Re: 1997 WSOP
I wrote an article for CP about the final hand of the 1997 WSOP. I wrote it because many people (like most people here) criticize Stuey for the way he played the hand and that he "got lucky". I don't agree.
Yes, he did get lucky AFTER John called him, but I think Ungar analyzed the hand precisely and played it superbly. Here’s what happened: Stuey was on the button with A-4 and made it $40,000 to go. John called. The flop was A-5-3 rainbow. John led out and bet $120,000. Now, put yourself in Stuey’s position. You raised before the flop and your opponent leads out on the flop when an Ace hits — hmmm.
Here’s where you need to “put your opponent on a hand,” the most important aspect of successful poker. You should automatically think, “What does he have?” Stuey figured that if John had an Ace, it was a weak Ace (something like A-7 or A-8, which is exactly what he had). What led him to think this? Stuey came to this conclusion because John didn’t re-raise before the flop; he most likely would have done so with A-K, A-Q, or even A-J. Extend your thought process further. Would he lead out after the flop with Aces up or trips? Stuey thought that if John had flopped Aces up or trips, it’s more likely that he would have checked on the flop to try and trap him. (Anyone who knows Stuey will tell you he was a very aggressive player.)
Not wanting to give John a draw just in case, for example, he had two fours or a 5-4 suited, Stuey decided to come over the top and raise John for all of his chips. He thought John would fold if he had a weak Ace. And if Stuey didn’t have the best hand, he knew he had outs.
Suppose you were sitting there in John’s position. You were raised before the flop and then re-raised all your money after the flop with a board of A-5-3. What would you do with your A-8? Would you call a re-raise for all your money ($630,000) there? What can you beat except a bluff? I contend that you cannot call $630,000 here unless you think your opponent is bluffing. John called. (If John thought Stuey was bluffing, he made a great call, but his play should have no bearing on how you think Stuey played this hand.) Yes, Stuey got lucky after John called, but he analyzed the situation with pinpoint accuracy and, in my opinion, played the hand perfectly. In addition, if Stuey had lost that pot, he still would have had more than a million in chips.
What you might not know is that when Ungar won his first world championship in 1980, he made a wheel (5-high straight) on the last hand of the tournament to defeat Doyle Brunson. Perhaps he had a vision that he would win again with the same hand. Amazingly, that’s exactly what happened!
Mike Sexton
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