In baseball, you can watch Roger Clemens pitch, but there’s no way you’re going to step in for a real at-bat (and besides, the Rocket would drill you just for being so impertinent).
Difference is, in poker you can watch Annie Duke, Howard Lederer and Phil Hellmuth play, and indeed know you could sit at their table in a real tournament.
That was the deal for James McManus, the Chicago author of “Positively Fifth Street–Murderers, Cheetahs, and Binion’s World Series of Poker,” his terrific pokerature on the big one in 2000.
Of the books McManus read in advance, he cited “Championship No-Limit and Pot-Limit Hold ‘Em” by T.J. Cloutier and Tom McEvoy as his bible. And suddenly, there he was, at a table in the main event, staring at the legendary Cloutier, the poker figure he idolized, the man who literally wrote the book. Gulp.
“It’s intimidating to play against any successful poker professional,” the bespectacled McManus said. “But on top of it all, [when] they’re big, ex-CFL football players, it’s physically imposing.”
With 14 players remaining, McManus drew “Big Slick” unsuited and raised $50,000. Cloutier reraised $100,000.
McManus called.
The flop came 2-5-4 rainbow. McManus checked. Cloutier shoved $200,000 into the pot.
James McManus’ hand
Ace of diamonds
King of hearts
The flop
2 of clubs
5 of hearts
4 of diamonds
McManus knew that the favored play–certainly the gospel according to Cloutier–is to raise or fold, not call.
McManus called.
“I remembered from reading and having memorized his book that many, many hands in which ace-king is played, he is more likely to attack a hand with small cards when there’s been a raise and a call, and he’s much more likely to push an inexperienced player off a hand with a big bet,” McManus said. “He was betting with considerable physical aggression, growling, `Raise. Raise.’ That made me think I had a better ace than he did.”
T.J. Cloutier’s hand
Ace of spades
9 of diamonds
The turn
7 of diamonds
The river
Jack of clubs
The turn came 7 of diamonds. McManus checked. Cloutier pushed all in. Cloutier had McManus covered. A call would end McManus’s tournament if he lost. McManus called.
Cloutier showed A-9 unsuited, and appeared shocked that the rookie author called an all-in without so much as a pair, especially a rookie author who had read his book.
The river came a J of clubs, won McManus an $866,000 pot, gave him the chip lead and pushed him to a spectacular fifth-place finish.
McManus, who also made the final table at a WSOP event this year, wrote that after the hand he said, “T.J. taught me everything I know about this game,” to which Cloutier growled, “I didn’t teach you that.”
Poker lingo
Big Slick: Nickname for A-K.
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srosenbloom@tribune.com
