Two in a Row, Baby!

Recently I played on the hit show Poker After Dark, which is shown on NBC six nights a week at 2 a.m. We were filming for 2008, and I won the $120,000 first-place prize in my first appearance. I was now making my second appearance of the season. This show was titled "Hecklers Week," and featured Mike "The Mouth" Matusow, Gavin Smith, Bobby Bellande (the poker player on Survivor), Shawn "The Sheik" Sheikhan, Sam Grizzle, and I. One thing was certain about this lineup: It was loud!



Immediately, I lost a few pots and my chips dwindled down to around $15,000 from my $20,000 starting stack. But, I didn't panic even a little bit, as the same thing had happened to me in my first appearance, and I had come back to win. I reasoned that I had plenty of time to come back, as the blinds moved up very slowly for the first three hours (it was a great structure). I knew that patience would keep me alive and give me a good chance to thrive. About 45 minutes into the thing, I caught my first break. Sheiky limped in for $200 (the blinds were $100-$200), Matusow made it $1,200 to go, and I made it $4,500 to go with K-K. Matusow then moved me all in with his pocket nines, and I instantly called. Matusow took quite a bit of heat from the other players for his move, as none of them wanted me to have the chip lead. Sheiky said, "Mike, you idiot; what were you doing doubling up Phil with pocket nines?"



Bellande said, "Dude, we had Phil on the ropes, and now you made all of our lives more difficult!"



The verbal barrage of insulting Matusow for doubling me up continued. But what do you expect from a bunch of hecklers?



In truth, Matusow berated his own play, saying, "I don't know what happened to me there. I know better than to play a big pot with Phil in that spot. I was thinking that I could take him out for only $14,000. I'm sorry, guys!" I agree with Matusow's own assessment; he should have folded before the flop or called the raise, but never moved all in. He knows that I don't want to risk my whole tournament with A-K that early, as the blinds were only $100-$200. Thus, he has to put me on a pocket pair bigger than nines; in fact, he has to put me on a pair much bigger than nines.



A few hours later, when we were fivehanded, I played a hand in a very nontraditional way. With the blinds at $300-$600, I called with 8-8 on the button after the other two players folded. Smith called from the small blind with the 5 4, and Bellande checked with A-2. The flop was A-8-3, and we all checked. The turn card was a 5, Smith and Bellande checked again, and I bet $1,200. Now, Smith called and Bellande raised it to $3,500 to go (a $2,300 raise). I thought to myself, "Jackpot! Assuming that they do not have 4-2 for a straight, how do I get the most money out of this hand?" I opted to make it $6,000 to go (a $2,500 raise), Smith folded, and Bellande moved me all in for my last $12,000 or so. I instantly called, and Bellande needed a 4, and only a 4, on the river to win the pot. When no 4 hit, I had the chip lead.



Let's take a closer look at the play of this hand. Limping in with 8-8 from the button is a play that is not used too often. The traditional way to play this hand is to raise it about three times the big blind ($1,800 or so) before the flop. A raise protects your hand (giving you a better chance of winning with it), defines your hand, and gives you a better chance to win a big pot. Limping in is dangerous, in that the flop could come down 6-5-5, and now you're set up to lose a lot with your eights. In this case, you've given your opponents a "free chance" to beat you out of a lot of chips. Raising it gives you a great chance to win $900 (both blinds), and when you do lose to a 5-4 on that 6-5-5 flop, you can say, "I played that hand so bad! I should have won $900, and instead, I lost $4,000." There is a reason that traditional tactics demand a raise here. Of course, I don't always play by the book, as I ask myself, "Isn't it true that I'm also giving my opponents the 'free chance' to lose more money to my eights?" Checking the flop was a sharp move for all of us, with Bellande and I worrying that we were so strong that we didn't want to lose our opponents by making a bet. On the turn, I like Smith's and Bellande's checks, I like my bet, I like Smith's call, and I even like Bellande's initial raise. Once I reraised, though, I hate Bellande's all-in move. I have shown significant strength, and he should have folded.



Traditional thinking is strong, most of the time, but can be wrong sometimes, and should be examined and challenged.

This "Hecklers" game will continue in my next column.