#075 - Heads-Up Championship Part XI - The Night Game

The second half of the third round features some amazing match-ups, both for the poker skill involved and what they represent to me personally. All eight players are wearing the Full Tilt colors. These are my comments on the matches as I dreamed them up. For the blow-by-blow and the interviews after, check out the coverage of www.pokerwire.com.

The Matusow/Bloch match turned out to be extremely entertaining, though not for reasons I could have imagined, despite knowing both men very well.

The featured table is Mike Matusow and Andy Bloch. These are two of my best friends in poker, completely different men with radically different styles. But both are great friends who have also enriched my professional life immeasurably.

Phil Gordon against Gavin Smith is another great match-up of very different styles. I’m friendly with both players. Gavin wrote the Big Stack chapter of the FULL TILT book, and Phil wrote the Short Stack chapter.

Brad Booth plays Chad Brown, and Scott Fischman plays Kristy Gazes. I know Brad, Chad, and Scott only by reputation. Kristy is always very friendly to me and she seems like she has a great heads-up game.

Matusow arrived and told Andy Bloch, and me, and anyone who would listen that he felt awful during the match with Grinder, and awful that he played bad. But he ate, he rested, and he feels 100%. He looks really excited about the game. Andy, of course, has been the same as every time I see him. Solid.

Before the matches, I heard a rumor that Mike might appear on Dancing with the Stars. I can confirm it … as a rumor. He hasn’t been asked. He hasn’t said he would do it. It’s possible. It’s being discussed. Various intermediaries are going through channels. That means nothing concrete but it also means that wasn’t some pot-induced hallucination from someplace. Phil Gordon, who said he thinks it will never happen - Mike would have to work 8 hours a day for 3 months if all this came to pass - told me that if it does happen, I should pack up, move to L.A., and blog every day about Mike for 3 months.

8 PM - cards in the air.

A lot of empty seats for what I think are the best and most exciting match-ups. I think they announced the early time for the audience, this morning. Only at the end of each round/heat do they know the time for the next matches. And, of course, production delays and Humberto have pushed back the schedule so even if they put out a time, it would have been off by the end of the day.

I do not have a good vantage point for these matches, “press row” being the worst seats in the house. But there’s no way for me to get close to the Matusow/Bloch match, since it’s at the feature table.

Kristy is wearing those white knee-high Chanel boots. No word on Scott Fischman’s footwear.

8:15 PM - “All in and a call.” Flop of Q-J-8, on the Gavin/Phil table. Mike: “You guys can do it.” Andy gets up and looks over.

Phil - A-A

Gavin - Th-4h (2 hearts on the board). But Phil has the ace of hearts.

Turn is 5 of hearts. Gavin Smith takes The Trucker Hand and cracks aces. But Phil Gordon has the remaining hearts as redraws for the river, since he would make the nut flush if the river is a heart.

Gavin: “I’m drawing dead. This sucks.”

River is a deuce of clubs. Gavin eliminates Phil. (There’s actually a lengthy process of counting the chips to make sure Phil is in fact eliminated.)

Mike: “So who won?”

Gavin: “Who do you think? Think I’d get all my money in with ten-high if it’s not good.”

Phil looks kind of disgusted. Several minutes later, he is standing in a corner at the rear of the set, watching the Kristy/Scott game, arms folded, still looking disgusted.

8:25 PM - Gavin walks past Phil as they take turns doing interviews with Shana Hiatt at the front of the stage. No handshake, no words, no recognition. I think some people look at Phil Gordon as a guy who has the world on a string. I don’t know him as well as I know someone like Andy Bloch or Mike Matusow, but I know this: Phil Gordon burns to win. He is hungry to be the best and do the best. This was a stage where he had a chance to do it and he got taken down in a pretty cruel way. That’s poker, but it still hurts, and being tall, good looking, wealthy, entreprenurial, and all the rest doesn’t diminish the hurt one bit.

8:29 PM - Bloch just won a big pot from Matusow with a 5-high straight. Matusow showed his losing trip deuces.

8:31 PM - Brad Booth is way behind with 6,800. He gets all-in with A-K against Chad Brown. Chad has K-6. Matusow, to Booth: “You’re up against one of the biggest spooks around.”

T-2-6. Chad Brown is ahead.

Turn is the five of diamonds, putting 3 diamonds up, so Brad could win with a diamond.

But a diamond doesn’t come on the river. Chad Brown wins and advances.

After just 33 minutes, just 2 matches left: Fischman/Gazes, Matusow/Bloch.

8:38 PM - The announcer says Kristy has a big lead and there’s some bet between Gazes and Fischman involving paying for lap dancers or performing lap dances.

8:39 PM - Andy Bloch has the lead 120k to 40k over Mike Matusow.

8:44 PM - Mike Matusow has moved all in, 29,000 total. Andy folds. Mike: “I knew he had to fold one. He only won 90 out of 91 hands dealt.”

Mike wins the next hand when Andy folds to his bet on the flop. “I flopped a pair,” Matusow says, showing one of his cards. Mike’s getting a little antsy.

8:47 PM - Andy raised dark and Mike moved all-in dark. Andy looks and calls.

Andy has Q-7. Mike has T-4. The Gavin Smith hand. Mike goes over to Gavin, “How can I lose, man? He’s drawing dead on the flop.

The flop is 7-8-J. Mike wins with a 9 or T. 5 of hearts on the turn. “Now I win with a 6 too.”

