WSOP 2005 - Frangos vs Lindgren

  In a classic example of how switching your playing style can pay off, local poker pro Nick Little Nicky Frangos faced off against WSOP champ Erick Lindgren at Harrahs Casino in Atlantic City, NJ. This event marked the first time a World Series of Poker circuit event was held outside of Las Vegas, and Frangos was happily playing on his hometown advantage.   There were only three players left at this final table, Frangos, Lindgren and Henry Tran, a newcomer to the game and someone who no one expected to have lasted this long in the tournament, including himself. Tran was not only hanging in with the seasoned pros, he was the chip leader by a large margin, which put extra pressure on the other two players when he folded out of the hand.   Frangos had a pocket pair:Lindgren had:Both are good starting hands in this Texas Holdem event. Lindgren felt good about his chances and raised to 40,000 chips. Frangos, declaring, Its time to start gambling with the same friendly, talkative attitude he had shown all game, called. The Flop brought Lindgren luck, with:giving him the better pair. Frangos, whos position was not improved at all, bet 45,000 chips. Lindgren called. At this point Lindgren was the 95% to win leader. The Turn was:which evidently worried Lindgren a great deal. Frangos bet 65,000 and waited to see what his opponent would do. The pot had grown to 241,000 before his bet. With Tran so far ahead, Lindgren weighed his options, thinking hard about what Little Nicky was hiding in the hole. Could it be a large pocket pair, or perhaps a King? With almost no chance to lose, had he but know it, Lindgren kicked in his pocket cards, giving the pot to Frangos.  Lingren asked Fragos, Did you have it? The King?  Frangos, who had been cheerfully smiling, joking and bantering with the crowd and other players the entire game, was suddenly rock solid, offering no response. In a purely psychological play, he bluffed out Lingren and added over 100,000 chips to his stack, giving him a clear lead over his opponent.