WHUPC: DaMatrix v David Leigh

DaMatrix v David Leigh

I lost my Round 1 match today to David Leigh, representing the University Poker League, who I have to admit was favourite to win before the deck was opened as you will soon realise.

On Monday I met Mathias Wilkens who, like me, was also representing Stans Poker. Later that night after the draw, we arranged to have a heads up match. Using the same structure as the championship, we had a great game and exchanged ideas. We even swapped a couple of %s.

I ended up winning after checking my pocket aces in the BB preflop. The K high flop with 2 diamonds was checked and when the turn was the 5 of diamonds, I bet out about the size of the pot. Mathias called and the river now made 4-straight on the board too, I bet the same as I did on the turn but Mathias reraised all in giving me a tough decision with a 3-flush and one card to a straight the only hands I could beat were one pair or a stone cold bluff.

I told him that I wasn't folding yet, but I was turning my cards over to show him what a tough decision I had. After his initial reaction to my pocket aces, I studied him a little bit longer before eventually calling. He turned over A5!



The next day after breakfast at the hotel, we had a rematch to prepare for his match later that day. I think he raised to 3xBB preflop and I called with 62 flopping trips. I bet out, he raised, and then I reraised him all in. He called thinking I was on a bluff and my set improved further still to quads. Carlo Citrone was watching us play and he challenged the winner to play him. I won the first game and then I had a big lead in the second game but as I aggressively tried to bust him he doubled up 2 or 3 times before eventually winning. We left it as a draw as his match against Daniel Larsson was starting in about a hour.


Carlo Citrone

After the first two Round 1 brackets on Tuesday which saw Mathias Wilkens beat fellow Prima Poker qualifier Henry Bull and Carlo Citrone unfortunately lose to Daniel Larsson who won a crucial pot after rivering trips, the Prima Poker team had a chance to sit and talk with The Hendon Mob. Soon, Devilfish arrived and started cracking jokes and giving some good heads up advise. Winning against Mathias twice, having 2 great games and discussions with Carlo and generally listening to Hendon Mob and Devilfish, I felt a massive pressure on me to win. I had planned to reread Zen and the Art of Poker to detach myself but instead went out drinking til 5am!

Yeah that's right. Me and 2 other Floridian Prima Poker players went "3 deep" around Barca. It was a night of debauchery - alcohol, chicas, vomit, pimps, drug dealers, piss, trannies, scum, pole dancers, six pack street sellers, geordie slappers, dangerous side streets, whores, Devilfish with an umbrella in a night club, dodgy taxi drivers, brummies, pick pockets, mad Russians - and at the end of it all we got a bucket of icy water thrown all over us and no surprise that one of the americans lost is passport. You should have seen me walk into the hotel at 5am looking like my bladder had just exploded....


STD dealer in Las Ramblas checks for the nuts...

You could say that my preparation for the match was thrown out of the window and before the match I had effectively abandoned my game plan. In fact, I had no game plan left. I didn't even know who David Leigh was - a short search led to think that he was a journalist for the Guardian! On the other hand I knew that he had a lot of info on me from this site but I felt that most of the heads up info was misinformation when related to the WHUPC structure and the practice matches I had played. Nevertheless, heads up, you need every edge (just ask Simon "The Edge" Nowab) you can get to overcome the luck component and on Wednesday I had none.

Despite all this, and to further emphasize the nature of high level heads up - it all came down to a coin flip after 90 minutes which if I had won instead of being rivered - I would have had the confidence to feel favourite (even with only 30% chips) after finally gaining focus just after the first break.



When the match started I was feeling very nervous and losing the first 3 hands didn't help. The quality of hands I was received was well below par. In 90 minutes, I got dealt JJ, AQ, 77 and 88 and the best hand I hit on the flop with all the other cards I was dealt was just top pair/bad kicker.

I tried to pick up pots with junk but most of the time David Leigh would reraise or call and then bet. Aware that on a few occassions he might have been bluffing with the best hand. If I was sharper I might have re-rebluffed, but with me being already down to 2/3k and generally having no outs to a decent hand if called, the risk was too much.

Up to the first break, I won a pot with a bet on the flop with JJ overpair, AQ standard button raise. Some stabs with Ten high and 5 high and hitting 2 pair on the river with weak hands after receiving free cards.

Just before the end of level 1 break, I got dealt 77 in the BB. David Leigh raised from the button and I almost moved in but still having a couple of chips left I decided to call and then probably move all in if no ace flopped as on a similar hand before we'd checked it out to the river and he showed AQ versus my A9.

Unfortunatelly the flop was 44A rainbow, I checked and David made a very small bet - I called as I was suspicious. The turn was an 8 and there was now 2 clubs on the flop. Again I checked and David bet 1/3 of my stack. This was a clever bet as it was small compared to the pot but one that would severely cripple me. It left me with a tough decision as I really wanted to steal that pot and give myself a good chance after the break but David never looked like he would fold from start to finish. So I mucked my hand face up and when I was to return from the break I'd have to play jam or fold. David Leigh later told me at the bar after the match that he had AK.



After the break, my first all in with Ace rag wasn't called, then I almost went all in with K7 but flat called instead. He raised a little and I seriously considered moving in but mucked and dodged bullets.

Finally, David raised from the button and I looked down to find a pair of eights. This was it. ALL-IN! The call to him was enough to fold if he felt he was dominated but he called correctly with his KQ. The flop was ATx, turn another blank but the river brought the paint he needed to win the match.

Las Shamblas...




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