By the end of lunch, they had refueled. Dimitar took a call from Sam just a few minutes after Simone had taken over at the wheel.
‘Where are you now?’ Sam asked.
‘Nearly at Bilbao. Then we go on to Porto. We should be there by…’
‘Seven?’ Simone said. ‘Maybe half past six.’
‘You have pleasant help, I hear.’
‘I have help, Sam. Now, what about the game? I know nothing about the people I’m supposed to be playing.’
‘Put me on speaker. Then your support system will get the notes, too.’
Dimitar put Sam on the car’s internal speaker system and increased the volume. Sam could be easily heard throughout the car.
‘That’s better. Hello, by the way.’
‘Delighted to speak with you.’ Simone said, more than butchering the English accent.
‘Every time. Honestly, I wish I’d stayed in New York my whole life. OK, so the event is a €25,000-entry high roller. There’s a big festival on, and everyone will be playing the Main Event. But I need you to avoid that and go for the high roller. I’ve got a pre-registration list from the casino – don’t ask how – and I know a dozen of the players pretty well.’
‘You’ve played with them in this type of tournament?’
‘Tournaments aren’t for me, Dimitar. But I’ve played them in cash games, and I know the adjustments they’ll be making. I know them, Dimitar. And knowing who you’re playing against is everything at this level.’
‘I’m way outmatched, though.’
‘Only in terms of general play, and you’re not going to be playing generally. Poker history is littered with tournaments that were won by an underdog because the players he—’
‘Or she!’ said Simone.
‘I was about to say exactly that!’ Sam laughed in his own defense. ‘Whoever you’re playing won’t have any clue how you’re playing. This is the first and only time playing in this way will work. I’ll give you the playbook on these guys, but you also need to listen to me.’
‘Was there a reason this had to be on speaker?’ Simone asked. ‘Poker is my job. And not the fun, winning money bit, the dealing cards bit.’
‘There is. Dimitar, I need you to open your phone and your Notes app.’
‘Why?’
‘Because you’re going to write down everything I tell you, then in the next six hours, you’re going to learn it so that you know everything there is to know about half the field. Knowing these players the way I do, there’s likely to be a lot of rebuys going on which means a lot of money to be won.’
*
They arrived in Porto later than Simone had boasted. After stopping in Bilbao, they traveled to the capital city of Portugal in around six hours, but the traffic in the capital itself was gridlocked. By the time they reached their hotel in the coastal municipality of Foz do Douro, it was nearly nine. Again, they ate, this time in near silence. Dimitar was entirely focused on what Sam had told him.
They discussed the players, Simone researched their previous cashes on The Hendon Mob, which allowed them to break down exactly where and how each player had won money recently. The big fish with endless rebuy pockets were identified, and the playing styles nailed down. When they booked into their hotel room, Sam logged online with them and walked Dimitar through dozens of simulations of situations that might arise. How each player might act in a specific position, their tells, their traits, the patterns they might fall into, and how each opponent could be exploited.
When they slept, they were apart. Again, they had twin beds, but this time, they stayed separated by a length of carpet, a bedside table, and a small amber lamp that glowed while Simone slept. Dimitar continued to review his notes over and over again. When he slept, it was past midnight, but exhaustion took him under like a tidal wave.
They woke and ate but spoke very little as the magnitude of what was to come eliminated the relevance of small talk. The tournament began at noon and would take, in Sam’s estimation, between 12 and 13 hours to conclude, including the two-hour late registration period.
Dimitar took his seat at a table with a businessman named Saul. Sam had prepared him perfectly for taking him on, and over the course of those two hours, Dimitar trebled his starting stack from 100,000 chips to 300,000, forcing the businessman to rebuy twice in the process.
It was almost a shame when the event became a freezeout, but Dimitar plowed on. He stayed out of the way of a Canadian player called Shane, who he had been warned about. Sam had stated to “not engage” before the final table if he could avoid it. Dimitar had studied push-fold charts for a few hours the previous night before sleep took him, but he never had cause to use them as he was never too short. When late registration ended, there were 53 entries in total with only seven players getting paid.
Dimitar won a big pot with a bluff against a Spanish player who Sam had played with previously and who hadn’t cashed in the past four months, despite getting close to seven figures in high-roller events. He was on a bad run, and Dimitar punished him for it, pressuring him to call for all his chips outside the money. The Spanish player folded, and Dimitar was polite but slid his cards into the muck without showing anyone what he had.
He hadn’t shown his cards all day unless required to by the rules of the game.
Eating at regular intervals on breaks, Dimitar shared his progress with Simone, but she seemed distracted. A Frenchman was at the bar, speaking in her native tongue to his fellow player, another man who was a little older and greyer around the temples.
‘What’s he saying?’ Dimitar asked. Simone relayed the information without giving herself away, speaking quietly behind one hand.
‘He said that you’re good but too timid. That he’ll be able to… press, no, exploit you. Take advantage. Eventually, you’ll find too many folds on the… fourth road? Street. The turn.’
There was a pause as the Frenchman continued speaking, even though Simone did not.
‘That’s it?’
‘Yes, he’s talking about the food options now.’
Dimitar had a fairly wicked thought.
‘Maybe you could keep an eye on him for me?’
Simone nodded. Dimitar smiled.
‘Now the game is really on.’
About the Author: Paul Seaton has written about poker for over 10 years, interviewing some of the best players ever to play the game such as Daniel Negreanu, Johnny Chan and Phil Hellmuth. Over the years, Paul has reported live from tournaments such as the World Series of Poker in Las Vegas and the European Poker Tour. He has also written for other poker brands where he was Head of Media, as well as BLUFF magazine, where he was Editor.
This is a work of fiction. Any similarity to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events, is purely coincidental.