Empire State of Mind

donpeters

There's a reason Phil Ivey is often regarded as the greatest poker player in the world, and of all time. Tim O'Shea just got a first-hand look at why Ivey is just that good.

Picking up the action on the {Q-Diamonds} {J-Diamonds} {10-Diamonds} flop, O'Shea checked to Ivey and he bet 35,000. O'Shea made the call and that took the players to the {5-Clubs} turn. Here, O'Shea opted to lead out and made a wager for 62,000. Ivey studied for a minute or so and then counted out some chips — much more than 62,000. He slid them out, all eight chocolate T25,000 chips, and raised to 200,000.

O'Shea didn't flinch. He sat motionless for a minute himself. Then, very slowly, O'Shea counted out some raising chips of his own. He pulled back his 62,000 and slid out 370,000. Ivey didn't move for about 30 seconds and then squeezed his cards really tightly to take another look at what he had. Then, he put O'Shea under the microscope and studied his every move as only Ivey can do. His eyes darted up and down, side to side. All the while, O'Shea sat motionless with his head slightly tilted down, sunglasses over his eyes, hat and hoodie snug around his head.

Then, Ivey reached for chips and they weren't for calling. He clicked it back and made it 570,000 to go. O'Shea had about 685,000 left in his stack and tanked for another minute. Then, his cards were pushed towards the muck and he gave it up as if to say, "Well, I tried my best." Ivey was pushed the pot and — as always — didn't show his hand. He collected his chips and stacked up to 1.69 million.