No-limit Texas hold'em is big on the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) tour these days. Many of the top players, their coaches, trainers, and staff hold several weekly poker tournaments. They do not hold high-stakes or even moderate-stakes tournaments, but relatively low-stakes events in which a lot of pride is on the line. And these guys can play the game!
In February, the ATP rolled into San Jose (my neck of the woods) for the
SAP Open, and with it came Andy Roddick and James Blake. Roddick and Blake are not only the top-ranked American tennis players, but are also ranked fourth and sixth in the world, respectively. They are champions on the ATP tour, and because of this, I fully expected to see them play each other in the
SAP Open finals. Meanwhile, on Wednesday at around 1 p.m., Roddick, Blake, Stu (Roddick's friend), and I walked into Bay 101 to play some poker. At 7 p.m., Roddick was to be part of the featured match at the SAP Open, with Blake to follow at roughly 8:30 p.m. They had a few hours to kill before they would hit together at 5 p.m. or so.
The game was spread-limit hold'em, which plays very much like no-limit hold'em except that the maximum bet on any given betting round was $200. The blinds were $3-$5, and the amount you could buy in for was capped at $200. We all bought in for $200, and then the fun began - for Blake, that is! I made it $25 to go with the A
10
, Blake called with the 10
10
, and the flop came down 10
7
6
. I bet out $40, Blake made it $80, and I moved him all in for $140 total. I was worried that I was beat, but what was I going to do for my last $140 after leading out with a $40 bet? After all, I could still beat any pair of tens, nines, eights, or a flush draw.
An hour later, I made it $25 to go with the A
3
, three people called, and then Blake called from the big blind. The flop was A
8
5
, Blake checked, I bet $40, everyone else folded, and Blake made it $80 to go. I studied for a second. What could Blake have this time? He was in the big blind; could he have a drawing hand, or a weak ace himself (like I had)? Finally, I moved him all in for $180 total, he called immediately (always a bad sign), and I said, "I have an ace."
He said, "Me too, but I also have a queen, matching the one that the dealer just turned up on fourth street." As Homer Simpson would say, "Doh!"
One more pot to Blake, but this time it was 100 percent my fault that I lost my money. First, I could have folded my A-3 before the flop, like I am supposed to. Second, I could have folded my hand on the flop when Blake raised it to $80 to go. I could beat a drawing hand, but not much else.
Our final encounter came when Blake made it $25 to go and I called from the big blind with the 9
8
. The flop was Q
Q
J
, I checked, Blake bet $30, and I called. The turn card was the 8
, giving me a pair of eights, a straight draw, a flush draw, and a straight-flush draw. I bet out $40, and Blake called. The river was the K
, and I checked. Blake instantly moved all in for his last $105 or so. In my mind, he had A-10, K-10, or A-K, but I kept thinking that he had A-10 and had hit his straight. I asked him, "You have A-10, huh?" Then, I folded my hand.
Blake asked, "Is it OK to show my hand?"
I said, "Yep, it's OK to show me a bluff," whereupon he turned over his hand, the A
7
, and everyone erupted in laughter. Ouch, this was not happening to me: Blake busting me twice, and then on top of that, bluffing me out? I know the guy went to Harvard, played successfully on
Celebrity Poker Showdown, and is a great tennis player, but this is my game!
Let's break down this final hand. I should not have called $20 more with 9-8 before the flop, because we didn't have enough chips in front of us to warrant the call. I like Blake's $30 bluff on the flop with ace high. I made a good $30 call on the flop with my inside-straight draw, sensing that Blake was weak. I made a good $40 bet on the turn. Blake made the $40 call on the turn with only one thought in mind: He was planning to bluff me out on the river! Considering that I was weak, and that he did successfully bluff me out on the river, who am I to say that he did anything wrong here? He made a great bluff on the river, and props to him for bluffing so quickly (betting quickly gives the illusion of strength). Nice move, Blake, you win this match!
Calling a bet with the intent to bluff your opponent out later is advanced strategy, very aggressive, and beautiful when it works.
