Dwan vs Ivey
High Stakes Poker, Season 6, 2010 · A Six-Handed Table
Two of the game’s biggest names
The Hand
Phil Ivey, Daniel Negreanu, Tom Dwan, Phil Laak and Eli Elezra. Blinds 400 / 800, ante 200.
Before the Flop
- Blinds 400 and 800. Ivey has the button.
- Laak raises to 3.9K.
- Elezra calls.
- Another player folds.
- Ivey calls.
- Negreanu calls.
Dwan raises to 28.9K. Why
Dwan. Players who only call a raise rarely hold a premium hand, since those usually re-raise. A big squeeze often wins the pot already in the middle. When it is called, Dwan’s range looks like big pairs and ace-king.
- Laak folds.
- Elezra folds.
- Ivey calls.
- Negreanu folds.
The Flop
- Dwan bets 45.8K.
- Ivey calls.
The Turn
- Dwan bets 123.2K.
- Ivey calls.
The River
- Dwan bets 268.2K. The famous decision
Ivey folds. Why
Ivey. Sixes beat only a bluff, and Dwan’s line is the strongest-looking line in poker. Folding is usually right here.
Ivey folded the best hand, and Dwan won with nine-high. A call would have won, but the fold was a reasonable one.
Play Dwan vs Ivey, decision by decision
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The river
The Famous Decision
Dwan. Ivey’s calls fit a draw that missed or a medium hand. Dwan’s line, a squeeze and then a bet on every street, tells a story of ace-king, kings or a set. Only a big bet folds a pair.
The Result
Dwan wins the pot.
Why It Is Famous
Tom Dwan squeezed before the flop and bet every street with nine-high. Phil Ivey, holding the better hand, thought for over three minutes and folded. Ivey said while thinking, "This is gonna be the sickest call of all time."
What to Take from It
A great player can make the right fold against the wrong hand. A call would have won here.
Sources
What the sources do not say. Ivey’s seat is not documented. The pot fixes a six-handed table with the small blind calling, which could be Ivey or Negreanu. Ivey is shown on the button and Negreanu in the small blind, which fits the order the callers are named in. The stacks are approximate: Ivey had over a million and Dwan about $800,000.
Make all three decisions, then see what really happened
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