When Raj Patel ponied up his $10,000 to play in the Foxwoods Poker Classic, he knew he was going to win. “Oh yeah, I knew on the first day” he told me, with remarkable clarity. You can’t blame him for coming in with such a belief in his own skills; after all, he’d played in two tournaments over his two year poker career, even coming 22nd in one of them.
As silly as that may sound, Paul Matteo, a three year veteran of the game, had a similar experience. “I knew early in day four I’d make the final table” the sixty-four year old retiree recounted. “I told Raj he was going to beat me in the finals.” Apparently, these two have figured out something the rest of us have longed for since before they started playing.
Patel did indeed defeat Matteo in the final, amidst pro player catcalls calling this the worst final table of all time. Only two lesser-known pros—Fred Goldberg and Allan Kessler—made the final six, going out fourth and six respectively, each when they got their chips in with the best of it. The remaining amateurs had their day in the sun; when they come out to play again, I look to them to be lambs to the slaughter.
The final Raj and Paul played was anti-climactic. Raj had built a big lead going to the finale by cracking Tony Cavezza’s aces with A-8, getting the chips in pre-flop after squandering a massive lead only to hit two eights. Matteo had drawn out three times to survive; this time, Raj would get the needed card to take the title.
Raj raised from the small blind and Paul called in the big to see a flop of Kd-5c-3d. Paul, holding Kc-2d, bet out T400,000. Raj called, and when the turn brought another king, Paul went small, hoping to coax a few more chips out of Patel. He bet another T400,000, which Raj again flat-called.
The river was 7h, and now Paul checked. Patel moved all-in, and Paul called. The real question here is why he’d check if he thought his hand was good enough to call with. We’ll never know the answer; Patel turned over 6s-4h for the rivered straight. The title was his.
Gary Wise
gary@wisehandpoker.com
