23rd November 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 -

       *2 out of 3 aint bad ! and
       *Try this FREE quiz and win instant cash

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Hiya there and how have you been this week?

I played in the Women's Poker Tournament in Birmingham last Saturday and out of a field of 103 ladies - I managed to come in 29th position.

Not bad - not good - I would have LOVED to have made the final table and I won't bore you with my bad beat stories - however - if someone hadn't tried to steal my big blind holding K10 and if I hadn't have called with AQ - and if she hadn't have hit a King on the River - it might have been a different story !!!

Having said that - I had a fantastic day - it was really brilliant to play in a big live tournament and I thoroughly enjoyed the eight hours of playing that I survived.

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2 out of 3 aint bad !

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This week's hand comes from the Season 4 of High Stakes Poker.

There are some excellent pros sitting at the table including the legendary Doyle Brunson, Antonio Esfandiari, Barry Greenstein and the irrepressible Sammy Farha.

This particular hand features Jamie Gold who won the 2006 World Series of Poker against Patrick Antonius who has won well over $2.6 million in live poker tournaments.

David Benyamine is first to act and he folds.

Next is Patrick Antonius who picks up AS and JD
 

He raises to $4000 making the pot stand at $6,800

Over to Jamie Gold who picks up KS and KD.
 

He has a bit of a smirk on his face and he plays with his chips and then says:
"This feels like Aces... I wish it was Aces but it feels like it."

He raises it up to $14,000 making the pot stand at $20,800.

Gabe Kaplan commentating says sarcastically: "OK what feels like Aces, isn't Aces, is higher than Queens..."

AJ Benza also commentating finishes off his sentence: "... and starts with a K"

Everyone else folds around to Sammy Farha who is sitting there with 5D and 4S.
 

Sammy says to Jamie: "You got a problem with this hand?"

Jamie replies: "I got a problem with this hand. I got a problem with every hand!"

Sammy folds.

Jamie carries on: "I appreciate that - I hope everyone folds, I would like to win the pot."

Back to Patrick Antonius - he calls the bet and makes the pot now stand at $30,800.

The odds are 71% in Jamie's favour to win this hand.

The Flop comes down: 3S, QD and 10H
   

The odds are now 80% in Jamie's favour to win this hand.

Patrick taps the table lightly to indicate a check.

Gabe Kaplan: "Let's see how much Jamie wants to bet here. He doesn't want Patrick to draw."

Jamie bets $15,000.

Remember - this is REAL money - NOT tournament chips.

AJ Benza: "He only bets $15,000 - Patrick would win if an Ace came - or a King would make him the nuts."

Patrick calls making the pot now stand at $60,800.

Then.... this happens....

The Turn comes down ... KH !!


Gabe Kaplan: "There is the King - this is terrible luck for Jamie!"

The odds are now 77% in Patrick's favour to win this hand.

Patrick bets out $45,000.

Gabe Kaplan: "Jamie know that Patrick doesn't have Jack-Nine... but Jamie should also realise
that he only bet $15,000 on the Flop so it's possible that Patrick has Ace-Jack but I don't think
Jamie can stop himself."

Jamie thinks for a while and then announces: "I raise"

Gabe Kaplan: "Jamie's going to raise and he's going to be pot-committed and Patrick is going
to be a 3:1 favourite"

AJ Benza: "Oh man !!"

Gabe Kaplan: "Whatever he raises, Patrick is going to go all-in... and like I said - Jamie is going
to have to call."

Jamie starts to count out his huge bundles of dollars as well as his chips and Patrick watches his
every move. Patrick's face is absolutely as still as a waxwork dummy although if you freeze the
frame - you can see an inner glow of huge happiness going off inside of him !

AJ Benza: "Patrick looks hungry !"

Jamie meanwhile is oblivious to Patrick's hungry look, he's busy counting up how much money he
has in front of him.

Jamie then announces: "I'm all in" and instantly Patrick announces: "I call !"

