One Friday night in December, I answered my cellphone and heard an excited Andy Roddick say, "Phil, I made it all the way to the final table!" With almost 250 players in this charity poker tournament, the Andy Roddick Foundation kicked off its annual fundraiser in a big way. The buy-in was $500, there were tons of prizes, and all of the money was going to abused and disadvantaged children (check out andyroddick.com). Roddick had asked me to come to the tournament in Hollywood (Florida, that is!), at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino, to play and act as the master of ceremonies. Unfortunately, I had a scheduling conflict, but the star power there was right out of Hollywood. Tennis greats Venus and Serena Williams, and Andre Agassi, baseball superstar Alex Rodriguez, Nicky Hilton, Mandy Moore, and 2006 World Champion Jamie Gold were amongst the celebrities in attendance. If you were eliminated early, no problem: There were musical acts, a fundraiser auction, and an after-party.
I told Roddick, "Nice job!"
He said, "I've had a few drinks, but I think that I can win this thing."
Speaking of winning, I feel bad for Roddick, as he has had to face Roger Federer seven times in the semifinals or finals of major tournaments. I mean, in any other era, Roddick would have had at least four or five grand slam titles. I'm not wishing anything bad on Federer, but doesn't he ever get injured, or lose his motivation? I guess not!
Roddick said, "Is it OK for me to win my own charity tournament? I feel a little weird about it."
I replied, "Trust me, the people there would love to see you win it! Michael Jordan won a big charity tournament in Minneapolis, and everyone loved seeing him become a champion one more time." In August, I wrote a column about Michael Jordan winning Trent Tucker's charity poker tournament in Minneapolis, with more than 100 players; could Roddick win his own tournament?
When Roddick made it down to the final two players (yes, he really can play hold'em well), he put his opponent all in twice as a 2.5-1 favorite. In both cases, his opponent had one overcard to Roddick's pocket pair. The first time, his opponent had K-9 against Roddick's 10-10, and hit a king. The second time, his opponent had A-4 versus Roddick's 7-7, and hit an ace.
With the blinds at $3,000-$6,000, the following hand came up. Roddick made it $20,000 to go with 6-6, his opponent raised it to $55,000 to go with J-10, Roddick moved him all in for $110,000 total, and his opponent called. The hands were flipped up and the tournament director announced, "Andy is a small favorite to win the pot and the tournament with his pocket sixes versus his opponent's J-10. The flop is Q-J-2, and now the J-10 is a huge favorite to win the pot and take the chip lead. Andy will now need a six to win the pot. The turn card is a … six! Andy has won the tournament and a seat in the
World Poker Tour Celebrity Invitational!"
Let's take a closer look at the play of this hand. It was a natural and easy $20,000 opening raise for Roddick to make with 6-6. As for the $35,000 reraise with J-10, it is not the kind of move that I like. I mean, why get involved with J-10 when you could wait another minute or two for a stronger hand? Also, Roddick plays a solid game of poker, and it was probable that he had the J-10 beat when he raised. If you want to call with J-10, that's OK, but do not reraise. In fact, had Roddick's opponent called before the flop, and then moved all in on the flop, it was likely that Roddick would have folded his hand (after all, the flop was Q-J-2). As for Roddick's all-in move, I think that it is just fine. Roddick later told me, "I thought that I had the best hand, and that he had two overcards; it just seemed like the right time to move all in." Indeed, it was.
In regard to Roddick being able to play in the
World Poker Tour Celebrity Invitational, I told him, "You could have played in that event either way."
He said, "That's true, but having won my way in, I feel much better about playing in it."
By the time you read this, the
WPT Celebrity Invitational will have concluded, so we'll see how Andy did in it. I do know one thing: What Roddick really wants is an audience with the queen, while holding the 2007
Wimbledon trophy firmly in his hands!
