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Editor’s note: Phil can often be found playing $4-$8
limit holdem online at UltimateBet.com, table “philhellmuth.”
For more info about Phil or his new book Play Poker Like
the Pros, or for more Hand of the Week columns, go to
PhilHellmuth.com.
This
Hand of the Week was written by Ted Forrest, who is
widely considered to be one of the best
Texas
Holdem
poker
players in the world.
This
hand takes place in Larry Flynt’s $1,500-$3,000
seven-card stud game at the Hustler Casino in Gardena,
California. The key player is Danny Robison, a talented,
very fast stud specialist. The other two players
involved in the hand are David Chui and I. David is a
businessman and a solid poker player who leans toward
the conservative side. When he enters a pot, he usually
has a good hand.
On
third street, I raise the bring-in bet to $1,500 with (7
7) J. David calls with (10-10) K, and Danny reraises to
$3,000 with (Q-Q) 2. I call, and David calls. On fourth
street, I catch a 9, David catches an 8, and Danny
catches a 3, all offsuit. David checks to Danny, who
bets $1,500. I call, and David calls.
Fifth street is when it gets exciting. David pairs his
doorcard, making open kings (10-10) K-8-K; I pair my
doorcard, making open jacks (7-7) J-9-J; and Danny
catches an offsuit ace, for (Q-Q) 2-3-A. Now, David bets
$3,000 with his open kings, Danny raises it to $6,000,
and I fold my jacks and sevens. David calls Danny’s
raise. On sixth street, Danny makes open aces! He bets
$3,000 on sixth street and $3,000 on seventh street,
with David calling both bets. At the end, Danny shows
down his aces and queens to beat David’s kings and tens.
To
be a successful high-limit
Texas
Holdem
player, a
certain disregard for the value of money is necessary;
but, in my opinion, Danny takes this concept a little
above and beyond the call of duty. He just absolutely
played this hand as if he were using Monopoly money!
I’ve thought about Danny’s raise on fifth street a lot.
I came to the conclusion that had I had three jacks,
which was in fact what I was representing, there was no
way that I could have folded them to Danny’s raise. It
certainly looks like Danny is representing three aces,
but he also could have rolled-up deuces, (2-2) 2.
Danny is somewhat handicapped by that Danny Robison
“mask” that he wears on his face every time he sits down
in a poker game, which simply means that he is capable
of having just about anything in his hand. The fact that
David called him down with kings up when Danny had open
aces speaks volumes about Danny’s mask: Obviously, David
knew that Danny could have anything in this hand,
including nothing at all in the hole! By the way, if
David had reraised Danny when he made the open kings,
Danny would have been forced to fold his hand; at least
that would have been the only “reasonable” thing to do.
To
Danny’s credit, his read was correct that neither David
nor I had trips. However, given his perfect read, his
raise with queens against David’s open kings just seems
too reckless, and it was extremely lucky that it worked
out well for him.
As
it turned out, Danny’s luck was exceptional for the
entire night. He won a number of “lucky” pots. In fact,
he won more than $100,000 this particular night. He was
so lucky that when he quit the game, it flashed through
my mind to tell him to be careful driving home, because
he had been so lucky in the game. If Danny had been a
cat with nine lives, he had used up eight of them in the
game!
Later that night we got a phone call from Danny. He had
stopped at a convenience store on his way home and was
attacked by a thug who hit him with a hammer and knocked
him down. Danny — ever the quick thinker — scrambled in
his pocket and threw out about $15 in small money in his
assailant’s direction. The thug moved in with the
hammer, ready to strike again, and said, “No, give me
all your - - - - - - - money!” Danny had $11,000 in
a rubber band in his other pocket. After a few seconds,
he fumbled the whole wad out of his pocket and threw it
at the guy, who took it and ran.
I
guess luck can have a funny way of evening out — but
wait a minute. Maybe Danny’s good luck still held up
that night. After all, all he ended up with were some
minor defensive wounds on his arm, which he held up to
fend off the hammer blow, and an $11,000 loss — which is
a lot less than he would have lost had he lost one pot
in the game. In fact, his doctor told him if the hammer
had hit him on the chest or shoulder near his pacemaker,
he would have been killed.
Danny is a devout born-again Christian and family man.
He is soon going to have the stomach surgery that many
in our Texas Holdem poker community have had with great
results. We wish you continued good luck and good
health, Danny.
I
hope you enjoyed Teddy’s Hand of the Week. Good luck
with your hands this week.
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