Many poker players draw connections between the game and some other game or sport, such as Chess. One such player was Ylon Schwartz, who along with Ivan Demidov, Dennis Philips and Peter Eastgate was one of four players remaining at the 2009 World Series of Poker main event final table.
Ylon was a pro chess player, at least in the outdoor games of New York city, and now he was playing for a shot at $9 million. His chess skills had helped him quite a bit, but not all poker skills come from a cerebral game like chess.
In this hand Peter was first to act with a pocket pair. His:
Was good enough for a raise, and so Peter made it $1.5 million in tourney chips. Ylon called with:
and it was on to the flop.
The Flop came down:
no real help to either player. Both checked.
The Turn was:
now giving two pair to Peter. Ylon, though, was likely thinking he was in the lead with an Ace kicker to the board pair kings. Ylon checked to be on the safe side, but called with Peter bet $1.7 million.
The River was:
giving Peter a full house. Ylon checked again, and Peter put out $4.6 million. Ylon thought now was the time to bluff and moved all in, bluffing off all of his chips. Peter, of course, called, and Ylon was out in 4th place winning $3.7 million.
