The 2006
Tournament of Champions (TOC) was aired on
ESPN recently, and undoubtedly will be repeated quite a bit on the
ESPN family of networks over the next few months. After all, Mike "The Mouth" Matusow, Daniel "Kid Poker" Negreanu, and
World Poker Tour (WPT) announcer and pro poker player Mike Sexton were the final three players left standing - and all are big names in the poker world. Of course, Matusow and Negreanu are always extremely entertaining to watch, especially in this
TOC, what with their banter, barbs, and trash-talking back and forth. And let's not forget that all three were playing some top-notch no-limit hold'em.
A lot was made of the fact that Sexton has improved his game by watching the holecards from every
WPT event over the last four years, and I do believe that was a big factor in his win. I know that it always helps my game when I commentate poker tournaments and observe the holecards; it even helped my game when I did the commentary for
Celebrity Poker Showdown on
Bravo earlier this year. The celebrity players may not have been the best, but it was still educational for me. (I noticed that the celebrities bet way too much when they had a strong hand.) In fact, even as I watched the
TOC on television, I picked up things. For example, I took a long look at Negreanu (and rewound the TiVo a time or two) when he made a big bluff, and another long look when he made a big bet with a strong hand. I believe that this will help me in the future when I face him, which I inevitably will.
An interesting hand came up as I was watching, and although I have never written about a hand directly from watching television before, I thought that this one would have some strong educational value for readers. With the blinds at $5,000-$10,000, Matusow limped in from the button with the K
2
, Negreanu called with 8-7, and Sexton opted not to raise with his 7-3. The flop was Q
9
3
, and all three players checked. I do not mind Matusow's check here, even though he had a flush draw. Of course, a bet would have been a good move, as well. On the turn, the A
came off, Negreanu and Sexton checked, Matusow bet $20,000, Negreanu folded, and Sexton called. Sexton made a good call here with bottom pair. Of course, Matusow has been known to bluff quite a bit in the past. The last card was the J
, Sexton checked, and Matusow bet $60,000. Kudos to Matusow for reading Sexton as being very weak, and then making a big bet (a strong bluff) with great timing. This bet of Matusow's would have won this pot from the majority of players, but Sexton dug down deep and made the call. And what a spectacular call it was!
How did Sexton make the call? The J
meant that any straight draw that Matusow may have had just got there (hands like J-10, K-J, or K-10). Mind you, it might not have been the straight that hit, but a straight draw made at least a pair of jacks on the end. Of course, Sexton could not beat a pair of aces, queens, jacks, nines, or a straight. He could beat only a busted flush draw or a stone-cold bluff. First, Sexton reasoned that Matusow was bluffing on the turn (when Sexton called his $20,000 bet). Given that Sexton had the best hand on the turn, the key to this call was the large size ($60,000) of the bet on the end. If Sexton had Matusow beat on the turn, how could Matusow bet so much on the end with just a pair of jacks? So, Sexton could eliminate a pair of jacks because of the size of the bet. Sexton reasoned that Matusow had either a very strong hand like a straight (K-10 or 10-8) or two pair, or nothing at all. The rest was guesswork, guts, and a great read.
In the 2004
TOC, I embarrassed myself - with my conduct - when I finished second to Annie Duke (with 10 invited players). In 2005, I again was frustrated when I finished third to Hoyt Corkins (second) and Matusow (with 120 invited players). This year, I finished 22nd out of 27 players. Congratulations to Sexton for winning the 2006 TOC, a tournament that he himself invented (with a little different format) in 1998!
