you say you were really unlucky in the last no-limit Hold’em tournament that you played in?  You say you had bad card games and couldn’t win a pot?  John Duthie never had a hand, either, but somehow he managed to take the chip lead and then go on to win the Poker play card games million in 2000.  How?  You ask.  How did he manage to win a no-limit Hold’em even without ever having a hand?  You mean you actually thought that every time someone won a no-limit Hold’em poker event they were lucky?

            Folks, wake up and smell the coffee.  No-limit Hold’em game is more about guts and reading ability than it is about luck.  I have been telling everyone that I am a really lucky player for the last 10 years, and I genuinely believe that to be the case.  But making that claim allows me to hide behind the fact that I have to make several key bluffs every time I win a no-limit Hold’em event.  I wouldn’t want  anyone to know that I actually bluff, now would I?  Maybe people will start calling me down more often if they know I bluff. 

Also, it would sound pretty bad if I always said, “I stole every chip on the table today.  Wow, was that easy.”  People like to focus on luck, and that’s fine with me because those people will never be lucky enough to win a no-limit Hold’em event when there are some real players at the table.  I would have been happy to go on pretending that I am just a lucky guy who never has to bluff, but John Duthie and the cameras under the table have ruined that strategy forever.  John Duthie stole the hold'em Poker game million with his brilliant bluffs, and everyone knows it! How can a guy win if everyone is using the same bluffing strategy hold'em poker guide?

            Was John Duthie just an amateur who was really lucky that he never ran into a real hand when he made his big bluffs?  It’s possible, but he did tell me after the Poker Million event made a move at them.  Sounds to me like a Mansour who was reading his opponents perfectly.  Regardless of whether you feel that he was lucky or just played perfectly, he did play almost perfectly.

            It all started when John made a brilliant move against Tony Bloom.  After John Duthie limped in with Q-J off suit in second position, Ian Dobson limped in behind him (we never saw his hand), and then Teddy Tuil called in the small blind.  Tony Bloom made about poker a $35,000 raise out of the big blind with K-2 off suit.  John then made what I would ordinarily think was a bad call with his Q-J.  after a flop of Ah-2c-3s, Tony led out for about $50,000.  John had only about $160,000 in front of him.  (Pot over, Tony wins, right?)  Not exactly. 

Instead of folding, John Duthie decided to move all-in! if Tony had an ace, then John Duthie was drawing dead and out of the tournament.  He moved all-in on a stone-cold bluff against a man who had raised pre-flop, and when an ace hit the flop! Johnny Chan later told me, “What a great play he mad.  I mean, the mansour had no outs if he was called.  I don’t know if I could have made that play.” I agree with you, Johnny, that is a nearly impossible play to make.

            A little while later, Tony Bloom raised on the button and John Duthie called the raise with Q-J off suit in the big blind.  The flop came K-8-2, and John checked.  Now Tony bet out about $50,000, and John raised him about $100,000.  Again, John was on a stone-cold bluff! At this point in the tournament, I was convinced that John had a strong read of a tell on Tony Bloom.  I mean, two stone-cold bluffs in a 10-minute stretch against Tony-wow! John was certainly playing some strong poker so far.  For those of you keeping track of the number of chips that John picked up bluffing so far, the total was now $235,000 ($35,000 TB + $35,000 pot $50,000 TB + $30,000 TB + $35,000 pot + $50,000 TB = $235,000).  Not a bad amount to pick up just by reading Tony Bloom well on two hands.

            John “got busy” (European slang for bluffed ) again when Ian Dodson opened the pot limit omaha for $35,000 with A-7 in the first position.  Teddy Tuil then called on the button (they were four-handed at the time) with Qc-10c, and John called with Qh-9h in the big blind.  The flop was J-6-2, and John checked, Ian bet $50,000, and Teddy folded.  Now I could see John begin to focus on Ian.  While doing the commentary for this hand, I remarked that “it would be too good if John could make a bluff right here, especially in light of what he has already done.” 

Sure enough, John reached for $100,000 and raised Ian’s $50,000 bluff, about $50,000 on a bluff of his own.  I was stunned that he could make another perfect bluff! In folded quickly, and John stacked another $170,000 ($35,000 ID + $35,000 TT + $35,000 JD + $15,000 pot + $50,000 ID) of bluff money.  It was almost as if John could see the other players hole cards, but I knew that they has done a security sweep for bugs of all sorts.  The amount  that John had picked up making those three beautiful bluffs was now $405,000 the winner.

            John’s fourth bluff occurred when John raised on the button with Q-5 and Teddy Tuil called in the big blind with K-9.  The flop was A-9-5, Teddy led out for about $25,000, and then John raised him about $40,000.  Teddy folded, and John had made another successful bluff.

            In making four world-class bluffs, John picked up roughly $475,000! He had picked up 33 percent of the chips that in play in this tournament by making four well-timed bluffs.  He won it the way John Bonetti would have won it.  First, he stole their money bluffing, then he put that bluff money to work with the worst hand and sucked out!  Even if he hadn’t sucked out, he always could have picked up some more bluff money and had a got at them again.

            One amazing fact that the under-the-table cameras brought to light was this: the players didn’t know what John Duthie was doing! Player after player (except Ian) night poker, said  the same thing after they were eliminated: “John Duthie is playing really solid today!” Solid, my butt; he was playing the opposite of solid.  John was playing more like-as Daniel Negreanu would say-a megalomaniac! Watching John Duthie reminded me that the best way to win a no-limit Hold’em tournament is without any cards! In fact, the best way to win a no-limit Hold’em tournament is with guts, heart, and a “strong right arm” (raising a ton and using your right arm as you do it).

            Now, what were you saying about getting unlucky in that last no-limit Hold’em tournament that you played in?  Oh right, you had some really bad cards late in the tournament and couldn’t win a pot limit hold'em.  Too bad-sounds like you were pretty unlucky to me.  Maybe you’ll have better “luck” next time.