Article written by Phil Laak
For me friends to read
Ok, new bit here. The following
hand actually happened. Not
only was this the sickest hand of
poker I have ever witnessed, but
it justmight go down as the sickest
hand that I may ever witness.
The key people in this pot were
John Duthie and Viffer (David Peat).
These two guys are two of the sickest players
on the planet. (Sick means dangerous and
operating at the edge at all times; constantly
torturing players in their path with poker
moves that are not in the books.)
John Duthie is the guy who won the Poker
Million Tournament on the Isle of Man. It
still goes down as the best televised win in
the history of poker. He never had a hand.
(Well, twice he did.) He won by bluffing and
re-bluffing his way all the way through to the
very end. It was some classic stuff. He is also
the guy behind the EPT. But never mind all
that. What you need to know about this guy
is that he might just be the sickest one ever.
Sometimes when I wake up I point my body
towards England, kneel, and pay homage to
this uber genius, whack nut of a gambler.
Viffer (David Peat) is one of the hardest
working poker players/party animals that
have ever walked the earth. He terrorizes the
high stakes poker tables relentlessly and is a
big earner in the high stakes No Limit games.
I have never seen him lose, and he doesn’t
just win – he crushes and destroys. It is often
unreal. Truly something else altogether. He
plays just as good (if not better) drunk.
Which is from time to time as he is always
partying. The party might end, but the poker
game never does. (One of my favorite lines
was when he arrived plastered, said “I’s a
good earner kid, but I drunk,” and then proceeded
to decimate all in his way.)
Okay, enough introductions. Here is
what happened.
It was a 50/100 No Limit game with a
$200 ante on the button. The under-the-gun
player straddled for 200 and when it came to
John Duthie he made it 600 to go (with
Q♥8&#9827
. Everyone folds to Viffer who makes
it 3000 to go (with J♠4&#9824
. Everyone folds to
Duthie, who calls.
So the pot now has 6550 in it. Duthie first
to act with Q♥8♣ and Viffer second to act
with J♠4♠. At the start of the hand Duthie
had about 24,000 and Viffer had him
covered.
The flop misses them both. A♦9♥3♥.
Duthie checks,
Viffer bets 3200.
Duthie raises,
making it 7500 to go.
Viffer calls. How
sick is this call. He is
calling to take it away!!
But the only way he
can take it away is if
Duthie checks the turn.
The pot now has about
21,000 in it. And Duthie
only has 13,500 dollars
left!
Remember, neither
one of these guys has a
hand. It is queen high
versus jack high. And
they are check-raising
and calling with nothing!!!!!
The turn comes. Ace of
spades.
Duthie checks. Viffer
goes all in. Duthie has
13,500 left and calls!!!!! The
sick thing is that he more or
less insta-called and as he
called he was tipping the
dealer. He knew that his
queen high was good. It was
so sick!!
And what about Viffer?
The guy bets the flop, gets
raised, but also knows that
Duthie has nothing and calls!!!
He calls on the flop!!! The only way he can
call is if he knows Duthie will check the turn
so he can bet. For Viffer to bluff the turn, he
needs Duthie to check it. That is why the call
on the flop is so sick.
Of course, Duthie obliges with a check on
the turn, letting Viffer hang himself, and
makes the easy call with queen high.
A harmless 7♠ on the river and Duthie doubles
up!
At that moment in time I felt like I knew
nothing about poker and was destined to
start over. I have never been in a spot like
that nor will I ever be. Wow. Of course, Viffer
was unfazed and within the hour was
unstuck. An hour after that he was way
ahead and back on his war path.
Incredible. Thanks to John Duthie and
Viffer for being a part of the sickest
hand ever!
www.bluffmagazine.com BLUFF SEPTEMBER 2007 30
Thanks phill for the kind words,