Break Out the Oilcan

I recently played in a World Poker Tour special event called Poker By the Book. This was a tournament in which noted poker authors competed for the bragging rights of being "the best poker player." The field, arguably the toughest ever on the WPT, consisted of Doyle Brunson, Phil Hellmuth, T.J. Cloutier, David Sklansky, Mike Caro, and myself. I thought I might be a little rusty since I don't get to play much anymore, and sure enough, it turned out that I should have brought an oilcan with me.

The draw for seats put Cloutier in seat No. 1, Sklansky in seat No. 2, Hellmuth in seat No. 3, me in seat No. 4, Caro in seat No. 5, and Brunson in seat No. 6. I was happy with the draw. I liked being behind Hellmuth, as I thought he would be the most aggressive player at the table. We each started out with 250K in chips. Antes were 1K and the blinds started out at 3K-6K.

I picked up nothing the first round and folded every hand. Then, I was in the small blind, everyone folded to me, and I decided to make it 16K to go with J-10 offsuit. Caro called my raise. The flop came K-6-5 with two diamonds. I checked, he bet 18K, and I folded (at which time he showed 9-8). I chastised myself for letting him win this pot. As Doyle says in his book, "You can't leave your children on the street." I did that here.

A little later, I was in the big blind and looked down at Q-5 offsuit. Caro limped in from under the gun. Everyone folded to Hellmuth and he called from the small blind. My instincts told me a 30K raise would win the pot right there, but I didn't follow them. I opted to take a free flop instead. The flop came Q-4-3. Phil checked, and I checked, mildly fearing Caro's limp in, and also suspecting he would bet if we checked. Wrong. He checked.

I was pretty sure I had the best hand now with top pair. An 8 came on fourth street, and Phil led out and bet 20K. Not wanting to be reraised out of the pot and hoping he'd bet again on the river if he was bluffing, I called. Another 8 came on the river and Phil bet 25K. I called him. He turned up K-8 offsuit, and his three eights won the pot. If I were in the booth commenting on someone playing this hand this way, I would say, "He lost more than 50K in a pot that he should have won!"

Yes, Phil was lucky to catch the 8 on the river to win the pot, but I don't blame my bad luck for losing this pot. I misplayed the hand on every street! I should have followed my instincts and raised before the flop, or bet on the flop, or raised Phil on the turn (to say nothing of not calling him on the river). I did none of those things. This was a hand that exposed the rust. Forget the oilcan, I needed a barrel of oil here.

The next time that I was in the big blind, Doyle limped in and, again, Phil called from the small blind. I looked down at K-Q offsuit and opted to take a free flop. The flop came K-8-2 with two diamonds. Phil checked, and I checked. I was planning to check-raise Doyle, as I was sure he would bet here. Wrong again. Doyle checked. An ace came on the turn. (Phooey!) Phil checked, I checked again, and so did Doyle. The 5 came on the river, and now Phil led out with a bet of 25K. Sensing that Phil might bluff here, as he saw both Doyle and me check twice, I decided to call. He turned up the A 4, the nut flush. Had I bet on the flop, I most likely would have been eliminated on this hand. I was glad that I had checked on the flop (and the turn), but not totally happy that I had paid Phil off on the river.

A few hands later, Phil raised to 18K. I looked down at two eights and called. The flop came J-4-2. He checked. Would you bet now? I was mildly suspicious of his check, as it's not his style to check after raising before the flop, especially with a flop like this. However, should you really check two eights here? I decided to bet 25K. Phil quickly made it 100K! I knew I would have to commit all of my chips if I played this pot, and decided to fold. Phil had two queens. At least I made a good laydown and stayed alive.

A few hands later, Phil (who'd won every pot up to that point) raised to 18K from the button. I looked down at two sixes and decided to reraise all in for another 65K. Phil took a moment and then called. He turned up A-4 offsuit. I was a little surprised by his call, but was happy to see his hand – at least until the flop, which came A-4-2. I didn't catch a 6 and it was tapioca pudding for me, the first one out. Ouch! I then went back and joined Vince in the booth.

I wasn't very lucky at this table, but I didn't play well, either. The bottom line is: I didn't win one ante in my debut as a player on the WPT. Break out the oilcan.

Take care.

Mike Sexton is the host for PartyPoker.com and a commentator on the World Poker Tour (which can be seen on the Travel Channel every Wednesday).