LEGENDS OF POKER Arnold Rothstein was one of the dark figures from the early 1900’s who grew to become a betting legend. He was on record as saying, “I’ll bet on anything except the weather. It’s the only thing I can’t fix!” Between 1910 and 1920 underground gaming was a major industry in a repressed America and Rothstein was its Godfather. He ran and owned gaming joints in New York and Long Beach and collected bets on dozens of major prize fights, horse races, baseball games and even elections. He himself was a true high roller once placing a $100,000 bet on a single throw of the dice. (An extra-ordinary amount in those days). Arnold was also a mean poker player a fact which finally brought about his demise. Newspapers of the day reported Rothstein was sharing a meal with famed writer and poker player Damon Runyon in Lindy’s restaurant when a phone call seduced him to the Central Park Hotel. On arrival he was shot dead by a hit man in the pay of mobsters who claimed Rothstein owed them a third of a million dollars from a recent poker game. Arnold had refused to cough up, claming the game was fixed. He paid with his life.
4 PLAY - TRUE STORY Sunday night. Marbella Poker Club. An actual live game. Eight players seated for Pot Limit Hold’em. Seat 1 is short-stacked and on the big blind. He has his big blind called from seats 4 and 6. Everyone else has folded. The flop comes down Two-Seven-Two. Seat 1 makes a small bet and seats 4 and 6 both call. The turn delivers another Seven. Seat 1 pushes all his remaining chips into the pot. Seat 4 folds and Seat 6 wants to raise but realises his only opponent is “all-in”, so he calls. Cards are turned over and Seat 1 confidently reveals his Seven and Eight (A Full House of Seven-Seven-Seven-Two and Two) Seat 6 smiles and flips up his hole cards: Two-Two (Giving him Quad 2’s) seat 6 is almost reaching for the pot, convinced nobody can beat quads, when the dealer points out there is still one Seven in the pack that might save Seat 1. The river incredibly finds that fourth Seven giving Seat 1 Quad Sevens and the pot. I’ve never seen a situation where eight of the nine cards effectively involved in a heads up were forming crucial parts of opposing quads. Real life, factual, amazing Texas Hold’em hands, are always of interest to us at dailystarpoker.com. I can personally vouch for the one described today.
Footnote:Omaha hands of the above quality are not so rare given that each player’s five card hand is made up from a nine card choice instead of the seven card choice available in Texas Hold’em.
