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20th July 2007
Welcome to Hold or Fold - The UK's only Poker E-Letter dedicated
to
helping YOU become a better player!
In this week's E-Letter -
*Hand 4 of 4 from Copenhagen
- a whopper to finish on and
*Where to find some tips
on Heads-Up Play !
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Hiya there and how have you been this week?
After my poker draught of last week - in my excitement in getting
Pocket Kings in the Sunday Tournament - I raised and re-raised a
player until we were both all-in pre-flop only to find he was holding
Pocket Aces... of course... I should have known.... blah !!
So I'm going to forget that tournament - I've been playing a few
1-table Sit-and-go's and won two of them this week so I think I've
settled back into the rhythm of poker again and I'm optimistic about
this Sunday's tournament - we'll see !
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For the last three weeks - My e-letters have all come from the European
Poker Tour in Copenhagen held a few months ago. The Final Table
threw up some incredible hands and this week's e-letter is the culmination
of it all...
If you can recall - (or if you can't - go to www.holdorfold.co.uk
and look in past e-letters) Last week's highlighted hand was an
absolute corker between Bertrand 'Elke' Grospellier -v- Magnus Peterssen
with Magnus doubling up and Elke fairly short-stacked.
After that awful body-blow to Elke - the VERY next hand that followed
was this one....
The pot is 51,000 and Elke picks up AH JH.
The commentators Lee Jones and James Hartigan are still discussing
the last hand and
James says: "OK - straight back in it and Elke picks up
a good hand."
Lee Jones replies: "Sure enough, Elke will come in with
the standard Elke raise."
Elke raises 55,000 to make the pot now stand at 121,000.
Magnus looks at his cards to find QC & 6C.
Lee Jones says: "That's plenty to defend with Heads Up
- especially when you are in the chip situation that he's in."
(i.e. a massive chip leader)
Magnus calls the bet making the pot now stand at 176,000.
The odds are 62% in Elke's favour to win pre-flop.
James Hartigan: "Yes he is going to defend - he will call
Elke's raise - we are going to see a Flop."
The Flop comes down: 6H 7H QS
What an amazingly provocative FLOP !!
James again: "There's a 6, there's a Queen but two hearts
as well WOWWWW!!!"
The odds swing to 67% in Magnus's favour !!
Lee Jones: "My goodness - Magnus is a 2:1 favourite but
we're going to see a whole lot of money go in here - he has top
pair and Elke has an overcard and the nut flush draw !!!"
Magnus checks and Elke bets 150,000 making the pot now stand at
326,000.
James Hartigan continues: "A bet from Elke - how is Magnus
going to respond to it??"
Lee Jones: "He needs to call or probably raise."
Magnus re-raises 100,000 and instantly Elke goes All-In and even
more instantly Magnus calls so all the money is in the middle now
- it is the result that both players wanted although Magnus has
the upper hand at this point. (no pun intended!)
James Hartigan gasps: "WOW - I can't believe how quickly
that happened !!"
Lee Jones: "I think those bets happened in less than a
second !"
Elke is all-in - Magnus has plenty to spare and the pot stands at
1,280,000. Elke needs a non-pairing heart. Both players stand up
and Magnus paces around like a nervous wreck on the verge of becoming
the champion of the EPT Copenhagen. Then both players go to the
table and stand with their hands on the rim and lean over the felt...
The Turn card brings JS giving Elke more outs...
The odds are now 70% in Magnus's favour.
Lee Jones: "Now Elke can pick up another Jack or an Ace
to win the pot - he's about a 7:3 dog."
Magnus continues to pace up and down...
The River card brings 10C -
Magnus jumps up and down in triumph - he is the EPT Copenhagen champion
and has won through some amazing amazing turbulent hands and cards.
Elke sighs in disbelief but he takes home 2.3m (that's million)
Kroner so he's compensated for his disappointment.
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Post MORTEM
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I've watched all of the EPT Tournaments that have been held this
year and Copenhagen threw up some of the MOST amazing hands and
I've only highlighted 4 of them ! Magnus Peterssen certainly dodged
some bullets, made some suck-outs and got his fair share of luck
- but his steady disposition came into its own and took advantage
of the fact that Elke is more of an instinctive player who sometimes
plays before he thinks.
I knew when I was writing out this hand that you might get the impression
that there was a final twist in the River - but for once - I wrote
about a hand that went with the odds in the end.
Obviously it's more exciting to write about hands that go against
the odds but these are the exceptions to the rule - although - when
you're playing them or even just watching them - it's easier to
remember the badbeats than the hundreds and even thousands of hands
that go with
the odds...
At the end of the day - in the long run - when all is said and done
- if you get your chips in with the best hand - then you will win
!
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Tips for Heads-Up Play
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Heads up play is an art in itself. If you are ever going to be a
successful Poker Player - then learning how to play Heads Up is
an absolute must. No point in getting into the Penalty Box if you
can't score the goal !
I've had a look on the worldwide web and found a couple of pages
which give you some tips - here are two good, but different views...
Article
One
Article
Two
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Well I hope you have a good week - may the cards be with you and
I'll see you again next Friday.
All the best
Meg Arana
Hold or Fold
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