POTD #15 (Almost) Final Table Friday AA vs Jules Dickerson 50k EPT Paris

A double black diamond hand

Is poker a sport? I would say no; it’s a competitive game. When I made this Substack, there was no drop-down option for games, so this is a sports newsletter about a game. One way that poker is very much not a sport: You sit in a chair and fold for an hour straight. Most poker hands one plays, they open fold preflop, and of the subset of hands they do play, most will be small and uneventful. Having the discipline to not make careless mistakes or torch your stack out of boredom is one of the most important traits any poker player can have. I often hear players say “I play pretty well, when I’m trying,” but poker is a game that rewards consistent execution. If you’re not always trying, you’re not playing well.

There’s a lot of downtime in poker, and using that time well is a skill. When you are not in a hand, you should be observing what’s happening at your table, but you can also think about what your big picture strategy at this table or in this tournament should look like. You can use it to calm yourself down or wake yourself up, eat some food, get a glass of water, caffeinate, stretch so you aren’t thinking about your aching back when you’re in a big pot three hours from now. Today’s hand focuses on a hand where I didn’t have that luxury. With 12 people left and 9 people cashing in the 50k at EPT Paris, I was one of the short stacks in the tournament. I played a tricky and stressful three-bet pot with a short stack all-in; I won the hand and had a top five stack in the tournament. I was relieved that after two long days, I was probably going to cash the tournament. My heart was still racing from the hand before and I needed a moment to decompress, then I looked down at two aces

2023 EPT Paris #13 50k Super High Roller

Level 20: 20k/40k/40k (SB/BB/BBA) I have 1.6M; starting stack is 250k. Jules Dickerson covers in the BB. 11 left, 9 cash.

The Hand:
Hand History: My Poker Coaching Replayer

I’m under the gun in the hijack and raise to 90k with A♠️A♥️, it folds to Jules who calls in the BB

Flop (240k) J♦️T♥️4♠️: Jules checks, I bet 60k, Jules check raises to 225k

Turn (690k) Q♦️: Jules checks, I check

River (690k) Q♣️: Jules bets 475k, I call. Jules shows Q♥️9♥️ and wins