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 The
episode held at Foxwoods Casino in Connecticut was an exciting one. There is nothing like watching Phil Hellmuth get
destroyed on television and this is becoming more and more familiar. The final six players for this event were
Hoyt Corkins, Mohamed Ibrahim,
Phil Hellmuth Jr., Brian Haveson, Senthil Kumar, and Christopher Ackerman.
The first hand involving some action is
when Mohamed called with 98 clubs, Chris called with pocket sixes and Phil
checked his big blind with 97. The flop was KK6
and all players checked. The turn was another king. Phil checked, Mohamed bet $20,000 and Chris called after thinking for a short time.
The river was a two and both players checked. Chris turned over his sixes and won the pot. It is always difficult to flop such a huge
hand and then run into trouble because you slowplayed it.
Fortunately for Chris his hand held up.
Brian made a move that is becoming a standard one for many players. These players feel inclined to make a move they would
never consider in a regular tournament, but when they are on television, they are compelled to try and steal a pot with a
garbage hand. He moved all in with 52 in the small blind and the big blind folded. He then turned his hand face up for the
players and audience to see. I wonder if this move had an impact on the next hand we see. Phil called with KT, Mohamed
called with KJ and Brian moved all-in with AT. Phil folded and Mohammed called the additional $102,000. The flop was JT9,
turn was a five and the river was another jack. Brian finished in sixth place. If he had not made the previous bluff and
showed it to the whole table would Mohammed still call with KJ? Brian was the favorite, but he would probably have
been better off just taking the pot out there rather than face a showdown.
Before I get started on Phil, I want to make it clear that I respect his ability as a poker player. He just rubs me the
wrong way with his whining and his bonehead comments. On the following hand, Phil raised to $55,000, Chris folded his pocket
fives in the small blind and Senthil moved all-in with pocket queens. It was 98,500 more to Phil and he called stating
Senthil could have tens. The flop was 883. The turn was a nine and the
river was a four. Senthil doubled up on the hand.
Senthil did exit shortly thereafter when he raised with pocket kings. Mohammed moved all-in in the big blind with AT and Senthil
quickly called with his remaining chips. The flop was 964 and the turn a queen. It looked like Senthil might double up again until
the nasty ace came on the river. Senthil left with a huge smile on his face. I don't recall any other player exiting so graciously especially with the
bad beat that was put on him.
Windows - Mac
Hoyt lost on the next hand by moving all-in (a move that would become familiar). Mohamed raised to $60,000 with AK and Hoyt
reraised to $210,000 with pocket threes and Mohamed called. The flop was AJ9 and Hoyt moved all-in for $342,000. Mohamed
quickly called and doubled up on the hand after the turn and river were fours.
Phil got outplayed numerous times by Hoyt. The first occurred when Phil called in the small blind with J9 and Hoyt checked
his J7. The flop was 962. Phil bet $25,000, Hoyt raised to $70,000 and Phil called. Hoyt was trying to bluff the pot in this
situation and Phil showed no strength. The turn was a seven and both players checked. Phil checked his top pair, and put
Hoyt on what? The river was another seven. Phil bet $80,000 and Hoyt raised to $160,000. Phil called and couldn't believe
his "bad luck" when Hoyt turned over his hand showing three sevens. I had to laugh when
Mike Sexton commented about a "potential whine fest here".
That is exactly what we got. After we hear Phil cry for a minute, Hoyt told Phil he wasn't going to put another chip into the pot. Had Phil
reraised on the flop or bet on the turn,
the hand would have been over. Instead he bet into Hoyt when the most obvious hand Hoyt could have was 87, for three sevens.
 On
the next hand we see, Phil won a little bit of his chips back. Phil raised to $55,000 in the small blind with 95 of
diamonds. Hoyt called the $35,000 in the big blind with QT, with the queen of diamonds. The flop was JT7 with two diamonds.
Both players checked. The turn was a three of diamonds giving Phil the
flush. He bet $50,000 and Hoyt called with his pair of tens. The river was a four. Phil bet $130,000 and Hoyt made a
great
laydown. He could have gone for all his
chips in this pot, but instead lost the minimum. Hoyt won another pot when Mohamed called with QJ, Phil called with T5
offsuit, and Hoyt checked his 75. The flop was A77 and Hoyt bet $40,000. I always like this move because it makes it more
difficult for players to put the opponent on three of a kind. Most people check their three of a kind in this position. Phil
folded his hand and Mohamed called. The turn was a jack making Mohamed's hand a little stronger. If Hoyt had a Queen, Mohamed's
hand would have been good at this point. Hoyt bet and Mohamed called. The river was an eight. Hoyt bet $155,000 and Mohamed called.
