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Phil Hellmuth专栏
It is a fun article. So you prefer Olympic gold medal to WSOP bracelet? Come on, there are much more Olympic medals than WSOP bracelets every year, so I think yours are more valuable.
(This one was written a month ago. Not current, but worth a read)
14 Gold Medals and a Player Too!
I watched the 2008 Summer Olympics with awe, and no small measure of amazement as Michael Phelps won gold medal after gold medal. One day it was Phelps by a country mile, the next day Phelps relay mates ran down their opponents at the last possible second, even though those opponents were the fastest in the world in their discipline! At first, over their loud protests, I made my sons come and watch each race on television, knowing that we were witnessing something truly special on a historical and a global scale. Finally, there was the race that defies explanation, where Phelps won a race that the world watched the replay of, over-and-over, and yet still we were left shaking our heads in disbelief. Phelps was beaten, but somehow he used a half-stroke, a move that no one would coach, to beat Cavic by literally, a fingernail! When I watched this replay seven or eight times, my sons were very happy to be in the room watching with me. Eight races, eight gold medals, what else can you say?
As news filtered to the poker world that Phelps was a poker player, and a fan of the poker world, the players took notice. Then a few months after the Olympics ended, I was in Las Vegas when Phelps asked to meet me. I have met some of the biggest celebs in the world, but Phelps was the first person that I was completely star struck by! Also, I was impressed with his knowledge of Texas Hold’em, and the very next day Phelps made a final table in a tournament at Caesars Palace with over 300 entrants. Currently I’m trying to get Phelps to go to Ultimatebet.com’s Aruba Poker Classic tournament, and he is on the fence. Meanwhile, Phelps played a big pot in a tournament the other day that I decided to write up here in my column.
The blinds were $500-$1,000, with a $125 a man ante, Player A moved all in--in first position--for $5,000 with K-6 off suit, everyone else folded and then Phelps moved all in—in the small blind--for $29,000 with 9h-9d. Player B--in the big blind—tanked for a moment, and then called $28,000 more with A-7 off suit. The cards went on their backs, and the flop came down 10-9-6. What a great flop for Phelps, and his pair of nines. The turn was a jack, which means that Phelps could now lose to an eight, or a queen on the river. Alas, the river was an eight!
Let’s take a closer look at the play of this hand. I do not like Player A’s all in move under the gun with K-6. I would greatly prefer the fold! I mean, he would have been in the big blind the very next hand, and who knows what could happen then. Maybe someone in late position would have raised it up with 2-2, or Q-J, or a bluff and Player A could find himself a favorite to win a $10,000 pot. Or maybe, Player A could have folded both blind hands and still had $3,000 left when he took possession of the button, where he would have had seven hands to choose from. Phelps $29,000 move was a good one, as he only had to fear Player B in the big blind. In fact, Phelps sent a clear message to Player B, and it was, “I have a strong hand!” I hate Player B’s call here with A-7. He obviously didn’t hear Phelps message, or interpret it very well. But regardless, Player B had only $1,000 in the pot, and it was $28,000 more to call with A-7 off suit. If Mike “The mouth” Matusow saw Player B make that call, he would shout, “Are you insane!?!”
Phelps has a ton of poker talent, and in the next fifteen years don’t be surprised to see him win a few WSOP bracelets to go along with his, oh say, 19 to 24 gold medals! By the way, just today I asked Phelps if he wanted to trade one of my WSOP bracelets for one of his gold medals, but I don’t think he’ll go for it!! |
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