"Official" WSOP on ESPN thread (10/24) (1K NL and $2.5k PL)

[Disc_Golf]

even if he is gonna blind bet, why bet and then call the all-in? if you are gonna call the all-in, you should just push yourself.

[KrazyKarl]

Someone talked about Hachem giving a bad beat earlier... I would hardly call all in preflop with 55 vs AQ a bad beat. When the money went in the middle he was only a 3-2 dog... the fact that he was down to 5 outs on the river (cos gale folded an Ace) really doesn't enter into it... it was hardly a bad beat.

The 3 beats he's taken... HUGE favourite when the money goes in.

[gobboboy]

Hachem plays fairly tight, so his cards are going to have to hold. Even if he gets it in as a 70/30 favorite 5 times in a row, he's only going to win that 16% of the time. It's not a bad strategy to win all the small pots and just bludgeon your opponent with allins.

[Hamburglar]

i'm surprised none commented on hachem trying to bust a jamie gold on john gale in his bustout hand. wtf is up w/ that, it that legal?

"fold, i got the best hand, fold, pls fold, i'm rick james bitch!"

"i know you got the best hand joe, i know you do"

"call"

lol

[NicksDad1970]

I don't think Hachem did anything wrong there. He simply said "I have the best hand" He then went on to say it again..... something like "John, I have the best hand. I know I do. I just don't want you drawing out on me".

If he would have said I have top pair and etc. Then that would have been different.

[peterpjames]

[ QUOTE ]
talk about friedberg overplaying hands and sucking out.

[/ QUOTE ]

He posted this in response on P5s:

---

Hi everyone! Hope you all enjoyed watching me "sleep with all of the angels" on ESPN last night. I have received one or two questions about the hands that were aired, so I thought I'd provide a little more diagnosis than what Ron and Lon chose to do.

I had a great time watching last night with my family and some friends, despite the fact that I was given little credit for winning the event by the commentators. The show aired approximately 20 minutes of poker from a final table that lasted 10 1/2 hours. For whatever reason, the producers chose to only show the hands that I pushed all in on...2 of which I got lucky in after making aggressive plays (see below for further explanation). There were MANY key hands throughout the final table that ESPN chose not to air...and several hands that I felt were insignificant that ESPN did air. Obviously it is important to inject some entertainment value into poker TV or only poker players would watch it. That said, please read below if you are curious as to my thought process during any of the hands that were broadcasted. And thanks to most of you for all of the support!!

1. My 68 off vs Kevin O'Donnell's AJ -- During the later stages of Day 2, Kevin was sitting to my immediate right just as he was at the final table. In 4 out of 5 times when it was folded to him, he raised my BB. I never had a hand and surrendered every time either preflop or on the flop. This time I chose to make a stand, with what I felt could easily be the best hand. J84 is not a bad flop in a HU pot during a blind battle with a 68. I pushed, which still would have left me with chips in case I lost, and I ended up getting lucky on the river to win the hand.

2. My 88 vs Mike Pomeroy's A9 -- Mike was making a TON of preflop raises and re-raises with complete garbage. On the flop of 79J, I was quite certain that he did not have a good enough hand to call my all in with. I was correct that he did not have a hand good enough to call with...however he called anyway. It was a bold move on my part...an absolutely terrible call on his behalf...and thanks to BelowAbove, a 10 came to save me.

3. My 78 vs. John Phan's 88 -- Norm made a brilliant comment about how I had "bad instincts" even though I was chip leader...after I pushed John all in this hand. Let's look at this and a little closer. I had 2,000,000 chips...John had 300k...the BB was 40k. Taking the chip counts into consideration and the size of the blinds, I am pushing in with any mediocre hand in this spot...as would most tournament pros. Anyone who questions this play or thinks it was bad instincts simply should give up on poker because he/she will never win a tournament.

4. My 55 vs. Mike Pomeroy's Q3 -- This was one of the best traps ever executed on poker TV (so I have been told), however the hand was very poorly explained on TV. Because of my prior hand histories with Pomeroy and others, I was able to get Mike to call off all of his 1,200,000 in chips on the river with only a pair of queens and no playable kicker....after he called a 400k bet into a 160k pot on the turn. I personally have never trapped a player any better than this in my career thus far. Nothing was mentioned by the commentators about this play, other than me winning the pot.

5. My K5 vs Phan's 66 -- While heads up and with a 4 - 1 chip lead, I mucked a K5 on flop 10-5-10. Norm struggled to admit that this was a "nice fold by Friedberg". Thanks Norm.

Jon F.

[Philuva]

[ QUOTE ]
I don't think Hachem did anything wrong there. He simply said "I have the best hand" He then went on to say it again..... something like "John, I have the best hand. I know I do. I just don't want you drawing out on me".

If he would have said I have top pair and etc. Then that would have been different.

[/ QUOTE ]

It is so strange that Hachem, who seem like he is a winning player, is so fearful of being sucked out he would rather pass up spots where he has an edge and his opponent is making a mistake. This is where I think Internet players who have logged hundreds of thousands of hands have an advantage.

[Lottery Larry]

[ QUOTE ]
Someone talked about Hachem giving a bad beat earlier... I would hardly call all in preflop with 55 vs AQ a bad beat. When the money went in the middle he was only a 3-2 dog... the fact that he was down to 5 outs on the river (cos gale folded an Ace) really doesn't enter into it... it was hardly a bad beat.

The 3 beats he's taken... HUGE favourite when the money goes in.

[/ QUOTE ]

My personal definition of a bad beat has changed over the years. Instead of being related to being behind and sucking out, I think a bad beat is one where you played your hand badly, given the situation, and then suck out.

So, 55 getting beaten by AQ isn't a BAD beat, as I don't think anyone has a problem with how Joe Hachem played the hand.

Some of those Russ Boyd hands against Hachem in a previous tourney, they might not have been bad beats either. I can't remember if Russ called all-in or pushed first.

[Lottery Larry]

[ QUOTE ]
It is so strange that Hachem, who seem like he is a winning player, is so fearful of being sucked out he would rather pass up spots where he has an edge and his opponent is making a mistake. This is where I think Internet players who have logged hundreds of thousands of hands have an advantage.

[/ QUOTE ]

Speaking from personal experience- while you would think so logically, if you separated yourself from the moment, that you want that situation, it can be difficult to remain emotionless about it if you are on a bad run.

Also, when you're playing hundreds or thousands of players, you'll only get a few chances in a lifetime to make it to the top spot. It's probably painful to know that you've missed out on a very rare chance of taking a WSOP bracelet down.

[yellowjack]

John Gale makes me sick. His demeanor resembles that of a B&M donk.