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|
 The
World Poker Tour Battle of the Champions made history by airing poker on NBC network television opposite the Super Bowl
pre-game show. Six of the eleven champions of the World Poker Tour's first season made it to the final table. The players were
Howard Lederer,
Ron Rose,
Chris Karagulleyan,
Gus Hansen,
Jose Rosenkrantz and
Juha Helppi. Because we got to see champions, we got to see truly remarkable poker.
A new feature was added for this episode: the World Poker Tour "Action Clock". This clock gives players one minute to act on
their hands. I believe there are many times players take too long to make decisions, however I did not like this new idea. It looked
as if sometimes players did not have enough time to make the best decision. It also made me nervous watching it. There was a segment
on players discussing the clock. Many players stated they had a lot to think about in the allotted time; the action on each betting round,
the amount of chips the opponent has, etc. It appeared that many of them might not have liked the idea. But one player,
David "The Devilfish" Ulliott said: "Devilfish's
got a lightning fast brain."
Jose won the first hand of the tournament. The second hand eliminated one of my favorite
No Limit players, Gus Hansen. Juha raised
to $70,000 with A9 of diamonds. Gus moved all-in for $377,000 with KQ hearts, and Juha called. The board was AQ2 giving both
players a pair. Neither player improved on the
turn or river and Gus left the table. I was totally disappointed he was eliminated so early. He is so fascinating to watch.
Amazingly another player got knocked out on the third hand of the tournament. Chris raised the $20,000
big blind to $65,000. Jose raised to
$200,000 with AJ of diamonds. After Howard folded his pocket eights and Ron folded AQ, Chris called
all-in because he already had one third of his chips
committed. The board was Q74K5 and Chris was sent home in fifth place. Three hands dealt and two players were already gone.
I always enjoy the interviews with the players. Howard Lederer is my favorite player to listen to. I always feel like I
learn at least one important poker lesson from him during these. On this show, he stated, "Absolutely, at the beginning of
every tournament, I expect to win. You have to or you probably don't have much of a chance." Later on in the show he said,
"Poker is a puzzle only you can solve for yourself." He was referring to the different styles of play and how they work for
each player.
 As I
stated earlier, this episode contained truly magnificent poker. There are many times I watch the programs and don't
think the hands are interesting enough to comment on. This time I am going to be writing about a lot of hands. Juha and Ron
went to battle on one hand when Juha raised with K5 and Ron called in the small blind with KJ. The flop was K63 and both
players checked. The turn was a jack, Ron checked again and Juha bet $100,000. Ron checkraised to $200,000. Juha folded his top pair.
After this hand, there was a critical replay which pointed out possible tells on players. This is another new feature to the WPT. I liked how
Mike Sexton pointed out that Ron twitched his neck
and bet very deliberately. I might not have picked up on it, but from the looks of it, Juha did.
The next hand it was Ron and Juha again. Ron raised with A8 and Juha called in the big blind with JT. The flop was
QQ4. Juha checked, Ron bet $100,000 and Juha raised to $300,000. Ron folded his hand. On the previous hand, Ron played his
hand slowly while on this hand, he bet immediately. Juha picked up on this, lost the minimum on the first hand and took the
second pot away from Ron.
There were a few hands that the player on the
button raised with decent hands and the players in the
blinds took the pot away from them. Juha raised to $70,000 with A5 and Howard
reraised to $230,000 with AT. This was a terrific
move because AT is a the kind of hand that you would rather win the pot without seeing a flop. On the next hand, Jose raised
to $100,000 with KQ and Juha raised to $300,000 with a garbage hand. Jose folded his hand.
Ron earned a pot when Jose raised with KT of diamonds and Ron called with J8. The flop was K52 and both players checked. The
turn was a three, Ron checked, Jose bet $50,000, and Ron raised to $150,000 with jack high. The river was a jack and Ron bet
$200,000. Jose folded his pair of kings!!
Now the action clock came into play. Juha raised to $90,000 with pocket eights, Ron called with pocket fours and Jose
moved all-in to $450,000 with AT. 10, 9, 8, 7... Juha thought about what to do. 6,5,4... he was still thinking. 3,2,1... his
hand was dead. Ron folded and Jose picked up the pot.
The following hand was probably one of the most brutal in the tournament. Howard raised to $90,000 with AK, Ron called with
AJ and Jose moved all-in with pocket eights for $780,000. Howard moved all-in over the top of him and Ron folded. The flop
was KT5 and the turn was an ace. Jose's only out was an eight and he caught it on the river! Jose won a $1,670,000 pot
and Howard lost more than a third of his stack.
Juha lost a pot when he did not keep the lead on a hand. He had the second best hand, but he could have taken the pot away
from Ron with a substantial bet. Both players held an eight. Ron had an ace kicker and Juha had a seven kicker. The board
was QJ8. If Juha led out with a large bet, Ron most likely would have folded his pair of eights with two
overcards on the board. The next hand
Juha was eliminated. Ron called on the button with K8 of hearts, Jose called with pocket deuces and Juha checked his T9. The
board was T87 with two hearts. Juha bet $100,000, Ron raised to $300,000 and Juha moved all-in to $1,065,000. Ron called the
additional $765,000. The turn was a four of diamonds and the river was a four of hearts giving Ron the flush. Juha had top
pair on the flop with a straight draw and made a terrific play. He looked extremely disappointed when he walked away in
fourth place.
Howard made a move that almost made my jaw drop. Jose raised to $150,000 with pocket sevens and Howard moved all in with 63
offsuit. Jose called the $620,000. I know moves like this are necessary especially when a player is not getting dealt hands.
I was just surprised to see Howard make a move like this and get called. The flop was K52 giving him a straight draw.
The turn was a six giving him a pair and more outs. The river did not help him and Howard left in third place.
 When
the play got to be heads up, Jose won
the first two pots. The next hand created a huge pot. Ron called with 84 hearts and Jose checked his J7 with one heart.
The flop was K72 with all hearts. Jose checked, Ron bet $200,000 on his flush and Jose called. The turn was another seven
giving Jose three sevens and a flush draw. He checked again, Ron bet another $200,000 and Jose called. The river was a six
of spades and Jose bet $300,000 and Ron called. Ron won a pot worth $1,480,000 which gave him a two to one chip lead.
Ron won another decent pot when he held J7 to Jose's T5. The board was 853, checked around. The turn was a nine, checked
around again. The river was a ten giving Jose two pair and Ron the straight. Jose bet $120,000, Ron raised to $420,000 and
Jose called.
The final hand Ron held J7 to Jose's KQ. The flop was JT7. Ron checked, Jose bet $200,000. Ron raised $200,000, Jose moved
all-in for $1,620,000, and Ron called. The turn was a Queen giving Jose more outs but the river did not help and he left in
second place. "Dayton" Ron Rose was crowned the first World Poker Tour Battle of Champions champion. |
