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#510 – London 2008 #17 – Million Pound Challenge – Coaching
I don’t know if there was a misunderstanding about the schedule or they’re running late, but the mentor-coaching was something of a letdown. I originally heard the session would be a half hour, and then I heard it would be separate coaching for each match.
The coaching didn’t end up being useless – anything Andy Bloch, Barny Boatman, and Allen Cunningham have to say about heads-up poker is worth noting – but it didn’t end up being the trove of information I had hoped. The taped it as three stand-ups with Adam Noone and the pro, with 30 seconds to a minute of advice.
what went on behind the camera was probably more interesting. The original mentor “lineup” was Andy Bloch coaching about Chris Ferguson, Barny Boatman-Roland de Wolfe, and Allen Cunningham-Phil Ivey. Of greatest interest to me was Bloch-Ferguson. They played each other in the NBC heads-up finale and both play a similar game-theory/mathematical style, so hearing Andy express the counter-strategy would be instructive.
A minute before the stand-up, someone told Andy he was doing Phil Ivey. Andy Bloch, being a professional, did what they told him to do. As soon as he finished, Allen Cunningham approached Andy and said, “I thought I was supposed to coach against Phil Ivey.” Nobody has been able to figure out why the coaching assignments got switched.
After Allen Cunningham gave Noone his minute of advice on Chris Ferguson, a cell phone started ringing. Everyone froze. The director stopped things and angrily asked who was responsible.
It was Adam Noone’s cell phone.
Here, in a nutshell – almost verbatim – is the advice:
Andy Bloch (on playing Phil Ivey): The important thing is don’t back down against Phil. He’s a pretty aggressive player and you can’t wait for a big hand to play against him. Or early on, fake that you’ll back down and then switch up, keep him on his toes. Don’t be afraid to mix it up with Phil.
Barny Boatman (on playing Roland de Wolfe): You’re free-rolling against Roland. And he’s playing for something more than money – reputation. You don’t want to let him play too many flops in position. You have to be able to reraise him when he raises in position. And when you play a pot with him, play it strong. Make him make the decision for all his chips.
Allen Cunningham (on playing Chris Ferguson): Chris is one of the best heads-up players in the world, especially in this kind of format. Against Chris, you should try to take the skill out. Put a lot of chips in preflop if you can. Reraise a lot on his button. Make it come down to one hand where there’s more luck involved. Be more aggressive if you can. If you can get Chris to fold a couple pots, you can take some of his skill advantage away.
Adam Noone knows what he’s doing and he’s keyed up about this opportunity. So I don’t think he was disappointed by the truncated coaching sessions. But I was, a little bit.
If this is my last post tonight – I don’t think I can report on the heads-up matches – you be hearing from me plenty over the next couple days. The Million Dollar Cash Game is Wednesday and Thursday and, like last year, I’ll be there to try to get you the info on the big hands and the great stories.
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