Player's Stories

John Duthie, winner of the Poker Million, writes about what it was like to lay his cards on a glass table and let the whole world know what was in his hand.

Showing a Bluff
By John Duthie

From my own point of view the knowledge that others could see your cards lent a curious twist to ones style of play.

On occasions, I found I had to suppress the feeling of 'showing a bluff' to the audience and telling myself what a clever bloke I was. There runs a very fine line between humility and arrogance in this situation. Plays have to be made but normally only you, the player, would know about it. In a televised comp. the whole world knows what you're up to and if a play works then aren't you just the big hero. I found myself playing to an invisible gallery at times.

To be honest, after an hour of the final I clearly remember thinking that we'd only seen 3 or 4 flops and that this would not be good television - In fact it must be stulltifyingly dull!

I resolved to call a few marginal hands and let the audience 'see the flop'. Once I became involved, I found that I was picking up things from players that I hadn't noticed before and I wonder if the fact that they were playing at flops with hands that had connected in only minor ways, and that the audience were aware of this as well, somehow amplified the players feelings of deception and therefore their tells or fear became similarly amplified and easier to read. It could be so - I don't know for sure.

If only you know you're lying then that's a matter for you and your conscience. If others know too then wait a while and the burden can become too heavy.

I also noticed that I waited much longer than I normally would before playing back at anyone. Someone told me that it was 4 minutes before I played back at Ian Dobson. I could have gone to the cashpoint and back in less time!!

Was this waiting for show? I don't know. It could have been me instinctively trying to add to the drama of the event, or trying to figure out if he had an ace or not, which to me at the time was the most significant thing. Either way it created probably the single most significant hand of the final - and I got lucky and spiked an ace on the flop.

My position at the final table I think was crucial.

Initially all the weakness in either chips or experience seemed to be on my right and the strength on my left. After Barney had been knocked out this left me sandwiched perfectly in the middle of the five remaining players and I proceeded to attack the apparent weakness on my right.

Position of course played a major part, but this was a five-handed game before you could say jack Robinson, and it follows that starting hands need not be as high as in a nine-handed final. We all knew we were going to have to start playing strong poker to have a chance at the first 2 places. The glass on the table was irrelevant in us making these decisions. Players were raising in early positions - 'the right of first bluff' - and if you came over the top in a late position - end of hand.

I let Tony Bloom steal my button a bit too often in the first hour and it started to annoy me. So I called a few times; played back at him on the flop and lo and behold he passed. My resolve to play back at him could have been influenced by the cameras and me not wanting to appear an idiot on international television surrendering to his raises every time I had the button. In fact I'm sure it was. Whatever, the confidence I gained through these successful plays pushed me on to win.

Finally. I think we can all, as players, get used to the presence of cameras and learn to forget about the audience in these live events. No audience should ever really effect your decisions at a poker table and neither should a live commentator. I watched a programme last night called The Million Dollar deal about the 1998 World series and they interviewed Mike Magee after he'd lost a huge hand with a pair of queens. When they showed it you could hear Jack McClelland say 'are you gonna call Mike?' in response to a $200,000 or so all-in bet from his opponent on the flop with a King showing. Mike said afterwards - and I really believe him - that Jacks comment enticed him to call. He didn't use the word 'entice', but it undoubtedly effected his decision and if Jack weren't the gentlemen he is you could almost accuse him of goading. It wasn't an objective, third-party ' Is Mike Magee gonna call folks?', it was a direct question, ' Are you gonna call Mike?', which I think in the heat of the moment Mike sub-conciously interpreted as a challenge or a thrown gauntlet. He called and regretted it, leaving the tournament in 28th place, one away from the money.

We all learn a great deal from these high-profile events, and I just consider myself exceptionally lucky to have achieved what I achieved in the company of such gifted professionals as were in the field at the Isle of Man. They've all been there before and will get there again.

-John Duthie