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|
 The
World Poker Tour Championship held at Bellagio Casino was an exciting one. We got to see poker legends
Doyle Brunson,
Ted Forrest, and
Phil Ivey go to battle. We also got to see one of
the most exciting heads-up matches ever.
Ted Forrest showed me why he is considered one of the best players of all-time. He made moves with hands that to most would
be unplayable. He made the correct laydowns
in certain situations and made reads of players that were remarkable. The first hand I thought was incredible was when he
raised with 82. He followed through with that hand by betting the flop and the turn and took down a decent size pot. On the
following hand, he raised with J9 and Phil called with A7. The flop was A84. Ted bet $100,000 and Phil called. The turn was
a seven, Phil checked trying to induce
action, but Ted checked behind him. The
river was a queen. Phil bet $150,000 and Ted folded. In the two hands, Ted bet when he thought he might be able to take the
pot. On the second hand, he conceded the pot knowing he wasn't able to take the pot away from Phil.
James Hoeppner was the first person to be eliminated when he picked up pocket jacks and raised the $30,000 blind to
$130,000. The players folded around to Kirill Gerasimov and he looked at pocket kings. Kirill
reraised to $250,000 and James moved
all-in for $246,000 more. Kirill called and won the pot when neither player's hands improved with the board of A6244.
Ted escaped a race situation that became even more dangerous after the flop. Kirill raised with KQ. Ted moved all-in with
pocket eights and Kirill called. The flop was AJ3 all diamonds, giving Kirill the diamond draw, or a king, queen or ten
draw. The turn was a seven of hearts and the river was a four of hearts.
Alan Goehring put on a great show on a four way action flop. Ted called with Q9, Alan called with 82 clubs, Doyle called in
the small blind with A2 and Phil checked the big blind with A3. The flop was AT4 with two clubs. Ted bet $50,000, Alan
called and Doyle and Phil folded. The turn card was a ten and Ted checked. I don't like the fact Ted gave up leading with
his hand here. Alan bet $100,000 and Ted called. The
river paired the board again with a four.
Ted checked again and Alan bet $200,000. By giving up the lead, Ted was forced to be the one making a decision. He looked at
Alan for tells. He studied him up and down (even got a few chuckles from the audience). Alan asked him, "need some help?"
Ted nodded and asked Alan, "What do you think I should do? Should I call or fold?" Alan replied, "I'd like to help you Ted,
but I am involved in a hand right now." I believe his chatter helped him win this pot. He was so calm when he answered. Ted
laid the best hand down.
 The
following hand seems to be the most talked about hand of the tournament. Alan doubled the pot with his pocket jacks. Doyle moved
all-in over the top with Q8. Ted has AJ in the big blind and spent his whole time watching Doyle. He made the correct call against
Doyle, but he ignored Alan's original raise. I stated earlier Ted made terrific
reads against his opponents. He only took the time
to read one of his opponents on this hand and it turned out to be a critical error. Alan was faced with a decision to call two all-in
players. With a commanding 5-to-1 chip position and the possibility of eliminating two players, he made the only possible move and
called. The flop was 653, the turn was a two and the river was a nine. Two players were eliminated in one hand. Ted had fewer
chips than Doyle so he was the fifth place finisher,
Doyle finished in fourth.
I was excited Phil was among the top three. I thought I was going to be able to see him in action (by the way, have I
mentioned he is my FAVORITE player?). I was wrong. He was eliminated quickly when Kirill raised the $30,000 blind to
$100,000. Alan called in the small blind with 63 offsuit. Phil moved all-in for $846,000 with AQ. Kirill quickly called with
AK and Alan folded. The board was K632T. I have heard Phil say that when he leaves a tournament he replays the events in his
head and tries to learn from them. This situation is almost identical to the hand against
Howard Lederer at Foxwoods. I wonder what he learned
from that hand. I am certainly not going to dispute whether he made the correct move or not. I wonder what he thinks about it.
The heads-up play was almost half the show. It was fast and furious -- my favorite heads-up play on the World Poker Tour.
Kirill was amazing, but he went to the well (his all-in move) once too often.
The first hand heads-up, Alan
slowplayed his kings and ended up losing the pot. He
limped in and Kirill checked with A4. The board was J77.
Both player checked. The turn was another seven. Alan bet $50,000 and Kirill called. The river was another seven giving Kirill the best hand.
Kirill bet $200,000 and Alan called. Although Alan won the event, I am sure he still kicks himself when thinking about that hand.
The next hand was spectacular. Alan limped with K7. Kirill checked 76. The flop was AT8. Alan bet $50,000 and Kirill called. The turn was
another eight and Kirill led out for $150,000. Alan called, thinking his hand was the best (which it was). The river was a four of spades making a
flush possibility and Kirill moved all-in, winning the pot.
He also moved all-in the next hand giving him a commanding lead.
The "going to the well once too often" reference was to the next hand. Alan doubled the blind with pocket queens. Kirill
called with 96 clubs. Both checked the Q53 flop. The turn was a five. Alan bet 100,000, and Kirill moved all-in again. Alan
did a double take at his cards (checking to see if the queens were still there) and called. This hand gave Alan 3,500,000 in
chips to Kirill's 2,000,000. This mistake was horrible on Kirill's part. He had a huge chip lead; there was only a small
amount of action before Alan's bet; and Kirill had already moved all-in on two huge pots. If he was going to move all-in on
a third hand, he should have made sure he had the best of it, or the pot was worth the risk.
 The
final hand was an exciting one. Kirill limped with 86 and Alan rapped the table with 85. The flop came 854, Alan bet $50,000
and Kirill raised to $300,000. Alan moved all-in and Kirill called. The
turn card was a seven giving Kirill the
straight and the river was an eight giving Alan the
full house and the victory. Alan looked shocked that he
actually won the event! He did a little skip and smiled from ear to ear. Kirill smiled, shook his hand and accepted his second place finish graciously.
See also Championship - Season Two and
Season Three |
