Erica Schoenberg

	This was the pinnacle of my career this far and the flop came A-4-2 with two diamonds. I hit none of it

As you may or may not know, my boyfriend is David Benyamine. Already widely known in Europe (David is from France), his notoriety is beginning to spread in the States largely due to his high-stakes cash game play.

He plays in the Big Game at the Bellagio in Las Vegas, where the blinds are 4/8. Thousand. That’s right, $4,000/$8,000. Unless your last name is that of a hotel chain or you have no respect for the value of a dollar, just watching it can be disconcerting. In any event, the folks that play this game can easily win or lose a million in one session.

Gamble in the blood

Now, I’m no stranger to poker or gambling. My most notable poker result was in the World Poker Tour’s World Championship at the Bellagio this year when I placed 16th and brought home over $100k. I grew up going to the racetrack with my dad to bet on the ponies, and I spent a year or so counting cards with friends from the infamous MIT blackjack team.

We’d often bet four or five hands of blackjack at thousands per hand, so I consider myself to be pretty fearless when it comes to putting money on the table.

Still, I must admit to being a tad anxious when David announced to the table – full of the best pros in the world – that he was taking a restroom break and I’d be playing while he was gone. Fortunately for me, though, the game was pot-limit Omaha, which is my favourite variation at the moment. Countless hours watching David play both online and live have really improved my own PLO prowess. However, what didn’t help my nerves was that PLO is one of the Big Game’s ‘cap’ games. The cap is there to prevent people from losing their entire bankroll in one hand – which makes sense. Only, the cap here is a trifling $100,000. Whoa! And they raise it to $150,000 if there’s a straddle. Great. Okay, so I took a deep breath and decided that there was absolutely no reason to be nervous. My mantra has always been: ‘When in doubt, fold,’ and I knew what to do.

Naturally enough, I got dealt K-K-8-9, which is a very playable hand, although it wasn’t the greatest as I had no suits. I was in the big blind and there was a raise and a call before me, so, of course, I called. Had I been double suited I would have raised the pot, but in addition to it not being suited, I really wasn’t looking to get into a capped pot while David was away. Anyway, there I was, imagining that I was at a level (and bankroll) to play this amazing game with the biggest and the best. This was the pinnacle of my career thus far. I had a hand to play – and what was the flop I got? A-4-2 with two diamonds. I hit none of it. I fi gured I could either check or bluff off more money than most people’s homes are worth. You’re probably wondering what I did. Well, at the precise moment I was getting ready to act, David returned.

Short-lived relief

A palpable wave of relief swept through me as he stood behind my chair. The pressure was off and I was ready to be done with such high-stakes foolishness. That is, until someone at the table informed me that another player can’t simply take over in the middle of a hand. You start the hand then, well, you fi nish it. I thought they were just messing with me for sure, but no, I wasn’t allowed to consult with David on the hand.

Sadly, the conclusion of this story wasn’t nearly as exhilarating as I had hoped. There really wasn’t anything too momentous other than me checking and folding. In fact, the episode proved to be both stressful and uncomfortable. But if you want to draw a moral from this story, then perhaps it should be that old adage that bigger isn’t always better. Either way, my advice is that no matter what limit you’re playing, never forget to relax and have fun. Note to self, however: high stakes poker isn’t for me. Well, not yet anyway.