Best. Call. Ever.

Ian: Okay, who are you guys?
Pip: My name's Pip.
Ian: The band. The band name.
Pip: Sorry about that.
Ian: He doesn't wear a helmet, does he?

"Air Heads"

I saw one of the most amazing plays I've ever seen last week. And it was
in a free poker tournament at a pub, made by a slightly inebriated
punter.

It was early in the tournament, and one player had already gained a
sizeable lead. Pre-flop raises here are pretty rare, so you get a lot of
limpers. In this particular hand there were 3 or 4. The chip leader who
seemed to be pretty competent when compared to the rest of the crowd,
and our slightly inebriated punter.

The flop comes 668, and the punter checks. It is checked around to the
chip leader on the button, who comes out for a T200 bet. Since starting
stacks are only T1000, this is pretty sizeable on about the fifth hand
of the tournament. Only the punter calls, and we are heads up. The turn
brings a Jack, and the same pattern repeats itself: Check, bet 200,
call. The river is an off suit 4. The punter checks, and then the chip
leader thinks for a second and pushes all-in, which was really a bet of
T500. And our punter takes but a moment before he gives us all an
insight into his mindset.

"He's got nothing, he's bluffing. I tell you, he's bluffing. I'm gunna
call".

Typing can not aptly described the tone and pitch of his voice. A man of
Moari origin, with a few too many teeth missing, and a few too many
beers already under his belt. Sure enough, he gets his chips and
splashes the entire pot with it.

With the board showing 668J4, with no flush, our slightly drunken punter
turns over proudly a ten-high hand. Ten-three if I recall, but
definitely ten high. The chip leader on the button flips over five-three
off suit and then mucks the cards. I was more than happy to lead the
table in a round of applause for one of the bravest calls I have ever
seen. Not just a great call, but he had 100% confidence that his hand
was good, and proclaimed it to all within ear shot. This wasn't
gesturing or trying to get a tell out of the other guy, it was just
straight up belief that his hand was the better one.

So how did he make that call - did the chip leader look tense, touch his
hand to his mouth, shake when he shoved his chips in the middle? What
kind of physical tell did he give away to our slightly drunken punter
that allowed him to call with Ten high?

I can tell you if he did any of those things, the punter surely did not
see them. I know this, because the slightly drunken Maori calling with
Ten high is blind. I don't mean "blind drunk" or "immediately to the
left of the small blind" (which he was anyway), I mean blind as in his
eyes are just props. He had his wife sitting next to him who would look
at his hand and tell his what cards he had.

All jokes about "blind man's bluff" were used to much affect by him for
the rest of the night.

That was the best call I have ever seen, and it was made by a slightly
drunken blind man in a free poker tournament at a pub.