In my last column, I discussed my last-minute arrival in Tunica, Mississippi, early on Sunday morning for the annual
World Poker Tour event held there. I wrote that I felt compelled to be in Tunica for this tournament - to the point that Phil Ivey and I chartered a jet out of L.A. at midnight Saturday - because I sensed that I was on top of my game. By Sunday night, I was one of the chip leaders, and we had lost 100 players from the 308-player field. The tournament had a great structure - one that was first instituted by legendary Tournament Director Jack McClelland - that featured five 90-minute levels of play a day for the first four days. We all knew in advance that we would play from noon until about 8:30 p.m. or so - seven-and-a-half hours plus four 15-minute breaks. This is a nice change from the old days (now we can make dinner plans!), when we played from noon until 2 a.m., or later.
In any case, day two started off fairly well for me, and I fluctuated between $65,000 and $100,000 in chips. In nearly two full days of play, I had been all in only one time. Now, I know that I'm playing my best when I'm never at risk of going broke in a single hand. It is hard for an amateur to understand how difficult it is to navigate your chips so that you're never all in. It takes patience, cunning, and timing - or, to sum it up: It takes "the right moves at the right time." If you know that your opponents are weak or strong at any particular time, you can make the right moves at the right time (check out my new poker course at blackbeltphil.com for more on this). Usually, I do not play at that level, but I always strive to.
With two hours to go in the day, Hoyt Corkins came to my table. In the poker world, Corkins is known as my nemesis. Personally, I do not think he is my nemesis, but all of the evidence is to the contrary - so far. I mean, yes, he has crushed me so far, but I believe I'll get him back. You see, in every single case in which someone beat me up for a while in the poker world, I was eventually able to exact my revenge; that is, everyone except Corkins. He crushed me at the final table in the 2006
Tournament of Champions, and the
World Poker Tour event at Foxwoods in 2004. In those cases, he had position on me, and this time, I had position on him; he was on my immediate right.
Corkins came to my table with $35,000 in chips, and moved all in several times, even though the blinds were only $600-$1,200. He was making huge oversized raises (which I hadn't seen in years), opening for 30 times the big blind versus the standard of three-and-a-half times ($4,200). Eventually, someone called him, and before long, Corkins had almost $300,000 in chips. At this point, he was raising every hand, and was pretty tough to play against. In one hand, I opened with J-J for $4,500, he reraised $9,000 from the big blind, and I folded my hand, because I sensed that he was strong.
Then, with 50 players left and 40 minutes to go in day two, Corkins opened for $5,000 from the button, and I made it $15,000 to go from the small blind with 9-9. Corkins then announced, "I'm all in," but something didn't smell right to me. I hated to call off all of my chips with 9-9, but my instincts were going haywire. So, I counted down my last $52,000 in chips, pushed it into the pot, and said, "I think I have you crushed."
Corkins then screamed, "I'm 30 percent, I'm 30 percent," as if he was proud of that fact! Then, he said, "I hate the fact that you have the nine of clubs in your hand," as he flipped up the A
6
.
The flop was 5
3
2
, the turn was the 8
, and the river was the 5
. Corkins had made a flush on the last card to bust me. I shouted, "No!" I reeled back from the table, and suddenly it seemed like the press was everywhere.
The disappointment I felt was awful. I even experienced a little shortness of breath! This is no way to handle losing. Did I play way above the rim for two days? Did I want to show the world that I'm a great poker player? Did I travel a long way for this one tournament? Yes, yes, and yes, but so what. Smile, get over it, count your blessings, and fly home. But that's easier said than done!
The right move at the right time takes a lot of luck out of the game, keeps you in the chips, and is possible if you read opponents perfectly.
