing hands often are when shorthanded and in pot-limit.

Although Hughes recovered some chips with a nice raise just three hands later, he gave them back on hand No. 106 when Men raised to $18,000 under the gun and Hughes called from the small blind. Hughes fired out $20,000 at the 9 7 5 flop, but Men moved over the top of him, and after considering for a few moments, decided to save his last $45,000.

It went in on hand No. 110 when Hughes raised to $12,000 from the small blind, and Boutin called from the big blind. The flop came Q 7 3, Hughes checked, Boutin bet $10,000, Hughes moved all in, and Boutin called instantly. K-10 for Hughes, a pure attempt to buy the pot, and Q-9 for Boutin. A 9 hit the turn, changing Hughes' out card from a king to a jack for a gutshot straight, but a harmless 10 hit the river and Hughes was out fourth at 8:05 p.m.

"Let's have a hand for Glenn Hughes," said Bob Thompson on the microphone, "$31,000 – no, wait, they made a deal; $80,000 for Glenn Hughes. Let's have a big hand for Glenn."

Hey, It's Their Money

I'm getting more confused each day whether deals are supposed to be made out in the hall or at the table. We started with deals at the table, then they were supposed to go out in the hall, and now they're being announced on the PA. Deals will have to stop if and when corporate sponsorship comes in, but as long as the players are playing on their own money, I guess they have a right to do what they want with it.

Six hands later, I did a chip estimate of:

Devilfish – $135,000

Nguyen – $150,000

Boutin – $255,000

Devilfish opened for $18,000, and Nguyen raised $39,000 more. Devilfish moved right back at him, shoving his whole stack in, and Nguyen pushed his all forward right away, too; neither player seemed concerned with the niceties of who was making the last raise and who was making the call – the money was just going in.

Devilfish showed A 10, and Nguyen showed K J, making Dave a modest favorite, but that changed on the 10 8 7 flop. Even though Devilfish had made a pair, The Master could now win with any 9, king, jack, or spade. Three kings, three jacks, three nines (don't double count the nines), and nine spades: 18 outs twice, minus a little for Dave's wins on certain aces or tens. The Master was now the favorite, but the turn and river produced the 8 3, and The Master had $16,500 left.

When The Master Meets The Devil

"He's been bullying me around," Devilfish said as the clock went off to end the round. "I have to make a stand against all those raises he's been making. I don't know, maybe I was wrong about the pressure coming off; maybe he doesn't shove it all in there with king-jack. I tell you, though, when The Master meets The Devil, The Master's met his Master."

I wasn't sure if I was going to report that last line or not, but Devilfish said it again for the crowd a few minutes later, so I figured it was fair game.

The crushing blow for Nguyen left the chips at:

Devilfish – $269,000

Nguyen – $16,500

Boutin – $254,500

The blinds moved to $5,000-$10,000, and on the first hand after the break, Men pushed his final $16,500 in from the small blind. When Devilfish called from the big blind, Men proudly displayed his hand for everyone in the crowd behind him (but not Devilfish) to see: A Q. Devilfish could tell Men was proud of the hand and, not to be outdone, "proudly" displayed his J 7 to those behind him. The board came 9-5-4-K-K, and Men had doubled to $33,000.

Goooooooooooooooooal!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

On the very next hand, Men raised all in for his $33,000, and Devilfish called. Once again, The Master proudly displayed his hand to those behind him: A J. Devilfish left the showmanship to The Master for the moment. The flop came 9-7-4, but when a 5 hit the turn, Dave picked up his pocket fives and started running around with them like someone from Manchester United who'd scored a goal. He skipped the skidding to the knees part, though, and much to the disappointment of the women in the stands, he didn't take his shirt off and throw it into the crowd.

This was when Devilfish repeated his "When The Master meets The Devil" line, but the friendly rivals shook hands as Men departed.

It was 8:30 p.m., and the heads-up battle for the world between James Bond and Maximilian Largo was on at hand No. 119, and if you figure in the value of the bracelet for endorsements, $367,000 might be roughly the right number, too.

