Marcus Bateman / Marcus Bateman / 23 July 2008 / Leave a comment

This is a truly great hand of poker, played between two of the most interesting and dynamic players of the modern game, Daniel Negreanu and Gus Hansen.

What I want to look at here is not so much the individual actions of the hand, but more the long term implications of these types of situations.

The first point of note is Antonio Esfandiari's comment when he looks down at ace queen. Having seen Gus raise from an early position, followed by Daniel re-raising, he says: "Out of position against Gus and Daniel Negreanu" and quickly folds. This is one of the best examples of how deep thinking players look at much more than just the strength of their hand. By looking at the fact that he is only up against two world class players, but also having to make every action first, the strength of his hand is largely irrelevant. It is likely that Antonio discards all but the very best hands here - such is his disadvantage because of other factors.

The play of the hand is worthy of an article in itself, with both players attempting to trap and re-trap the other for all their chips. But the hand has wider implications than just the action. This hand is a true 'cooler' where neither player is in a position to fold. Strangely, Gus Hansen does not actually make money on this hand, as over a very long period of time he loses just as many of these pots as he wins.

This is a very important point to remember when you lose pots like this. By clearly thinking about these situations you drastically reduce your chances of tilting. Just like a bad beat, a true cooler is just part of the game, one which must be thought about rationally and clearly. It is important as a player to keep a cool head about these situations and move on.

Negreanu really shows his class in this hand, as even though he is obviously very annoyed about the hand (losing hundreds of thousands of dollars to one card tends to have that effect on people), he does not get angry or show that much outward emotion. He even starts analysing the hand in a level headed way, talking about how he nearly did not want to see a five as then there was no way for him to get away from the hand. By focussing purely on the game, and not on his emotional attachment to the money, he drastically reduces the psychological damage done by this cruel twist of fate.

Try and remember Negreanu's behaviour here - it truly is one of the reasons he is at the very top of the game.