Bigger Deal

With the release of the new James Bond film, QUANTUM OF SOLACE, and the simultaneous publication of Anthony Holden’s new strategy manual, HOLDEN ON HOLD’EM, BiggerDeal.com proudly presents an exclusive, three-part extract from the book, in which Holden examines the poker played by Daniel’s Craig 007 in the last Bond film, CASINO ROYALE.

The next big clash between our hero and his nemesis involves a third player, Bond’s CIA friend Felix Leiter. We join the action after the turn. The communal cards are: Jh-Ks-Ac… Jd. The American bets $300,000. Bond and Le Chiffre both call. The straight is very much on, but surely, again, one of them now has the full house?

The river brings Kd. Now the house is a really strong bet to win. But how will whoever has it play it?

Leiter checks.

We see Bond’s hand: he has the King, with an ace kicker. Big slick, big boat. But of course he does! He’s 007!

As Leiter has checked, Bond could slow-play by checking, too. This would open the door for Le Chiffre to bet big, allowing Bond to follow up with a hefty check-raise. But what if Le Chiffre also checks? Then Bond would have wasted a powerful hand. No, a strong bet here is called for; after all, the other two players must have something, or why were they throwing chips into the pot on the turn?

And that’s exactly what we get, as Bond – after some cool deliberation – places a chunky $500,000 chip into the pot. The moody music swells on the soundtrack. Le Chiffre displays his tell again, flicking those chips in his right hand. This hand must be Bond’s for the taking. But, wait, Le Chiffre raises Bond’s bet by all of $1,000,000. Leiter wisely folds. Bond, cool as a cucumber, re-raises $2,000,000. Le Chiffre goes all in, to the tune of no less than $40,500,000…

Bond calls his bluff, and confidently turns over his house, kings full of aces. Le Chiffre shrugs defeatedly, and turns over the jack of clubs. He pauses before turning over his second card - only to reveal the jack of spades. Le Chiffre breaks into a cocky smile and throws a little jab at Bond’s expense: ‘You must have thought I was bluffing, Mr Bond!’

Such crowing is rare at the poker table – and not good etiquette. Nor is slow-rolling the nuts.

But etiquette has never been Le Chiffre’s strong point.

The table breaks again. Le Chiffre waltzes away, leaving Bond sat at the table to rue his costly misread. Vesper tells Bond that he let his ego get in the way of his play. This is an acute read from the moll, and a cardinal sin for any player. A furious Bond grabs a knife and hurries after Le Chiffre, intending to kill him. (That’s not good etiquette either, by the way. Most normal players would hit another cash-game or slink off home. But then most normal players don’t use their winnings to fund terrorism.) Leiter stops Bond on the staircase and talks him out of it, by staking him the $5 million rebuy. The CIA, it seems, has deeper pockets than MI6.

Back at the table, Bond begins building his stack with some aggressive play. After that pause to avoid death by poison, which his opponent arranged to be administered (more poor etiquette), the big blind is raised to a massive million bucks.

Soon Bond and Le Chiffre are in a pot which has mounted to a whopping $24 million. The communal cards are Ah-8s-6-s, with a turn of 4s. Two other players are also in the hand. All check before the river, which comes up As. Once again, there are strong flush possibilities up against potential full houses. Or even quads again.

The two other players take the pot up to $35 million. Le Chiffre raises by another $12 million, leaving Bond to consider his options. Le Chiffre twiddles his chips again. But 007 now knows this is not a reliable tell. Bond’s blue eyes stare across the table into his enemy’s, which have been known to weep blood. Bond goes all-in – to the same tune as Le Chiffre’s earlier $40,500,000. The pot now stands at $87,500,000.

Le Chiffre smiles and looks again at his cards: Ac-6h. He has the house. There are only two hands that could beat him, A-8 for a higher house, or an unlikely straight flush. Cockily, Le Chiffre calls, apparently forgetting that he is an arch-villain in a Bond movie playing against the hero.

The pot now totals $115 million. Player One reveals a flush (Ks-Qs). Player Two grins as he turns over a pair of eights, giving him a house, eights full of aces. He thinks he has it in the bag. Le Chiffre takes his own sweet time before revealing his higher full house.

Now it is Monsieur Bond to show. And, of course, he has 5s-7s. The straight flush. Naturally. Game over.
The chances of Bond making that hand on the turn were a mere 46-1 against.

TO BE CONTINUED…

Extracted from Anthony Holden’s new poker strategy guide, HOLDEN ON HOLD’EM, to be published by Little, Brown on 6 November.