Recently I played on day one of the UltimateBet.com
Aruba Poker Classic. After working out on Monday night and meditating right before I played, I felt ready to finally make it through day one. You see, the last three years, I didn't make it past day one for one reason or another. In at least one of those years, it was just plain bad play on my part that cost me the chance to advance. Three years ago, I self-destructed and knocked myself out of the tournament early. Two years ago, I lost a hand in which the flop was K-7-7, and my opponent called a check-raise with Q-Q and hit a queen on the turn to bust me. And last year, I had some bad luck, and played some very average poker.
This year I thought I was at or near the peak of my powers, and thus I trusted myself when I decided to avoid slow-playing any of my hands. The reason that I decided against using the slow-play tactic was this: It is too risky when playing just one tournament. At the
World Series of Poker, I can use the slow-play tactic, and if it doesn't work, I can play another tournament the very next day. In Aruba, if the slow-play tactic didn't work, I would have to go to plan B - hang out at the beach. Plan B isn't bad (it is Aruba!), but I'm trying to be a champion every time I play a tournament. The problem with slow-playing your hands is that all too often, you lose a pot by either getting outdrawn or confusing your opponent into overplaying his hand. For example, let's say that Player A opens for $400, you call with 10-10, and Player B then reraises with 8-8. Now, Player A folds, and you find yourself in an awkward position because you don't know where you stand. What do you do? It is hard to raise it a third time with just 10-10, so you call, but your opponent doesn't know what you have, and thus doesn't know that he's bluffing you when the flop is J-3-2. If you play this hand straightforwardly, you "define it," so to speak. By defining your hand, the regular rules of a hand apply, and at least your opponent will know when he's bluffing you (or trying to), which gives you the chance to make a good read and pick off his bluff.
After committing myself to avoiding slow-play tactics, I found myself slow-playing four hands, all of which I ended up losing. To make matters worse, I was pretty sure that I would have won at least three of them if I had played them straightforwardly. After getting low on chips, and berating myself, I gave up the slow-play tactics altogether and ran my chips up to about $15,000. Poker is easier to play when you play it straightforwardly, that much is certain! With one hour left on day one and the blinds at $150-$300 with a $25 ante, I opened for $950 with K-J offsuit. Player A, who had reminded me that he was at my table two years earlier when I had taken that bad beat to the queen on the turn, made it $2,000 to go. Now, I had played two other hands against him, and both times he had pocket aces. I was sure that he didn't have aces or kings, because he had a different look about him. In fact, I thought that he had 9-9 or Q-Q, or something in between. The raise was only another $1,050, so I called. The flop was J
J
10
, and he bet $2,000. Within three seconds, I stood up and moved all in, pushing all of my chips into the pot. This group of players knew that it was only the second time that I had moved all in all day long. It would cost Player A his last $7,900 to call. I whispered to a friend who was watching that Player A had pocket queens. Then I sat back down to sell the hand a little bit. I looked to my right, avoiding eye contact with Player A, doing my best to sell the story that I was indeed weak. Finally, he said, "I think I'll look pretty bad, but I call."
He showed me pocket queens, and my friend said, "Phil told me that he had queens."
Then, I showed him my K-J, and he asked me if he should have folded. I said, "Yes. I mean, it was only the second time all day that I had moved all in. And, it was me; I'm known for not moving all in with marginal hands or draws."
The next card was a 9, and now Player A needed an 8 (for a straight) or a queen. The cameras were rolling, the table was three-deep on all sides, and the other players were listening as Matt Savage announced, "And the river is a queen! Phil Hellmuth is going to lose the $25,000 pot."
A little while later, I was all in with Q-Q versus an opponent's A-7, and I went broke when he hit an ace. Still, I'm happy that I was almost a 90 percent favorite on the flop to win that big pot. What more could I do? (Of course, I could have avoided using slow-play tactics altogether!)
Slow-playing hands can be both dangerous and profitable.
