Much of the game of poker is mental. In addition to knowing the right math and tactics to make the right decisions as often as possible, a poker player had to be able to read his opponent. This is harder than one might think, and even the best poker players sometimes struggle to get a good read. During the fourth season of the NBC National Heads-Up Poker Championship Michael Mizrachi tried to get a read on former World Series of Poker main event champ Huck Seed in order to win this hand.
It started with Michael, who they call "the Grinder," raising it to $2,600 with:
... and Huck making a quiet call with:
... The flop came:

... a flop neither player wanted to claim as their own. Both players checked their way to the turn. The turn hit:
... Huck, who liked to play it nice and slow, checked to the Grinder, who put out $3,000 in an attempt to say "this pot is mine." Huck did not believe it, however, considering he checked on the flop, and so came over the top to make it $13,000 all day. Michael took a sip of water while he thought, and Huck said, "That's a good idea" and also took a drink. The Grinder tried hard to read into this behavior, and asked him "That bad?" Huck just laughed while he drank, leaving the Grinder in the dark. Eventually Michael was unable to get a read on Seed, and folded. As Huck raked the pot he smiled and said, "It was either That Good or That Bad, right?"


