Final Table Takedown: High Stakes Cash Pro Art Papazyan Goes Head-to- Head with Phil Helmuth for a WPT Title

Art Papazyan had a modest upbringing in Los Angeles. His parents were immigrants from Armenia who spoke little English, but that didn’t stop them from working their tails off to provide for the family. He can’t remember where he initially discovered poker, but recalls playing for play money on an Xbox as a 13-year-old kid.

The bug had bitten Art, and he continued to play home games with friends throughout his teen years. When he was 21, he would occasionally drive down to Commerce Casino and play in the small buy-in games, $2-$3, $2-$5, etc. Two years ago, he was running very well at the $5-$5 game and built a bankroll of about $10,000 before deciding to drop out of college during his senior year and pursue a career in live cash game poker.

He continued to build a bankroll in the $5-$5 and $5-$10 games for the next year or so. Then, six months ago, he began playing the higher stakes cash games in Los Angeles, primarily the $10-$20 and $10-$20-$40. With the guidance of some close friends and fellow high-stakes poker players Blake Yu and Brian Kim, he developed strategies to beat the biggest live cash games, and was then ready to dive into tournament poker. 

Event: 2017 WPT Legends of Poker
Players: 763 • Entry: $4,000 • First Prize: $668,692 • Finish: 1st

Key Concepts: Four-bet bluff; Overfolding; ICM pressure

Craig Tapscott: You came into a star-studded final table as a relative unknown. That had to be in your favor. How did you prepare for it?

Art Papazyan: I definitely think that coming into the final table as an unknown was an advantage. I didn’t have a specific plan, but I was hoping for Marvin [Rettenmaier] to bust out early as he was the short stack. I knew that if he doubled up and started accumulating, then he’d be tough to take down. Luckily, he busted out very early and from that point on I knew that I had that edge over the rest of the table. 

CT: Had you tangled with Phil Hellmuth before the final table?

AP: Phil and I played for a bit early on day four. He asked me what I usually play and I told him I was a cash game pro and that I loved playing heads-up. I asked him if he’d be willing to play me heads-up cash after the tournament concluded, and he said he would. But unfortunately, he had to leave town. An interesting dynamic developed between Phil and I after I expressed to him that I was a heads-up enthusiast. Every orbit when Phil was in the big blind I’d be the button. So, when the button would come around to me Phil would make comments such as, “the heads-up specialist is going to raise every button.” So, we definitely had a dynamic where he believes that I’m a really loose player. 

CT: Okay. Let’s get down to it.

AP: The first hand I’d like to discuss took place before the TV final table. Hellmuth was fourth in chips. I was second. 

CT: So Hellmuth perceives you as very aggressive and not really a tournament savvy player?

AP: Yes. My image to Phil is a LAG (loose-aggressive) player. He comments constantly that I’m going to “spew” off to him. But I believe that he says this to discourage me from making big plays versus him; he wants everyone to play ABC poker against him so he can avoid being put in tough spots. 

Papazyan raises from the lojack position to 130,000 holding A 4. Hellmuth three-bets to 250,000 from the button.

CT: What’s your first take on this small reraise?

AP: I thought his sizing was unusual. I knew that sometimes he could have a very strong hand here such as A-A, K-K, Q-Q, or A-K, but I felt that he could also be picking this sizing with his more marginal preflop holdings. I also know that Phil makes hero folds, especially those that require him to put his entire stack in. Given the fact that A-4 suited and A-5 suited are my favorite four-bet bluff hands preflop, I knew that if I turned up the heat here he’d be forced to fold almost his entire range besides aces and kings. And maybe he might exploitatively find folds with A-K, J-J, and Q-Q. 

Papazyan moves all-in. Hellmuth folds Q-Q face up. Papazyan wins the pot of 550,000.

CT: Wow! I hope you showed him your hand.

AP: I did decide to show one card, the 4d for a couple of reasons. I wanted to build the reputation that I have bluffs in every spot and that my range isn’t transparent. I also have developed a strategy that allows me to play a more TAG (tight-aggressive) style while maintaining a LAG image and this allows me to get paid off in a lot of spots. 

CT: And this was a psychological weapon you could use later as your opponents dwindled and if Phil was still there he would never forget that hand.