Jamie then swears and stands up !

He says: "I got a set of Kings, you got Ace-Jack huh?"

The pot now stands at...

wait for it...

$743,800 !!!!

Gabe Kaplan: "You are now watching the biggest pot in the history of High Stakes Poker!"

Jamie says: "What am I going to do? You want to run it three times or something???"

What Jamie is suggesting here is that they split the pot into three and have three separate River cards - each worth just under $250,000 -

Patrick says: "We can run it twice."

Jamie replies: "Twice?? OK."

Patrick looks again and then agrees to run the River three times.

Each River card is worth $247,900

The first River is QH !!


1-0 to Jamie.

Jamie reacts laughing: "Oh Man ! That's a good start!"

The camera goes straight onto Patricks' face and if you freeze the frame again - you can see that the inner glow has totally disappeared !

Jamie laughs: "I wish I hadn't run it three times now I tell you"

Gabe Kaplan: "Here comes the second one..."

The second River is 3D !!


2-0 to Jamie !!

Jamie laughs even louder: "Oh WOWWWW !!!!"

Gabe Kaplan: "I don't think he can do it 3 out of 3..."

The third River is 8S


Gabe Kaplan: "Remember - originally Patrick only wanted to run it twice, running it three times was a last minute decision on his part"

AJ Benza: "Saved him $247,900 ! Oh man !!"

Sammy Farha pipes in: "Those three cards hurt sometimes!"

Gabe Kaplan: "Sammy can't resist a little needle there!"

Patrick laughs and takes it in his stride.

AJ Benza: "I tell you - Patrick can take a punch - imagine if that was Phil Hellmuth"

Gabe replies: "Phil is the type of guy who would have taken insurance from everyone at the table!"

You can view this hand at:

http://tinyurl.com/3cc9f6

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Post Mortem

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AJ Benza: "Well - it didn't take long to have the highest pot in the history of High Stakes Poker"

Gabe Kaplan: "I don't know what motivated Patrick to run it three times rather than once or twice - but I'm sure he was glad he did."

AJ asks: "Do you think it would be better for the game if the players weren't allowed to run it more than once?"

Gabe replies: "I think the players should only be allowed to run it once unless they're wearing a tuxedo ! This is High Stakes Poker - this is supposed to be a real cash game atmosphere, and it is, so the players should be allowed to run it as many times as they want."

As it turned out - Jamie would have won the pot if they had played it the normal way by only having one river card. I thought Patrick was mad to agree to the choice of running it three times - but he was right - and he saved himself $250,000 - make of it what you will - I'd be interested in your comments.

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Try this FREE quiz and win instant cash

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You know - sometimes when the cards aren't falling as they should - or you're just not in the mood to play poker - you shouldn't be playing if you're absolutely not in the zone...

...Then you could try something else for an hour until you're ready to go back to the tables...

I've come across a fantastic new online Quiz For Money game - where you can win big money, based on how many questions you answer.

And it's absolutely FREE to play!

Click on the link to have a go...
http://qchampion.co.uk/qchampion/index.html?affiliate=hof

So if you can answer multiple-choice questions like this...

What does the HP in "HP Sauce" stand for?

A, Highly Piquant

B, Howard And Poctor

C, Houses Of Parliament

D, Hot Pepper

... you could be winning HUNDREDS of pounds every few minutes!

It's kind of set up like a poker table and it's a bit like the PokerFace programme that was on the telly with Ant and Dec. It's a general knowledge quiz where you play against other people and even if you don't know the answers - you can bet like you do !

The game-play is dead easy - plus, a tutorial explains everything... and the graphics are fantastic!

You can choose your own identity - so you can play anonymously - and actually see yourself sat at the table!

So if you're a whiz at the quiz - this is a great way to kill an hour, or make a killing!

http://qchampion.co.uk/qchampion/index.html?affiliate=hof

And for those of you who didn't know the answer to that question
(it was C, House of Parliament) - don't worry...

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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