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17/09/2007 No. 42
he Guardian G2 Poker Column
 
   
 
 
Victoria Coren
Monday Sep 17, 2007
 
 
 
Poker

They got 350 runners for the World Series Europe in the end. The high buy-in resulted in a concentrated field of very strong international players. On the second day, nobody at my table had won less than $1m in their poker careers: Hansen, Harman, Raymer, Vaswani lined up like an anxiety dream.

My first-day table was better, but the big problem was Erick Lindgren: winner of two WPT titles, with nearly $6m accrued so far. His style is to make small raises with a lot of hands, indicating his willingness to get stuck in and play most pots - but not by entering them with weak calls.
 

I called one of his small raises (from 100 to 200) when I was on the button with 3 spades 4 spades. The big blind also called. The flop came 6 spades 7 clubs Q spades. Both opponents checked and I bet 500 with my flush draw and gutshot. The big blind passed, and Lindgren raised to 1,200. I could have re-raised, but I was nervous that Lindgren might move all in with a high pair, and it seemed too early in the tournament for such a big race. So I flat called.

The turn came 3 hearts and Lindgren bet out 3,200. I could raise all in, but Lindgren might already have a set or straight, and my draw was much weaker with one card to come. Or he could have nothing. If the check-raise on the flop was a bluff that didn't work, he'd be obliged to bet again on the turn. I wasn't really sure where I was, so I passed.

There are lessons here about playing draws, and there's a broader message. In a multi-table tournament, if one player on your table is head and shoulders above the rest in terms of skill, you might as well just stay out of their way. Unless you have them strangled, get your chips elsewhere.

Your can read more byAnthony Holden at his website www.biggerdeal.com
 
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