AP: Of course. I knew that if I made it deeper and had to face Phil, this particular hand would be implanted in his head and would allow me to manipulate my ranges well against him. 

CT: Due to your extensive cash game experience over the last few years, share how that has helped your tournament game develop?

AP: Well during a cash game I sit very deep, usually anywhere between 300 to 1,000 big blinds in the biggest games around and against world class high-stakes players. So, to play in this fashion, I had to really work on my post-flop game. So that’s where I think I have an edge versus players that just play mainly tournaments. I believe that even the very successful tournament players play poorly post-flop in many spots from a game theory perspective.

CT: What is a tournament concept that you are still working on?

AP: The concept that I’m still pretty unfamiliar with in tournaments is knowing which hands I’m supposed to be calling off with against preflop all-ins. I believe I fold too many hands that I should be calling with facing a small all-in shove from a late position player. That is something I’ll continue to work on if I decide to play more tournaments.

Key Concepts: Bet sizing; in position vs. out of position play: Check call vs. Check raise. 

CT: Now you are finally heads-up for the title against one of the winningest tournament players in history. What were your thoughts as the match began?

AP: I believe that Phil is a great exploitative tournament player. He’s capable of making huge laydowns in order to protect his stack and this allows him to constantly make deep runs in huge events. I knew that I had a massive edge heads-up versus Phil even though he’s been in this spot so many times in his career. I’ve played very deep heads-up cash vs. world class players, so I wasn’t worried at all going into the match. My thoughts were just to play my game and be confident in my decisions. I knew that Phil would be looking to call me down very light, so I knew I had to be under-bluffing in a lot of spots. Aside from that, I felt very confident and I knew that I had a good shot to take it down. 

Papazyan raises to 600,000 holding 5 4. Hellmuth calls from the big blind.

Flop: A 3 2 (pot: 1,300,000)

CT: Wow again!

AP: I know.

Hellmuth checks.

CT: What bet sizing are you thinking of to keep Hellmuth in the pot and not blow him out of it?

Papazyan bets 400,000.

AP: I bet 400,000, which is around one-third pot. I like to keep my bet sizing small on flop continuation bets during heads-up play, especially on static boards like this one for two reasons: First, this board favors my range so I don’t have to bet big to make him fold a big percentage of his range. Second, the reason is that since I’m betting one-third pot with all my bluffs and value hands, my opponent can’t develop a bet sizing tell on me.

Hellmuth check-raises to 900,000.

CT: I’m sure you didn’t expect that.

AP: Not at all. To me this is a huge mistake on his part. This board favors my range more than his. Also, he’s bloating this pot out of position. Third, if he thinks I’m bluffing he should just call to keep all my bluffs in; I see no point in three-betting the flop, he’s going to bet the turn with his value hands, and he’ll fold out all his bluffs. I decide to just call and see a turn card.

Papazyan calls.

Turn: J (pot: 3,100,000)

AP: The turn was an offsuit jack, completing the rainbow board.

Hellmuth bets 1,200,000.

AP: His bet is about a 35 percent pot bet. I see no point in raising here for the same reasons I didn’t reraise the flop. So, I decided to just call.

Papazyan calls.

River: 7 (pot: 5,500,000)

Hellmuth checks.

CT: How did you react to the check?

AP: After the river card rolled off, Phil snap checked. So, I choose to bet half pot.
Papazyan bets 2,600,000.

CT: Why that sizing?

AP: I bet 2.6 million for a couple of reasons. My initial reaction was to overbet jam the river and hopefully stack Phil and win the tournament. But if Phil had two pair he might fold to an overbet. And I needed his two pair hands to call me. I decided on a half-pot bet. This sizing would allow him to call with his two pair hands, and more importantly, he can go all-in with his flopped sets that he planned on check-raising the river with but might fold to an overbet.

Hellmuth calls and reveals 5 5. Papazyan wins the pot of 10,700,000.

CT: OK. He’s a great player. But he must have had you all the way on a stone-cold bluff.

AP: I know. After Phil called and rolled over the losing hand of 5-5 I was shocked. His line throughout the hand goes against all post-flop basic fundamentals. This hand gave me a huge chip lead and propelled me to win the tournament. ♠