Insight into champion's poker strategy
14th December, 2007
Bobby Baldwin, the 1978 World Series of Poker champion, has illustrated the logic behind his game in an interview with the San Jose Mercury News.
Baldwin became the youngest person in the tournament's history to win the main event and to date has total live tournament winnings in excess of $660,000 (£326,000).
Speaking to the Mercury News, he recalled how he brought Doyle Brunson's two-year reign at the main event to an end by shrewdly defining his opponent's hand at an early stage.
Holding a jack and queen of diamonds, Baldwin responded hawkishly to a 5-6-4 flop with two diamonds - banking on his overcards, a flush draw and the predictable style of his opponent.
"It just so happens that I have a diamond draw, but I could've been betting anything there," Badlwin told the paper. "When he calls, he pretty much defines his hand - he pretty much has two 8s, two 9s, two 10s.
"He can't have queens or jacks because I have queen-jack of diamonds, and he'd have re-raised me with kings or aces."
Checking through an off-suit 4 turn-card, the river dealt Baldwin a queen of clubs - top pair - with which he drew his opponent into a seemingly mild and innocuous bet.
"I want to bet what he'll call with the worst hand," Baldwin noted. "I don't want to bet so much that he'll only call me if he has me beat. That would be a silly bet."
