Final-Table Takedown: David Baker Captures First Gold Bracelet at the 2012 World Series of Poker

David “ODB” Baker is a 40-year-old professional poker player. He currently spends time with his 9-year-old daughter, his girlfriend, and traveling the world playing poker. David spends most of the year playing cash games, but can be caught playing occasional main events throughout the year and has found success at the WSOP. Even though David has had several good years at the WSOP (especially highlighted in 2010 by a 17th-place finish in the main event), he enjoyed a true breakout year in 2012. David finished this year’s WSOP with 8 cashes, 4 final tables, a 10th in the $50,000 event, another deep run in the main event, and his first WSOP victory.

Event: 2012 WSOP Eight-Game Mix
Players: 477
Entry: $2,500
First Prize: $271,312
Finish: 1st

Hand No. 1 – Pot-Limit Omaha

Key Concepts: Having a plan

Craig Tapscott: Set this final table up for us.

David Baker: The official final table is eight. I was near the top of the chip counts. I feel OK in pot-limit Omaha, but it is definitely not a game in the 8-game mix I go out of my way to get involved in.

CT: Why not?

DB: Well you can lose a large portion, if not all, of your stack. Why do that when I can leverage my stack in the limit games so effectively? At this table however, I was one of the better pot-limit Omaha players and more importantly most of them played the game pretty tight.  

Donnacha O’Dea raises to 16,000 from mid-position. Baker calls from the button holding 10 10 9 6.

DB: My plan was to use the official final-table bubble plus my stack size and position as leverage. I don’t mind playing postflop in position in most games, especially pot-limit Omaha. This allows me to take away the pot on most flops that don’t just smack his hand.

CT: Could you have three-bet with position holding this hand?

DB: I could have and ditched it if he wanted to play for it all, but I don’t mind playing flops in position in most games.  

Joseph Couden calls. Mikal Blomlie calls.

DB: So now I’m in a four-way pot with a marginal hand. I immediately regret it, but I have position and the stack to see how this plays out.  

Flop: J 10 5 (pot: 64,000)

CT: Bingo.

DB: Well, on the surface a very good flop for my hand, as I have second nuts with middle set, but this is pot-limit Omaha and this is a very dangerous situation.

Couden and Blomlie check. O’Dea checks.

CT: What’s the best play?

DB: I have three options: 1) Check flop and wait for a safe card on the turn then try to get in on the turn with one card to come, thus avoiding losing most of my stack if a bad card comes off. Biggest problem is there are very few safe cards (2-6 non-club or case 10). I quickly discarded this option. I can’t play a small pot now.

2) Bet the pot and let them know I’m serious and commit them to the hand if they want to draw out. Most people in this spot would bet the pot (64,000) with sets or big draws and all hands they have no intention of folding. By potting it here, I take away any play by my opponents. I’m telling them my hand is strong and they can choose to play for stacks or not.

3) Make a bet and don’t look committed to the hand. I’m probably playing for stacks versus other sets or big draws, but I open up some looser calls if one of the players thinks I’m stabbing at the pot. I may get called by medium-strength draws or one or two-pair hands. So I decide to go with option three…

Baker bets 50,000.

DB: There is a very subtle difference between betting the pot (64,000) and betting 50,000. I think my hand is perceived as stabbing at the pot and a lot weaker. If I’m against a big hand the money is getting in with either bet.

Couden folds. Mikal Blomlie raises pot to 164,000. O’Dea folds.

CT: So you’re not folding at this point. Right?

DB: Well I wanted to analyze the situation entirely. Did he flop a set of jacks? Could I get off this hand? If I fold I still have 400,000 and I’m top three in chips and can continue my chipping away at the limit games. His hand is always a set or huge combo draw that I’m probably a flip or slight underdog against.

CT: So now what?

DB: I counted out his stack in front of me and looked at him for a bit. I finally settled on the fact he’s as likely to have a set of fives as he is jacks and if I’m flipping versus his draw then so be it. I’ll have to win this race and if not I would buckle down with my shorter stack and get back to work. 

Baker moves all-in. Blomlie calls and reveals Q J 10 3.

DB: I was surprised to see a hand with no flush draw. I couldn’t have dreamed to be in this great of a position.

Turn: 3 (pot: 734,000)

River: 4 (pot: 734,000)

Baker wins the pot of 734,000.

DB: After the hand it was a reminder for me to try to stay out of marginal spots in the big bet games. But considering stacks, position, and my opponents, if I was going to play a marginal hand this wasn’t the worst spot for it.

Hand No. 2 – Deuce-to-Seven

Key Concepts: Maximizing big hands

Greg Mueller raises to 60,000 from UTG+1. O’Dea raises to 90,000 from the button. Baker is in the big blind with 2-3-4-5-7.

CT: Once again. Can I say – Bingo!

DB: (Laughs) Yes. This is the best possible hand in this game. I did however face a couple of decisions. I could four-bet it and give Greg a chance to fold his marginal holdings and also reduce the ultimate size of the pot which O’Dea would be chasing to win. I could just call and make sure Greg called and try to make it seem like I was just trying to get through the hand cheap with a medium strength pat hand. Greg and Donna are both too good to fall for this. My only play is to four-bet and hope they both are drawing well enough to chase. Better yet, one has a pat hand and I can get it all-in at some point three ways.

Baker raises to 120,000. Mueller folds. O’Dea calls.

DB: To my horror Greg folded for two more bets and Donna calls.

Pot: (315,000)

O’Dea draws two cards.

DB: This is the worst case scenario when Gregg folded! I was desperate for a full double up and then some. I obviously stayed pat…

Baker bets 30,000. O’Dea calls.

Pot: (375,000)

O’Dea draws two cards.

DB: I needed him to improve or he is going to fold.

Baker bets 60,000. O’Dea calls and draws one card.

Pot: (495,000)

DB: I had 138,000 left and it was my option.
 
CT: What’s the best plan in this game? What hand range do you think he’s putting you on?

DB: In deuce-to-seven, when you are pat from the beginning, more times than not you have a hand like 8-7-6-4-3 or 9-6-5-4-3 or something in that range. I knew Donna was drawing at a pretty good hand since he had three-bet Greg pre-draw and continued through the hand.

CT: So if you were to bet again…

DB: If I bet again my hand would look so strong he wouldn’t raise me so I had to try to figure out how to get at least one bet in if not two. If he didn’t make a good hand I’m not getting any money out of him, so the only way I’m getting any more bets is if he makes an 8 or some sort or a 7. I could feel pretty certain he would bet with most hands he would call a bet with and I had a real good chance to get that extra bet if he made something real strong and I could check-raise him. Plus, I give him a chance to make a helpless bluff knowing it would cost me almost half my stack to call and I may find a fold with some of my pat hands.  

Baker checks. O’Dea bets 60,000.

DB: I was pretty sure I couldn’t do any hollywooding and would have to raise pretty quickly.

Baker raises to 120,000. O’Dea tanks and folds. Bakers wins the pot of 555,000.

DB: To his credit he folded what I assume was a very strong hand. He accurately decided I wasn’t going to make a bluff at that point for all my chips and I wasn’t raising less for value. ♠