Heads up, the small blind goes on the button, which I abbreviate as SBB; that player acts first before the flop but second after the flop. With $5,000 on the button and $10,000 in the big blind, any pot had the potential to get big in a hurry.

Weren't We Just Here a

Few Days Ago?

The Devilfish had the experience, a slight chip lead, and had already finished second in the pot-limit Omaha event at this WSOP. Few onlookers expected Largo, I mean Boutin, to be able to hold his own heads up, especially with Devilfish relaxed enough to take the microphone and start singing while tournament officials were taking the $1,000 chips off the table and replacing them with $5,000 chips.

I started getting my first clue that Boutin might be up to this task on hand No. 132, when Devilfish made it $25,000 to go from the SBB, Boutin called, we saw a flop of Q 8 3, Boutin bet $35,000, Devilfish raised $60,000 more, and Boutin moved in. Devilfish mucked, and this was when Boutin did his John Travolta imitation, running over toward Devilfish and poking both arms out at him, yelling, "Yeah, play back at you, man!"

If he didn't hyperventilate, Burt Boutin was going to have a chance to win this match, because he clearly had the heart for it.

Boutin stayed aggressive, and his chip lead slowly grew. He knew Devilfish would prefer to chop him down rather than play one big hand, and Devilfish wasn't getting any big hands. Boutin kept jumping up from his seat, pumping himself up, clenching his fists, looking for a kill. He took a 3-1 chip lead, then 4-1, then 5-1, and Devilfish asked for a quick break.

Now That's What I Call a

Lucky Charm

He came back carrying a tiny bag, and when Boutin asked him, "What's in that, your hairbrush?" Devilish told him, "This is Chris Ferguson's lucky bracelet; you better be careful."

Devilfish didn't show the bag's contents, but when I ran into Ferguson after the match and asked him about it, he produced both the bag and the bracelet. Devilfish hadn't been kidding. He'd gone and borrowed some Chris "Jesus" Ferguson mojo.

It took a little while to work, as Dave folded the next six hands as his stack dropped to $55,000. Finally, on hand No. 145, Dave raised to $20,000 in the dark from the SBB, Boutin looked at his own hand and called, and they both checked the A Q 4 9 K hand down the whole way. Devilfish turned over 10-5 offsuit. Boutin couldn't beat it.

Devilfish immediately ran around and pumped his arms, the way Boutin had been doing, to mock Boutin's gestures, but Boutin took it the right way, and they both smiled and shook hands.

The game was afoot.

From the "Understatement of the Year" Dept

Devilfish won two more small hands, then asked Boutin, "What was that dance, anyway? You're a very good dancer." Boutin said, "I'm sorry, man, I just got excited."

He wasn't so excited on the next hand, when Devilfish raised it to $20,000 from the SBB, and Boutin called. They both checked the J 10 2 flop, but when the K hit the turn, Boutin bet $30,000, Devilfish raised all in for $25,000 more, and Boutin called. Q-J for Devilfish, and a drawing practically dead Q-6 for Boutin. Devilfish had $150,000, then $170,000, then $175,000, and then …

Devilfish flat-called from the SBB, and we looked at a flop of K 10 4. Boutin checked, Devilfish bet $15,000, Boutin raised $40,000 more, and Devilfish shoved the rest of his stack in, with Boutin calling. K-5 for Devilfish, 10-7 for Boutin, no accidents, and suddenly Devilfish, who'd been flopping around on the beach gasping for air just a few hands before, had a chip lead of about $360,000-$180,000.

Four hands later, Boutin got even by raising to $20,000 from the SBB, and then calling Devilfish's $20,000 bet on the 10 9 5 flop. The 6 hit the turn, Devilfish checked, Boutin bet $20,000, Devilfish shoved a big stack in, and Boutin moved in after him, saying, "I have to call you," and showed Q-Q prematurely, not realizing that he had raised the Devil, and that the Devil had not yet called the raise. Devilfish mucked the hand, but Boutin was upset only momentarily. Dave said he had a K-7 and wasn't calling any reraise whether he saw Boutin's hand or not.

