Tough Bluff Leads to Chip Lead

At dinner on Dec. 12, David Williams was telling a story to a bunch of poker pros. No one at the table believed the story. Finally, Theo Tran said, "Yes, I saw the hand, it really happened." They were talking about a hand that I had played earlier in the day in the $15,000 buy-in WPT (World Poker Tour) Doyle Brunson Classic at Bellagio. The reason that the pros found the hand so hard to believe is that it was so far out of my known character to try something so crazy. The poker world perceives me as a conservative player, and for the most part, that's true. But you cannot win 11 World Series of Poker bracelets by sticking to purely conservative tactics! Sometimes you need to have a wild hair, or go way off the reservation, or as Doyle "Texas Dolly" Brunson says, "When all the doors are shut, sometimes you need to go in through the window."

Here is my wild story: With the blinds at 200-400, Theo Tran opened from the button for 1,200, I called from the small blind with the 9 5, and Jeff Madsen made it 4,000 to go from the big blind. Tran folded, and I called, with the intention of bluffing if I missed everything. The flop was 10 7 4. I checked, and Madsen bet 6,500. I thought to myself, "I know Madsen has nothing here, but I'll wait until fourth street to make my move. That way, I'll pick up one more bluff along the way." The turn card was the 2. I checked, and Madsen bet 12,000. Again, I sensed extreme weakness, so I declared, "I raise," and I threw 25,000 of my last 30,000 into the pot. Madsen looked at my chips, and I said, "Not much left, kid," as we both noticed that I had only 5,000 left. Madsen folded fairly quickly, and I decided to flip my hand faceup! I did not do it to rub it in anyone's face - I love Madsen - but to essentially say, "I'm here to play poker today, boys, so stay out of my way or I'll use your bluffs against you!" When I flipped the hand faceup, I didn't expect the reaction that it caused. Everyone at the table erupted with oohs, ahs, and wows. I guess that it was a pretty daring play, as I put more than 80 percent of my chips at risk on a stone-cold bluff.

In late November, I was over in England playing Premier League Poker, and we could see everyone's holecards when we were in the greenroom. I noticed that anytime I made a move, it worked. More than 20 times in a row, my moves worked flawlessly. Then, later I checked out my reads in the greenroom, and it turned out that I was "spot on" (as they say in England). Thus, I had extra confidence in my reading abilities when coming into the WPT event, and I was determined to use them to the fullest advantage. The best poker players in the world know how to "manufacture chips." The best poker players win tournaments not because we are luckier than the rest, but because we have a pat move or a couple of pat moves that win us extra chips and keep us in the game longer. Basically, the best players have a niche. A niche is what separates us from them - the great ones from the very good ones. For me, part of that niche is patience, and the ability to survive for long periods of time when I have really bad cards. Another part is coming over the top of other players when I know they are weak, which almost always forces them to fold, and enables me to pick up more chips risk-free. Another part of my niche, which was more effective in the past, was stealing massive amounts of blinds and antes preflop.

By the way, when you're playing fast, a little luck can win you a massive pot. All day long, I kept coming over the top of Tran, and I could tell he was getting a little sick of it when he called a reraise with 10-9 offsuit. I had K-Q, and the board fell Q-9-8-10-6. He won a small pot, but then he opened for 2,000 with A-A, and I made it 6,000 to go with the 6 5. He smooth-called, the flop came down 8-4-2, he checked, and I bet 10,000. He then raised it 15,000 more, making it 25,000 to go. I called, a 3 hit on the turn (gin for me!), he bet 25,000, and I raised him his last 35,000. He called, and I busted him. Later that night at Tao nightclub, Tran kept saying, "You're not supposed to do that stuff to me! I'm supposed to do that stuff to you. I'm supposed to crack your pocket aces with 6-5, not the other way around." Tran is a great young player with a lot of talent, and he figures to win tons of major titles in the next 20 years, but let's not forget that there are a few established players with big plans, as well. Chan, Seidel, and Brunson have been using their niches to win titles for more than 20 years! In any case, I ended day 1A with the chip lead, and a lot of confidence. I was playing the game, man! In my next column, I'll discuss my day 2 at the WPT Doyle Brunson Classic.

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