Dream Match recap

By Dennis Oehring

In a match that featured the use of the word "baby" more than any other previous match on PAD, the eyes of the poker community were on amateur player Ken Light who won his seat into this match via a freeroll on FullTiltPoker.net. Light told the producers who his favorite players were, and five of them, Daniel Negreanu, Phil Hellmuth, Scotty Nguyen, Jennifer Harman, and Mike Matusow, were invited to play against Ken in what was billed as the "Dream Match." The table was filled with laughter and conversation and the players genuinely seemed to enjoy themselves.

All of the players made it into Day 4 of the match, but Mike Matusow was the first to depart when Daniel Negreanu set a perfect trap by limping in with pocket kings and Mike called from the button with Ac 8d. The flop was 6c 7c 6s, and Daniel checked. Mike made a position bet, and Daniel called. The Ks on the turn filled Daniel up, but he checked again, letting Mike bet at the pot again with air, and Daniel called once more. The Ad on the river couldn't have been a worse card for Matusow, and after checking again Mike bet his aces up, and Daniel check raised all in. Mike called, and was left to lament at the bar with Marianela after another 6th place finish.

As 5 players went into the final day, you knew there was going to be lots of action. Daniel enjoyed the chip lead for most of the session, but took a hit to his stack when his pocket 3s ran into Scotty's pocket jacks. Nguyen doubled up on the hand and temporarily assumed the chip lead. Daniel would then double up Ken Light with the blinds at $1000/$2000, and suddenly only $9000 separated all five players.

With the blinds now at $1500/$3000 and a board of Jc Kh 6c, Hellmuth bet $3500 holding top pair with the Ks 10h and Negreanu moved all in with bottom 2 pair holding the Js 6s. Negreanu was a 7:3 favorite, but Phil rivered the 10c for two higher pair, doubling up and leaving Daniel with only $1300 in chips. Those chips evaporated on the next hand when Daniel's pocket 10s were beat by Jennifer who made a diamond flush on the turn, eliminating Negreanu in 5th place.

Scotty would then move all in from the button with the blinds at $2000/$4000 for his remaining $10,600 with As Jh, but Phil woke up with the Ah Kh in the big blind and called. Scotty would board a straight, but Hellmuth made a flush to eliminate "The Prince of Poker" in 4th place.

With the blinds now at a hefty $3000/$6000, Jennifer raised to $12,000 from the button with Qc 10h. Ken Light, the short stack with only $8600, pushed all in with the 9h 8h, and Phil called with the 9c 7s. After a flop of 10c 7s 5d Phil bet $6000 with his pair of 7s, and Jennifer went all in for her last $29,800 with top pair. Phil pondered, but having Jennifer covered eventually made the call. The turn brought the 7h, making trips for Phil, but leaving Jennifer and Ken still with outs to stay alive. The river, however, was the Ks, and in a first on Poker After Dark, there was no heads-up battle as the final hand saw Phil knocking out the remaining two players.

The victory was the first for Hellmuth who had the worst record on PAD going into this match, and suffice it to say that he was elated to get the 0-fer off of his back. For amateur Ken Light, the match had to represent the thrill of a lifetime for him, and though he didn't win, he can lay claim to some bragging rights that most of the rest of us can only dream about.