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 he Guardian G2 Poker Column |
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| Victoria
Coren |
| Monday April 09,
2007 |
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A
situation came up during the Cardiff GUKPT which reminded me - as if I had
forgotten - that poker is a slippery game, in which any hand can be played a
number of ways.
It was early in the tournament. Several players limped
in, and I called on the button with
 J7. The flop
came K J4 - very good for my hand. Everybody checked, and I bet 400. My
opponents all passed except for the last one: Mickey Wernick, otherwise known
as "the Legend". (He was previously "the Worm". I think he likes his new
nickname better.) |
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This man is one of the heroes of British
poker, a great survivor of many years at the baize. When he raised my bet to
1,400, having previously checked, I should probably have passed. But, with a
pair and flush draw, I called.
The turn was
9,
making my flush, and the Legend bet 3,000 (from a stack of 10,000). He could be
testing the water with a set of fours - in which case I should raise, but it
would have to be all in. Or he could be holding a bigger flush than mine (A10 and
Q10 would
both be check-raising hands on that flop), in which case an all-in raise would
be suicidal. He could have
Q and
an off-suit 10, giving him a straight (which I was beating) and a bigger flush
draw. Feeling uncertain, I took the conservative option of folding. I showed my
hand, unwisely, and my opponents insisted that I should have moved all in with
the flush. Mickey admitted (or claimed) they were right. I despised myself.
Five minutes later, a friend of mine was knocked out on a nearby table.
Why? Because he turned a flush, and refused to believe that his opponent could
be holding a bigger flush. He moved all in, and this ended his tournament.
The only rule is that there are no rules.
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