Kori Ellis
05-26-2006, 02:48 AM
http://www.philly.com/mld/dailynews/sports/14671512.htm
Parker's poker party a slam dunk
I'M A HUGE basketball fan so I was excited when actress Eva Longoria asked me to be master of ceremonies a birthday party for her boyfriend, Tony Parker of the San Antonio Spurs.
Actually it was more a poker tournament than birthday party.
The evening featured a $300 buy-in no-limit Texas Hold 'em poker tournament, with re-buys, professional dealers and even a floor man - and everyone in the room was playing! The Spurs are so into poker that they keep records for the entire year (Michael Finley, another great player, won their last tournament).
In the first hand dealt, with starting chips of $10,000, the blinds were $100-$200, and I limped in with Js-7s. With five callers, Parker raised it up $700 more, and two players called. Now I inquired about the re-buy structure, and was told that I could re-buy for just $200 more. So I thought, "I have the microphone, I'll move all-in, and I'll announce it. If no one calls I'll win $2,400 uncontested. But if Parker calls, I'll probably double him up, but that's OK because re-buys are only $200 more. If Parker calls and I win, then I'll have over $20,000 in chips, so I'll be able to play super tight, and I'll have a reputation as a loose cannon at the table, which will allow me to accumulate even more chips."
So I moved all-in, Parker called and showed A-K off suit. I was less than a 2-to-1 underdog, though not by much, but the flop was J-10-7, giving me two pair. Now I was secretly rooting for Parker to win the pot. He deserved it, because he had started with the best hand, and for Pete's sake, it was his birthday. But then an ace came off on fourth street. Now Parker needed a 10 (two left), a queen (four left), a king (three left) or an ace (two left), so that he had 11 wins to my 33 wins (44 cards were left that we hadn't seen yet), making him a 3-to-1 underdog. The last card was a four, and I won the pot.
After winning that pot I went on to play really tight poker while I carried around the microphone, praising and teasing Parker, Longoria, Tim Duncan, Finley, Malik Rose, and Nazr Mohammed.
After the re-buys ended, and the real tournament began, Parker and Longoria each had $50,000 in chips, and I had over $60,000, but there were still more than 50 players left battling for the $10,000 first place prize.
With about 30 players left and the blinds at $1,000-$2,000, the following hand came up between Player A and Parker. Player A opened for $4,000, making the minimum raise, Parker made it $6,000 to go, also making a minimum raise with his pocket queens, and Player A called. The flop was 9-9-4, and Player A bet $4,000. Parker made it $12,000 to go, and Player A called. When a seven came off on the turn, Player A checked and Parker moved all-in for $29,000. Player A called fairly quickly, and Tony flipped up his pocket queens. Player A now showed pocket aces, and when the last card was a 10, Parker was busted out.
Parker asked me if there was any way he could have avoided going broke in this hand. I said, "Of course not! But I would have raised it up more before the flop with your pocket queens, perhaps making it $15,000 to go." Some hands you just have to lose.
A-K is favored over Js-7s by this much before the flop:
a) 4-1;
b) 3-1;
c) around 2-1;
d) it's an underdog when Phil holds the Js-7s.
Answer: C.
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Phil Hellmuth is a nine-time World Series of Poker champion and the author of "Play Poker Like the Pros" and "Bad Beats and Lucky Draws."
Parker's poker party a slam dunk
I'M A HUGE basketball fan so I was excited when actress Eva Longoria asked me to be master of ceremonies a birthday party for her boyfriend, Tony Parker of the San Antonio Spurs.
Actually it was more a poker tournament than birthday party.
The evening featured a $300 buy-in no-limit Texas Hold 'em poker tournament, with re-buys, professional dealers and even a floor man - and everyone in the room was playing! The Spurs are so into poker that they keep records for the entire year (Michael Finley, another great player, won their last tournament).
In the first hand dealt, with starting chips of $10,000, the blinds were $100-$200, and I limped in with Js-7s. With five callers, Parker raised it up $700 more, and two players called. Now I inquired about the re-buy structure, and was told that I could re-buy for just $200 more. So I thought, "I have the microphone, I'll move all-in, and I'll announce it. If no one calls I'll win $2,400 uncontested. But if Parker calls, I'll probably double him up, but that's OK because re-buys are only $200 more. If Parker calls and I win, then I'll have over $20,000 in chips, so I'll be able to play super tight, and I'll have a reputation as a loose cannon at the table, which will allow me to accumulate even more chips."
So I moved all-in, Parker called and showed A-K off suit. I was less than a 2-to-1 underdog, though not by much, but the flop was J-10-7, giving me two pair. Now I was secretly rooting for Parker to win the pot. He deserved it, because he had started with the best hand, and for Pete's sake, it was his birthday. But then an ace came off on fourth street. Now Parker needed a 10 (two left), a queen (four left), a king (three left) or an ace (two left), so that he had 11 wins to my 33 wins (44 cards were left that we hadn't seen yet), making him a 3-to-1 underdog. The last card was a four, and I won the pot.
After winning that pot I went on to play really tight poker while I carried around the microphone, praising and teasing Parker, Longoria, Tim Duncan, Finley, Malik Rose, and Nazr Mohammed.
After the re-buys ended, and the real tournament began, Parker and Longoria each had $50,000 in chips, and I had over $60,000, but there were still more than 50 players left battling for the $10,000 first place prize.
With about 30 players left and the blinds at $1,000-$2,000, the following hand came up between Player A and Parker. Player A opened for $4,000, making the minimum raise, Parker made it $6,000 to go, also making a minimum raise with his pocket queens, and Player A called. The flop was 9-9-4, and Player A bet $4,000. Parker made it $12,000 to go, and Player A called. When a seven came off on the turn, Player A checked and Parker moved all-in for $29,000. Player A called fairly quickly, and Tony flipped up his pocket queens. Player A now showed pocket aces, and when the last card was a 10, Parker was busted out.
Parker asked me if there was any way he could have avoided going broke in this hand. I said, "Of course not! But I would have raised it up more before the flop with your pocket queens, perhaps making it $15,000 to go." Some hands you just have to lose.
A-K is favored over Js-7s by this much before the flop:
a) 4-1;
b) 3-1;
c) around 2-1;
d) it's an underdog when Phil holds the Js-7s.
Answer: C.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Phil Hellmuth is a nine-time World Series of Poker champion and the author of "Play Poker Like the Pros" and "Bad Beats and Lucky Draws."