Tales from the WSOP - Phil Laak Plays $1-$3 NLHE
Since the WSOP attracts all the stars in the poker firmament, you never know when you’re going to have a random encounter with a well-known pro player. I had one-and-a-half such encounters the other night at the Aria.
This was my first time playing in the Aria poker room. It’s bright, airy, well-lit (this is a non-trivial point) and has been non-stop action during the WSOP.
The “half-an-encounter” I’ll get through quickly. The glass doors to Ivey’s Room were closed, but inside you could see Phil Ivey and somebody else (who I didn’t recognize) playing heads-up something. More than that I can’t say; a polite but inflexible guard at the door explained that “they don’t want spectators.”
But other Phils do want spectators. There I was, sitting in a $1-3 Unlimited Hold-Them game right on the outer rail of the room. Minding my own business, just relaxing with a nice poker session. But then Phil Laak showed up and desperately wanted to play in our game. Turns out that he knew one of the players via some business relationship and wanted to get into a pot with this guy. Conveniently enough, there was a player absent; the floorman brought Phil a “play-over” box. For those of you new to live poker, a play-over box is a five-sided Lucite box that is placed over absent Player A’s chips, allowing Player B to play in that seat until Player A returns.
Phil Laak was Player B.
He promptly bought in for the $300 maximum, then proceeded to inhale all attention molecules within 20 meters. Phil does this with the same natural ease with which Yo-Yo Ma plays cello – he doesn’t appear to be trying to do it, he just does it. While his target was his buddy in the #4 seat, Phil himself became the target for the #2 seat, who we’ll call Action Junkie (AJ). Well, when you make Phil Laak your target, he takes notice. Phil and AJ got into a pot – AJ bet it a couple of times and Phil let it go. AJ flipped up a couple of cards unrelated to both each other and the board. Phil semi-lost it. “Now I feel terrible! Look – I’m up $50, [he’d won a couple of moderate pots earlier] but inside I feel that I’ve lost everything. You have made me feel less like a man.”
Of course, all this drama attracted a crowd; from my vantage point I could see the entire sequence of responses on the outer rail. You see, there are tons of people that just wander through and around a casino looking for Something Interesting. The casinos love that – such customers are primed for picking. But when there’s drama, it immediately attracts the wanderers.
Response #1: “What’s going on? Why is this game so lively? Why are people watching it? Is there somebody famous in there?”
Now somebody in the crowd recognizes Phil, who is fresh off his Guinness Book record-setting poker session.
Response #2: “ZOMG – it’s Phil Laak. What’s Phil Laak doing in a $1-3 NLH game?”
Of course, the crowd building energizes Phil. He is in his element, playing poker, chatting up the table, and just being Phil Laak. I watch carefully because I firmly believe that all this is part of Phil’s game. As much noise and energy as he emanates, he is like active sonar, pinging signals off his opponents to see what kind of return signal he gets.
Phil gets into another pot with AJ in seat #2. A similar scenario plays out in which AJ bluffs Phil off the pot. The dealer has mucked the board when AJ flips up his hand; Phil looks confused. AJ twists the knife: “Phil, you should look at the board and memorize it when you muck. That way, when somebody flips up his cards, you don’t have to wonder, ‘Wait a minute – did he have a pair?'”
This mini-lecture tilts Phil further (or appears to). He decries his sad state of affairs and vows to get AJ back. Which is what AJ was hoping for. And so go the mind games.
The crowd loves it. Phil’s friend in the #4 seat loves it. I’m pretty sure Phil and AJ love it. I know I love it.
Phil Laak “slumming” in a $1-3 NLH game turns a run-of-the-mill poker session into a lovely one-act vignette. One of those vignettes that makes the WSOP a must-see experience.
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Lee Jonesis the cardroom manager of Cake Pokerand has been in the online poker business for over six years. He is also the author of Winning Low Limit Hold’em, which has been in publication for over 15 years.
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More Articles by Lee Jones
If You Go Deep, Have A Backup Plan June 3, 2010
The Game Selection Dilemma May 10, 2010
The Book That Needs to be Written Mar 24, 2010
Don’t Fear Chinese Gold Farmers Dec 21, 2009
Thoughts from the 2009 WSOP Final Table Nov 23, 2009
Home Games are Better Than Casino Games Nov 07, 2009
Pretend It’s a Bank Sep 14, 2009
This, Too, Shall Pass Aug 27, 2009
The Arc of a Home Game Jul 14, 2009
Getting What You Want from an Online Poker Site Jun 21, 2009
