Hellmuth Palliative Care Program?

I emceed a charity poker tournament in New York City recently for the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP). Why go to New York to host a charity event for a hospital in Philadelphia? Since CHOP is the best hospital on the East Coast for children, many of its patients come from the New York area; plus, the hosts, Beth and Dan Shak, had some deep connections (hedge funds, and so on) in New York City. This event was unique, as the winner of the tournament was granted the right to name the new palliative care program at CHOP whatever he or she chose. This naming right must be worth millions of dollars! The new "Hellmuth Palliative Care Program" at CHOP has a nice ring to it, doesn't it? But, alas, I didn't win. How does the "Ivey Palliative Care Program" (Phil Ivey), or the "Duke Palliative Care Program" (Annie Duke), or maybe the "Shak Palliative Care Program" sound? Well, Dan Shak did make the final table, but Duke and Ivey didn't. When Shak finished in third place, Peter Muller and Omar Said decided to split the naming rights; maybe the "Said-Muller Palliative Care Program" will be the name. Many thanks to Ivey, Duke, former Philadelphia Eagles player Mike Quick, and celebrity chef Bobby Flay for attending our event. I tip my hat to the Shaks, as they donated $250,000 of their own money to the event, and they conceived it, hosted it, and promoted it. Due to the current state of the economy, we didn't raise the $2 million that we were hoping to raise, but we did pick up $850,000 for CHOP.

The event was held at the Mandarin Oriental Hotel, which provided a great view of Central Park. The poker tournament featured a $5,000 buy-in with $500 rebuys. I was happy to have the CEO of one of the companies I have a piece of (only 1 percent) in attendance; that is Murray Hidary of Iamplify. Hidary had never played poker before, although he did help edit my White Belt to Black Belt no-limit hold'em poker course, which is available at Iamplify.com.

As players busted out and we made it down to the final three tables, I suddenly noticed that Hidary was the chip leader! I took the opportunity to announce, "Murray, how do you have the chip lead? You've never even played hold'em before!" I love having the microphone all night!

With the blinds at 4,000-8,000 and a 1,000 ante, Dan Shak opened for 25,000 from the cutoff (one position off the button) with the A 6, and Hidary called with 9-9. After a flop of 7 6 2, Hidary moved all in for about 50,000, and Shak reluctantly called. The turn was the Q, and the river was the A! Shak hit his ace, and took the chip lead.

Let's take a closer look at this hand. Shak made a good standard raise to 25,000 from the cutoff with A-6. With quickly escalating blinds and antes, you have to raise with A-6 in this position, and three times the big blind is about right, although some would say that 30,000 (about three-and-a-half times the big blind) is better. Hidary's 25,000 preflop call is a bit more complex. Personally, I like the call. Why not take a flop, and then decide whether or not to commit your last 50,000? Many other pros would say that you should move all in right then and there. They argue that there are lots of bad flops that enable your opponents to outplay you. Let's say the flop is A-Q-10, and your opponent has 2-2 - or a bluffing hand - and moves all in; now, you're forced to fold the best hand. Another point for moving in before the flop is this: Your opponent may have the 8 7, and you are a massive favorite to beat any hands containing two cards 9 or lower. In regard to my argument to just call the 25,000 preflop, I would add that you should move all in after most flops, as this gives you a chance to win a lot of pots because you force your opponent to fold. For example, you may move all in after the flop comes down K-8-7, and force a lot of hands like Q-J to fold.

On this 7-6-2 flop, I love Hidary's all-in move for 50,000. This move enables him to win the pot against hands like any two overcards (for example A-K, A-Q, or K-J) right then and there. Shak had to call the 50,000 bet, like it or not. Shak could beat a lot of legitimate hands; for example, Hidary could have had A-2, 5-5, 4-4, A-K, A-Q, or 3-3. Shak could also beat a lot of bluffs. Shak's call was pretty standard.

I am proud of the fact that I emcee so many successful charity events at no cost to the charities. When you can afford it, giving your time and/or money to charities is a civic responsibility! Choose a cause, and donate your resources; you won't regret it.


Learn more about Phil by going to his website, www.PhilHellmuth.com, and visit his webstore at www.PokerBrat.com.