After spending nine days playing poker in the
World Series of Poker Europe in London, sadly, the highlight of my trip was a publicity stunt. I'm a person who prides himself on winning poker tournaments, or short of that, making final tables (the final nine players), or short of that, making the money (the final 10 percent of the field). Since I didn't do any of the above, at least I had a sick publicity stunt by which to remember the trip. UltimateBet.com rented a red double-decker bus (open on top) with my picture painted on the front and the back, and a sign reading, "Phil Hellmuth Invades London" on both sides, along with 12 models, a DJ, a camera crew, some guests, and some press (for video, check out YouTube.com). As we cranked up the music, we drove by the "Eye of London," Big Ben, and Buckingham Palace. The models were beautiful (sorry, honey), and it was pretty cool walking into the Empire Casino on Leicester Square with all 12 of them in tow. At least I can say that I won the "best entrance" award.
I made it through day one in third chip position. On day two, things started swimmingly well, and before long I had the chip lead with around £120,000. Then, the wheels fell off for me. With the blinds at £300-£600 and a £100 ante, Farzad "Freddy" Bonyadi opened for £1,800, and I called from the big blind with the 5
4
. The flop was A
Q
5
, I checked, Bonyadi bet £3,000, and I called. The next card was the 8
, I checked, and Bonyadi bet £5,000. I now made it £18,000 to go, and Bonyadi moved all in. Ouch! I was forced to fold my hand.
Let's take a closer look at this hand. First of all, let's assume that Bonyadi had A-J (he told me later that's what he had). His raise to £1,800 to go was pretty standard. I think that my call - for £1,200 more from the big blind - before the flop was OK. A fold would have been OK, as well. Bonyadi's £3,000 bet on the flop was a good one. My call on the flop was a bit weak, but still OK. On the turn, Bonyadi's £4,000 bet was just about perfect. My raise on the turn was awful! Why not simply fold my hand right then and there? Why risk £18,000 on a bluff against a great player? If Bonyadi did indeed have A-J, his all-in move was really strong. I mean, he put his whole tournament on the line with a very weak hand, in a spot in which he could beat only a bluff. After this hand, I felt a bit sick, as I had given away £18,000!
A little while later, my bad play continued when I called £600 with A-2, and Bonyadi called behind me with the A
6
. The flop came down A
Q
6
, I bet out £2,000, Bonyadi made it £7,000 to go, and I called. The turn card was a 3, I checked, Bonyadi bet £10,000, and I called. The river was an 8, I checked, Bonyadi bet £15,000, and I called. He showed me A-6, and I nearly puked, as I had played this hand absolutely horribly! Maybe I could justify the £5,000 call of Bonyadi's raise on the flop, but the other £25,000 was ridiculously bad. Did I think that he was trying to bluff me? Was I trying to lose? I felt like I had given away £43,000 to Bonyadi, and I was enormously frustrated. It is one thing to fly all the way to London (or wherever) and get unlucky - like losing with K-K versus an opponent's J-J - and quite another to just "blow up" (give my chips away). Finally, I regained my senses and started playing some world-class poker. Unfortunately, I then had 7-7 on a J
7
2
flop, and lost £25,000 to a player holding J-J. Although I couldn't do anything about losing £25,000 on this hand, the combination of bad luck and bad play left me low on chips.
Somehow, I limped into day three with only £10,500 in chips, which was 80th place out of 82 remaining players (there were 368 entrants). As I left Leicester Square in a foul mood, amid dozens of people asking me for autographs and pictures, I did my level best to smile through it all. But the bitterness lived on! During those moments, I really need to recognize how blessed I am, if only for the fact that so many people want my picture or autograph. Still, I couldn't shake the frustration, no matter how hard I tried. Nothing ticks me off and fouls my mood more than when I play poker like a donkey! And perhaps that's the way it should be. Only by feeling some pain will I strive to improve my game.
