World Poker Tour – How do these guys get in?
OK, we’re at the Borgata Poker Open from this past year, part of the World Poker Tour. It’s the final table, and there are two main players left for the big prize. Ricardo Festejo, in the lead with $5.7M in chips, and Al Ardebili, with just under $4.6M in chips. The blinds are up to $100K/$200K.
Ricardo of PokerStars flips up his hidden cards to reveal Ace of spades, 2 of hearts. That’s enough to spark a raise of $600K, after he takes what seems like forever to fondle his chips enough to make a decision. If you don’t know, this guy has been playing for just a decade, and as a professional for only a couple of years.
These are interesting contests to watch, because as much as you can learn from the famous faces, and as fun as it can be to watch them work their magic, it’s nice to catch a glimpse of some fresh blood in action every once in a while.
Now we find out Al has 2, 3 diamonds. And….he calls. And this is where I get the topic of my title from. How can you make that call? Even in a situation of desperation, of which Al was nowhere near, it doesn’t make sense to me. First of all, if you’re going to go that route, calling isn’t the play. If you’re calling, you should be raising in that situation. Calling gets you nowhere except an expensive door to limping into the flop.
The flop is K, 7, 2, leaving Al with a 16% change of pulling this one out. But he’s about to be trapped and he doesn’t even know it. Both players flopping bottom pair, that’s a recipe for disaster. But since only one of these two guys made the right move early, you can’t really feel sorry for the one who didn’t.
So now Al of checks, another questionable decision. He’d already committed to the first bet, why not try one aggressive move, and then if it doesn’t pan out, you can back out before too much damage is done. At this point, he’s only digging himself a grave.
Ricardo Festejo smells blood and bets $1M. Now you have to smile as a poker fan at what comes next. Al goes all-in. And after minutes of pondering, Ricardo throws up his hands and calls, probably not what Al was hoping would happen. There’s more to a bluff than just the act, you have to set yourself up for it sometimes, and Al failed to do so miserably.
And almost on cue, the turn card is a 3, putting Al in the lead. He pumps his fist, and you just want to see his poor play go down in flames so much. The river is an 8, and Al escapes as the luckiest player of the year.