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 The
World Poker Tour Invitational was held at Commerce Casino. All the players were invited by the casino, and there was no
entry fee. Some players were professionals and some were celebrities including Gabe Kaplan, Lou Diamond Phillips, Dom
DeLuise and Meat Loaf. The prize pool was $200,000, with first prize $100,000 plus an entry into the WPT finals.
The tournament was introduced by Mickey Rooney, who had finished seventh the day before, just missing the final table. The six players were
Layne Flack, David Chiu,
Men The Master Nguyen, Tony Ma, Andy Glazer and
Jerry Buss. I thought this mix of players was going to make for an exciting show. Layne and Men are two of my favorite
players to watch because of their personalities and Jerry Buss seemed like he would add some flavor. However, I was bored
through most of this show. Men was entertaining as usual, but Layne's personality didn't shine like I have seen him
previously. The thing that I liked about Layne on this show was that he showed us an important lesson in
No Limit: its all about playing the
players and not playing the cards.
Andy was the first person knocked out when Layne raised Andy's $4000 big blind to $14,000. Andy moved all-in for $36,000.
The two of them turn their hands over and Andy looks disgusted when he sees that Layne is holding AK to his AJ. The board is
AKQ leaving Andy with only a ten draw. The turn and river are no help to Andy and he goes out sixth.
There were two times that Men made me chuckle. One time when he moved all-in with his pocket kings, he banged the table and
did a little jump in his chair. I had to laugh at his dramatics on that hand. I also liked the way that Men messed with
Layne by almost sitting on his lap. Like I said, Men totally outshined Layne with his personality on this show. I know that
personality is not the key factor in winning tournaments, but it does make the show more enjoyable to watch!
Tony Ma was the next person to feel the wrath of Layne. Layne had KT offsuit on the button and raised to $8000. Tony moved
all-in for $59,000 with his AJ offsuit. Layne contemplated it for awhile. He even asked for a coin to flip. He decided to
call and I am certain that he knew he would be gambling with this hand, but he was such a huge chip leader that it was not
going to seriously damage his stack. The flop came K83 and Layne yelled, "uh-huh!". The turn is a 6 and the river
is a Q and Tony is eliminated in 5th position. Tony got his money in with the best hand, it just didn't work out for him.
After Tony exits, Layne says "I've made worse calls".
On the following hand, Men gets knocked out. David had AQ and Men picked up pocket fives. Men moves all-in and David quickly
calls. David flops the queen and Men got no help on the turn or river. When Men left in fourth position, he said, "There is
nothing that I can do. I might lose today, but I will win tomorrow." Always confident in his ability to win.
Since this was an invitational event, there were many interviews with the celebrities. The show would play them in between
the few key pots. Many people just starting to get interested in poker might enjoy seeing this, I didn't care for it much.
Maybe if Matt Damon played in one of these events, I might change my mind.
One hand that displayed Layne's tremendous ability to
read players was when he held 92 of clubs against Jerry's pocket
sixes. The flop was T97, turn was a T, and the river was a 6. Layne bet on the flop with the best hand, bet on the turn with the best hand, and
checked and folded on the river when he
had the worst hand. Mike Sexton commented on how Layne's timing is impeccable and I agree. He played perfectly.
 David Chiu was another
player eliminated by Layne. David called the hand with AT of diamonds and Layne checked his big blind with A6. The board was 888
and David bet $15,000. Layne quickly says all-in and David made a great call with the best hand. The turn was a 6 giving Layne the
full house and David went out third.
Although David looked like he was going to win the hand and a nice pot, I think he made a mistake by not
raising the blind and trying to pick up a small pot.
There was almost a full hour of play between Layne and Jerry. I had a real hard time watching a lot of it. Layne ran all
over Jerry. Jerry did not make a stand on most of his hands and Layne's hands were terrible. Jerry needed to take the pots
from Layne before the flop, because one of Layne's strengths is outplaying his opponent after the flop. It seemed that Layne
was trying to give Jerry opportunities to win some chips. I saw him check hands that he would normally bet, but Jerry did
not take advantage of the situation.
Jerry made a stand with only two hands. One he held pocket tens against Layne's pocket eights. Jerry
limped, Layne raised, and Jerry moved all-in.
Jerry won the hand, but was still outchipped 4 to 1. The second was the final hand of the evening when Layne has AQ of spades
and Jerry has AT. Layne raised and Jerry made his move. I was waiting for him to make a move like this and he did it when he had
the worst hand. The board did not help either player and Layne wins the event.
There were a few hands between the two of them that proved who the winner was that night. One example was when Layne raised
with the 35 of hearts and Jerry reraised
with pocket tens. When the flop comes KKQ, Jerry checks!! Of course, Layne is going to seize the opportunity to take the pot
and he did. Layne even commented to Jerry, "that is so weak", when Jerry limped on another hand. Jerry tried to get some
chips from Layne when he made the flush.
Layne again read his opponent like a book and laid down his top pair. Jerry did not get any
action from Layne. Layne played this series
like the champ that he is. I just wish, we all could have seen the character that he is.
See also Commerce Invitational - Season Two and
Season Three |
