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It’s without a doubt my favorite poker quote: “You call this one, it’s all over, baby.” It’s been uttered tens of thousands of times now, but the first was the one that made it great; the others are just imitations. That first time came courtesy of one of the great characters of the game, Scotty Nguyen.
Scotty seemed blessed at the 1998 World Series of Poker. He entered the final table with the chip lead after taking two players out in one hand to end the previous day’s play. At the final table, he watched as amateur Kevin McBride took out his primary competition, TJ Cloutier. The McBride v. Nguyen final is a classic.
McBride didn’t have much of a clue and had no problem with telling the world as much. He told Cloutier he’d read the legend’s book just prior to the series, and “here I am!” before eliminating the man. Clourtier was obviously none-too-pleased about the turn of events.
Kevin’s innocence played out more than once. At one point, he rushed off to the bathroom while Nguyen pondered a call. His conversation was revealing and showed a lack of comprehension for the goings on in the pro’s mind. Scotty folded more than one solid hand as he waited for the perfect situation to arise. It’s finally did when he flopped a full house.
The final hand started when McBride, holding Qh-10h, raised to T50,000. Nguyen called with Jd-9c, and hit pay dirt when the flop came 9h-9d-8c.Scotty checked then called when McBride made a pot-sized bet. The turn, 8h, gave Nguyen the full house, but again he checked, reading his man perfectly. Kevin bet another T100,000 and again Scotty called. When the river brought 8s, putting a full house on the table, Nguyen instantly moved all-in.
It was a brilliant play because it reeked of a game of chicken. He knew McBride would think they were chopping and playing the board. Finally, with the chop McBride’s best possible result, Scotty uttered his now-famous words; ”You call this one, it’s all over baby.” The goad was enough to make McBride call. Scotty was right.
Gary Wise
gary@wisehandpoker.com