The river is a six and Mike makes a straight. He struts around the room, “Ya gotta have heart!” Meaning what? “Who didn’t know that was coming?”

Mike: “I’m sick of 4,000, 4,000, 4,000. Now we’re even and we’ll see what happens.” (Andy has apparently been playing exactly the game he taught me and we wrote up in the FULL TILT book, and it’s made Matusow a little crazy.)

Mike wins a pot and says, “We got a new leader.” He’s gone from crazy-frustrating-tilt to his comfort zone of goading and prodding his opponent.

8:52 PM - Scott Fischman is all-in for 18,500 preflop and called by Kristy Gazes. K-Q for Scott, A-2 for Kristy. Q-T-4, giving Scott Fischman the lead. 5 on the turn. Kristy needs a three or an ace to keep Scott from doubling up.

Kristy gets the 3 of clubs on the river, making a straight and eliminating Scott Fischman.

8:55 PM - Andy Block is back ahead, 104k to 56k. I can’t see the hands but I truly believe that Mike is playing too tight, and Andy knows how good (or not good) a hand he needs to raise, and Mike is folding too much. That’s just my hunch, though. If I talk with Andy later, I’ll ask him. [Late last night, Andy confirmed that he thought Matusow was folding too much and bluffing too little.]

8:58 PM - This is the last match. Blinds are 2,000-4,000. Andy moves all-in and Mike folds.

9:00 PM - Andy moves all-in. Two hands later, on his button again, he’s all-in again. Both times, Mike folds.

9:02 PM - Mike is under 50,000 now. Mike limps on the button, Andy checks. A-Q-T flop. Andy checks, Mike bets 4,000. Andy calls. Turn is a ten. Both check. River is a jack. Andy bets 10,000. Mike calls. They both have a king for a straight. Chop.

9:04 PM - Mike bets small on the flop and turn. Andy folds and Mike shows that he flopped a flush.

I think Mike Matusow is a phenomenally gifted no-limit hold ‘em player, but Andy is on TOP of his game.

9:07 PM - 116k for Andy, 44k for Mike. Andy folds his button. “It’s only the first time he’s folded on the button. The guy’s a complete idiot. Of course I have an ace.”

9:09 PM - Blinds go up to 3,000-6,000. Mike’s button. Mike folds his button. (Remember, he said Andy’s folded his button just once in the whole match.)

9:10 PM - Andy’s all-in on his button and Mike folds.

9:11 PM - Mike’s all-in. Andy folds.

9:12 PM - Andy’s all-in. Mike folds.

9:13 PM - Mike sings:

Poker, poker, it’s all luck.
Let Andy raise and I’ll throw it in the muck.

I was expecting something else rhyming with “luck” and Mike intimates he was thinking of something else.

9:15 PM - Mike “I’m all-in in the dark. Let’s see what kind of balls you have buddy.”

Andy folds 5-high. Mike shows the Gavin Smith, T-4.

9:16 PM - Andy’s all-in. Mike folds.

9:17 PM - Mike announces he’s going all-in in the dark for 30,200 on his button. Andy folds, Mike shows K-7.

“I’m not getting whittled down any more. I’m not going down below 30. As soon as he blows up, I’ll get back even.”

9:19 PM - Andy asks if Mike will be all-in dark on his button. “No, that’s only when I’m down to 30.” But he looks at his cards, moves all-in with 5-5, and Andy folds.

Andy moves all-in. Mike looks at one card and calls. Then he looks at the other one. “Oh baby doll! A little ace-king action.”

Mike has A-K, Andy has J-3. The flop is J-3-T. Two pair for Andy Bloch.

Mike: “You are drawing so dead.”

Ace on the turn. “Ace, ten, queen, king,” Mike says.

Queen on the river. Mike Matusow doubles up. Mike does a dance that demonstrates convincingly that he will never be on Dancing with the Stars.

Matusow has the lead, with 90,400.

9:21 PM - Mike: “I bet he won’t be moving in every hand now.” But Andy moves all-in. Mike shows 2-7o and throws it away.

9:22 PM - Mike moves all-in, Andy folds.

One more hand and the blinds rise to 4,000-8,000.

9:25 PM - Mike: “The skill of poker is coming to the forefront in the next five minutes.” Andy moves all-in and Mike folds.

9:26 PM - Mike’s all-in, Andy calls. Kd-8d for Mike. A-T for Andy.

Flop is Ah-Kh-7c. 3s on the turn. Mike is down to 5 outs. Mike: “11%? It’s about 50/50.”

River is the five of diamonds. Andy doubles up and there’s some question who had the chip lead. It was Mike so he still has some chips. “Just a slight dent to the armor,” Mike says. Mike has another 19,800.

9:30 PM - Andy is all-in. Mike calls. Andy has Q-9. Mike has 4d-6d. 6h-2h-6c-Ad. Mike doubles up. Mike makes a full house on the river.

Mike calls Andy “Mr. Card Rack.”

9:32 PM - Andy has 138k to Mike’s 42k. Mike looks and goes all-in. Andy is very reluctant. Andy calls. Mike has 9s-4s. Andy has Q-2o.

Mike: “This guy really wants me to win.”

Flop is J-K-T. Turn is 5s. This gives Mike a flush draw. It’s a seven. Andy Bloch finishes out Mike Matusow to move on.