Fox Sports Net Tournament in Las Vegas

Recently, 24 big-name poker players were invited to the $20,000 buy-in FoxSportsNet (FSN) tournament that was held at Wynn Las Vegas. We started with four tables of six players each, and the final six would be playing live on FSN. July 13 was an ideal day for this tourney, since no other major sporting event was scheduled – a rarity, indeed. It was the day after the Major League Baseball All-Star Game.



The starting time, 8:30 a.m., did not agree well with the players, who had just spent a month starting at noon at the World Series of Poker (WSOP). Furthermore, the blinds had to be raised at a fast pace in order to eliminate players in time for the live part of the show. Still, no one complained. We knew what had to be done, and it was actually a fun event to play.



Of course, none of us wanted to be playing poker that day at Wynn Las Vegas. For sure, all of us wanted to be playing poker in Vegas that day, but at the Rio Hotel and Casino. Why at the Rio and not the beautiful, luxurious, brand-new Wynn Las Vegas? Because day five of the WSOP championship event was being played that day at the Rio! That event is the top honor in poker, not to mention that it would be paying $7.5 million to the winner!

In any case, this event was a nice second chance for all of us. Immediately, I began playing more hands than I normally would, trying to accumulate chips at the lower blind levels, knowing that the structure was conducive to gambling (playing more weak hands). As I mentioned, the structure also was conducive to extremely fast play. In fact, the blinds were raised every 30 minutes!



I began to hit some of these weak hands, and now it seemed I had everyone at the table a bit wary of me. They knew that I would call their raises with weak hands, and that I was reading everyone at my table well; this seemed to scare most of them into playing tighter. After all, why mess with me when I had lots of chips, was reading them well, and was playing hands just to try to outplay them?



Within 90 minutes, we reached the final 18 players, and our table was broken down to make three tables of six players apiece. I arrived at my new table in seat No. 4 with Daniel Negreanu in seat No. 1, Johnny Chan in seat No. 2, and T. J. Cloutier in seat No. 3. Of course, all three are among the greatest players in the game right now. At this point, I had run my starting chips of $20,000 up to about $50,000 or so.



Right away, Negreanu and I got tangled up when I put him all in for $6,700 with my 7-7 versus his 9-9. He was a 4-1 favorite and his hand held up. A couple of rounds later, with the blinds at $300-$600, I called with A-2. Three other players called, and the flop came down 8 4 3. From the big blind, Negreanu bet out $1,200 into the $2,400 pot, and I called, thinking an ace or a 5 would be awesome. The small blind called, as well. The turn card was the 5, giving me a straight, and now Negreanu moved all in for $14,900 into the $4,800 pot.



After about 30 seconds (I didn't want to call too quickly and scare off the player in the small blind), I called. Negreanu said, "It's about time I hit one of these," as he flipped up the 8 7. He had top pair, as well as a straight draw and a flush draw (in fact, a straight-flush draw). A quick check of my hand revealed a diamond, thus leaving Negreanu with eight diamonds and three sixes, or 11 outs. I had the other 33 outs and was a 3-1 favorite (33-to-11) to win the $34,600 pot. Alas, the last card was the 10, giving Negreanu his flush. Ouch!



About 15 minutes later, Daniel and I got tangled up again when I moved most of my money into the pot with the A J before the flop, and he called with A-Q. At this point, he was almost a 2.5-1 favorite. The flop came 8 8 2, and I moved all in with my flush draw (the pot held more than $30,000) and was called by Negreanu (I was now a very slight favorite). After the Q turn card, I could win only with a heart on the river. Alas, the river was a blank, and I threw my hand in and began to bemoan my bad luck.



Did Negreanu play the 8 7 badly? No. What was he going to do on the turn, check it? Even if he had bet out $5,000, it would have been pretty hard for him to fold for a $10,000 raise. It was just good timing for a great player. I wish I had handled myself as calmly then as I am now while writing about it!