WSOP Updates - Soccer, Misreads, and Big Laydowns

July 11, 2006

Another quick poker quiz. Covering the Pot Limit Omaha event the other day was a bit tricky because you absolutely could not stand between any player and the big plasma screen at the north end of the card room; the finals of the World Cup were on and methinks perhaps a bet or two had been placed. Also since it was PLO, all of the players from the continent were there bringing with them patriotic fervor for, as they call it, real football. Not that a few of the American players were not interested in a tiny wager on the outcome of World Cup 2006. But that's not why we're here, this is a song about Alice, you remember Alice.

So here is today's poker question. When the final World Cup match came done to the shootout, it was simply impossible to keep the players in their chairs. Finally several just asked the floor to pause the clock and the entire PLO event adjourned to the big screen. Well, not everyone watched the big finale, in fact, several players lead by Barry Greenstein were irate over this turn of events. Today's question: Why were the players upset? I will give you a hint, mid-article, and the answer is at the end.

I don't do a lot of "hand for hand" reporting but here are a couple of entertaining hands I have witnessed in the past several days. During the second round (25/50) of the No Limit Hold'em Rebuy event, while tables all around her were seeing one or two all-ins each hand, Cyndy Violette checks her big blind to 4 limpers and the small blind call. I couldn't help myself and said:

"Well this is such a nice friendly game in the midst of all this craziness."

Cyndy: "Yes, nice and friendly until we get you....."

Cyndy flashed 'that' smile and I thought it best to perhaps watch this "friendly" table for awhile. The flop is 332 and the UTG bets out 350, fold, fold, fold, fold and Cyndy calls. The turn is a 7, bet 500, Cyndy calls. River is a King, all-in 650, Cyndy calls and turns over the 22 for the flopped full house, the big smile again and….

"Friendly table….."

Be careful out there folks, the sharks can come in the prettiest of disguises.

Here's a hand from the Pot Limit Omaha event. First take a look at this table line-up.

Jennifer Harman

Marcel Luske

Mark Seif

Gus Hansen

Bill Edler

Tex Barch

Clonie Gowen

and large crowd at the rail.

This hand came down to Jennifer versus Marcel after the flop (9h8c3s).

Pot bet by Jennifer on the turn (7 diamonds), call by Marcel and the big pot bet (PLO) again by Jennifer on the river (Kh), Marcel lays it down and Jennifer shows the alleged winning T6xx hand to Marcel; 789 on the board. Marcel exclaims:

"Oh! A bluff!"

Jennifer smiles, re-flashes her hand to herself; does the Homer Simpson "Doh!" Look and says:

"Oh damn, I thought I had the T6."

Her hand was T5xx, she had less than nothing.

"I just made a great bluff but didn't know it, I was sure I had the straight."

It's a long hard seven weeks at the World Series, sometimes even the best players misread their hands; the difference is that they win with them!

Poker Quiz Hint: You know the most frequent answer to a poker question is: 'It depends.' Here is your hint. Yes, I gave you incomplete information earlier. The $10,000 Pot Limit Omaha event (#16) was the 'suspended for soccer' event, it began at noon last Sunday. Also starting that day was the WSOP Ladies event (#15) at 11 AM, as well as the Second Day of the $1,000 No Limit Hold'em w/rebuys event (#14) at 2 PM and the final table of the $2,500 NLHE event (#13) at 3 PM. Yes, that was your entire hint.

Now for what I consider the strangest but perhaps the best lay down I have seen so far this Series. This happened in the very first public tournament, the $1,500 No Limit Hold'em event (#2). I was standing behind a player who had horribly flashed his pocket Kings. I mean we make every attempt never to look at player's hole cards because standing behind them we might not have as good a poker face as they do and giving a read to another player at the table is a mortal media sin. But this guy had just picked up his cards and stared at the cowboys. The board came AK9 and he bet and got a caller. Turn is a 6, bet and a call. The river brings a deuce the board is AK962 rainbow, the trip Kings makes a final bet but not all-in, in fact, he has over 5K left and the pot is now around 8K with his river bet. After a bit of a thought the other player moves all-in. Now the trip Kings looks down at the all-in raiser, who is wearing a t-shirt that says: "Cable Guy". The trip Kings says:

"Are you by any chance Cable22 online?"

Cable Guy is a bit shocked but says:

"Why yes I am, have we played before?"

With that the guy mucks his trip Kings face up. Several "What the ______!" emerge around the table but then Mr. Cable Guy shows his pocket Aces.

Who says you can't make reads online?

OK, have you got the answer to the poker quiz question of the day. Why were those players upset about pausing the PLO event for the World Cup final shoot out? The answer is: they were all double-dipping. The upset players were playing both in the PLO event and they also were survivors to Day Two of the No Limit Hold'em event. Since the goal in double-dipping is to build a stack in the early event, so you can then switch to the later restart, they players were very upset that the PLO event was being paused for 15 minutes late in round two. They knew that they had only until the end of round two to build up a stack sufficient to carry them through the time they would be in the 2 PM restart of their other event and here a soccer match was stealing those precious hands from them.

Well, it all worked out. Charley Ciresi the floorman running the events, who was not the guy who made the decision to allow the soccer pause and who got the brunt of the player's fury, decided to delay the start of the 2 PM event for whatever period of time the PLO event was paused for the World Cup conclusion. Good floor decision. And here is a good floor rule: No matter what decision you make, someone will find a reason not to like it.

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