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#035 – The Greatest Poker Game Ever Played – Entry A
This week marks the first anniversary of what I consider the greatest poker game ever played. It was a heads-up match between Andy Beal and Ted Forrest on February 14, 2006 at Wynn Las Vegas. I wrote about it in the April 2006 issue of BLUFF, as part of 19,000 words of coverage of the three weeks of heads-up matches between Beal and a team of two dozen high-stakes pros. I called the February 14 game “The War Between Two Furies” and “The Valentine’s Day Massacre.” I subsequently wrote a few things about that day in my prior blog on Pokerworks.com and in the February 2007 issue of BLUFF.
I thought it would be fun and interesting to reproduce my notes of that day, verbatim. They started playing just after 9 AM and sat at that table, leaving only to race to the restrooms during the hourly deck changes, until after 7:30 PM. Beal and Forrest were playing $50,000-$100,000 hold ‘em.
There were TWO $8 million swings on this day.
Forrest sat at Seat 3, along a side against the back wall of the room. Beal sat in Seat 6, across from the dealer. I was in Seat 8, furiously taking notes. During the 12 days of poker in February 2006, I filled four big black Moleskine notebooks. On February 14, I took 85 pages of notes, pages 614-701 of notebook #3.
These notes, which will appear in several installments over the next week (it’s going to take me that long to type them), are the actual and complete record of the information I had that day, with the following exceptions: (1) The notes themselves are practically illegible, except to me (and even then, it’s sometimes dicey). (2) I will occasionally put in brackets some information that is necessary for you to understand the context of something in the notes. (3) I haven’t even read all the way through these notes. If there is anything I think should not be included – either because it would be of no conceivable interest or because I deem it sensitive – I will let you know. Otherwise, this is 100% of what I observed and wrote down on February 14, 2006.
I will also include a post with the excerpt from the BLUFF article in which I wrote about this game. I hope you’ll find interesting the contrast between my notes and what I eventually – within 5 days after this occurred – wrote for the magazine.
Last bit of context: On February 1-5, Beal played the pros and lost $3.2 million. He returned on February 12. He won $5 million from Jennifer Harman that day and $1.2 million from Todd Brunson on February 13. The pros brought a bankroll of $10 million to the table at the start, so Ted Forrest showed up with $3.8 million on February 14. Andy Beal brought $10 million. I did not write down every single hand all day long, but I tried to do it for several half-hour periods. It so happens I did it for six periods on this day, including at the beginning. There were several other times when I would write down all the hands for a shorter period. Then there were times when I paid little attention to the hands.
Note about shorthand: The hand numbers were just the number from that series. I would note by name the player with the button (who has the small blind and acts first in heads-up play). At the end, I would usually note the name of the player who won and the size of the pot. Occasionally, I would note who was ahead/behind for the day, and by how much.
PAGE 614
TU 2/14
9:10 AM – Ted’s button. Cards in the air.
[The day before, Ted Forrest had come by to give Andy two gifts from his girlfriend Roxana, who had heard about Beal’s sleep problems. The first was an herbal sleep remedy. The second was a book, Krishamurti’s Freedom from the Known. “If the herbs don’t put you to sleep, this book ought to do it.”]
Andy: “I slept four hours last night. I read that whole philosophy book.”
HAND 1 – Ted folds his button.
HAND 2 – Andy folds his.
Ted starts with about $3.8M.
HAND 3 – Ted folds his. Ted seems a little somber today.
HAND 4 – Andy – raise. Ted folds.
HAND 5 – Ted – call, check.
Ah-Qh-Qd. Valentine’s Day flop.
HAND 6 – Andy bets. Ted Folds.
HAND 7 – [?] Andy – raise, call.
Kd-Tc-8c
Check, Andy bets, call.
As
Check, Andy bets, call.
Qs
Check, Andy bets, Ted folds.
Andy $500k.
9:15 AM
HAND 8 – Ted – raise. Andy “check”. Calls.
Jd-6s-Qd.
Check, bet, call.
Ah
Check, Ted bets, fold.
Ted $300k.
PAGE 615
HAND 9 – Ted – fold.
HAND 10 – Andy.
Very slow start.
Ted, brown corduroy shirt, sleeves turned up.
Raise, fold.
Andy $75k
HAND 11 – Ted – call, check.
8d-8h-5d
Andy bets, Tedfolds
Andy $100k
Andy +300k
HAND 12 – Andy – raise, call.
Ks-7c-2h
Check-check
8d
Check, Andy bets, call
4d
Andy bets, call
Andy 5-8
Ted Q-8 takes it.
Wow – way more conservative (too conservative?)
Ted $600k
HAND 13 – Ted – raise, Andy x3, Ted call.
Ad-9s-5s
Andy bets, call.
Ah
Andy bets, Ted calls.
Tc
Andy bets, call.
A-Q. Andy won
Andy $800k
Ted exhales.
9:16 AM
PAGE 616
HAND 14 – Andy – raise. Call.
Jd-Qh-2d.
Check, Andy bet. Raise by Ted. Fold
Ted $300k.
I feel like Ted’s affected by the short bankroll. Can that be?
HAND 15 – Ted – raise. Call.
As-Qc-8s
Check, Ted bets, fold.
Ted $200k
HAND 16 – Andy – raise, fold.
Andy $75k
[Andy Beal had a folded-in-half index card propped in front of him during most of the games. He has a series of things for him to remember, usually single words or short phrases.]
Andy has added the word “slow” to his index card.
HAND 17 – Ted – fold.
Andy $75k
Andy +$250k
HAND 18 – Andy – call, check.
8c-8h-2
Ted bets, Andy calls.
Js
Ted checks, Andy bets, Ted folds.
Andy $200k
HAND 19 – Ted folds.
Andy $75k
