Copyright 2006 Full
Tilt Poker
August 14, 2006
(View all Online
Poker Lessons)
Poker Lesson: Learning from Allen
Cunningham
Author: Jay Greenspan
On Friday, Allen Cunningham completed another amazing
World Series of Poker. He made three final tables in the 2006
WSOP, won one bracelet, and finished 4th in the Main Event. This
comes on the heels of his 2005 WSOP performance, when he was named
Player of Year after making four final tables and winning a bracelet.
During this year's WSOP, I wrote a blog for Full
Tilt Poker and, during the Main Event, I decided to focus my coverage
on Allen. For four days, I observed his play and, in that time,
I came to see some of the qualities that make him so great. For
this tip, I thought I would share some of what I have learned
about the best WSOP player over the past two years.
Big Pot - Big Hand
The pros often say they're not going to play big
pots without big hands, but Allen applies this principle better
than most. Over the two days leading to the final table (about
18 hours of play), Allen played a total of four big pots. In two
of them, he had sets. In one, he had the nut flush and, in the
last, he had pocket Aces and was all-in pre-flop against pocket
Kings.
When he had something like top pair, Allen played
far more cautiously. He'd simply call bets or check one street
so that he could control the size of the pot. When the big money
went in, Allen had a hand that would hold up.
Don't Panic
The WSOP Main Event is a grueling two weeks. During
that time, there are bound to be big shifts in fortune and Cunningham
saw his change several times. On days 2 and 3, he was among the
chip leaders. But a bad stretch of cards brought him close to
the felt on day 4 and again on day 5. At one point on day 5, Allen
had to survive a race to stay in the tournament.
When his chips got low, Allen didn't panic. He didn't
push his chips in the pot with dreadful cards. While he had enough
chips to survive a few rounds with the blinds, he waited for a
hand that could win at showdown.
Of course, it took some luck to survive when his
stack got low, but by being calm and patient, Allen gave himself
the best possible chance to see another day.
Always the Observer
At the table, Allen is quiet, but friendly. He doesn't
say anything during the course of a hand and he never shows his
cards unless a hand goes to showdown. In the Main Event, Allen's
opponents regularly showed their bluffs or tabled big hands that
were uncalled. This gave Allen a distinct advantage that he could
exploit. He was gaining knowledge on how they played their big
hands and their bluffs, while his opponents were learning
next to nothing about him.
Allen was always focused on his opponents, even
when he wasn't in a hand. When a big confrontation occurred at
his table, he studied the players' actions, picking up information
that he could use later.
It's been an incredible year for Allen Cunningham.
When ESPN broadcasts his play in the coming weeks, you'll get
to see just how well he played in this year's WSOP.
FullTiltPoker.com
Referral Code
Downloaded
from the World Wide Web on August 14, 2006:
http://www.fulltiltpoker.com/proLessons.php?lesson=73 |