Dennis Phillips Blog

The third event I played at the PCA was the $5,000 buy-in with 273 players.

We had played a long first day and were down to 29, two away from making the money, when a guy I didn’t know two seats to my left made a horrible play. Remember a few weeks ago when I was talking about managing your chips in a tournament? Here’s an example of how not to do that.

His stack had about $160,000, so he could have been patient and coasted to the money. With blinds at $2k-4k, I standard-raised to $12k (of my $55k, about average) with AQ suited. As soon as he looked at his cards, he shoved all-in. I went into the tank for about three minutes, but I was laughing and trying to get him to talk the whole time, because I needed information.

When I asked him, “How can you do that at this point, so close to the bubble?”, he suddenly got really nervous. I put him on a small pair and figured it was a race, so I called for my other $43k. He turned over KQ off-suit, and when the board blanked, I doubled to $115k, and now I could coast a little.

Two hands later, he did the same thing with Peter Eastgate, who was the overwhelming chip leader. Peter raised, the guy shoved his remaining $90k, and Peter smiled as he almost beat him into the pot with aces, which held up against the guy’s KJ.

There’s certainly a time to take advantage of the bubble against tentative players so you can amass more chips, but this guy did it the wrong way against the wrong players. In under five minutes, he went from top three in chips to out of the tournament, missing out on at least a $12,000 payday for 27th place. Moments later, another player busted out, and we were done for the day.

When we returned the next day, the blinds were $3k-$6k with a $400 ante. A lot of short stacks who had held on through the bubble went out quickly (probably ten of them in the first hour).

I had nothing to play for a long time until a short stack who had been too active shoved his last $45k in the pot on the cutoff seat. He could make that move with anything from AQ to 33. I looked down at 99 in the small blind and made the call, then frowned when he showed a pair of tens. No nine came, and I was down about 40% of my chips.

Later, I found 99 again and shoved against a guy who had made a min-raise in middle position. I hoped he had eights, didn’t want to see jacks, and was happy when he turned over AK and we were racing. Unfortunately, he caught an ace on the river, and I was done in 16th place, pocketing $20,000 for my efforts.

So, my week in the Bahamas was done, and it was back to St. Louis for some cash games and a lot of business I had to catch up on before I leave for the LAPT in Chile on Sunday.

Remember, send me your questions for my radio show, which debuts at 6pm CT on January 27th on 590 The Fan KFNS in St. Louis (and KFNS.com everywhere). My e-mail address is dennisphillipspoker@gmail.com.

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Thanks to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch for including me in their Top Ten Stories In St. Louis Sports In 2008.

Since returning from the Doyle Brunson Classic, I’ve actually had a few days back home, which I’ve spent working at Broadway Truck Center, celebrating Christmas with friends, and playing lots of cash games and a couple of tournaments at the local poker rooms here in St. Louis. Right after New Year’s, I’ll head to the Bahamas for the PCA at the Atlantis Resort. I’ve never been there, but I’m looking forward to seeing it and getting away from the winter weather.

I have also been keeping up my work for three major charities I support: the MS Society, Bad Beat On Cancer, and the Albert Pujols Family Foundation.

Twice in the last six months, I have donated to Albert’s foundation, which helps children with down’s syndrome, trying to improve their quality of life. He has also had success helping underprivileged kids in his homeland, the Dominican Republic. He has founded charities there, built ballparks, and helped with a variety of health-related issues, things that were missing when he was growing up.

A couple of weeks ago, the foundation held a big benefit at the Chase Park Plaza. I was lucky enough to be invited to their year-end overview of what they’ve accomplished and what they want to do going forward. This year, they put on a major effort to help Dominican kids who needed glasses. Albert teamed with Clarkson Eyecare to have optometrists and opticians outfit dozens of children, and the looks on their faces when they could finally see and read clearly was priceless. For 2009, Albert wants to do something similar with dental work for those kids. If you want to make a difference, this is an organization you need to look at.

Before the banquet, Albert invited me to a private get-together with his wife Dierdre and some athletes and celebrities I’ve admired, including Lou Brock, Rick Horton, Kerry Robinson, Mike Metheny (great talk, yes he is as nice a guy as I’ve heard), Ryan Franklin, and Chris Duncan. At one point, there was a tap on my shoulder. I turned and saw a tall guy I should have recognized instantly, but it took me a minute to realize it was Darryl Strawberry. He started talking poker, saying he watched it on TV all the time and had seen me on the ESPN telecasts of the WSOP. Darryl has his own charity that helps people with autism, and he and Albert support each other’s foundations whenever they can.

Later in the evening, there was a live auction with Channel 5′s Rene Knott as the hilarious auctioneer. One of the items was a dinner provided by Dierdre Pujols, in which she would bring a couple of local chefs to your house and cook a seven course meal for ten. I’ve never had the privilege of having one of her meals, but people were telling me it would be a meal to die for. I think it went for $10,000.

