Tim's 'All-In' Hand

Tim Molyneux is one of the youngest stage-show producers in history, including concerts, tours, musicals, and theatrical productions. Molyneux has shows that have been running on cruise ships for the last eight years. Molyneux Entertainment has worked with some pretty big stars, including Elton John, Garth Brooks, Dolly Parton, and Bob Hope. Recently, Molyneux wrote the poker musical All In, and you can check out the songs at pokermusical.com. I absolutely love it, and I fully expect it to be running off Broadway or in Las Vegas by June 2009. Not surprisingly, Molyneux loves to play poker, and got the idea for the poker musical while he was sitting at the poker table.

Molyneux played in the 2008 World Series of Poker, and on day one, with the blinds at 100-200, Player A opened for 600 from the button. In the big blind, Molyneux made it 1,800 to go with Q-Q. The flop came Q-9-3, and Molyneux checked. Molyneux said, "He was the kind of player who bet a lot and fought for a lot of pots, so I checked it." Player A bet 1,500, and then Molyneux made it 4,000 to go. Player A called. On the turn, a 7 came off, and Molyneux moved all in for his last 5,600. Player A called, Molyneux showed his three queens, and Player A flipped over his pocket kings. Molyneux said, "My opponent showed me his pocket kings, and when he looked at my hand, he was sick; that is, until he hit a king on the river!"

I like Molyneux's 1,200 preflop reraise with pocket queens. His reraise size with queens was about perfect. On the flop, I love Molyneux's check, and I do not mind Player A's 1,500 bet. I think that Molyneux's 2,500 raise here was pretty clever. I wouldn't have raised it more than that, and I may not have raised it at all. I may have opted to trap my opponent, and just call his bet on the flop. But considering that Player A was strong (he did have pocket kings), Molyneux's raise here was the perfect size. On the turn, Molyneux's all-in bet was fine with me, if not a little bit too conservative. But what bad stuff can you say when someone gets all of his chips into the middle of the pot as a 22-to-1 favorite? You can say only good things, like, "Nice read that Player A was strong enough to call your all-in move." However, I will say this: If Molyneux didn't sense strength in his opponent, a bet of, say, 3,000 would have been about right. When I have three queens on a Q-9-3-7 board, I'm looking to get called! Then on the river I would move all in, again hoping for a call.

Let's quickly discuss the tactics employed by Molyneux on another hand. With two tables left, Molyneux had the chip lead in a small tournament when the following hand came up. With the blinds at 1,000-2,000, Molyneux picked up A-K on the button and minimum-raised it to 4,000. Player B, in the big blind, called (he was sitting on third-place chips). Molyneux said, "Phil, the flop was A K K, jackpot!" The player in the big blind led out for 5,000, and Molyneux smooth-called. The 7 came off on the turn, Player B checked, and Molyneux bet 10,000. Now, Player B made it 35,000 to go, and Molyneux called again, but not until he finished singing the Don't Worry, Be Happy song to Player B! The river was the 4, and Player B made it 40,000 to go. Molyneux was happy, as he thought that Player B had made a flush. So, Molyneux raised Player B's last 30,000 in chips, leaving himself with only 7,000 in chips. Player B called instantly and showed Molyneux pocket aces.

I love the fact that Molyneux trapped his opponent so well; actually, he trapped himself, as it turned out. I love the
smooth-call on the flop, the small bet on the turn, and the all-in move on the river. The only change he should make to the way he played this hand is not to sing! Seriously, when someone is singing, he probably is holding a really strong hand. Tim, my friend, keep your singing on the stage, or save it for when you have a weak hand.