Coolers and Quads

As I write this column, I am preparing to play in the $2,000 S.H.O.E. tournament at the World Series of Poker, the event in which I finished third last year when David "The Dragon" Pham's hot cards burned up my chips in three fiery hands. Currently, I am still in contention (and already in the money) in the gold bracelet match-play event with three rounds to go. This new event carries with it not only another gold bracelet for the winner, but enormous bragging rights, as well.

After finishing sixth in the opening limit hold'em tournament at the Series (and regaining his "title" as the all-time money winner at the WSOP), T.J. Cloutier, my co-author of the "Championship Series" of poker books, took third place in the $1,500 no-limit hold'em event against a world-class field. This tournament featured two spectacular hands that had a dramatic effect upon its outcome. The first came when Layne Flack, the eventual winner, flopped quad tens and checked to Phillip Marmorstein, his lone opponent, who was on the button with pocket fours. When a 4 hit the board on the turn, Flack bet and the unsuspecting Marmorstein called with fours full of tens. Incredibly, the case 4 fell on the river! Naturally, Flack moved all in with his quad tens and, of course, Marmorstein almost beat him into the pot with his quad fours. Unfortunately, he then had to beat it out of the tournament in fifth place. "There are no bad-beat jackpots at the World Series," reporter Mike Paulle quipped in his tournament report.

With Marmorstein out, only four players were left in action. I could refer to them as "The Fab Four," but this wasn't basketball; it was more like a shooting match in which some of the best no-limit hold'em players in the world were aiming for the bull's-eye. Together they owned 13 WSOP bracelets – Flack, Cloutier, Carlos Mortensen, and Johnny Chan. How's that for competition? It wasn't long before T.J.'s A-Q beat reigning World Champion Mortensen's pocket eights to make the match threehanded. However, just as an A-Q sealed T.J.'s doom at the 2000 World Series when Chris Ferguson, holding an A-9, drew out on him by catching a 9 on the river to win the championship, a fateful A-Q raced him out of this tournament, as well.

Now comes the story of the "cooler" hand. I'm using the word "cooler" figuratively here – cooler is a term used to describe a dishonest situation in which the deck has been preset to deal out several big hands – as there was, of course, no hanky-panky going on. It's just that the situation was almost as unbelievable as quads over quads. Flack raised on the button, T.J. moved all in from the small blind, and Chan also moved all in. Then, Flack said he was all in, too! A three-way all-in pot for all the marbles? These guys had heart! When they turned up their hands, which is mandatory in an all-in pot between heads-up tournament contestants at the final table, both Flack and Chan held A-K, and T.J. had A-Q. To add insult to injury, rather than a queen flopping to save him, a king came on the turn. "What a cooler!" T.J. exclaimed as he left the arena in a disappointing third place. Is it any wonder that A-Q is one of his most "unfavorite" hands? To his credit, T.J. handled the situation with the same cool demeanor he always maintains.

With Flack's big win over Chan in this event – his second awesome no-limit hold'em victory in this Series – the young man from Montana is now in second place in the Card Player Player of the Year Standings (at the time I am writing this column). It probably will take some miracle beats from quads over quads and "cooler" hands to prevent him from vying for the top spot. If you are lucky enough to compete against Flack for a spot in the winner's circle one day soon, pray for a poker miracle. You'll probably need it.

Editor's note: Tom McEvoy and T.J. Cloutier are the co-authors of Championship No-Limit & Pot-Limit Hold'em, Championship Hold'em, and Championship Omaha, all of which are available through Card Player. McEvoy also is the author of Tournament Poker, the all-time bestselling book on how to win tournaments. For more information, visit www.pokerbooks.com.