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I looked forward to seeing this World Poker Tour episode more than any other. It featured
three of my top ten tournament players:
Phil Ivey,
Howard Lederer and
Layne Flack. I thought that it would be the
ultimate poker lesson. There were some great moves, bluffs, and even better
laydowns, but honestly I enjoyed the interviews
with the players more than watching the poker. I got to listen to what they think about poker and what they think about their game.
In Phil's interview, he showed how much work he puts into being at the top of his game. He said, "Every time I get knocked
out of a tournament, I go home and I replay everything that happened leading to me getting knocked out. I think that is important
because you recognize the mistakes that you make and you try not to make them again." He was also as humble as ever when he
was discussing the comparison that some make between him and Tiger Woods. "Tiger Woods is the best at what he does. I don't
think I am the best at what I do right now. Maybe I will be one day, I hope to be one day, but right now there are better players
than me. I still don't feel like I am at the top of my game. I know I have a lot to learn where poker is concerned and tournaments."
 Howard
offered a few great comments including: "It is very hard to ignore success or failure in this profession that I have chosen.
I try and really take things one hand at a time." I found that interesting because I always thought he makes his decisions
and is comfortable with them and then the hand is over. He does not dwell on whether he made the right decision or not. He
later said, "When I lose at poker or lose at any game, I would like to flip the board over. I feel that inside. I just don't
show it. I wouldn't want to give them that kind of satisfaction to know they got that out of me." Howard always has the same
demeanor, never mad, glad, etc. I would have never known that he feels the same way as I do when I am losing.
Layne's
interview really showed how erratic he is. I actually laughed at the screen because he is so wild. He said, "It's not what I
think you're gonna do, its what I think you think I am... you know... see what I am saying. You can be a great player and
not spell your name (laugh). Gin doesn't go with Coca Cola, but if you are able to put it together, y'know, you got 'em
confused. They don't know what to do." He definitely had me confused with that speech. He went on to say, "I don't think I
have an advantage because of my personality. I think I confuse a lot of people though. I don't think that any one player is
that much better than another. It is very nice that people think that I am the greatest
No Limit player in the world because
now I know where I stand in their minds not in mine so now I play accordingly." Another example of how humble some of these
players are. I think that Layne is one of the best No Limit players in the world. I just wish that he would play his best
game all the time. I think that Layne is so much better than most of the other players so he gets bored at the table
sometimes. He is capable of performing so much better if he plays his best at all times.
 Back
to the tournament. Like I said, this should have been a more exciting program than it was because we have a few of the
best tournament players in the world playing in it. Part of the problem with the program was that the blind
structure was small relative to the amount of
chips on the table. You are probably going
to have a boring program if the players are great, they have a lot of chips, and the blind structure is so small. Big blinds
started out at $3,000 and by the end of the program the big blind was only $6,000.
The first hand showed how Layne Flack's instincts are incredible when he is at the top of his game. He made the perfect move
against Howard when he held pocket sevens against Howard's KJ. The flop was KK5. Howard led out on the hand which was a
great move on his part. Most players would have
checked. Howard played opposite of
what other players would have done. It made it look like he didn't have the king. When a ten came on the turn, Howard
checked and Layne checked behind him. It looked like the
overcard might have hurt Howard's hand.
When a six came on the end, Howard moved all-in and Layne made a great move by folding his hand after he thought about it
for a long time. I am always amazed at Layne's ability to do exactly the right thing. Mike Sexton said, "Even though
Howard won that pot, I am so impressed with the way Layne Flack played that hand. He lost the least he could lose with those
two sevens". Vince Van Patten then replied, "These guys know when to lay down the hand, they know when they are beat."
I totally disagree. Most players would not have made the great laydown Layne did. He is a master of making the correct move.
Howard made a great move the next hand when he had AK on the button and just called the $3,000 blind. Ron Rose raised to
$31,500 with pocket tens in the small blind. Howard moved all-in for $84,000. Ron had no idea what happened. There was a
little over $120,000 in the pot, but he folded the hand. On the next hand we see,
Andy Bloch raised to $15,000 with pocket tens and
Ron called with AJ of clubs. The flop came Q44, Andy checked and Ron moved all-in. Andy called immediately. The turn was a two and the
river was another two. Andy doubled up and
Ron lost a huge amount of his stack. Two hands in a row, Ron lost a large amount of chips by playing his hands backward.
 On the
following hand, Phil showed why he has earned an ultra-aggressive reputation. Phil raised in the small blind with Q6 and
Peter Giordano called the $11,000. The flop came A65 and Phil bet out $15,000. Peter raised $30,000 and Phil moved all-in.
Unbelievable, he moved all-in with a pair of sixes and it worked. He took advantage of Peter's only partial committal to the
pot to force him to put his entire tournament on the line. He bet an amount that he could still make a good laydown,
so Phil made him laydown! Watching Phil at the table is incredible and watching him make moves like that makes me realize
why he is my absolute favorite player. I also like watching his concentration and intense focus at the table. His eyes dart
back and forth taking in the whole situation. It almost seems like he is looking into the future.
