Hellmuth vs Matusow
High Stakes Poker, Season 4, 2007. A side game at the table.
A home-game side game on national television
Why it is famous
At this table, whoever won a pot with seven-deuce collected a $500 bonus from every opponent. Phil Hellmuth re-raised before the flop, bet the turn and bet $40,000 on the river with the worst starting hand in poker, and Mike Matusow folded kings face up. It is the most famous moment of the 7-2 game, a home-game favourite.
What to take from it
A side game changes the odds. When a table pays a bonus for a bluff, call a bit lighter.
The hand
Hellmuth 7♦2♠
Matusow K♠K♣
Before the flop
Blinds are posted. Another player has the button.
Matusow raises to 1.8K.
Six other players fold.
Hellmuth raises to 7K.
Matusow calls.
The flop
Board Q♦J♠6♥
Hellmuth checks.
Matusow checks.
The turn
Board Q♦J♠6♥8♦
Hellmuth bets 17K.
Matusow calls.
The river
Board Q♦J♠6♥8♦6♣
Hellmuth bets 40K.
Matusow folds.
Hellmuth wins the pot.
The decisions
- Hellmuth. In a 7-2 game the worst hand in poker earns a bonus if it wins, so it is worth a bluff. A re-raise from the big blind tells a strong story against an early open.
- Matusow. Two broadway cards hit a re-raiser’s range: ace-queen, ace-jack, queens and jacks. Kings check to keep the pot small and to see what the re-raiser does next.
- Hellmuth. Seven-high cannot win a showdown. A re-raise, a turn bet and a big river bet together say ace-queen, a set or better, and a check-call from kings fits that story.
- Matusow. Without the side game, this line is very rarely a bluff. With a bonus for 7-2 on the table, bluffs are more likely than usual. Matusow folded the best hand: Hellmuth showed seven-deuce. A call would have won, and the side game is why it was close.
What the sources do not say. The blinds and the ante are not documented, so they are not shown and prices are given in words. The sizes used are the only common ones that make the reported river pot add up. The stacks and the air date are not documented. The board comes from one report. The table has eight players, worked out from the pot, and only the two in the hand are drawn.
Sources
Practise it in 5 minutes Play this hand, one decision at a time.
Quads is for adults, 18 and over. It teaches with play chips only: there is no real money, ever.