43 Bracelets!

Recently, I played in NBC's Poker After Dark with T.J. Cloutier, Doyle "Texas Dolly" Brunson, Layne "Back-to-Back" Flack, Erik Seidel, and Chris "Jesus" Ferguson. What a lineup! It featured 43 World Series of Poker bracelets, with Doyle and I at 10 apiece, Seidel at seven, Cloutier at six, and Ferguson and Flack at five apiece. That's some serious bling! This fantastic show will be aired (over and over again!) sometime in the second half of 2007 on NBC at 2 a.m. Poker After Dark is shown six days a week.

First, Flack went out, then Ferguson, followed by Seidel, and then I put a bad beat on Cloutier. But before we get to that hand, let's look at the hand (or two) that I misplayed. With the blinds at $800-$1,600, I opened for $4,500 with the A Q from the button. Cloutier folded, and then Doyle raised, making it $10,000 more to go. I sort of thought he had A-J, A-10, or something weaker, but I just wasn't sure enough. And, I hate A-Q. I asked Doyle how much he had left, and he said, "About $20,000." I studied a long time, remembering that Doyle hadn't come over the top of me in a long time. Finally, I decided to fold. As it turned out, Doyle had 8-2 offsuit (nice play, Dolly!), and if I had reraised him (all in), I would have won the pot right then and there (sigh). I didn't have a strong read, so there's no use in crying over spilt milk. However, if I had moved all in, Doyle would have been forced to fold, and I would have had a healthy chip lead - not to mention that Doyle would have been left with only $20,000.

It is noteworthy for this column that I mention that we started with $20,000 apiece in this "heat." The very next hand, Doyle made it $5,000 to go from the small blind, and I called with 7-7 from the big blind. The flop was 10-10-2, and Doyle bet my last $25,000. I folded, and he told me later that he had A-9 offsuit. He had bluffed me two hands in a row! However, I do not mind this laydown too much; it is the A Q laydown that still bothers me. In retrospect, I should have remembered that Doyle moves all in for big bets when he's bluffing. I knew that from the World Poker Tour "Book Author" final table a few years back, when he pushed $400,000 into a $200,000 pot, on a pure bluff. In any case, I hung in there, and doubled up when I picked up what I was waiting for, K-K.

With the blinds at $1,500-$3,000, I picked up the A 6 in the big blind, and Cloutier opened for $7,000 from the button. Uh-oh; an alarm bell went off in my head. Cloutier had made a bit more than a minimum raise (a minimum raise would have been $6,000), and it smelled like he had a huge hand. I thought, "Could he have K-K or Q-Q?" It seemed likely. Yet, I called, trying to hit an ace, and the flop came K 3 2 (I had flopped the nut-flush draw). We both checked. The next card was the 8, and I checked. Cloutier now bet $10,000, and he had only $6,600 left. Now what should I do? On the flop, I would have moved all in with my heart-flush draw if he had bet, but now what? I thought about it a good long while and decided that he had either three kings, A-K, or a hand like Q-J suited. I thought that he may have moved all in on the flop with Q-Q, J-J, 10-10, 9-9, or 8-8. So, in my assessment, he was either very strong or very weak. Finally, I raised his last $6,600, and he called instantly (always a bad sign), flipping over his A-A. I really wasn't expecting a heart on the river, but, bam, the Q came off and I completed the nut flush!

The reason that I raised it $6,600 more against Cloutier was that I wanted to give him a chance to fold if he had A-10, A-9, A-7, Q-J, or something else weak like that. I was trying to win the pot right then and there, without having to see the last card. As it turned out, I was wrong and Cloutier had a strong hand. This brings up an interesting question, though: If I had known what Cloutier's exact two holecards were, would I have called his $10,000 bet on the turn? Well, let's see; there was $24,800 in the pot ($7,000 + $7,000 + $800 + $10,000), plus I'd win his last $6,600 if I made my hand. So, I was investing $10,000 to win $31,400 (3.1-to-1). As it turned out, I could win with one of nine hearts on the river, compared to 35 winning cards for Cloutier. So, I was a 35-to-9 underdog (almost 4-to-1). So, I wouldn't make that call, never mind the raise, if I knew what Cloutier's holecards were. Sometimes it's better to be lucky than good!

With that card, it was down to the 10-time bracelet winners for the title: "Texas Dolly" vs. the "Poker Brat." And Doyle went on to win. Congrats, Dolly, but I'll be back!