Page 8 - October 2005 • Southern California Gaming Guide

SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA GAMING GUIDE
Page 8
October 2005
My Moment of Poker Glory by Jim Mercurio
As many of you regular readers know, my relationship with this magazine started when I agreed to attend and write about Howard Lederer’s Poker Fantasy Camp. I’ve always been a writer, but when I won $10,000 at the main no-limit tournament there,
I became a poker writer.
Since I don’t know how long it will be before I get to compete for $50,000 in a 300-person eld
of mostly novice players, I better write about my tournament win while I still remember it.
escape hatch if someone moved in on me. e kid in the small blind, who had the habit of re-raising me all-in with almost anything, hesitated and then reluctantly called. e op came KK9. He checked to me. I made a small bet — a post oak blu , semi blu or feeler, depending on how nice you want to be to me — and then the kid came over the top for all of his chips. All I had was a queen high and an inside straight draw. To call would leave me alive but short-stacked.
I was ready to fold but there was something strange about the bet. So I went in the tank: I have seen John Juanda over-bet as a trap, but I don’t put this kid on K9. And I think he would have thrown away any worse King. He would have moved all in on me pre- op with AK, KQ or 99. And for him a KJ or KT was at least an easy call, but since he hesitated, I completely eliminated that he had a King. Queens or Jacks and he would have raised pre- op. Even if he has an Ace, a 9 or any pair below 9s, I think I still have six cards to make a pair and four cards for a gutshot. Ten cards twice is roughly 40% — I was getting better than 3 to 1. I called. Phil thought I was nuts, but later admitted that if I didn’t put him on the King, it was a great play. I turned over my QJ. He turned over QT. I’m a genius until a Jack came on the turn to ll his gutshot straight. Remember: poker is
100% skill and 100% luck.
In the very rst heads-up hand with equal stacks, I
got all my money in with pocket tens. Although rst place paid $10,000 instead of the original $18,000 without the deal that attened the payouts, I might have never won. e pressure was daunting. It’s no coincidence that many of the pros were independently wealthy before they started to play poker. In this tournament, a coin ip could mean $10,000. In bigger tournaments, $1 million.
is December, my goal is to win enough to take the winter o and nish my poker screenplay.
Jim Mercurio is on a mission to become the world’s most famous bad player. Come to Howard Lederer’s Fantasy Camp (www.allincamp. com) this December, learn from the pros and try to win tens of thousands of dollars while taking Jim’s crown.
Poker: Wired Aces and River Rats with Jim Mercurio
I started the tournament with a very tight style. I really, really was going to try to play tight, but when I noticed there were players who didn’t know the di erence between checking and folding, I loosened up and played more pots. Someone was going to take
a play and have Phil say, “Nice raise” and Dave Foley say, “Nice ass.” For better or worse, here are a few interesting hands from the tournament.
Hand #1: I raised with 88 in middle position and the button came over the top for all of his chips. I felt like he didn’t want a caller. I said, “I’m going to put
their money. Better it be I was in a lot of pots and able to get away from hands when opponents put up too much resistance. e
best player in sight, Kimberly Friedman, whose husband is poker pro Perry Friedman, had a mountain of chips. However, she was to my right. So when she wasn’t inapot,Iwasabletobe creative and aggressive. Nearing the bubble, I was able to bully the four short-stacks to my left who were hanging on for dear life and I arrived at the nal table with close to the chip lead.
e nal table was
being co-announced
by Matt Savage and
Phil Gordon. (Come on, how cool is that?) I felt bad because Phil playfully dissed my play on a few hands. I am not sure why Phil Gordon’s approval was so important to me. Maybe because it’s a dream of mine to be on Celebrity Poker Showdown and make
me.
“The final table was being co- announced by Matt Savage and Phil Gordon. (Come on, how cool is that?) I felt bad because Phil playfully dissed my play on a few hands. I am not sure why Phil Gordon’s approval was so important to me. Maybe because it’s
a dream of mine to be on Celebrity Poker Showdown and make a play and have Phil say, ‘Nice raise’ and Dave
Foley say, ‘Nice ass.’”
you on AK and call.” He showed me his AK and my 8s held up.
Hand #2: I raised about half my stack with suited A5 and then a player with about the same number of chips came over the top. I gured it was a coin ip if I was dominated or slightly ahead of two high non-ace cards. With a little bit of denial, I put myself at 42% to win. (E-mail me if you want the calculation.) I was getting 3 to 1, so I called. He turned over two
face cards and I survived. Hand #3: I called a re-
raise by a wild player to get all in pre- op when I had a suited K2. I put him on a stone cold blu and I was getting 2 to 1, but ultimately
my nerves just got the better of me. Before we move on, let me just add that he had a 95 o suit and I won.
Hand #4: From the cuto , I raised three times the big blind with an unsuited JQ. It might have been a little bit low because of the antes, but I wanted an