The item that caught my eye was a unique one donated by Albert himself. During the 2008 All-Star game in NY, he had two special jerseys — one from the home run derby and one from the game. He’s keeping the game shirt, but auctioned off the other one, which he signed. It’s Yankee blue (from the last All-Star game at the stadium) with his Cardinals emblem on the left sleeve, and the All-Star logo on the right sleeve.

I couldn’t resist. This is the only one of these, from a future hall of famer, for a fabulous cause – plus, Rene wouldn’t let me stop bidding. Anytime someone made a higher bid, Rene automatically said I was bidding higher. In the end, the shirt was mine. Albert came up afterwards, shook my hand, and thanked me with that big grin of his. I told him I was happy to support the very worthy work he does, and I will find a prominent place to display it.

Have a Happy New Year. See you in 2009!

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I was at the Scotttrade Center last night with a couple of friends watching the St. Louis Blues beat the Minnesota Wild. During a timeout, I was interviewed on the big screen and was given a Blues hat signed by five of the players, plus a jersey with my name on the back and the number three on the front. I guess they picked 3 because I finished third in the WSOP Main Event, but I couldn’t help but wince, since the hand that knocked me out was Peter Eastgate’s pair of threes. Anyway, I had a great time, and I appreciated the ovation from the crowd and the attention from our home hockey team.

Last week, after I busted out of the Doyle Brunson Classic, I stuck around to watch my friend Joe McGowan go really deep in the tournament. In fact, he ended up 7th, just missing the WPT final table. I was proud of Joe, who you may remember was my coach leading up to the November Nine, helping me get reads on the other players, talking final table strategy, and being by my side throughout that long day last month.

This time, the roles were reversed, and I was on the sideline. Every time there was a break, Joe would come over and we’d conference. It was great to be able to talk about poker at such a high level with someone who has spent so much time studying the game and the players. He’d ask my advice and we’d discuss the hands he’d played, what he’d seen other players doing, and especially chip management — a key concept too few tournament players understand.

Joe was the short stack with about 30 players left. It’s very difficult to stay alive in these big tournaments when you’re in that position. Too often, players play marginal hands up front, or try min-raising or limping with experimental hands, or firing out probing bets to “see where they are.” At the later levels with higher blinds and antes, all that does it bleed you down.

For instance, let’s say you limp with 8-9 suited in early-middle position. That’s fine if you have lots of chips, but when you’re short-stacked, you can’t call a raise, so you’re flushing chips away. Even if you do, you can never be sure where you are unless you flop a monster. Too often you flop second pair at best, and then you’re screwed. You either donkey off chips and whittle down your stack even more, or end up shoving for your tournament life.

Joe did it just right — playing smart, waiting for opportunities to take advantage of, and managing his stack. To get from 30th to 7th without amassing a lot of chips takes quite a bit of skill, and I’m proud of him.

It’s too bad you won’t see him on the WPT telecast of the event, but I think you won’t have to wait long until Joe gets another chance.

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When Day 2 ended, I was happy to see it go because of the competition I’d been dealing with at my table. Mike Matusow was on my left, Victor Ramdin on his left, plus David Pham and Johnny Chan among the other players. Everyone was friendly and talkative, but it was the table from hell. I hoped Day 3 would give me a better draw.

It didn’t. When I sat down today, Joe Hachem was on my left, Clonie Gowen to his left, and across the table were Eli Elezra and Antonio Esfandiari. Even when Eli got knocked out, his replacement was Robert Mizrachi. Tough stuff.

I started the day with $114,700 and didn’t move up or down much for the first two hours. Clonie, on the other hand, had nearly $450k and didn’t hestitate to push the table around with her big stack and some wild play. That’s what got me in trouble.

It all started when I watched her play a hand against a guy I don’t know. With blinds at $1,500/$3,000, she raised under the gun to $9k and he called. They checked it down all the way and it turned out that Clonie had made the raise with J-8 offsuit and hit a straight on the river!

In the next hand, Mizrachi opened for $9k. Clonie, in the big blind, came over the top for $24k and Robert smooth-called. The flop came out 5-5-2. She bet $25k and he called. The turn was a face card and they both checked. When the river was a 4, she bet $30k, Robert made it $100k, and Clonie insta-called. She turned over 5-3 off suit for trip fives. Robert turned over pocket fours — he hit a two-outer full house on the river to take nearly $150,000 from Clonie, who had made that pre-flop raise with a five and a three!!!

So, that’s two hands in a row where I’d seen her raise with garbage to try to push people around. And that’s what led to me getting involved in the very next hand.

I was in the cutoff seat with K-Q off suit and opened for three times the big blind ($9k). Joe folded the button, and Clonie — now in the small blind — popped it to $24k again. I only had about $75 left and was sure she was making another move, so I shoved it all in. She insta-called and turned over two kings!! I was drawing dead, although a queen did come on the flop (just to taunt me) before my tournament came to a crashing end.

