T.J. Displays Grace and Class

Then there were three, and two of them had virtually all of the chips, but Mel Judah kept hanging on. T.J. Cloutier and Paul Phillips had sizeable chip stacks, and first place was a whopping $570,000, but Mel kept playing tough. There they sat, on the World Poker Tour stage, with lights, cameras, and celebrities all over the place.

I knew that poker had hit a new level when I walked into The Bicycle Casino for the $5,000 buy-in WPT event and felt the atmosphere of the place. Was this the same $5,000 buy-in event that paid a $120,000 first prize only two years earlier? Had you been there that day in 2001, you wouldn't have recognized the place in 2003.

There sat Ben Affleck, arguably the hottest star in the world at this time, and local news trucks filled the parking lot. A few tables over sat Lou "Diamond" Phillips and Lakers owner Jerry Buss. There was more press circling the players – with nonstop clicks from the cameras – than I had ever seen before, except at the 2003 World Series of Poker. A German TV crew was there to film me, along with the San Francisco Chronicle, which needed pictures of me for a Phil Hellmuth feature.

"Do you have time for a Sports Illustrated interview today?" I was asked by the WPT crew. "No," I said, "no one gets time with me today, not even SI." Of course, I eventually decided that it would be in my best interests to make time for SI!

The whole scene was so intense that I walked into the parking lot to catch my breath for five minutes. What the heck was going on here? I guess poker is absolutely red-hot. In fact, sitting right next to me as I write this column is the Sept. 22 issue of US Weekly, with a picture inside of Ben at the Bike poker table and a quote: "Ben was starstruck when he met poker champ Annie Duke." Indeed! I gathered my thoughts in the parking lot, thinking, "OK, Phil, remember one thing: You're here to win this thing."

Still, I did relish the opportunity to welcome Affleck to the poker tournament. I walked over to him and said, "Ben, welcome to the poker world."

He replied, "Hi, Phil, I read your book. What animal do you think I am. I think I'm a lion."

"Ben," I said, without missing a beat, "you're an aspiring eagle!"

He laughed and said, "Yeah, but it might take me 22 years to get there." What was going on here? Ben knew my name, and had read my book.

By the way, Ben went out of the tournament with pocket aces, which is always a very respectable way to get eliminated. Apparently, Ben has been getting lessons from top pro Amir Vahedi, and it shows. He seems to be learning no-limit hold'em at a very accelerated pace. Good luck to you, Ben; the poker world is happy to have you playing in its biggest and most prestigious poker tournaments! Ben also asked me about lessons, and he even knew my going rate of $10,000 a day, but I told him he could have one free day of lessons.

Anyway, with three players left, T.J. opens on the button with 2-2, and Mel moves all in with K-10 suited. T.J. has enough money in the pot that it's a simple call for him, and the hands are flipped faceup. With a flop of 10-9-4, followed by 7-3, Mel doubles up.

Three rounds later, T.J. opens again on the button, and Mel moves all in again, this time with K-J. T.J. calls quickly with A-10 (T.J. told me later that he has noticed Mel plays king high for big bets, and he has known about this tendency for years), and the hands are flipped faceup again. The flop comes down 8-8-3, followed by a queen, and it appears T.J. will win the pot, have nearly $1 million in chips, and eliminate Mel to face Paul heads up for the title and the cash. Mel stands up to leave as the last card is being dealt, but it's a jack! T.J. looks chagrined, but I know the metal he is made of (titanium).

Now, after countless all ins for Mel, the chip stacks stand at about $500,000 per player: Ladies and gentlemen, we have ourselves a poker game! Paul continues to attack aggressively before the flop with raises, and T.J. and Mel let him go, occasionally moving over the top of him to counter his overaggressive play. T.J. knows one thing (that I usually know, as well) when the big money goes all in: He likes his hand! He doesn't mind Paul making steals, and he doesn't mind Mel making moves; it's all about that one big hand now, and T.J. almost always has the best of it when it comes up.

Then, the following happens so quickly, it's scary: T.J. raises from the small blind. He puts in his chips exactly as he had two rounds earlier when he raised it, Paul moved all in from the big blind, and he folded. The chips are stacked the exact same way, and the exact same amount is bet. If Paul is paying attention to body language, T.J. has shown him a tell of, "I'm weak." It's a tell that isn't true, as T.J. has shown Paul a "false tell." He is luring Paul into thinking he can take this pot away, too, by moving all in before the flop. T.J. has J-J, and is selling his hand perfectly.

It turns out that Paul has 7-7, which is a reasonable hand to play in any case. Paul moves all in, and T.J. immediately says, "I call." T.J. was setting a trap, and he already knew what he would do if Paul moved all in on him.

In the 2000 WSOP against Chris "Jesus" Ferguson, T.J. had A-Q vs. Chris' A-9, and Chris hit a 9 on the river for a $4.4 million pot. In the final Tournament of Champions, T.J. had A-J with a board of J-9-8 when he called all in vs. 10-8 for Brian Saltus; Brian made a straight on the end. In the WSOP another year, T.J. put his money in before the flop with the best hand, the A Q, against Humberto Brenes' 9 6. T.J. lost when the flop came 9-9-5. With three players left in the WSOP another year, T.J. lost a monster pot with K-Q against Kevin McBride's J 9. T.J.'s luck in the big pots in the biggest, most prestigious events hasn't been too good; nonetheless, he is recognized as being one of the greatest (if not the greatest) poker tournament players who ever lived.

Here is one more pot, in one more high-profile tournament, in which T.J. has the best of it – and is going to lose. The J-J is a 4.5-1 favorite over the 7-7. The flop was perfect for T.J.: A 5 2. At this point, a quick "suit check" shows that Paul can win with a diamond-diamond finish (he has the 7, and T.J. doesn't have a diamond with his J-J), but this is a very good flop for T.J. The turn card is a 7!

Now, T.J. looks disgusted, and shakes his head in disbelief; he shouts something to a friend in the crowd. Yikes, what a brutal card. T.J. now needs a jack on the river for a $1 million pot, or he will finish third. But, it is not to be, as the final card is a 9, and T.J. exits shaking Paul's and Mel's hand – class all the way.

Can it be? Is T.J. really out? Did he just lose three decisions in a row? And did he just lose a $1 million pot in which he was a 4.5-1 favorite? Yes, T.J. is gone, and I watch as he handles his post-game speech with eloquence and class. Is T.J. down afterwards? Yes, T.J. is down, but he is never, ever out!

I hope you enjoyed this Hand of the Week. Good luck playing your hands this week.

Editor's note: Phil's book, Play Poker Like the Pros, is available through Card Player. At philhellmuth.com, you can learn more about Phil and read more Hand of the Week columns. Play poker with Phil – or chat with him – at UltimateBet.com's low-stakes tables.