Sunday, July 12, 2009

Poker Mind In Depth Part XVIII: Finale

[Content Disclosure: Poker Mind In Depth series]

It's a wrap! No, not the main event; there are still 408 players with a bracelet dream still alive. But the 2009 WSOP run for Matusow, Negreanu and Hellmuth has come to an end. Phil busted last night with of all hands -- pocket aces. So I will wrap my "Poker Mind In Depth" series with a few thoughts.

First of all, thanks to three players who took the time to answer many not always easy questions. Not once in the past five weeks did anyone back away from a question or give me a lightweight response. In fact, several times one of the players did a second take when they thought they had not given a complete response to my questions. I appreciate that I was able to have access to the first three players on my wish list for this series, my only regret is that #4 was such a privacy pussy.

Yes, as some have asked, there is a potential book being considered. What would you think of a group of 12 or so top professional poker players being completely open and honest about the psychology issues they face in their poker lives and the compensations they make outside of poker to play the game? I have a partial line-up of interviewees in mind and an interested publisher but suggestions for additional players are welcome.

The WSOP is not over, so I will be shifting my emphasis for the next few days to other parts of the Amazon room and maybe a few places outside the main event. Thanks for following along, hope you enjoyed my series within the Series.
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Saturday, July 11, 2009

Phil Hellmuth: Poker Mind In Depth Part XVII

[Content Disclosure: Poker Mind In Depth series]

Today is Day Four of the main event, with 789 players still in the hunt out of 6,494 starters; Phil Hellmuth sits in a very comfortable 75th place with 485,000 chips. As you may remember Phil made a deep run in last year's WSOP finishing 45th. Now we all know that predicting success based on a Day Four or even a Day Five position is folly. Chip leaders will come and go and disappear many more times in the next several days. So what makes 2009 different for Phil?

First, I want to say that catching up with Phil for any kind of in-depth session is really not in the best interest of his game right now. Phil can and does get incredibly focused each day before the event begins and I respect that focusing process. I can give you my observations based on Phil's play and some brief encounters.

This year, at least the main event, is different for Phil. He reports to being incredibly calm, which is a departure from his condition in the last five or six years at the main event. There is no doubt in my mind that this more low key approach is leading to better play. Not that with Phil's record he actually needs to elevate his game, but better is better, so why not. You will notice once the ESPN shows begin to run, there are no Hellmuthian blow-ups. Sure there is camera time, as someone wise once said: "You don't put me on the TV table to be quiet." But the 2009 version of Phil is really under a lot more control. He has been more aggressive in spots where he would have folded in previous years and yet I have seen four big lay-downs that saved him 50% or more of his stack. Very few players would not have gone broke in those four hands.

What does this mean for the next 3 days? Well, we all know that aces do run into kings and runner, runner, perfect, perfect suck-outs happen. No one has a clear path to the final table this early. About all we can say today, is that most of the field has a shot at the money, we will be "in the money" about midday today. 

What I can observe is that Phil is once again in position for a deep run in the main event. Once again! I will keep a close watch on him and we will have a Part XVIII & XIX to this series, if . . .
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