Phil goes at it again when he raised to $45,000 with K9 of hearts. Hoyt called with AJ of clubs and both
blinds folded their hands. The flop was AKT with two clubs.
Hoyt had Phil over a barrel with this flop. Phil checked, Hoyt bet $80,000 and Phil called. The turn was another king. Phil made a poor check.
Hoyt did not take the bait and he checked also. The river was another ace. Hoyt had made the correct move after the flop on every betting round.
He bet when he had the best hand, checked when he had the worst and then bet when his hand was good on the river. Phil checked, Hoyt bet
$125,000 and Phil called. While Hoyt is stacking his chips, Phil said, "you really do it to me, huh buddy?" Again Hoyt
reminded him that if he had bet the turn, he would have taken that pot away from Hoyt. Phil is not only getting outplayed and
outdrawn, he is getting outwitted by a man
of few words. Hoyt only needed to say a sentence with less than fifteen words in it to make Phil look even more silly.
Chris was not involved in many hands but appeared to be the favorite of the crowd. He moved all-in with KT and Phil reraised
to $289,000 making the other players fold behind him. The flop was AAJ giving Chris a Queen out. The turn was a jack giving
Phil the full house and made it
impossible for Chris to win. He also left the tournament with class.
 Phil
and Hoyt were at it again when Phil called on the button with KQ. Hoyt called in the small blind with T8 and Mohamed checked
his 73. The flop was JJ8. Hoyt bet $40,000, Mohamed folded and Phil raised to $160,000. Hoyt called. The turn was another
eight and Hoyt checked. Phil bet $70,000 into a pot worth more than $400,000 and Hoyt called. The river was a six and both
players checked. Phil got up and walked around and said, "nice hand Hoyt." he then claimed he had QQ (there are
cameras there Phil), to which Hoyt again replied that if he had QQ then Phil played it awful slow to allow him to win the pot.
Hoyt moved all in next hand when Mohamed limped
and Phil called in the small blind. Both players folded. Hoyt moved in again on the next hand shown. He held 83 and Mohamed
called with his pair of fours. The flop was T64 and Hoyt did not improve his hand.
Surprisingly, Phil was not eliminated by Hoyt. Mohamed moved all-in with JT for $332,000 and Phil called with A6. The flop
was KQ7 giving Mohamed a lot of outs. If Phil caught his ace, Mohamed would have a
straight. The turn was exactly that and
Phil exited the tournament. Unlike the previous players, he did not exit graciously. He told Hoyt, "I can hardly wait for
another crack at you, Hoyt. I'll tell you right now." In the interview afterward, he told Shana Hiatt that "second doesn't
mean anything". He wants to win. Phil hasn't made second yet in a WPT event so I suppose it really doesn't mean anything to him!
The heads up battle was strange. Hoyt
moved all-in several times. Mohamed called in the small blind with A7, Hoyt moved all-in and Mohamed called. The flop was
955, turn was a three and the river was a nine. Mohamed doubled up.
 The strangest hand of the tournament
was when Hoyt called with KQ and Mohamed checked his K8. The flop was J87 with two spades and both players checked. The turn
was a king of spades. Mohamed bet $200,000. Hoyt moved all-in with his pair and Queen-high flush draw. I was so surprised
when Mohamed laid his two pair down, especially to a guy who has just moved all-in earlier with nothing. But Mohammed
thought long and hard about it. After a little thought, I think Mohamed made an understandable laydown. Hoyt had been
raising and moving in with anything. It seemed very
unlikely that Hoyt would just limp with AK or KQ. He had to put Hoyt on an odd hand, like 63 of spades for a flush or T9 offsuit for
a straight. Mohammed had to think that Hoyt did not have exactly what he had -- two big cards, top pair with the ace or Queen high
flush draw. I am not sure, but it made a little more sense to me when I thought about it that way. I could not believe that Mohamed
showed the hand he laid down. After he showed his hand, we saw the audience where
Ted Forrest looked horrified by the laydown.
The final two hands, Hoyt moved all-in and Mohamed called. The first, Hoyt held 83 of clubs and Mohamed called with AJ of
diamonds. Mohamed won that pot with a board of JT49K. The last one, Hoyt held A9 and Mohammed surprisingly called for a lot
more chips with Q8 of spades. The flop was KT9, the turn was a ten and the river was an ace, giving Hoyt the victory. After
doubling up on the first hand, Mohamed did not need to call an all-in bet with queen high.
Also see the Foxwoods - Season One and
Season Three report
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