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Kid, I Bet you were there!
At the $10,000 buy in WPT (World Poker Tour) “Doyle Brunson Five Diamond World Poker Classic” tournament in December at the Bellagio, I arrived on Day Two ready to rock and roll! I sat down at a table with some tough players, featuring: Eric Baldwin, Sorel Mizzi, and Shawn Buchanon. The first thing I did was remind Mizzi that he had overplayed a hand against me at the Bicycle Club’s WPT event a few months back. But Mizzi claimed that he wasn’t even at my table, so I said, “I bet you were.” That simple little offer ended up with me betting Mizzi $5,000 to his $8,000 that he was there. Then we called someone else I knew to be at the table that day; Barry Greenstein, and…I lost! Somehow I had confused Mizzi with Shane “Shaniac” Schleger! Mizzi rubbed it in further (fair enough) by keeping the white $5,000 “Aria Hotel and Casino” chip that I had paid him as his card protector! Was this a sign of things to come?
A few hours later, with the blinds at $800-$1,600, Mizzi opened for $3,500 under the gun. For the record, Mizzi was playing a lot of hands, and playing them very aggressively (standard for him). I called $3,500 in fourth position with 5-5, and the big blind moved all in for $2,400 total; we now had a main pot of $9,000, and side pot of $2,200. The flop came down As-Qh-5d, Mizzi fired out $5,800, and I called. A king hit on the turn, Mizzi checked, I fired out $7,500 (out of my $22,000) or so, and Mizzi called. The river was a ten (A-Q-5-K-10), Mizzi fired out $10,000, and I called. Mizzi flipped up K-J to claim the pot with a straight, and I flipped up my 5-5. You could hear a pin drop as my hand hit the table face up. Everyone at that table was bracing themselves, because it was time for the Poker Brat to go off! Everyone at that table had seen it before, and you—the reader—have too: on ESPN! Only somehow, I dug down deep and I didn’t say a word. Two hands later I moved my last $5,400 all in with Qs-Js, Baldwin called me with As-Ks, and it was over.
Let’s take a closer look at this hand. Mizzi’s under the gun $3,500 open with K-J is OK, especially as he has a loose aggressive style. But, I might not coach a beginner to raise UTG with K-J off suit. My $3,500 call before the flop with 5-5 was OK. But, I probably would not have called an opening bet of say, $5,000. I love Mizzi’s $5,800 bet on the flop. The fact that we had a third player in thwe pot who was all in, and only a small side pot gives Mizzi’s bet more strength. Generally, a bet into a small side pot means that the player that is making the bet has something. I mean, why would a player with nothing make a bet to protect an all in player? I love my $5,800 smooth call here! I assumed that Mizzi was drawing dead, or drawing to runner-runner, and I was giving Mizzi a chance to make a bet with A-J, A-10, K-Q, or just a plain old bluff on fourth street.
On fourth street, Mizzi’s check was OK, and I love my $7,500 bet. I assumed that Mizzi was drawing live to only either a ten, or a jack, and if Mizzi already had two pair that he would move all in right then and right there. I bet $7,500 into the $23,000 pot hoping to get a weak call. Of course, some players would say that I should have bet more than $7,500 to protect my hand. However, I was right about one thing: Mizzi had four wins, and thus he was a ten-to-one underdog (44 cards win for me – four cards win for him).
Can Mizzi fold his hand for $7,500? I guess that Mizzi was assuming that he would win the pot with a king (wrong), a jack (wrong), or a ten. And there was some chance that he had the best hand, right? I guess I cannot blame Mizzi for calling $7,500. After all, I did play the hand like I was weak, and I did lure him in there. Mizzi’s $10,000 bet on the river was perfect! If he had bet all of my chips ($15,000 or so), then I would have had to give serious consideration to folding my hand. Could I have folded for Mizzi’s $10,000 bet on the river? I do not think so. I mean, Mizzi could have made two pair like ace and tens. It was just a bad beat, plain and simple, and at least I handled myself well in defeat! |
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