Not For the Faint of Heart
Wednesday, June 3, 2009 - Gene Bromberg
With all the tournaments going on today I somehow forgot that the $2,500 No-Limit Deuce-to-Seven Draw Lowball event started today. My oversight may be due in part to the fact that I’m not excited about writing out “No-Limit Deuce-to-Seven Draw Lowball” every time I discuss the event, an in part because I have no clue how to play that particular game. Oh, I know the rules, just as I know the rules for, say, playing the piano (you use your fingers to hit the white and black keys). But I have about as good a chance of playing a decent game of No-Limit Deuce-to-Seven Draw Lowball as I would sitting down at the keyboard and pounding out a Chopin étude.
This is a pity, as this is a gambler’s game. None of your cards are showing. You get one draw, one chance to improve your hand (or tip off the strength of your hand to your opponent). Bluffing is obviously a huge part of the game, as is the ability to read your opponent. And the game is No-Limit, meaning you can apply maximum pressure to your opponent in a game where there’s precious little information to go on. It’s sound crazy, but it’s the event Doyle Brunson said is his favorite.
Not sure if Lowball is Phil Hellmuth’s favorite game, especially today, as he hasn’t been able to gain much traction during play tonight and sits with around 4,000 chips. The big story of the tournament so far has been Mike Matusow–he has 30,000 in chips (10K more than second place) and he announced that if he wins the Main Event he’ll tip the dealers a million bucks. Maybe Mike is trying to preemptively sway the dealers from giving him a penalty should he have some kind of detonation. Maybe he’s just in a very, very generous mood. Maybe his new book is selling like hotcakes (gotta get my hands on a copy). Maybe an offer like this would be the karmic sweetener that could help Phil land his twelve bracelet. Hey, would you pay a million dollars if it guaranteed your a bracelet? I guess it depends who you ask.
Related posts:
- Play Nice So I was watching some of the $2,500 No-Limit Deuce...
- The Work’s Cut Out The $10,000 No-Limit Deuce-to-Seven World Championship will play today until...
- Stand Up I mentioned in my post yesterday that the bracelet ceremonies...
- Crazy People You spend enough time in Las Vegas, enough time at...
- The End of the Beginning Even for the Rio during the World Series this stands...
Tags: 2009 world series of poker, 2009 wsop, Mike Matusow, No Limit Deuce to Seven Draw, Phil Hellmuth, phil hellmuth world series of poker, world series of poker, WSOP
