Palmer teacher hot in Vegas poker

$30,569: Brandon Blake 17th in poker tournament.

As a burgeoning poker player growing ever more secure in his skills, former basketball player and coach Brandon Blake of Palmer can just come out and confess: He badly wants a bracelet.

And you're clearly going to need some background.

Winners of events in the annual World Series of Poker in Las Vegas not only earn a cash prize -- payouts range from hundreds of thousands of dollars to millions -- but also receive a bracelet. In the world of poker, a bracelet is a symbol of a champion and merits serious table cred.

So, when Blake, a 39-year-old physical education tea-cher at Palmer High placed 17th out of a field of 3,929 players Tuesday in a WSOP No-Limit Hold'em event, he was a bit bummed to get so close to a bracelet and fall short.

Of course, Blake's payout of $30,569 salved his psyche plenty, but now he grasps why poker pros so covet a bracelet.

"You listen to these pros -- 'Forget about the money, it's about the bracelet' -- and I'm starting to really understand that,'' Blake said by cell phone from Vegas. "I used to think, 'I'll take the money, you can have the bracelet.'

"Trust me, the money's great. But I understand where they're coming from.''

In no-limit hold'em, players are each dealt two cards face down, and can fold or participate in a round of betting at that point or any subsequent betting point. Three community cards -- "the flop'' -- are dealt face up, followed by another round of betting. A fourth community card -- "fourth street'' or "the turn'' -- is dealt, followed by another round of betting. Finally, a fifth community card -- "fifth street'' or "the river'' -- is dealt and more betting occurs.

Players make their best five-card hand. At any point, a player can bet all his chips, which is called going "all-in.''

Blake entered Tuesday afternoon among 18 players still alive in the event, the second of 55 events in the world's most prestigious poker tournament, which culminates with the WSOP Main Event. He ranked 11th with 514,000 chips after playing for about 16 hours when Monday's play extended until nearly 6 a.m. PDT Tuesday.

Blake, who like all players paid $1,500 to enter the event with a first-place prize of $831,279, was eliminated despite his strong starting hand, a pair of 5s. He said he raised the pot to 60,000, which was matched -- "called'' in poker parlance -- by Grant Hinkle of Kansas City, Mo. The flop came 5-Jack-6, and both players checked, or declined to bet.


When a 3 came on fourth street, Blake bet 200,000. Hinkle, who had more chips than Blake, went all-in. Blake immediately called, meaning he would be eliminated if he lost the hand, but double his chip stack if he won it. Hinkle revealed his pair of pocket 6s. That meant both men held three-of-a-kind -- "a set'' -- but Hinkle's was better.

The river didn't bring Blake the only card that would have saved him -- the last 5 in the deck.

"I'm a little sick right now, to be honest,'' Blake said. "I played it well. Nothing I could do. I thought I was trapping the guy, but he trapped me. In poker, they call it a 'cooler.'' I got 'coolered.'

"What are you gonna do?''

Even so, the $30,000-plus Blake won pushed him over the six-figure mark in earnings. He won a WSOP Circuit Event in Vegas in April, which landed him $71,454. And at the 2006 WSOP, he finished 22nd in an event to earn $11,701. Total earnings from those three high-level events: $113,724.

"This just put me over the $100,000 mark,'' Blake said. "Pretty cool.

"I'm definitely happy with what I did. It's an accomplishment.''

Blake plans to enter another WSOP No Limit Hold'em event today. That one requires an entry fee, or "buy-in,'' of $2,000.

And it gives him another chance at a bracelet.

"Getting a taste of what I have, I want that bracelet so bad I can taste it,'' Blake said.

Anchorage Daily News

News Added: 04 June, 2008

Number of views : 133