Set Over Set Turns the Tide in 1981

The late Stu Ungar won the second of his three world championship titles at the 1981 World Series of Poker, but not without a little help from Lady Luck. The nine players at the final table were a stellar group of no-limit hold'em specialists: Bobby Baldwin, Perry Green, Gene Fisher, Jay Heimowitz, Andy Moore, Sam Petrillo, Bill Smith, Ken "Top Hat" Smith, and Stu "The Kid" Ungar. For the third time in four years, 1978 World Champion Baldwin had made it to the final table. And then, with seven players left in action, he played a key hand against Perry Green that put Green in the position to eventually go to battle heads up against Stu Ungar for the title.

Here's how it happened: Baldwin was dealt the 9 9 and Green had the Q Q. The flop came 9 4 3. Baldwin had flopped top set, and checked it to Green, who bet $40,000. Baldwin then raised $86,000, enough to put Green all in if he called the raise. Green agonized over it, finally making the call with his overpair. When the hands were turned up, Green realized that he was reduced to two outs. Considered to be one of the best no-limit hold'em players in the world, Baldwin still had chips left, and if he won the hand, he would become the chip leader at the final table.

The J came on the turn. The river brought the Q, giving Green the pot with set over set. He went nuts after he hit the two-outer, jumping up and down with joy. Now very low on chips, Baldwin just sat there with a weak smile on his face, realizing that the hand had put Green in position to win the tournament.

This hand demonstrates the highs and the lows that you can experience in tournament poker. When Green saw that he was up against Baldwin's three nines, he probably thought, "Oh, God, I've played all this time and now I'm through." And then when the queen hit, his emotions changed entirely. Suddenly, he was being congratulated by everybody. The ebbs and flows in poker definitely can raise your spirits from the pits to a pinnacle, and vice versa.

When it got to threehanded play at the final table, Green had a substantial chip lead, Ungar was a solid second, and Gene Fisher was a distant third. There were 75 players that year, and $750,000 in chips in play.

Green was on the button with the A Q and opened the pot for $80,000. Clearly, he overbet the pot. Sitting on $200,000, Ungar called the $80,000 and raised $120,000 more with the K K, putting himself all in. Green didn't hesitate very long in calling. If he hadn't overbet the pot to start with, there's a chance that he might have considered backing off, but he decided to call. If Green won this pot, he would have about 90 percent of the chips and would be heads up with Fisher. If Ungar won the pot, Green was still a solid second in chips, but Ungar would have more than half the chips in play and would be the chip leader.

With all the money in before the flop and the hands turned up, the flop came A 5 10. Green had flopped an ace, which reduced Ungar to two outs to win the hand. He caught one of them on fourth street, the K, giving him a set of kings. However, Green now had a flush draw and an inside-straight draw, so he had some redraws to the nuts. Indeed, it was a dramatic hand to watch. The river card was the 4. Winning this hand was the turning point for Ungar, as it gave him the chip lead. If he hadn't won this hand - and after the ace flopped, he was a big underdog - he would have been out of the tournament.

These two hands and more than 40 other key hands that turned the tide during WSOP play are included in the third part of Championship Tournament Practice Hands, a new book by T.J. Cloutier and me. The first part of the book is devoted to limit hold'em tournament practice hands, and the second section deals with no-limit hold'em tournament practice hands. There are 47 strategic hands in all, with illustrated card pictures and our analysis and advice on how to play them in various tournament situations.

If our key hands turn the tide in our favor, surely we'll meet in the winner's circle one day soon.

Editor's note: Tom McEvoy is the author of Tournament Poker and the co-author (with T.J. Cloutier) of Championship Tournament Practice Hands. E-mail your tournament questions to either author at www.pokerbooks.com.