The 2009 World Series of Poker Main Event

As those of you who watched the thrilling final episode of the 2009 World Series of Poker, Joe Cada became the youngest player ever to win the Main Event. At just 21 years of age, Cada took home 8.5 million dollars after defeating the over-aggressive Moon heads up. Leading up to the final table, both players had their shares of luck: Moon flopped a Queen against the dangerous Phil Ivey, when Ivey was heads up for his tournament life with A K. Ivey instinctively pushed his remaining 5 million all-in pre-flop with his A K, and Moon called with A Q. The flop: Q 6 6. From that point, Ivey's main event was all but over. Moon also caught a lot of good hands: He knocked out a player who was sure to make the final table with his Q J of diamonds, vs. the other player's 5 3 of diamonds. Both players hit a flush after the turn card, which was a golden opportunity for Moon to gain even more chips.

Cada also had his share of luck too: leading up to the thrilling heads up battle between Moon and Cada, Cada relied on the river more than one time against other opponents at the Final Table. However, Cada showed that he skillfully deserved to win the Main Event: He made the call of his life against Moon when Moon put him all-in with his straight draw. Cada took some time before making the call. He had a pair of nines with a jack kicker, with two tens on the board. With an unbelievable call, Joe Cada doubled up and took a commanding lead. Moon's over-aggression cost him an additional 4 million and a world series ring.
According to Phil Henderson of Pokerchanneleurope.com, "The turning point finally came when Cada had had enough of being bullied off every pot by Moon and decided to make a stand". Cada was visibly frustrated with Moon's over aggression, so frustrated in fact that he decided to risk his tournament life with a pair of 9s with a mediocre Jack kicker. However, Cada's instinctual read and play made him the 2009 World Series of Poker Main Event winner, a title that is coveted by most of today's pros. Although I was personally rooting for Phil Ivey to take the bracelet, whom I believe to be by far the greatest Texas Hold'em player to ever play, it's still heartwarming and inspirational to see a player like Cada win the Main Event. Nobody anticipated the 21 year old from Michigan to come anywhere near the final table, yet he proved his adversaries wrong and did what thousands of others before him have failed to do: overcome criticism, stay steadfast, and remain committed.

sources: http://www.pokerchanneleurope.com/news/cada_over_moon_9.htm
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Deceiving hands in poker and underrated hands

The most deceiving hand in poker is most definitely ace-king, ace-queen, or ace-jack off suite. Players get so realed into the possibilities of their face cards that they fail to realize that all they really have, in effect, is ace high. I've seen numerous players lose their stacks due to getting outflopped when they have ace queen or ace king. With ace-jack, there are so many hands that can beat that hand. Even if the player hits a 3 outer Ace, he still has to ponder the possibility that he's being outkicked ( ace-queen or ace king, maybe even pocket aces!).

Players often times don't take into consideration how weak these hands are in comparison to other hands. Players often push with these hands and see horrible results. Ace queen in my opinion should never see more than a pre-flop raise. If one were to raise pre-flop, he shouldn't become attached to the hand if he misses the flop completely. Ace high really doesn't have as much value in an actual game of 9 or 10 or so people. According to toppoker.org, ace queen has a very slim chance of winning against a lot of other better hands.



Hands that generally get overlooked, but are actually effective, are hands like 9 10 suited, 10 J suited, 10 8 suited, 5 6 suited, 4 5 suited, and 7 8 suited..obviously these are suited connectors. In my experience playing, these hands win overwhelmingly when played effectively. a 7 8 suited can overcome ace-king or ace-queen easier because it can catch much more cards. There are so many more outs associated with these hands. Think about it..if everybody raises with face cards, the flop would likely be cards 2-10. I usually raise with these hands to throw my opponents off. If my opponents believe I have ace-king suited when I really have a 7 8 or a 9 10 suited, and i hit the flop (these hands usually do hit the flop), I'm likely to be able to trap my opponent and put him in an uneasy situation. Poker is a game of manipulating your opponents, and the more often you do this, the more likely you will find success.

In conclusion, ace-queen and ace-king should be played with precaution. Although these hands do have value to an extent, they're value shouldn't be overstated. At the same time, marginal hands shouldn't be under-valued. Suited connectors are a poker player's best friend, and allow him or her a lot of flexibility when it comes to strategic betting and manipulating.



Sources: http://www.toppoker.org/poker-hands/starting-hand-analysis-aq-dm.html
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