The best laydown I ever saw live *

I didn't play poker last night for a very good reason - I was watching the final night of the WSOP November Nine final table, on television (for the third night in a row, the ESPN live streaming site didn't work for me). I didn't stay to see the new champion crowned, but what I did see was highly entertaining. The most memorable hand for me was the one where Gordon Vayo took over 5 minutes to fold, after Qui Nguyen had bet over $100,000 on the river. Vayo had aces up, but the river card supported both trip kings and a club flush (the latter of which Nguyen had). It was mesmerizing to watch Vayo's immediate, distraught reaction as soon as he saw the river card, as well as the progression of emotions he went through during his agonizing thought process, which played out plainly on his face. I was rooting for him to fold, and believed he would. Eventually he did, but not before torturing himself. This laydown showed the quality and purity of his poker instincts; it was the best laydown I ever saw live *. I've added an asterisk for two reasons:

1. I wasn't physically present
2. the broadcast was on a half hour delay

The most amazing thing about the laydown, to me, was that it was very clear from his initial reaction that he instinctively knew he couldn't call the bet, yet he agonized over the decision. In poker, the longer someone takes to make a decision, the more likely it is to be wrong. Vayo had the discipline to heed his instincts, even after such a lengthy decision process. That's the longest tussle I've ever seen anyone take with the imp of the perverse, and he vanguished it. I cheered!

On Monday night, I played two MTT NLHEs, and missed the money in both.

style flavor buy_in entry players hands entries paid place winnings

MTT   NLHE    16500  3500       9    31     557  117     -        0
MTT   NLHE    17500  2500       6    55     336   84    97        0

delta: $-60,000
MTT NLHE balance: $898,548
balance: $10,505,380