Different strategies need to be employed in live action cash games versus tournament play. One of the best ways to see this is to watch the television show Poker After Dark on NBC Monday through Saturday in the middle of the night (check local TV schedule for your time. If you are either playing or sleeping at that time, then either tape or TIVO the show for viewing later. The show normally runs 6-person tournaments in a sit and go winner take all format. However, recently the show brought six excellent cash game players together for a cash game where each player put up between $150,000 and $300,000. This was one of the biggest cash games ever televised. Let’s meet the players.
Seat 1 – Eli Elezra-Eli is a big time cash game player who also has a number of business interests in Las Vegas. He is aggressive, will play any two cards, and is not afraid of getting all his money in the middle.
Seat 2 – Patrick Antonius: Plays for millions heads-up on the internet. Patrick started out conservatively, winning a number of smaller pots. Then he changed gears and we will see how that paid off for him.
Seat 3 – Al Meltzer: A music producer who is a semi-pro. Al has played in some of
the bigger games the past 3-5 years.
Seat 4 – Gabe Kaplan: An actor who also is a well-known poker analyst and commentator. Gabe is known for his solid play and took advantage of that image
Seat 5 – David Peate (AKA Bipper): Another young gun who was out of sorts most of the game. We will see how this affected his results.
Seat 6 – Tom (Drrrr) Dwann: Most people recognize him as the top cash game pro in the game today. He plays for millions on the net and in live action. Tom plays very aggressively and will raise and re-raise with any two cards This causes wide swings in his results. This game was no different.
We will look at a number of these games pivotal hands. The second hand dealt Al had a pair of pocket ten’s. He raised. Dwann re-raised the size of the pot with k/q offsuit and Al called. The flop was nine/jack/queen( all hearts). Both players had a straight flush draw. Al bet and Tom went all-in. Al hesitated and then called. The turn was the king of diamonds giving Al a straight and Tom needing a heart to win or a ten to tie.
Al took the nearly 400K pot when the river brought the 8 of clubs. More next time.
