The Best Call in the World

One of the first things I wrote about in this blog is that it is all about instinct... recently i saw a hand in the 2007 WSOP main event that i just have to mention here...

It's day 5, average chip stack is about 2.2 million... blinds at 30k-60k... i think 1k in antes...

this guy who's name i don't know, with 3+ million in chips , raises to 150k from middle position with A-10 off suit (both black)

everyone else folds but J.C. Tran is in the big blind with 8D -5 (black) and he somehow decides to call... he has about 2 million in chips...

flop comes 8-6-3 all hearts...
Tran checks...
the guy bets 350k...
Tran calls... (OK, top pair... the guy probably has high cards with a flush draw)

turn comes 2 of hearts...
Tran checks...
the guy bets 400k...
Tran gives this guy the look of death... or x-rays or whatever... and decides to call !
he has a pair of 8s with shit for kicker and the board has four hearts and the guy has raised pre-flop and has been betting throughout...

river comes another deuce (clubs i think)
the guy confidently bets 700k...
Tran has 1.4 million in chips left... and he goes into hogwarts or whatever magical place for a bit... muttering something like, "why did i think on the turn that i had you... i don't know..."
he looks at his stack... he would be pretty short stacked if he calls...
he goes... "this is would be the sickest call in the world... " (i totally agree...!)
goes into the magical place for a few seconds again...
and finally he calls! (after all, if he had him on the turn, the river couldn't possibly have helped the other guy... !)

the guy flips over his A-10 and is completely bamboozled when he sees Tran's 8-5 off suit with no heart... (i probably would have knelt to Tran's greatness, kissed his hand before shooting myself...)

Tran goes into hysteria... claiming he is the greatest... (i would be very tempted to agree for a moment, based on that hand...)

now lets think about it... Tran is no beginner... it's not like he didn't see the flush or was not aware of the fact that the other guy could easily have had 10-10... or a set of 6s... based on the way he lead the betting (the other guy bet four times for god's sake!)...

but he felt something on the flop, confirmed it (somehow!) on the turn... and then stuck with his guns on the river... if he was wrong, he would have been crippled... but he's a fighter... the dude worked in MacDonald's for years before turning to poker... he has nothing but his instincts... and if they fail him, so be it!

PS you can watch this hand on the WSOP episode shown on 09/25...