Tournament of Champions - Part II

In my last column, I talked about Harrah's Tournament of Champions, and the fact that poker legend Doyle Brunson finished in 10th place. With 110 players, a $1 million first-place prize, $1 million more for the rest of the final table, a Christmas Eve show on ESPN, and poker history hanging in the balance, winning this one was going to be a nice feather in someone's cap. It would be especially so for me, in light of the fact that I had finished second – quite famously, for the "Poker Brat" tirade I threw afterward – to Annie Duke in the 2004 TOC.



Hold on, folks; let's back up a bit, to the final 16 players, when Johnny Chan, Brunson, and I were still alive in the 2005 event. (Anyone who follows poker knows that Chan and Brunson both won their 10th World Series of Poker bracelets in 2005 on ESPN, while I remained at nine.) In any case, a key hand for me occurred with two tables remaining, against none other than Chan himself.

With only nine players to be paid, the blinds at $600-$1,200, and a $200 ante per man, I raised to $3,600 to go with the A 4. Chan called me from the big blind, and the flop came down 9-8-4. Chan checked, and I checked, too, because I didn't want to bet out and have him move all in on me, which could have forced me to fold my hand. I did have $250,000 to his $35,000 or so, but he is extremely dangerous, and I did not want to double him up.



The next card was the 8, for a board of 9-8-4-8, and Chan checked again. After a moment, I decided to bet out, since I didn't want him to hit his hand simply because I failed to show aggression. I didn't want him to hit a free card, such as a king with a hand like K-Q, and end up winning the pot because I hadn't bet him out of the hand. On the other hand, I didn't want to bet so much that I'd be committed to calling his last $30,000 or so if he were to raise. Finally, I decided to bet a small and safe amount: $4,000.



Now, Chan looked at me and announced, "I raise," and put in a $9,000 raise. Something didn't feel right about the raise, and I kept thinking I had the best hand, so I called. I was hoping that if he had a pair like 7-7, 6-6, or 5-5, he wouldn't bet out on the end. It also occurred to me that he may have a straight draw, like J-10, or ace high, 3-3, or 2-2; or, he could simply be making a boldfaced bluff. In any case, I thought he was bluffing.



The last card was a deuce, and Chan checked. At this point, I was fairly sure I had the best hand, but why bet? I mean, what hand could he call me with that I could beat? He wouldn't call me on the end with a busted straight draw, but would he call me with 3-3 or ace high? I thought not. If he called a bet, he would most likely have 7-7, 6-6, or 5-5, which I could not beat. So, I checked. He hesitated a moment, and I said, "Pair." He nodded his head yes, meaning, "That's good, you got it." I flipped my hand up and scooped the pot.



Showing this hand down seemed to put the fear of God into my opponents, perhaps thinking, "Did Phil just call Chan down in mere seconds with bottom pair? I better not mess with him today." Chan went on to finish 12th and Brunson 10th, leaving me with a clear shot at first with a huge chip lead. Hoyt "Cowboy" Corkins, Mike "The Mouth" Matusow, and I were the chip leaders after day one, and again after day two. Next time, I'll talk about day three (the final table).

Part I of this series can be found at www.CardPlayer.com.