A View to a Kill

Hand No. 176 set us up for a view to a kill. Boutin made it $25,000 from the SBB, and Devilfish called. The flop came 9 6 2, Devilfish bet $45,000, and Boutin flat-called. Gulp. The 10 hit the turn, Devilfish checked, Boutin bet $50,000, and Devilfish flat-called. Double gulp. The K hit the river, Devilfish checked, Boutin moved in, Devilfish showed A-9, and folded.

Boutin showed one card, a 9, and laughed a low, fiendish, perfect Bond villain ha-ha-ha, leaving the Devil in the dark as to whether his kicker made two pair, or whether Devilfish had thrown away the better hand. One speculation, though: When Boutin showed the 9, he just grabbed at one of his two facedown cards, which tended to make me think that both of them were nines. If that was the case, Devilfish really dodged a bullet.

Unlike Bond villains who, like all supervillains, make the classic supervillain blunder of leaving Bond to die by some unnecessarily complex and unsupervised method, Boutin stayed around for the finish on the next hand.

Devilfish raised from the SBB, and from there it was a blur: raise, raise, raise. It was hard to tell which bet was a raise and which was a call: The money just all went in in a hurry. A 10 for Devilfish, J J for Boutin, who started screaming, "No ace, no ace!" as the board came down K 10 8 Q 9. Boutin had made an unnecessary straight, and leapt up onto the chairs by the rail, practically body surfing into a crowd of friends as he high-fived them.

Hi, Dad, Guess What?

One of the friends handed him a cell phone. "Who is it?" he asked. "Hello? Dad? Dad, I won, I'm the world champion!"

He was indeed, and for the second time in a week, Dave "Devilfish" Ulliott had to settle for second place in a World Series pot-limit event. "The A-9 hand was the tough one," Devilfish said. "If any card but a king hits on the river, I'm probably playing, but that's the one I thought he might have for two pair. He could've had three nines, too."

Burt Boutin resides in Henderson, Nevada, and originally hails from New Jersey, so we can stop the comparisons with the Austrian Klaus Maria Brandauer there. "I just got excited, I didn't mean to do all that stuff," he said afterward. "I'm usually a bit high energy at the table anyway, and a World Series final table just got me more pumped than usual."

He used to play a great deal of pot-limit, but hadn't played a lot until last December, when he and a poker-hating girlfriend broke up. "She thought playing poker meant I had a gambling problem," said Boutin, and instantly I found myself relating to Burt a lot better.

He might have pulled one other pretty good bluff at the table, too. When I asked him about the "I have a job, there's no money pressure" line, he said that yes, he does fine at his job, but make no mistake, the money from a win like this "helps a lot."

I guess I should have figured out the result the moment I told Lee Munzer, with six players left, that I had a movie theme in mind in case it came down to the Brit against the Brandauer look-alike. The Cincinnati Kid won his rematch a couple of days earlier, so I guess Max Largo is entitled to do the same. Make no mistake about all these Bond supervillain jokes, though. The resemblance is purely physical (with a couple of points for the fiendish laugh near the end, when they were both playing mind games with each other). It was a pleasure to watch someone with Burt Boutin's enthusiasm play this game.

I'd guess it was even more of a pleasure watching it from his end of the table, except he didn't stay there enough to know.

Final results:

$2,000 pot-limit hold'em

Entrants: 270 o Prize pool: $523,800

1. Burt Boutin $193,800

2. Dave "Devilfish" Ulliott $99,515

3. Men "The Master" Nguyen $49,755

4. Glenn Hughes $31,425

5. Chris Tsiprailidis $23,425

6. Cy Jassinowsky $18,335

7. Freddie Deeb $13,095

8. Roger Easterday $10,475

9. Mike Sexton $8,380