In retrospect, I felt there were only two options pre-flop: lay it down, or try to stop her from being the bully by going all-in. I suppose I could have just called her raise, but when that queen hit, we would have gotten all the chips in anyway.

In the end, I finished 111th out of more than 500 players and didn’t make the money. But I had a lot of fun getting to know some more of these big time pros and I look forward to playing them again.

Meanwhile, my friend Joe McGowan is still in the tournament with a huge stack of chips and playing some great poker. Go get ‘em, Joe!

Oh, remember what I said a couple of days ago about how you don’t win a tournament on Day 1, so being the chip leader at that point rarely means anything? I just saw Phil Hellmuth, who was in the top spot at the end of Saturday, leaving the tournament room after being busted one last time.

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After Day 1A of the Doyle Brunson Classic at The Bellagio, I’m right where I want to be  above average in chips with $64,700 (we started with $45k), in 59th place out of 150 players remaining from the original 203.

It’s important to remember that you never win a tournament on the first day. Look at the final tables of major events. How often does the Day 1 chip leader go on to win the whole thing, or even make the final table? It hasn’t happened in the WSOP Main Event for a very long time. That’s why my strategy, as it was in the WSOP, was to play well, keep accumulating chips, and stay above average.

That said, Phil Hellmuth is kicking butt and, despite showing up even later than usual, he’s our chip leader with $188,150. Everyone knows and respects Phil’s game, and that pile of chips in front of him makes him even more difficult as an opponent.

Most of the tournament is being played in the Fontana Room, but there were so many entrants that I ended up among the overflow tables in the Bellagio’s main poker room. Paul Wasicka was at my table, and we got tangled up a few times. In one hand, I had AK, caught two kings on the flop and bet out. He called. I checked the turn trying to entice him to bet, and he thought about it a long time before checking behind. I put another bet in on the river and he called with a big pair. Paul told me later he’d been very close to playing at me on the turn, and he was lucky he didn’t. If he wasn’t such a good player, he would have lost a lot more chips than he did.

I talked with several other pros during the day, including Greg Raymer, who came over to compare my experience at the WSOP Final Table with his. Mike Matusow was at the table behind me and couldn’t resist asking about The Hand (my AK vs. Ivan Demidov’s AQ). Mike told me that he, and every pro he talked to, read Demidov as having AA or KK in that hand, and thought I made a great lay down. When he found out what Ivan actually had, and that he’d put his whole tournament on the line with AQ, Mike called it suicidal. But Ivan got away with it, and the rest is history.

Today, I’m doing some work for PokerStars while another 250 players get started on Day 1B, and tomorrow I’ll be back for Day 2 of this WPT event, trying to continue to play smart poker.

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Over Thanksgiving, I took a road trip with my father, brother, and brother-in-law to Green Bay, Wisconsin, to do something I’d never done before — see a Packers game. For anyone who has ever watched the NFL, you know the excitement I felt about my first visit to Lambeau Field.

Because Dad and my brother are in wheelchairs, my brother-in-law arranged for us to park in the handicapped section of the lot amidst all those cheeseheads. Wow, they love their team, but I was even more impressed by the way they treated us.

The main escalator at Lambeau had malfunctioned, so there was a long line of people waiting for the elevator we’d need to get to our seats (which were way up there). But something amazing happened. We were 30-50 feet away when someone in the crowd yelled, “Wheelchair!” Suddenly, it was like the parting of the Red Sea — everyone moved aside and, before we knew it, we were the next ones getting on the elevator.

Now, we didn’t have any kind of special escort, and these people didn’t know any of us. We were just four people in a huge crowd, and we weren’t even wearing any Packers gear! But those fans were so classy in the way they treated us going in — and later, the same thing happened on the way out — that I just had to thank them publicly.

Although the Panthers beat the Packers, it was a great game and a great experience for us. If you ever have the chance to visit that legendary football stadium and its wonderful fans, take it.

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With the help of a friend, I’m going to try to blog more often from here on out, and I have quite a few stories to tell. I promise I’ll get around to writing about the WSOP Final Table, but let’s start with what I’ve been up to lately.

I’m currently back in Las Vegas, playing some of the events in the Five Diamond World Poker Classic. The main event, which is named after Doyle Brunson, is a $15,000 buy-in tournament that starts Saturday and runs for a week. This one brings in the big name pros, and I’ve run into a lot of them, both in the tournament room and in the main poker room, where I’ve been sitting in some juicy cash games.

I’ve also seen two of the other November Nine players, Chino Reem and Ivan Demidov. We greeted each other, wished each other well, and reminisced about playing the WSOP Main Event Final Table. All nine of us developed a real kinship during the 117 day hiatus before the big finale, and it’s nice to catch up whenever we run into each other. I’m sure I’ll see a lot more of them as I play even more tournaments in 2009.

My compliments to the Bellagio, which does a very efficient job running the tournaments. There are a ton of single-table satellites and super-satellites going on almost around the clock, and it’s all well organized. I’ll keep you posted on how I’m doing.

For now, back to the table.

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