Phil Ivey wins Poker After Dark - Again!

I just watched Phil Ivey take down his second Poker After Dark championship. This guy is every bit as good as advertised. Ivey literally called out Howard Lederes hands on 3 different occassions, and you thought Dan Negreanu was the only one with these kinds of powers, frustrating Lederer to the point that he started telling him what he had after each hand.

Absolutely incredible. The thing that is compelling about watching Phil Ivey play is that he simply has some of the best poker instincts of anyone playing today. It’s like he can tell when he is beat and will simply fold his hand as if he can see through the cards. Now I know those kinds of instincts also come from years of experience and practice but some of these lay downs are just ridiculous. The average guy and even a lot of pro’s would go broke on the same hands yet Ivey seems to sense when his opponent has the best of it.

Here is a prime example of why Phil Ivey is considered the best tournament and cash game poker player in the world. Lederer and Ivey are heads-up for the championship. Lederer picks up Kd8d and raises it up. Ivey calls with 84os.

The flop comes down XX4 with two diamonds.

Lederer goes all-in. Ivey begins to process the hand and possibilities and suspects his opponent is on a complete draw and therefor behind. He goes back and forth for five minutes trying to make the correct decision. Finally, he determines there is too much money in the pot to fold and calls.

The turn is another [4] giving Ivey a set and negating Lederes [8]

The river is a blank and Ivey is the champion. Absolutely unreal. You can’t teach talent. Either you have it or you don’t. But when you blend both talent and great instincts along with good fundamental poker strategy you have an extremely dangerous player in Phil Ivey.

Curtis III