Poker Guy: Poker: Lindgren fails to get paid

POKER IS a game of mistakes. The object is to put your opponent in a position to make an error that gets you his chips.

One of the spots in which mistakes are frequently made is on the river. Often, the error involves a value bet, which is a wager sized to get an opponent to call with the second-best hand. The key is to find the right amount so you get paid off with your good hands. But sometimes even the best players make a mistake with the amount they put out.

At the $15,000-buy-in main event of World Poker Tour's 2006 Five Diamond Poker Classic, at Las Vegas' Bellagio, Erick Lindgren drew 6-7 offsuit in middle position. With blinds at $200-$400, Lindgren made the minimum raise to $800, throwing some deception into his play.

I can't wait for something big or something suited, said Lindgren, one of the pros from the Full Tilt Poker online site.

The button and the big blind called, so three players took a flop of A-4-5, two hearts, giving Lindgren an open-ended straight draw.

After the big blind checked, Lindgren bet $1,100. He hoped to take down the pot there, or at least determine if a caller was holding flush cards. The button called. The big blind folded.

When he called, I was pretty sure he had an A-Q or something in that area, Lindgren said. He's a pretty tight player and he made a pretty quick call, so I had him on an ace there. He didn't think about it. He called real quick, which is the sign of a pair.

The turn came the 8 of clubs, making Lindgren's straight. He bet out $3,000. The button called.

I punished him there with the bet, Lindgren said, and I'm loving his call because I built the pot up pretty good, and I think I can punish him on the end pretty good if the flush draw misses, because he might think I was betting the flush draw.

The river came the 6 of diamonds. The flush draw missed. Believing he had the best hand, Lindgren needed to size his bet so someone holding an ace would call to see if his top pair was good.

Lindgren bet $6,000. Too much.

His opponent folded.

I wanted to bet enough that he thought I was bluffing, but I should've been more careful to price him in, Lindgren said. The moral of the story is, if a scare card comes on the end, you might want to bet about $3,000 in that situation. It looks like you might be bluffing, but you wouldn't scare him for his stack. The $6,000 is a big portion of his stack. You have to get paid.

Table talk

Scare card: A card that potentially completes a big hand.*

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Profile: Earl Burton Saturday will be the fifth start of the WPT championship, it will be a five-star Las Vegas Bellagio World Poker Masters final game, with the end of it, the World Poker Tour will also be the end of the fifth season. Select the Bellagio held in the ancient game - the game players are flutter ...

Earl Burton

Saturday will be the fifth start of the WPT championship, it will be a five-star Las Vegas Bellagio World Poker Masters final game, with the end of it, the World Poker Tour will also be the end of the fifth season. Select the Bellagio held in the ancient game - the game of poker players are an important figure in the world, and have the opportunity for the upcoming World Series to prepare for - WPT championship poker sector has become one of the few games in a (WSOP main event and the newly emerging EPT Championship will enter their minds). Briefly reviewed the history of the competition and the participation of the audience, we can see that the WPT championship is how important.

From its debut in 2003, when only the participation of 111 players, to the 2006 WPT Championship attracted a huge 605 participants, prize money on exotic reaches $ 14 million U.S. dollars. This year s contest, there may be more than the players involved in this, but in 2007 the quality of the final tables may be similar to previous years. In the past five years, the final table players are legendary (Doyle Brunson, David Sklansky, Men The Master Nguyen), the current outstanding player in the game (Phil Ivey - twice entered the final table, Ted Forrest, Roland De Wolfe), is also available in the game was very good results in the new Star (John Phan, 2005 champion in Tuan Le and defending champion Joe Bartholdi).

Who expected this year now at the final table is really very difficult thing, but if you concerned about the process of competition, you might be coming to some idea of what happened. This said, there are five players look Rurizhongtian.

1) JC Tran - J.

Full Tilt Poker

C. in March in Reno was the WPT World Poker Challenge victory, he is free to participate in WPT Championship. Tran has recently become a very new to the fire, entered the final three tables, and during the five-star match was a preliminary victory. He is expected to continue to play a strong card, the final table become a player. If he can get a pile of chips, can he even won the title the past.

2) James Van Alstyne - Van Alstyne had to spend money into the WPT championship, but he certainly would not mind. To 2007, he earned a revenue of over $ 500 K, entered the final four tables, in nine championship win prizes. He has a strong history of the championship results, when the WPT championship to the final table when he should be there also.

3) Michael The Grinder Mizrachi - although the grinding in 2005 and this year, not 2006 as the brilliant, in 2007 he began the quiet phase of the harvest the fruits of the Championship. Last year, he received a WPT championship game runner-up and waiting, all the stops to edge his side. This year the news on his small, which allows him to concentrate on playing well this tournament.

4) Patrik Antonius - Patrik has been held in Bellagio good performance in the Championship. He at last year s championship on the WPT get bonuses, in December 2005 held here in the five-star WPT World Poker Masters runner-up received. He obviously has strengths and competitive players, may also get his first WPT championship this major title. Other foreign competitors will be Roland De Wolfe, Gus Hansen or Andrew Black (in his 2007 playing pretty good, it is estimated that in the WPT championship will see him).

5) Kathy Liebert - although some people would mandate how kind she could not, Liebert of the game will look back on the WPT championship feeling. Foxwoods final table of the runner-up (WPT Foxwoods Poker Masters qualifiers in the competition) and the five stars that she would table a strong audience. What to do other good looks of female players have Joanne JJ Liu (she won the Ladies Night and free participation in the competition), may also have Jennifer Harman or last year s dark horse Vanessa Rousso, she missed last year s final table , Received the first seven.

Now, the game began. From Saturday to April 27 in the final table, WPT champion once again set off the poker World War fanaticism, for the coveted title of WPT millions of dollars and worked hard. Poker News will be in the fact sheet part of the whole race reports. Finally, we will know in the end is a professional player or a novice get in the poker world s biggest poker one of the title.