How To Outplay Yourself at No-limit Hold'em

ESPN's WSOP coverage last night included a no-limit hold'em tournament in which Daniel Negreanu was the chip leader, and John Juanda, Mike Matusow, and several other top professionals made it to the final table. The event was won by Jerry Drehobl, an amateur who had been playing poker for six months prior to winning a World Series bracelet [there's hope for you yet young Jedi--ed.]. Here's how:

Drehobl started catching monster hands, including a couple of big wired pairs and, heads up against Negreanu, flopped two pair from a freeroll in the big blind.

The final three were Drehobl, Negreanu, and Juanda, and Drehobl had become the chip leader after he called a pro's all in and beat wired 8's with wired Q's.

Even so, Drehobl should have been dead money in that threesome. The reason he wasn't is that the pros played too aggressively before the flop, pushing in big stacks of chips when Drehobl was fortunate enough to pick up big hands in the pocket. And that was Drehobl's only chance of winning: turning the game into a crap-shoot by running out cards with hands that play well hot and cold, dodging his opponents abilities to outbet him after the flop. The end for Negreanu came when he want all-in over the top of Juanda with KQs (Juanda was holding Ax), and was called by Drehobl holding QQ. For Juanda, heads-up play ended when he bluffed after the flop holding AT against Drehobl's KK. I'm not sure there was anything Juanda should have done differently. But Negreanu, I think, shouldn't have denied himself an opportunity to outplay Drehobl.

P.S. I would do anything to be able to play poker like Daniel Negreanu.