London Revisited

In my column two issues ago, I skipped through the World Series of Poker Europe main event in London to write about the passing of my friend Amir Vahedi. I was going to just move on, but then remembered that I had made some notes about a few hands involving Phil Ivey. And since people can’t get enough of him, here we go — Phil vs. me.

We were seated at the same table to start day one. He seemed pretty active, as well as preoccupied. A measly few million is probably just not enough to get Phil’s attention nowadays. Anyway, our first hand came down about an hour in. I raised from middle position with A-K, and Phil called from the big blind. The flop came 9-6-5 rainbow. Phil checked, I bet about two-thirds of the pot, and Phil called. The turn brought the 2, and we both checked. The river was an offsuit jack, and Phil bet a little less than half the pot.

It really looked to me that he wanted to get called. I mean, if he was running a bluff, he would probably make a bigger bet. I had it all figured out correctly, so what did I do? I called. As I expected, he showed me a pair, but not what I thought it would be — the 9 4. Nice hand, Phil. But I guess if you can get a sucker with no pair to pay you off, it’s worth playing a piece of garbage like that. Advantage Ivey.

The next hand came an hour or so later. I again raised Phil’s blind, this time with the A 7. The flop came 5-4-3 rainbow, and when I bet about two-thirds of the pot, Phil raised. Now, Phil probably puts me on two big cards here, and thinks that the flop totally missed me. Even if I have a big pair, I’m going to be cautious with a flop like this, since we’re both very deep at this point.

As it was, I had a double gutshot-straight draw, as either a 2 or a 6 made my straight, as well as an ace for high, which might very well be good here. I mean, Phil easily could have a 6 or a 2 with something like an 8, 9, 10, jack, queen, or king, and I would still have him beat. He also might have the nuts here, but scared is no way to play poker, so I called.

The turn was a queen, which didn’t slow Phil down, as he fired out about two-thirds of the pot. I could easily lay my hand down here, but I am a stubborn one. Besides, if a 6 comes, I fully expect Phil to fire out a huge bet, trying to make me lay down my hand. Also, I’m still banking on my ace high possibly being good.

The river brings a 10, which I figure changes nothing, and while I’m trying to decide if I want to call a big bet or not, Phil checks. I check behind him, and he throws his hands up in defeat; my ace high takes down this nice pot. Score one for Brunson; deuce.

Our third and final hand took place a few hours later. It was one of those hands in which everyone limps and the dealer asks if he can play two cards off the top of the deck. I was in the small blind with the A 5. The flop came with an ace and two hearts — pretty sweet, right? Well, yes and no.

This is the type of hand with which I want to make my opponent call a big bet. I don’t want to be the one calling, but if there’s any money in the pot, it’s pretty much too big to lay down. The reason is that although it looks huge, it just doesn’t match up well against an ace with a bigger kicker.

For this reason, I just called when Phil bet the full pot into the field. Another reason was that I still had several players behind me yet to act, and I didn’t want to shut out a smaller flush draw. I was going to have a tough decision to make on the turn if a heart didn’t come, but the 10 alleviated that.

Phil checked to me, and not wanting to scare him off, I also checked. The river brought an offsuit deuce, which changed nothing. Phil immediately bet out 5,000, which was about half the pot and about a third of his remaining chips. Now what? Move in? Min-raise [minimum-raise]?

If I shove all in (which is what a pot-sized raise would be), it will put Phil all in, and I don’t want to put his tournament life on the line; I want him to call. I settle on a raise of 6,000, and he moans loudly and once again throws his hands up in defeat. He saves his remaining 10,000 for a few more minutes, then loses that, too — undoubtedly terrified of another encounter with me. Game, set, match, Brunson. Take a walk, Mr. Ivey!

Todd Brunson has been a professional poker player for more than 20 years. While primarily a cash-game player, he still has managed to win 18 major tournaments, for more than $3.5 million. He has won one bracelet and cashed 25 times at the World Series of Poker. You can play with Todd online at DoylesRoom.com or live at his tournament, The Todd Brunson Montana Poker Challenge, in Bigfork, Montana. Check his website, ToddBrunson.com, for details.