Poker After Dark: “Cash Game Week” Recap
by Chad Holloway of Predictem.com
NBC’s Poker After Dark hosted yet another “Cash Game Week” that featured six players including Patrik Antonius (seat 1), Dee Tiller (seat 2), Howard Lederer (seat 3), Doyle Brunson (seat 4), Gabe Kaplan (seat 5), and Eli Elezra (seat 6). On the sixth hand of the night, Elezra put on an $800 straddle which was called by Tiller with 10h 8c, Lederer with 5c 5s, Brunson with 10s 3s, and Kaplan with Qs 4 (Elezra checked his 6c 2c). The 7s 5h 2s flop caused Brunson to bet $2,300, was called by Elezra, and had Lederer raise it to $10,300. Brunson made the call as Elezra folded and the Jc hit on the turn. Brunson checked, Lederer bet $25,000, and Brunson gave up on the $51,900 pot. Brunson seemed a little upset over how long Lederer took to bet the turn which inspired a bet at the table on how long it actually took. The over/under was set at 45 seconds and Elezra bet Lederer $5,000 he took longer; however, it was revealed by the producers that it only took 29 seconds, giving Lederer an easy $5k.
Another hand developed when Elezra limped for $400 with Jd 8c, Antonius with 6s 5s, Tiller with Kh 10h, Lederer with 4h 4c, Brunson with 9d 2d, and Kaplan with 8d 7c. The flop came Qc 6c Jh causing Elezra to bet $2,000 into the pot and everyone except Tiller to fold. Elezra bet $4,000 when the 4s hit on the turn and was called. Elezra checked the 3s on the river and opened the door for Tiller to bet $25,000. Elezra asked “Why so much?” as he tried to figure out the hand. Eventually, he made the call and took down a $64,400 pot!
The next sizeable pot came up when Kaplan raised to $1,900 with 6d 4d and was called by Tiller’s 10s 9s and Brunson’s Jh 10c. All the players checked the 6h 8h 6s flop and then when the Qh hit on the turn Brunson led out for $6,000. Kaplan raised to $15,000, Tiller folded, and Brunson amazingly reraised to $40,000. Kaplan threw his three-of-a-kind away and Brunson took down the pot. A little later on Brunson raised his Kh 5h straddle to $3,800 and was called by Kaplan’s 9h 7h. The flop came 2d 10h Ah which caused Brunson to bet $8,000, Kaplan to raise to $21,000, and Brunson to go all-in for $104,400. Kaplan had to muck and Brunson took down yet another pot.
An interesting hand developed when Tiller limped with Ah 4d, Kaplan with Ac 8s, and Elezra with 10h 5d. After Kaplan checked, Elezra bet $1,000, and Tiller folded. Kaplan then reraised to $3,000 and was called. The 10c on the turn gave Elezra three-of-a-kind but Kaplan still bet out $6,000. Elezra called and the Ad on the river caused Kaplan to bet $12,000. Elezra just smooth called and took down the $43,200 pot. A rematch occurred when Elezra straddled to $800 and had Kaplan raise to $3,100 with Ah Qs. Elezra called the extra $2,300 with Ks 8d and the flop came out Kc Jc Qh. Kaplan bet $5,000, was called, and the Jd hit on the turn. Both players checked as the 7d hit on the river. After Kaplan checked, Elezra value bet $9,000, and Kaplan lost yet another pot.
Trouble developed when Tiller, Brunson, Kaplan, and Elezra all limped and Antonius raised it to $2,200 with Kd Kc. Three players called and the flop came Qd 10d 8h. Antonius fired out $7,000 only to have Tiller raise all-in for $28,200. Antonius made the call but was far behind Tiller’s Jh 9c flopped straight. The 6d on the turn and Js on the river gave Tiller the $66,100 pot. After having a rough night, Kaplan finally managed to pick up a decent pot when Elezra raised to $1,700 with Kd 9c and was called by Tiller, Lederer, and Kaplan. The flop came 10c 7s 3d and after Kaplan checked Elezra continuation bet $4,500. Tiller and Lederer folded as Kaplan made the call. The As on the turn caused Kaplan to check, Elezra to bet $13,500, and Kaplan to call, who checked the Ad on the river. Elezra then bet enough to put Kaplan all-in and was instacalled. Kaplan showed a full house with the Ac 7h and he raked in an $81,600 pot.
The biggest pot of the week occurred when Elezra called $400 with 5h 4h, Tiller raised to $1,400 with 9d 8h, and Kaplan called with 9h 8s. After Elezra called the flop came 7d 3h 6s and both Kaplan and Elezra checked. Tiller bet $1,000, was called by Kaplan, only to have Elezra raise to $5,000 with his nut straight. Both players called when the 10h hit on the turn, giving both Tiller and Kaplan a higher straight than Elezra. Kaplan bet $6,500, Elezra called, and then Tiller went all-in for $68,900. Kaplan went over-the-top all-in for $83,900 and Elezra made the call with his straight and flush draw. They agreed to run the river card twice, the first time being the 3d and the second the 2c. Having missed both rivers Elezra lost both the main and side pots, which allowed Tiller and Kaplan to split the $200,000 plus hand.
In the end, Lederer and Kaplan were the two big winners, even though no one won or lost a fortune; in fact, the participants played so cautious that the largest winner was only around $60,000. In the post game interview, Lederer summed up the tone of the game when he concluded, “That’s how you play a cash game. You’re supposed to pick your spots, you’re supposed to kinda look for coolers in your favor and dodge the coolers against you.”
