By Phil Hellmuth

 In Wisconsin, Confidence Trumps Cards

If you spend enough time on any one activity, you're bound to occasionally witness something truly amazing, like a hole-in-one in golf.  Of course, my game is poker, and here’s one of the most amazing hands that I've ever played.

This hand didn’t occur in some star-studded television event.  No, it was at an annual home game, The Wisconsin Homeboys Holiday Poker Tourney.  Blinds were $5/$5 with a $1,000 buy-in.  Rebuys were $500 a pop.

I was playing super tight all night long, calling bets or raises with A-K or better only to have another player raise or reraise.  But when the action returned to me, I wouldn’t hesitate to make a huge reraise.

You see, I was setting up the table for a masterful play.  Here's how the hand went down.

Ferraro had the $40 Mississippi straddle on the button, meaning that Craig "Spa Man" Hueffner, had to act first in the small blind, which he did, calling with J-9 offsuit.

I called with 6-3 offsuit, Jon Green also called and Clements made it $210 to go with A-K.  Another player called with A-K as did Spa Man.Then I raised the pot $880 more.  Clements mucked his hand, and surprisingly, so did the player with A-K!

I turned to my last remaining opponent and said, "They just folded A-K and pocket jacks.  Let’s go, Spa Man, just $880 more to play with the champ." He called the $880.  The flop came A-K-9, pairing his nine.  He bet out $400.

I’d been playing patiently all night long.  It was time to put my hard-earned reputation to work.  I made a pot-sized bet making it $3,340 more to go.
Spa Man then flipped his hand face up!

His hand wasn’t dead yet -- not in this game.  A full minute passed and I feared that he would actually call me down.  He’d made some tough calls earlier in the game.  Clearly, he wasn't afraid to put his chips into the pot.  Even scarier, he just looked like he didn't believe me.

I knew I was sunk. The only way out of this jam was to do something absurd because my cards weren’t going to help me.  I decided to match Spa Man's craziness with a little of my own. I made Spa Man a ridiculous offer:  Call the $3,340 bet and I'd contribute $1,000 out of my own stack.  I gave him five seconds to think about it.  He took the deal.

At this point, everyone in the room gathered to see the turn card – the deuce of hearts. I had no choice but to follow through with my bluff.  I bet $3,000.  To my enormous relief, Spa Man folded.  I triumphantly pushed my cards face down toward the dealer and raked in the chips.

Everyone wanted to see my hand, though, so I casually flipped up my cards.  The railbirds were stunned; 6-3 offsuit -- absolute junk! 
Here’s what was truly amazing about this hand.

Two players were dealt A-K and I got them both to fold before the flop.  Spa Man flipped over his live hand for all to see and called a big bet.  And then, I ridiculously tossed in a $1,000 chip to bet against myself. But most incredibly, my stone-cold bluff with 6-3 offsuit took down the cheese.

Look, you don’t necessarily get a hole-in-one because you have the best golf swing; you earn it because you had the confidence to go for the pin.  In poker, it’s often the guy playing with the most confidence, not the best cards, who wins the big pot.

Mississippi straddle means:

A)  You’re dealt three cards instead of two
B)  You’ve been bluffed out of the hand
C)  The small blind acts first
D)  All of the above

Answer:  C

All-In for the Premiership of Poker

I was recently invited to compete in the Premiership of Poker held in London, England.  Here’s how the Premiership works.

Twelve world-class players each play six separate six-player heats.  Points are awarded based on performance: eight points to the winner, six points for second place, three for third, two for fourth, and one point for fifth place.

At the end of the heats, players with the top four point totals advanced to the six-player finale, with chip stacks equal to 10,000 times their point totals.  Players finishing in fifth through eighth places played heads-up until the survivor advanced to join the six-player final table.

In my first match, I played against the highly combustible Tony G along with Dave “The Devilfish” Ulliott, Liz Liu, Andy Black, and Kiril Gerasimov.

Finishing in first or second was critical.  Three points for a third place finish was better than nothing but you’d need to earn some wins or second place finishes in order to reach the top four positions to advance straight to the final table.

With five players left and the blinds at $2,000-$4,000, I was in the small blind holding As-Qs.  Kiril Gerasimov limped in from the button and I decided to raise it up to $9,000 more to go. Liu folded in the big blind.  Gerasimov called the raise.

The flop came Ah-Ks-9d.  I bet $12,000 and he called.  The turn was the 5c and I checked.  Gerasimov bet $17,000.  I studied long and hard before calling his bet.

The river was the 4d.  I checked.  Kiril sat motionless for about a minute before tossing in a big $78,000 bet.  I thought for a while then folded my hand face up on the table. That caused quite a stir.  The other players thought I had folded the best hand -- top pair with top kicker.  Well, as it turned out, Gerasimov had made two pair, aces and fives, when his card hit on the turn.

Let's take a closer look at how this hand played out. I like my pre-flop raise with A-Q.  Gerasimov could have easily folded or called.  His call made good sense, though, because he had position on me.

On the flop, I like my $12,000 bet.  I had a super strong hand and wanted Kiril to call with a pair of aces or kings.  I couldn't check here because I didn't want him to outdraw me with a free card.

As to my check on the turn, I really love that play. I was setting up Gerasimov to call me on the river.  Also, in case he did have me beat, my check ensured that I’d only lose the minimum. Now, his $17,000 bet on the turn was an acceptable play.  Why bet more and risk scaring me off of my hand?

After his bet, however, my instincts were to move all-in.  Instead, I correctly considered the source of the bet.  Kiril had played very few hands until that hand.  He probably had something.  That’s why I decided to just call. And thank goodness for that!

The key to this hand was my check on the turn.  It allowed Gerasimov to continue his bluff (if it was a bluff) and bet his hand for value.  My check made him think that he probably had the winner, which it turned out he did.

Gerasimov’s river bet was too big.  For the record, had he bet anything less than $30,000 or $40,000, I probably would have made the call.How did the match finish?  I went on to win my first heat and claimed eight important points.  One-for-one, baby!

When you're super strong, most times it is better to:

A)  Bet an amount you think your opponent would call
B)  Move all-in
C)  Bet a small amount
D)  Fold.

Answer: A