Ron Rose was eliminated in sixth place when he raised all-in with A4 of diamonds. Andy picked up AQ in the big blind and
called. An ace flopped, but there was no help on the turn or the river for Ron. Ron later won the
Reno Hilton World Poker Tour event.
One of the key pots in the tournament was when Howard got dealt KJ and raised the $4,000 blind to $12,000. Layne just called
the raise with pocket aces. The flop was KJ3 and Howard checked. Layne bet $12,000 and Howard raised to $45,000. Layne moved
all-in and Howard beat him in the pot with all of his chips. The turn was a seven and the river was a nine. Howard was the
short stack during the whole tournament and he is definitely the one person at the table that you do not want to double up.
Although, you don't want to double Howard up, I think Layne played the hand well. He got unlucky that Howard flopped the top two pair.
A few hands later, Phil showed us again why he is such a great player and how No Limit is not about the hands that you hold. The hand was four way
action when Layne
limped in with 65 suited, Phil called with Q6
suited, Andy called with 97 and Howard
checked his big blind with K4 suited. The flop was KT3, Andy checked, Howard bet $8,000 and Phil raised to $25,000. Phil
raised with absolutely nothing and Howard laid down his hand.
Howard won another key pot a few hands later which put him within striking distance to take the whole tournament. Howard
called $4,000 with 97 of clubs, Layne called in the small blind with A6, Phil checked the big blind with Tc9h. The flop was
832 with two clubs, checked around. The turn was a six of clubs. Layne bets $8,000, Phil called, and Howard just called with
his flush. The turn was a nine of
diamonds. Layne checked, Phil bet $15,000, and Howard raised it to $45,000. Layne folds his hand and Phil did too. Phil made
a great laydown, but Howard won another pot of $98,500.
An hour and a half into the program there were still five players in the tournament! I was wondering how Phil ended up
getting knocked out of the tournament in fourth place when he was chip leader almost the whole program.
Peter Giordano was knocked out in fifth place by making an odd play. Howard called the $4000 big blind. Layne raised to
$19,000 with KT and Peter called the small blind. It seemed to me that there would be a better opportunity for Peter to
commit his chips than this particular hand considering that there was a caller and a raiser in front of him. Peter called
$17,000 more with KQ. The flop came AQ7. Peter moved all-in for $38,5000, Howard called and Layne folded. The turn was a
three and the river was a four. Howard won a $140,000 pot and was now a force to be reckoned with.
 The answer to my
question on how Phil got eliminated was on the following hand. Phil raised to $14,000. Howard was dealt pocket kings in the
small blind and reraised to $54,000. Phil debated awhile, then moved all-in. Howard called and it was easy to see the look
of disappointment on Phil's face. He knew he made a mistake. The flop was 984, turn was a jack of clubs which gave Phil a
flush draw, straight draw, and an ace
draw. The river was a Jack. He showed what a true sportsman should act like when he got knocked out. I could see in his
interview that he was down on himself. I think that of all the top players, he is the hardest on himself. Despite that, he
was a true gentleman in his interview. He said, "The whole experience was great. I am happy to be a part of the World Poker
Tour and I am a little disappointed in my fourth place finish, but I have a feeling I will be back." I know that he probably
wanted to go kick the wall, but he made a nice graceful exit. This hand was the most interesting of all the hands played in
the tournament. I wondered if he was going to go back to his room like he said earlier and play back what led up to him
getting knocked out of the tournament. Would he think he made a mistake? His main move was to bluff the pot. Howard might
have laid down the hand if he had pocket nines or tens. The move would have been an incredible one if that was the case. If
Howard called, Phil was not going to have the best of it. You want to have the best of it if you put all of your chips in
the pot. This pot showed me that after playing so long, even the best players can make an error. He moved all his chips in
when the blind structure was still quite small.
The next hand we see, Andy moved all-in for $72,000 with JT of spades and Howard called $66,000 with pocket nines. The flop
was 885 with two spades. The turn was an ace. Andy needed a jack, ten or a spade to stay in the tournament. The river was a
seven of hearts. Andy Bloch was knocked out in third place.
The heads up match was really short.
All the hands passed without much action until Layne raised the pot to $16,000 with J8 of spades. Howard
reraised to $50,000 with AQ of clubs and
Layne called. The flop was K82 of diamonds and Howard bet all-in. Layne thought about it for a long time and it looked like Layne
thought his eights were good. That was an incredible move by Howard. Layne looked like he was being eaten up inside after that hand.
The final hand of the event, Howard raised with A9 of heart and Layne moved all-in with pocket threes. Howard asked for a
chip count and called the $146,000. Howard flopped the nine and Layne did not improve. Howard Lederer was the first place
finisher, giving him two World Poker Tour titles. His other victory came at the
Party Poker Million.
Also see the Foxwoods - Season Two and
Season Three reports |
