There was a new WPT episode tonight, the 2004 Jack Binion's World Poker Open from Tunica. It was great to see both Chip Reese and Barry Greenstein in action.
Reese is one of the true legends of poker - having played in big cash games and tournaments for years, he is the author of the 7 stud chapter in Super System. Greenstein is a very wealthy former Symantec employee who is known for donating his tournament winnings to charity.
I had to feel the pain of Tony Hartman when he was eliminated. The chip leader at the time, Randy Jensen, raised blind. Hartman looked down at AJo and moved in. I can't blame him at all, that's a strong hand six-handed against a completely blind raise like that. Unfortunately, Jensen looked at his cards, found AQ and called. That was a tough exit.
Another great moment was when Reese came over the top of Greenstein on the flop with middle pair, he made a great read there. Barry raised preflop with K2o and Chip called with T9o right behind him. The flop came A97. Barry bet a little less than the pot, and Chip moved all in. Barry quickly folded. (One thing I really like about Greenstein's play is the lack of Hollywood moments - if he thinks he can't win the pot he lays it down quickly.)
Of course the most amazing hand was the one that eliminated two players when they were four-handed. Reese moved all-in with K5s, and James Tippin, the amatuer at the table called with QQ. He made a point of saying to Greenstein that he was not all-in but had only called, which was odd, and Greenstein moved in with AKs. Tippin thought for a long time and called. The flop came with and A and a K, and another A on the river gave Greenstein aces full of kings. Tippin and Reese were eliminated.
Once Jensen and Greenstein made it heads-up it became pretty clear that Jensen was out of his league. He made some nice, strong plays, but you could see him start to spin out of control, and he commented out loud at one point that he could not get a read on Greenstein. Finally Barry checked top pair and Jensen went all-in with middle pair (fours), saying, "I'm not gonna to give you a chance to outplay me..." Of course he had already been outplayed, and Greenstein's hand held up.
This was really entertaining poker, and a great chance to see one of the top tournament players at his best.
Ted