CPC 8 Main Event final table, December 2013. Eight players left. The payout structure is pretty regular. 8th pays $8,060 and 1st pays $61k. There is a clear dichotomy between the haves and the have nots - four stacks are desperately short and four are quite comfortable. Now here's the twist - one of the big stacks has been mysteriously absent for over an hour. He dominated early proceedings at the final table, seized the chip lead, then suddenly vanished. Questions regarding his whereabouts are answered gruffly by the floormen, who simply answer "He's fine." That bizarre backdrop, a circumstance I have never seen at any major final table, was the canvas for the wildest hand I have seen in the fifteen years I've been playing poker. I may not recall the precise amounts of the blinds and bets, but I will never forget the action:
20k-40k blinds with a 5k ante. An older gentlemen who was playing fairly tight, straightforward poker raised to 130k in early position. He was one of the big stacks, sitting on around two million chips, which probably put him third behind the missing fellow and a thirtyish pro or semipro named Frank. Everyone folded to Frank in the big blind and he elected to call the raise. The flop came Js9c8s. Frank checked and the older gentleman bet 200k. Frank called. The turn was an ace, a non-spade, and that's where things really got interesting.
The older gentlemen thought for about ten seconds, then announced a check, then turned his hand faceup in the middle of the table. Everyone at the table saw his hand - pocket queens. They lay faceup on the table for five to ten seconds before he realized his mistake and snatched them up. It was obvious to everyone at the table what had happened, and didn't take long for the dealer to place the river card on the felt.
It was the most intriguing card in the deck: the queen of spades.
There was a gasp from the table and/or the rail. Just a few seconds passed, and then Frank announced all-in for something like 2 million into the pot of 720k. I remember thinking Frank's timing was perfect. He sold that he was processing the bizarre scenario, a process which culminated in the solution of moving all-in, without overdoing it. In this moment I "knew" that Frank wasn't bluffing - I think most of the table did - but felt strongly that the older gentleman was going to call the bet.
The older fellow thought for perhaps a minute before announcing a call. Frank turned up king-ten of diamonds for a straight and reassembled his now chipleading stack. To the older man's credit, he handled the embarrassing situation with grace. He was clearly disappointed, but didn't express any feelings of anger or violation. Frank went on to bust me in sixth place and "win" the tournament after a chop was made four-handed.
20k-40k blinds with a 5k ante. An older gentlemen who was playing fairly tight, straightforward poker raised to 130k in early position. He was one of the big stacks, sitting on around two million chips, which probably put him third behind the missing fellow and a thirtyish pro or semipro named Frank. Everyone folded to Frank in the big blind and he elected to call the raise. The flop came Js9c8s. Frank checked and the older gentleman bet 200k. Frank called. The turn was an ace, a non-spade, and that's where things really got interesting.
The older gentlemen thought for about ten seconds, then announced a check, then turned his hand faceup in the middle of the table. Everyone at the table saw his hand - pocket queens. They lay faceup on the table for five to ten seconds before he realized his mistake and snatched them up. It was obvious to everyone at the table what had happened, and didn't take long for the dealer to place the river card on the felt.
It was the most intriguing card in the deck: the queen of spades.
There was a gasp from the table and/or the rail. Just a few seconds passed, and then Frank announced all-in for something like 2 million into the pot of 720k. I remember thinking Frank's timing was perfect. He sold that he was processing the bizarre scenario, a process which culminated in the solution of moving all-in, without overdoing it. In this moment I "knew" that Frank wasn't bluffing - I think most of the table did - but felt strongly that the older gentleman was going to call the bet.
The older fellow thought for perhaps a minute before announcing a call. Frank turned up king-ten of diamonds for a straight and reassembled his now chipleading stack. To the older man's credit, he handled the embarrassing situation with grace. He was clearly disappointed, but didn't express any feelings of anger or violation. Frank went on to bust me in sixth place and "win" the tournament after a chop was made four-handed.
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